Virtualization Uninstall Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) in Windows 11


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WSA_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to uninstall Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) for your account in Windows 11.

Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) enables your Windows 11 device to run Android apps available from the Amazon Appstore.

Windows Subsystem for Android is only available in countries and regions that support Amazon AppStore on Windows. Your device also must meet specific Windows 11 requirements for WSA.
  • Apps available at Amazon Appstore.
  • 8 GB (min) or 16 GB (recommended) RAM
  • Solid-state drive (SSD)
  • You may need to enable CPU virtualization for your PC’s BIOS/UEFI.
References:

Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) is being deprecated beginning March 5, 2025




Contents

  • Option One: Uninstall Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) in Start Menu
  • Option Two: Uninstall Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) in Settings
  • Option Three: Uninstall Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) in PowerShell




Option One

Uninstall Desktop Apps and Windows Apps in Start Menu


1 Close all Android apps.

2 Open the Start menu :win:, and click/tap on the All apps button. (see screenshot below)

Uinstall_WSA_Start_menu-1.jpg

3 Right click or press and hold on Windows Subsystem for Android, and click/tap on Uninstall.

Uinstall_WSA_Start_menu-2.jpg

4 Click/tap on Uninstall to confirm. (see screenshots below)

Uinstall_WSA_Start_menu-3.png




Option Two

Uninstall Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) in Settings


1 Open Settings (Win+I).

2 Click/tap on Apps on the left side, and click/tap on Apps & features or Installed apps on the right side. (see screenshot below)


Uinstall_WSA_Settings-1.png

3 Click/tap on the 3 dots button for Windows Subsystem for Android, and click/tap on Uninstall. (see screenshot below)

Uinstall_WSA_Settings-2.png

4 Click/tap on Uninstall to confirm. (see screenshot below)

Uinstall_WSA_Settings-3.png

5 When finished, you can close Settings if you like.




Option Three

Uninstall Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) in PowerShell


1 Open Windows Terminal, and select Windows Powershell.

2 Copy and paste the command below into Windows Terminal, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Get-AppxPackage "[I]MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid[/I]" | Remove-AppxPackage

3 When finished, you can close Windows Terminal if you like.

Uinstall_WSA_PowerShell.png



That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

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Last edited:
I've uninstalled it but apps that I installed within WSA remain in Settings>Apps>Installed Apps. How can I remove these? The uninstaller errors about wsaclient.exe not being found since I uninstalled WSA.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 8700K
    Motherboard
    MSI Z370 Tomahawk
    Memory
    32GB (2x16GB) G.SKILL DDR4 3200MHz (F4-3200C16-16GVK)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX980Ti (6GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Screen Resolution
    2K
    Internet Speed
    1Gbit fiber - Tachus US
    Browser
    Brave
I've uninstalled it but apps that I installed within WSA remain in Settings>Apps>Installed Apps. How can I remove these? The uninstaller errors about wsaclient.exe not being found since I uninstalled WSA.
Hello, and welcome. :alien:

You could test reinstalling WSA temporarily, uninstall the other apps, then uninstall WSA again.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
It looks like Microsoft removed the installer from the store. I can't find it anyway. Do you happen to know of an alternate location I could download it from?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 8700K
    Motherboard
    MSI Z370 Tomahawk
    Memory
    32GB (2x16GB) G.SKILL DDR4 3200MHz (F4-3200C16-16GVK)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX980Ti (6GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Screen Resolution
    2K
    Internet Speed
    1Gbit fiber - Tachus US
    Browser
    Brave
Unistall, adios
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro insiders
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Screen Resolution
    Full HD
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium Canary
    Antivirus
    Eset Smart Security Premium

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
Awesome, thank you!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 8700K
    Motherboard
    MSI Z370 Tomahawk
    Memory
    32GB (2x16GB) G.SKILL DDR4 3200MHz (F4-3200C16-16GVK)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX980Ti (6GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Screen Resolution
    2K
    Internet Speed
    1Gbit fiber - Tachus US
    Browser
    Brave
Unfortunately it doesn't seem to work after a reinstall. I tried to remove a few different apps, but the uninstaller never pops up to remove anything.

The apps themselves start up properly, however.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 8700K
    Motherboard
    MSI Z370 Tomahawk
    Memory
    32GB (2x16GB) G.SKILL DDR4 3200MHz (F4-3200C16-16GVK)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX980Ti (6GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Screen Resolution
    2K
    Internet Speed
    1Gbit fiber - Tachus US
    Browser
    Brave
Actually nevermind, they don't. Only the amazon app store starts properly. I suspect the apps were removed when I uninstalled the first time but Windows left the registry entries for the uninstallers. When I go in WSA settings, I can see the apps but they all have the generic WSA icon, not their respective icons (except for the App store). So I'll just use a system cleanup utility to search for the registry entries and remove those. Thanks again for your help!

Edit: Just to confirm, after cleaning up the registry entries, I no longer see the apps under the WSA settings app or the Windows Settings>Apps>Installed Apps.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 8700K
    Motherboard
    MSI Z370 Tomahawk
    Memory
    32GB (2x16GB) G.SKILL DDR4 3200MHz (F4-3200C16-16GVK)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX980Ti (6GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Screen Resolution
    2K
    Internet Speed
    1Gbit fiber - Tachus US
    Browser
    Brave
Actually nevermind, they don't. Only the amazon app store starts properly. I suspect the apps were removed when I uninstalled the first time but Windows left the registry entries for the uninstallers. When I go in WSA settings, I can see the apps but they all have the generic WSA icon, not their respective icons (except for the App store). So I'll just use a system cleanup utility to search for the registry entries and remove those. Thanks again for your help!

Edit: Just to confirm, after cleaning up the registry entries, I no longer see the apps under the WSA settings app or the Windows Settings>Apps>Installed Apps.
Great news. Thank you for posting back with your findings. :shawn:

For anyone else with the same issue:

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium

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