Here’s how to safely download ‘Fortnite: Battle Royale’ on an Android device

The beta for one of the world’s biggest games, Fortnite: Battle Royale, is finally available for Android devices, following successful releases on consoles and iOS. Unfortunately for many players, the game opened with an exclusivity deal for Samsung’s devices as a part of the Galaxy Note 9‘s launch.

But if you’re on a non-Samsung Android device, all is not lost. While access is still restricted, you can sign up to a waiting list and pre-download the game in order to get access as soon as it’s available. Here’s how to download Fortnite: Battle Royale on Android.

A warning before we start

Slow down before you rush off to download anything called “Fortnite” from the Google Play Store. Epic Games has not released Fortnite: Battle Royale on the Google Play Store, so you won’t find it there. That’s important to note because it means no app on the Play Store is going to be the official Fortnite app — no matter how loudly it says it is.

While some are likely to be harmless clones, others may be harmful apps that seek to steal your personal data. Be aware of what you’re downloading, and if your aim is to download only the official Fortnite: Battle Royale Android app, follow this guide and we’ll make sure you get the goods.

How to get Fortnite: Battle Royale on an eligible Samsung phone

The following Samsung smartphones and tablets are able to immediately access Fortnite: Battle Royale during the exclusivity period.

• Galaxy Note 9
• Galaxy S9
• Galaxy S9 Plus
• Galaxy Note 8
• Galaxy S8
• Galaxy S8 Plus
• Galaxy S7
• Galaxy S7 Edge
• Galaxy Tab S4
• Galaxy Tab S3

So if you’re rocking one of the devices listed above, then congrats — you’re able to start playing right away. The method for getting set up on an eligible Galaxy device is easy, but it requires a couple of steps, and a lot of installing.

Start by accessing your Game Launcher app, tapping the icon marked Fortnite Installer, and then click Install & Open to install the launcher. This app isn’t the game — instead, it’s a separate app that will be used to download and update the main Fortnite app in the absence of the Google Play Store.

The first time you open the app you’ll be asked to grant it permission to access your storage. There’s nothing nefarious here; it needs access to be able to download the game. Once granted, tap the big yellow Install button and let the initial files finish installing.

Once installed, open the Fortnite Launcher and hit the yellow Launch button to start the game. This will kick off the download of the main files. Feel free to leave the game for some time while it downloads the required files — it’s a big download and can take some time. Following this, Fortnite will take a little time to optimize the content to suit your device — but once that’s finished, you’ll be able to sign into your account (or create a new one) and get playing.

How to get Fortnite: Battle Royale on another Android device

If you’re not fortunate enough to have one of the Samsung devices on the previous list, then you’re stuck waiting for now. However, you can still download the game in advance and get yourself ready.

Get started by signing up for the waiting list. It’s easy to get signed up — you can do it from your PC or mobile device, and you can speed matters up by signing into an existing Fortnite account, if you have one. The process asks you to select your Android device from a drop-down box, but don’t worry if you can’t find your particular device, as there’s an “Other Android device” option at the bottom.

After signing up you’ll be sent an email from Epic Games. You’ll need to access this from your mobile device, as it’s a direct link to the Fortnite Installer — so tap the link to download it. Tap that file once it’s done downloading, and hit Install when prompted. You may need to grant Storage permissions to complete this process.

After that, you can either tap Open at the end of the installation process, or open the Fortnite Installer app from your app drawer or home screen. Like the process for Samsung phones, you’ll be asked to confirm Storage permissions for the installation, so feel free to tap Allow when prompted. You may also need to give the app permission to install the Fortnite game, so if prompted by a system message, hit Settings, then tick the box for Allow from this source. Then hit the back button and hit Install.

When that’s done, hit Open or open the app from your apps, and Fortnite: Battle Royale will begin downloading. This can take a little while, so grab yourself a refreshment and settle down to wait. Once it’s complete, you’ll be able to sign into your account, but unless you’ve received an email confirming your access, that’s as far as you can go for now. But at least the hard part is done, and you’ll be able to get going that much faster when your account is allowed access.

That’s all we’ve got for you for the moment — but we’ll update this article when access is available for more people. Until then, brush up on your skills with our Fortnite tips & tricks article and get ready to hurl yourself out of a bus.

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