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Re: Tutorial: How to install split spoofed APKs on Android using only your PC (Windows or Linux)

Cross-posted to 3 groups.

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Paul wrote:
>>>> 7. I sideload the apks using a spoofed origin label
>>>>    adb.exe install-multiple -i com.android.vending base.apk split_config.arm64_v8a.apk split_config.xhdpi.apk split_config.es.apk
>>>
>>> Does Windows still require special USB drivers installed in order for
>>> the SDK to talk to an Android device?
>>>
>>> This isn¢t necessary under Linux.
>> 
>> I don't think so. When we install adb, there's always a page for drivers
>> for all sorts of phones, but I've never had to install a special driver. 
>> 
>> So I think if the USB works using the default driver that Windows installs
>> the first time you connect the phone, then I think adb will also work.
>> 
>> Besides, adb nowadays works over Wi-Fi also, which doesn't need a driver.
>> 
>> The beauty of adb is that you can do everything you need to on the phone
>> from the PC keyboard/mouse/speakers/clipboard which is extremely handy.
>> 
>> Scrcpy, which mirrors the phone two feet tall, is powered by adb also.
>>   <https://i.postimg.cc/pr8NPNKs/scrcpy33.jpg> 
>> 
>> When I'm home, I use the phone without even knowing where the phone is. :)
>> (I have to play a song on the phone from the PC just to find the phone.)
>> 
> 
> WinUSBCoInstaller2.dll  = 1   <=== we need to find out what a "WinUSB" driver is
> WdfCoInstaller01009.dll = 1   <=== grease for installing the Windows Device Framework driver
> 
> https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/usbcon/introduction-to-winusb-for-developers
> 
>    "Components of WinUSB
> 
>     WinUSB includes:
> 
>     A kernel-mode driver (winusb.sys)
>     A user-mode dynamic link library (winusb.dll) that exposes WinUSB functions described in winusb.h.
>     You can use these functions to manage USB devices with user-mode software.
> 
>      By default, winusb.sys is installed in the device's kernel-mode stack as an upper filter driver.
>      Apps communicate with the device's User-Mode Driver Framework (UMDF) function driver to
>      issue read, write, or device I/O control requests. In this configuration, winusb.sys serves as
>      the device stack's Plug and Play and power owner. You can also install winusb.sys as the
>      function driver for a USB device.
>    "
> 
> That doesn't tell me what it does, but I do have that winusb.sys file and
> I don't own a phone so it could not have been triggered by
> connecting a phone to the PC and a driver getting automatically downloaded.

Since, for me, on Windows, and apparently for Lawrence, on Linux, the
driver installed "just works" when using adb over either USB or Wi-Fi.

However, I have to admit I have no idea where my current driver came from.
It may just as well have been that years ago, I installed an OEM driver.

Lawrence pointed out Linux handles Android devices natively without extra
configuration while Windows historically required OEM drivers to recognize
Android in ADB USB mode (& as a result, adb documentation provided them).

Because Linux uses libusb & udev rules, it doesn't need drivers in the
Windows sense because the communication protocol for ADB is handled at the
user-space level.	.

Paul pointed out WinUSB (winusb.sys) is apparently a generic driver
provided by Microsoft. Instead of every phone manufacturer writing a unique
driver from scratch, they can tell Windows to use this generic USB driver.

Paul noted winusb.sys is a standard system component, which may explain why
adb/scrcpy "just works" with Androiud when plugged into Windows USB ports.

WinUSB is a core Windows component used for everything from specialized
keyboards to scientific equipment and USB programmers. As Paul noted,
whether or not you have a phone, it's on every Windows machine by default.

On Windows, when we plug in an Android device, the OS looks at two things
 a. The vendor ID (VID), e.g., Google, Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola, etc.
 b. The Product ID (PID) identifying the specific device or mode it's in
Then Windows searches for an driver INF file that claims to support them.

Apparently Windows will prefer an OEM driver, then the Google USB driver
from the Android SDK, then the WinUSB generic driver, and finally, the MTP
driver (if the phone is in file-transfer mode) where adb only works if the
driver exposes the ADB Interface.

Back in the days up to about 2014'ish, there was no universal driver
standard, so each OEM shipped its own Windows driver package and WinUSB,
while it existed, many devices didn't expose a WinUSB-compatible i/f.

Even the Google USB driver only supported Nexus devices in early days.
MTP was the king for what Windows bound to when Android was plugged in.

Today, most phones expose a WinUSB-compatible interface for debugging.
But as Lawrence noted, adb chooses the driver based on the VID/PID match.

In summary, the FOSS screencopy (scrcpy) & soundcopy (sndcpy) piggybacks on
adb, so while Linux (which uses libusb + udev rules) never needed OEM
drivers, historically, Android debugging required OEM-specific USB drivers
because each manufacturer exposed different USB interfaces but, as Paul
noted, most Android devices expose a WinUSB-compatible interface for adb.	.

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Tutorial: How to install split spoofed APKs on Android using only your PC (Windows or Linux) Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-05-08 01:32 -0600
  Re: Tutorial: How to install split spoofed APKs on Android using only your PC (Windows or Linux) Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-05-08 12:35 -0600
  Re: Tutorial: How to install split spoofed APKs on Android using only your PC (Windows or Linux) Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-05-08 20:57 +0000
    Re: Tutorial: How to install split spoofed APKs on Android using only your PC (Windows or Linux) Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-05-08 18:14 -0600
      Re: Tutorial: How to install split spoofed APKs on Android using only your PC (Windows or Linux) Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-05-09 00:55 -0400
        Re: Tutorial: How to install split spoofed APKs on Android using only your PC (Windows or Linux) Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-05-09 00:28 -0600
          Re: Tutorial: How to install split spoofed APKs on Android using only your PC (Windows or Linux) Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-05-09 01:24 -0600
            Re: Tutorial: How to install split spoofed APKs on Android using only your PC (Windows or Linux) Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-05-09 08:37 -0400

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