Do you have favorite apps or games on your Android mobile device and wish you could use them on your PC? Perhaps games like Fortnite or PuBG that would benefit from a bigger screen or a stringer processor? Well now you can, with a free, powerful Android emulator called BlueStacks.
How to Download BlueStacks:
- Download BlueStacks from the linked website onto your Mac or PC
- Click the download on your computer and the emulator will begin installing
- The Terms and Conditions page will load, click Agree and then click Install
- Choose whether you want online (quick) or offline (slow) installation
- BlueStacks will load to your desktop when it is installed
How to Use BlueStacks:
- Open BlueStacks and let it set up. Be patient as this can take several minutes
- The BlueStacks home screen will appear with some pre-loaded apps – Play Store is one of them
- Click on Play Store and type in your Google account login or click on Set up New Account
- Either follow the on-screen directions to complete the setup or skip it and go straight to the home screen
- You should see new options on the right-side of the BlueStacks screen – APK Downloads, File Transfers, and more – the setup is complete
BlueStacks Features:
- High-Speed Downloads – speed is an important factor in BlueStacks and you get some of the highest and smoothest download speeds
- Customizable Settings – even down to setting how many CPUs and how much RAM to allocate
- External Controller Compatibility – unlike your Android device, BlueStacks has support for many external controllers
- Device Emulation – BlueStacks can emulate your Android device, including Model Number, Phone Number, IMEI Number, and more
- Root Access – rooted right from the start with SuperUser, BlueStacks gives you free and easy access to your file system
Frequently Asked Questions:
These are the more commonly asked questions about BlueStacks:
What is BlueStacks?
It is an incredibly powerful but lite Android emulator. Free to use, it lets you play Android games and use Android apps on your PC or Mac, letting you take full advantage of all your computer resources – bigger screens, more RAM, more internal space, better processors and more.
Is BlueStacks Safe?
Yes. It has been put through strict testing on all the big and most reputable antivirus and antimalware platforms and has passed them all.
Is it Free to Use?
Yes, and it always will be.
Is it the Same as Nox Player?
No, not quite. While both are very good emulators, BlueStacks is ahead of Nox Player in several ways:
- While BlueStacks isn’t as big as Nox Player, it offers better performance, particularly for games
- BlueStacks is much easier to root than Nox Player
- Although Nox Player does have high benchmark scores, BlueStacks uses far fewer system resources and offers higher performance.
How to Add Game Controllers to BlueStacks
- Open BlueStacks on your computer
- Plug your game controller into your PC or Mac, making sure to use the right cable
- You will see the controller option at the top of the BlueStacks screen, telling you a successful connection has been made
- Click the icon to go into the controller settings
- Make the changes you want and save them
- Exit the settings and you can use your controller
How to Fix Error Virtual Machine Failed to Start
- Reboot your computer and temporarily close your firewall and antivirus down – they can be restarted after
- Right-click on the BlueStacks icon
- Click on the option that says Open File Location from the drop-down menu
- Click BlueStacks and the BlueStacks file folder opens
- Click the BlueStacksvm folder and then right-click on BLUESTACKSVM file
- Click on Run as Administrator from the drop-down menu and the error will disappear
How to Fix Error – Outdated Graphics Card
- Launch Multiplayer
- Click on the Rendering Mode option
- Change it to OpenGL or DX and reboot BlueStacks
- Try again – if the error hasn’t gone, update your card drivers
- If the error is still not resolved, your card is incompatible with BlueStacks and must be upgraded to use the emulator
How to Fix Error – BlueStacks Needs to Reboot
This usually occurs when your BlueStacks version is outdated. Install the latest version from the BlueStacks website and try again. If you get the error while using the most up-to-date version, follow the steps above to change your rendering mode – that should fix the issue.
Although there are plenty of Android emulators, BlueStacks offers the best performance while using the least amount of resources. A powerful emulator, it particularly suits gamers so install it on your computer now and start playing your favorite Android games on a bigger screen.
