ADB

Let’s cut the noise. You want quick, clean, and painless Unreal Engine APK builds and packaging? You’re in the right place.

A while back, I released two videos: one on deploying Unreal Engine projects to Android and Meta Quest, and another on enabling proper hand-tracking using the Meta XR Plugin and HTC VIVE OpenXR plugins. I also tackled a frustrating issue on HTC VIVE devices, where APKs were launching as 2D apps instead of immersive VR experiences.

That first video blew up; it became one of my best-performing uploads to this date, with tons of positive feedback. But one thing stood out in the comments: Unreal developers everywhere are struggling to set up the Android development environment and package APKs correctly.

So, back by demand, and with something even better, welcome to the Ultimate Guide for deploying Unreal Engine projects to Android standalone-mode.

This video combines everything from the previous tutorials; refined, updated, and streamlined. And to make things even easier, I’ve just open-sourced a brand-new one-click installer that sets up your entire Android development environment for Unreal Engine automagically. It downloads, installs, and configures Android Studio, SDK, NDK, and JDK, so you don’t have to lift even a finger.

Whether you’re building for Meta Quest or HTC VIVE, this guide takes you from zero to packaged APK, with full VR support, working hand-tracking, and seamless integration of both Meta XR and HTC VIVE OpenXR plugins.

Let’s dive in.

All right… so… you might be wondering—where have I been? Did I fall into a virtual void or some digital black hole? Did I get sucked into a never-ending loading screen? Did Unreal Engine finally crash me for good? Well, almost.

But I’m back! Back from the digital abyss. And let me tell you, I was this close to naming this video: ‘How to Deploy Your Soul to Standalone Mode’… because burnout is real, my friends.

Jokes aside, YOU—yes, you awesome people—kept me going. I read your comments. I saw your feedback. And honestly, some of those messages… they were half encouragement, half passive-aggressive ‘Bro, where’s the next tutorial?!’ You all have zero chills. But… I like that. That’s what got me here today.

So, by popular demand and an ungodly amount of coffee, here we are. Today, we will deploy your Unreal Engine projects to Meta Quest. We’re talking Android standalone mode, baby!

And if you’ve been struggling with this process, don’t worry. I’ve suffered so you don’t have to. You’re welcome!

But, before we dive into the screen-sharing and the real stuff, you know the drill. Smash that like button, subscribe, and drop a comment. If you don’t, I’ll deploy you into an infinite loop of beginner VR setup tutorials. Trust me, you don’t want that. So, it’s your call!

All right! Let’s get into it.

Well, I started my Android development on a Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II. I never had any trouble getting ADB to work on Microsoft Windows since I had the drivers from Samsung which was already installed due to my previous Cyanogenmod installation process. Afterwards, I received a Nexus 7 and a bit latter a Nexus 5 which became my primary development device of choice. Google did a good job by providing ADB drivers for All Nexus devices inside the SDK or as a small separate download on Android Developers website which was very easy to install. The trouble began when my development process involved testing my applications and games on devices other than Nexus ones I had. For some manufacturers I was never able to find the drivers. Finding the correct driver for each device was a huge pain until I found a solution that became a remedy for all my troubles getting ADB to work with any Android device, even without the OEM drivers. It even became my preferred alternative to manufacturer’s provided ADB drivers for all my other devices till this day, since I hate the bloat-ware and useless crap they provide along with their drivers which is inevitable to install anyway.

In the rest of this post I’m going to share my easy solution with you: