Android emulator won’t open on Mac: what the macOS warning means

You have just downloaded an Android emulator, you double-click it, and macOS stops you with a message. Depending on the message, there are two very different situations. A confirmation question is normal, for any app that comes from the internet. A refusal is not, and you should not work around it. Here is what macOS looks at when you open MACOS EMULATOR, and the right move in each case.

Opening the app for the first time, in order

1. 1Download the DMG from the page that follows payment, or from your customer area, “Download the app” button.
2. 2Open the DMG. The window shows the app and a shortcut to the Applications folder: drag one onto the other.
3. 3Open the Applications folder, then double-click the app inside it, not the one in the DMG window.
4. 4macOS asks whether you want to open an app downloaded from the internet: click Open.
5. 5Eject the DMG in the Finder sidebar. You can then throw away the downloaded file.

What comes next, from the engine to your first game, is in the installation article.

What macOS checks when you open it

macOS tags every downloaded file, then checks the app the first time it opens. Gatekeeper, the system’s safeguard, looks for two things:

• A Developer ID signature: a certificate issued by Apple says who published the app, and proves it has not changed since.
• Notarization: before publication, the app goes through Apple’s automatic service, which scans it for malware and issues a ticket.

One useful precision: notarization is an automatic security check. It is neither a quality label from Apple, nor proof that an app suits you.

The app and the DMG are both signed and notarized, and each carries its ticket. So macOS does not need to reach Apple for the check to succeed. Publishing a version also stops before upload if the DMG is not notarized. On November 7, 2026, we downloaded the public DMG again and ran it through Gatekeeper, along with the app inside it: both are accepted.

The normal question

Even a signed and notarized app triggers a question the first time it opens: macOS reminds you that it comes from the internet and asks you to confirm. That window offers an Open button. Click it, and macOS does not show it again for this copy. This is not a flaw in the app: it is the system letting you decide.

The real refusal

If macOS says it cannot verify that the app is free of malware, or that the developer is unidentified, and only offers to throw it away, this is no longer the normal question. An official copy should not produce that message. Here is what to do:

1. 1Look at where your file came from. A copy sent by someone or found elsewhere does not count: only the DMG from your customer area is the right one.
2. 2Put this copy of the app in the Trash, without using Uninstall: the button in Settings also erases your data.
3. 3Download the DMG again from your customer area and redo the steps from the start.
4. 4If the message comes back, write to support with a screenshot of the message and your exact macOS version.

Do not paste into Terminal a command found on a forum to silence the warning, and do not turn off any macOS protection. The emulator asks for none, as the security article explains. Forcing a refusal means one check fewer on a file whose origin you do not know.

The app opened from the DMG

The app in the DMG window does launch, and that is the trap: it is not installed. Two copies then cause two problems.

• Only one copy can run at a time, because both drive the same virtual device. If you open a second one, the launcher shows “Another copy of MACOS EMULATOR is already open”, with the path and build number of each.
• The Accessibility permission only applies to one copy: your keys may stop responding if you switch copies.

The fix is simple: quit the one that is running, eject the DMG, and open the one in the Applications folder. If you have another one elsewhere, in Downloads for example, throw it away.

No message, no window

If nothing appears, this is no longer a verification question. One case is known on macOS 26 at the very first launch, and it has its own procedure: write to support with your exact macOS version. If the app opens but the Android device stays stuck, go to the article on an emulator that will not start instead.

The app also requires macOS 12 or later and an Apple Silicon chip. On an older version, macOS refuses to open it, and the article on macOS versions says what to check. On an Intel Mac, downloading again will change nothing: the dedicated article explains why.

Frequently asked questions