How to install Android on iPhone

Is it possible to install two OS on an iPhone?

If certain drivers are available, the Android operating system can be installed next to iOS.

Android is an open system and can be installed on any hardware subject to a number of conditions:

Availability of necessary drivers, as well as superuser rights.
No incompatible applications on another smartphone.
The original version of the gadget's firmware.
At least two GB of RAM on the iPhone on which it is planned to install a second operating system.
At least 16 GB of consolidated space on the device’s internal storage. During the Android installation process, not all allocated memory will be used. Most of the memory will be spent on installing drivers.
Dividing memory on the phone for two operating systems by using a special pre-flashed bootloader.

What is it for?

The iOS shell is notorious for being closed. It does not allow you to transfer files via Bluetooth, and also has a number of other limitations that every Apple iPhone owner knows about. On the other side of the scale is Android, which is open source. In terms of security, this system is not inferior to iOS, and in terms of functionality it even surpasses its competitor. Moreover, Android has no restrictions. In short, you can do whatever you want with your Android smartphone. Therefore, it is not surprising that people want to replace iOS with Android.

Another reason to choose Android over iOS is the availability of more apps. If you cannot find any program on your iPhone, you can probably find it in the Play Store. To use it, you will need to install Android.

Which phone models can download Android OS?

Today, not all iPhone smartphones can be used to implement such technology. It will not be possible to install a second system on modern Apple smartphones, because... their hardware and technical components are not initially designed to solve the task.

You can install Android on iPhone 2G, 3G, and iPhone 4S. However, iPhone developers say that this technology will soon be fully implemented on other models.

iPhone 2G

Installing an additional operating system on a device running iOS takes a lot of time. This process requires certain knowledge and skills. Therefore, it is not recommended to boot a secondary system yourself.

iPhone 3G

Warnings before installing Android on iPhone

Experienced experts urge phone users to pay attention to several points before installing Anroid on iPhone:

Technical characteristics of the model. To carry out such an installation, it is recommended to choose models with an internal storage capacity of at least 16 GB. If the smartphone runs out of memory while loading the operating system, this can lead to adverse consequences. We are talking about deleting the main system, resetting the firmware, etc.
System backup. Before starting the download, it would be a good idea for the user to place important files on cloud storage to avoid losing them.
Battery charge. The battery charge level when performing the assigned task should not be below 50 percent.
Removing incompatible software. Before installing a second system, it is recommended to remove all applications that the user has ever downloaded from the Google Play Market. They may interfere with the download process. This circumstance will not allow Android to install. In this case, the user will waste a lot of time.
Unnecessary files. Before carrying out this procedure, you need to clean the phone from “garbage”, i.e. information accumulated from watching videos, opening tabs on the Internet, launching system software, etc. This can be done using the built-in tool.

You can also reset your phone to factory settings by going to the “Recovery” section. Carrying out this procedure will most likely save the user from problems during the installation process.

What you will need

To accomplish this task, the user will need several components:

A desktop computer or laptop that runs on the Mac OS operating system.
Required iPhone model. It must be an iPhone 2G or 3G with a firmware version no lower than 3.1.2.
OpennSSH software package on a mobile device.
iPhoDroid and MacFuse applications. They will need to be installed on your PC.
Wi-Fi router. In this case, the computer and phone must be connected to the same access point, i.e. to one Wi-Fi router.

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How to install Android on iPhone using iPhoDroid

This procedure is carried out in the following sequence:

Launch the program on your computer, which must be downloaded in advance from the official website of the developers and installed according to the instructions provided.
In the main menu of the application, the user will need to select a specific iPhone model (the one on which he wants to install the second system) and click on the “Next” button.

After performing the previous manipulation, another menu will be displayed, in which you need to set the toggle switch next to the “Install” line and also click on “Next”.

Enter your phone's IP address and tap "Next".

The installation procedure for the additional operating system will begin, which may take several seconds. Once it is completed, a window should appear on the iPhoDroid main screen where the user can only click on OK.

Additional Information! After completing the above steps, you will need to restart your iPhone. After restarting, a menu will appear with a choice of operating system. Here you will need to select either IOS or Android and confirm your action.

How to install Android on iPhone using Bootlace and iDroid

This method does not involve the use of a computer. This is its distinctive feature from the method discussed above. To implement the method, you only need access to the global one. net.

Bootlace is a bootloader installer with which the user can check the compatibility of smartphone components with the selected version of the Android operating system. iDroid is a firmware installer.

To flash your phone using Bootlace, you will need:

iPhone 2G or 3G.
Install Bootlace as well as OpeniBoot.
Reboot your gadget to apply the changes.

The process of installing a second operating system along with the first is as follows:

Launch Bootlace by tapping on the application icon.
Click on the iDroid icon at the bottom of the window (the icon is located next to the shoe-shaped icon).
In the next window, click on “Install”, thereby starting the installation procedure.
Wait for the installation to complete, which may take several minutes. In this matter, much depends on the technical characteristics of the smartphone.
After the download is complete, a notification will appear asking you to reboot the device, which you should agree to. During the restart process, the user will need to select one of the iDroid activation methods.

The Android operating system can be uninstalled in reverse order using Bootlace. This procedure will not take much time.

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It is easy to use and configure, besides being a feature-rich emulator. Free and paid versions available.

Genymotion stands out among everyone with its OpenGL-enabled graphics cards. This makes it one of the best and fastest Android emulators. It comes with plugins for Eclipse and Android Studio.

Apart from this, it is available on many Windows, Linux and OS X operating systems. It also allows you to use the webcam for the emulated device as a camera. ADB commands can also be executed using the ADB tunnel.

Why do you need to install Android on iPhone?

There are several common reasons for this need:

Using two systems on one phone. A person can easily switch from Android to iPhone and back, while having one smartphone. You can realize your needs on two operating systems. There is also no need to buy a second mobile phone that will run on Android or iOS. This is not feasible from a financial point of view.
Increased gadget performance. After installing a minor operating system, the mobile phone starts working faster.
Use apps, features, and modes not found on iPhone. Sometimes users need to use standard Android software.

Android vs Iphone: Video

How to install iPhone on Android

I also want to explain how you can install an iPhone for Android. This will be interesting to people who don’t like or are tired of the “bare” Android interface.

But for Android devices, the solution is much easier: you can not install IOS itself, but simply insert a shell (launcher), which looks exactly the same as IOS itself. There are several such applications, but the most popular can be downloaded for free on Google Play called Launcher 8, which is available here.

Many people will ask, what will happen if the iPhone application is installed on Android? This is a good question, since the shell itself will not replace all the functionality, namely launching programs for IOS. But there is a way out of this situation. For this, there is an emulator called Cider, which, in fact, can run iOS applications. The only inconvenience in all this is the low performance of applications and the lack of sensors, for example, GPS.

If something went wrong

When downloading an additional Android operating system onto an iPhone, the following problems may occur:

The battery was completely discharged and the device turned off. In this situation, it is recommended to immediately put the phone on charge. A low battery charge is usually indicated by a system notification, a blinking LED indicator, as well as a special sound signal that will operate even when such a download is performed. To avoid such a misunderstanding, it is recommended to connect the smartphone to the network via a USB cable before installation.
The phone has run out of internal memory. One of the most common problems that can arise when performing a given task. In this situation, the installation will not be completed and the smartphone will return to its normal state. As mentioned above, before you start downloading, you need to make sure that the internal storage of your mobile device has at least 16 GB of memory. If necessary, you can install an SSD card in the appropriate slot.
Endless loading. If such an error occurs, it is recommended to hold down the power button of the device for several seconds. The phone should automatically turn off and the installation of the additional operating system will begin again.

If during the boot process the smartphone begins to overheat, then it is better to stop the installation to avoid unpleasant consequences in the future.

FAQ

Vyacheslav

For several years he worked in mobile phone stores of two large operators. I understand tariffs well and see all the pitfalls. I love gadgets, especially Android ones.

Ask a Question

Question to the expert

Can I install Android on an iPhone that has 8GB of internal memory?

This is not recommended. It’s better to immediately buy and install an SSD card, which will increase the total memory capacity. Insufficient memory can lead to crashes and errors during the system boot process. Perhaps your firmware will crash. Thus, restoring the functionality of the gadget will be expensive.

I want to install Android on my iPhone 3G, but its battery practically does not hold a charge, its autonomy is low. Can I start implementing my plans with such a battery?

No, I would not recommend you to do this without constant recharging. Just leave the device to charge and then start loading the operating system.

Please tell me what to do if the iPhoDroid application does not install on my computer, giving an unknown error?

Most likely, you do not have Mac OS installed. And this program can only run on this operating system. However, I do not recommend specifically reinstalling the system for this purpose. All you need to do is install a Mac OS virtual machine.

During the installation of the second system, my phone suddenly turned off and now it is not possible to turn it on. At the same time, the battery in the gadget has good autonomy. Plus, it was fully charged. Tell me, what should I do now?

Most likely, applications were installed on your device that blocked the installation of the operating system. I dare to assume that because of this circumstance, your firmware crashed. The smartphone now needs to be flashed. I recommend that you contact a service center to avoid unpleasant consequences.

What to do if Bootlace refuses to start?

First of all, check your internet connection. If the network is present, then try to remove the software and download it again from the developer’s official website. This should help get rid of this problem.

Thus, there are several common methods for installing Android on iPhone, each of which has its own individual characteristics.

4.5/5 — (33 votes)

How I installed AndroidOS on iPhone3G (brief history-instructions)

After it became known that enthusiasts were able to run Android on the iPhone2G, and then on , I decided to definitely try to do the same on my iPhone 3G. I started according to the instructions on the website idroidproject.org. I went through all the circles of hell from that instruction, namely:

Walking on third-party sites like marvell.com in search of driver files
Downloading a bunch of different files from different places, renaming them, moving these files back and forth
Going to your iPhone via ssh and performing mysterious actions like ioreg -l -w 0 | grep '»Calibration Data» =' | cut -d '<' -f2 | cut -d '>' -f1 | xxd -r -ps — zephyr2_cal.bin
Downgrade the firmware to 2.2.1, because the previous steps were meaningless on 3.1.3! (streams of obscene language)
Mounting firmware images, inserting files collected through back-breaking labor
Compiling openiboot from sources

And other terrible things.
For reasons of all sorts of stupid licensing agreements, they cannot upload ready-made driver and image files, so I will not provide a translation of that instruction here (it is too detailed), in reality everything is much simpler than it really is. Faces me. agreements are somehow on the side, I will boldly post all the necessary files, and also share with you some of the rakes that I came across along the way.

So, we will need:

Actually, an iPhone that you don’t mind torturing, perhaps to death, to the restaurant (we definitely make a backup before starting work!)
Linux x86 - 32bit (I use linux mint, also known as ubuntu 9.10 karmic). If you have x64 (or don’t have any Linux), then it will be easier to run livecd with x86 Ubuntu. Virtual machines are not recommended due to the nature of working with USB, but you can try, it worked for someone.
Installed package libusb-1.0-0: sudo apt-get install libusb-1.0-0
Precompiled versions of iDroid firmware files. Download here (mirror).
Ready openiboot file. Download here (mirror).
Loadibec and oibc files that will be needed to install openiboot. Download here (mirror).

Download everything in one archive: link, mirror.
Now about the first rake: if you have an iPhone3G with firmware 3.1.3 and jailbreak using the Spirit method, then you can safely give up this idea - nothing will work. It didn’t work out for me, I wasted a whole day. After jailing using the Dev Team method, everything worked out the first time.

Let's start the process:

We connect the body via wi-fi.
Upload the firmware files to the body into the /private/var/ folder
We give them rights 755 (this was the second rake, I forgot to do it).
We turn off the body in the usual way.
While holding the Home button, connect the cord until the iTunes icon appears (switch to Recovery-mode).
Install openiboot: sudo ./loadibec openiboot.img3 The openiboot menu should appear, press the Power button, select OpeniBoot Console, press Home. All sorts of letters will appear on the phone screen (detailed mode). It was at this point that everything stopped if the jail was using the Spirit method.
We run oibc on the computer: sudo ./oibc Now you will see the same thing in your console as on your phone.
Type: install then, at the end of the installation process: reboot
Ready! We rejoice wildly and jump around the apartment.

Now you can enjoy Android download on your iPhone3G.
Here is a recording from mine: While Wi-Fi is unstable, the telephone module is not working (I’m waiting for an update, maybe they’ll fix it). Otherwise, I was satisfied, I wish you success in mastering iDroid!

In the meantime, I’ll be testing AndroidOS and waiting for my Desire to be delivered from the UK