Install guide
How to Install Vanced Manager
Installing Vanced Manager used to take a few minutes. This guide walks through the original process, what it required, and exactly where it breaks today now that Team Vanced's servers are offline, so you can decide whether it is worth attempting at all.
Status of each stage today
- Get the manager
- No official file
- Allow unknown apps
- Still works
- Choose mode & apps
- Screens only
- Download & install
- Fails
These steps no longer produce a working Vanced install.
Team Vanced shut down the manager's backend in March 2022, and no official APK of the manager remains on GitHub. The process is documented so you can understand an existing setup, not as a promise that it will work.
Source: Team Vanced discontinuation notice (opens in a new tab)
What you needed
From the 2.6.2 build configuration and the manager's own warnings.
- Android 5.0 or newerminSdk 21 (Android 5.0), targetSdk 31 (Android 12).
- Vanced microG (non-root)Installed before Vanced so Google sign-in would work.
- Magisk (root)2.6.2 checks for Magisk and shows an error if it is missing.
- MIUI optimizations offOn Xiaomi phones, per the manager's own warning.
The original installation steps
How setup worked while the servers were live, reconstructed from the manager's interface text and release notes.
Download the manager from an official source
Team Vanced distributed the APK through its website and GitHub releases. The app itself reminded users to download only from the Vanced website, Discord or GitHub.
Allow your browser or file manager to install apps
On Android 8.0 and newer, enable Install unknown apps for the specific app that opens the APK. On Android 7.1.1 and older, switch on Unknown sources under Settings > Security.
Source: Android Developers: alternative distribution (opens in a new tab)
Open Vanced Manager and choose a mode
Non-root installed Vanced as a separate app next to stock YouTube; root replaced YouTube in place and needed root permission granted to the manager.
Select your apps
Choose YouTube Vanced, YouTube Music Vanced or both. For non-root, install Vanced microG first; otherwise the manager showed “Install Vanced microG first”.
Set theme, languages and version
Pick the Dark or Black theme, one or more languages, and optionally a specific version using the selector added in 2.0.
Install and keep the manager open Fails today
The manager downloaded the split packages from Team Vanced's servers and installed them. With the backend gone, this is where every attempt now stops.
Sign in and stay up to date
Open Vanced, sign in through microG in non-root mode, and return to the manager whenever it showed an update.
What happens if you try today
| Stage | Today | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Get the manager | No official file | The GitHub release has no APK; Team Vanced removed its download links |
| Allow unknown apps | Still works | A standard Android setting |
| Choose mode & apps | Screens only | The screens can appear, but app data came from the Vanced API |
| Download & install | Fails | The backend and its download sources were shut down in March 2022 |
| Use Vanced | Unreliable | Team Vanced noted in 2023 that Vanced had started to stop working for many users |
Source: TeamVanced/Vanced README (April 2023 update) (opens in a new tab)
Security habits for any sideloaded APK
- Turn the permission back off. After installing, revoke Install unknown apps from the browser or file manager you used.
- Leave Play Protect on. It checks apps from outside the Play Store; treat its warnings as a stop sign. Source: Google Play Help (opens in a new tab)
- Keep signature checks on. An old manager message suggested disabling APK signature verification on some custom ROMs. That protection stops tampered updates; leave it on.
- Be stingy with root. Granting root to an app of unknown origin hands it full control of your device.
- Distrust “new” Vanced releases. Anything newer than 2.6.2 calling itself Vanced Manager did not come from Team Vanced.
Removing Vanced Manager and its apps
Non-root installs are ordinary apps. Remove Vanced Manager (com.vanced.manager), YouTube Vanced (com.vanced.android.youtube), Music Vanced (com.vanced.android.apps.youtube.music) and Vanced microG (com.mgoogle.android.gms) from Settings > Apps, or by long-pressing their icons.
Root installs mounted Vanced over stock YouTube with a boot script. If the manager still opens, use its own Uninstall button first, since its root uninstaller was designed to undo what it set up. Then update or reinstall stock YouTube from Google Play.