Flappy Bird – How to install and play the original on iOS and Android

Flappy Bird was one of the strangest happenings in the history of the App Store. It took off to insane levels of popularity, and then it disappeared, just like that. There are ways to play it, though, entirely for free, with or without the ipa and apk files. Read on to find out how to do just that!

You can play on a non-jailbroken iOS device by either reinstalling it off of your own iTunes, if your iTunes is synced to your device, or off of someone else’s iTunes. To do the last one, either sync it to someone else’s computer, or find the account of someone you trust and who trusts you, preferably a family member, and install it off of their login. You can also use your (or someone else’s) iCloud account to bring it back.

If you want to install the game on an Android device, simply find the .apk file. Torrents and other download servers tend to be a hit-and-miss affair. Instead, find a reputable source that carries the apk, download it to your computer, and then install it from your computer to your Android device.

Note: DO NOT play with any app that does not come from a reputable source. Immediately delete any one that claims that it’s a trial version or that it’s trying to send a premium text message, or any other funny business. These are fakes.

If you want to install the game on a jailbroken iOS device, you can do so using the .ipa file. This is much tougher to find than the apk file will be, and we don’t vouch for the authenticity of any of the sources, but if you’re willing to risk it, this is an easy way to get Flappy Bird for free.

Certain regions, such as (currently) Hong Kong, still have Flappy Bird available as a download on the Apple App Store. To do this, switch your region, which can be done by going to the “featured” section of the App Store, then going to “View Apple ID”. From there you can change your region to one where Flappy Bird is still available.

If all else fails, you can play the game on various websites, such as Flappy.im (all of which work on the iOS and Android). However, the experience won’t quite be the same, as the collision detection will be far different, leading to random crashes into pipes where there shouldn’t be any. If all of this is too difficult, download one of the many clones of the game, such as Splashy Fish or DumpyDoge.