I got tired of my Nexus 5 draining its battery just sitting there in standby. Even if I turned the tablet all the way off, somehow the battery still drained itself (more slowly, but still…). I came up with the tips below so that I wouldn’t have to turn off the Nexus 5 completely between uses. I believe that a smartphone should be in standby and ready to go at all times.
I now get more than a week of battery life in standby.
The biggest battery drain culprit during idle time is behind-the-scenes software — continuously running, polling the Internet, or updating. On a Google device such as the Nexus series, most of that power-hungry activity comes from Google itself. So here’s what we're gonna do. Before we get to the Google stuff, let’s tweak some overall settings and Play Store settings to reduce battery drain in those areas:
First, let’s make sure you’re on the latest OS version for the Nexus 5. In Settings, swipe down to About Phone, choose that, then swipe down to “Android version”. When I wrote this in mid-February 2015, the latest OS version was 5.0.2. Check for OTA updates on the same screen, and update to the latest version if necessary. If rooted, install the latest custom ROM of your choice.
Once updated:
Hit your Play Store icon. Click the three-bar menu at the top left. Select “Settings” near the bottom.
Under “Auto-update apps,” choose “Do not auto-update apps.” (Why? Because that “feature” uses battery juice to download and install stuff whenever it feels like it, instead of whenever you say.)
On the same page, under Notifications, make sure “Notify me about updates to apps or games that I downloaded” is checked. That way you will know if something needs updating.
On the same page, uncheck “Add icon to Home screen for new apps.” Because it’s annoying, not because it uses battery.
Go to your phone's Settings.
Choose “Wi-Fi”.
Tap the three-dot symbol at top right.
Tap “Advanced.”
Make sure “Scanning always available” is unchecked.
While in Settings, let’s turn off some radios:
If you don’t travel much with your phone, disable Location (GPS). You can always re-enable it on demand.
If you don’t use Near Field Communication (NFC) for tap-to-pair features, disable that. You can always re-enable it when ready.
Disable Bluetooth when not using it.
Obviously, keep your device’s screen brightness as low as is comfortable. (The display is the biggest power hog on your device.) You can change the display brightness settings under Settings, Display.
While in Display Settings, disable Ambient Display. (Well, first Google it, because you might actually like the feature.) But it does use battery.
In Settings, under Sound and Notification, go to “other sounds.” Uncheck “Vibrate on touch.” (I have this setting on a custom ROM. I don’t know if the OEM ROM has it.)
When disabling or uninstalling Google apps, DO NOT uninstall anything essential to the smooth running of your phone. That includes:
Google Search
Google Chrome (unless you replace it with another browser)
Google Settings
Hangouts (you can disable Hangouts once you've replaced it with an aftermarket texting app)
Google Now (although we will disable many of its features and opt-out later)
Google Play
Gmail
Now let’s clean up a few apps. We will stay away from system apps, such as Email — because people can get into trouble uninstalling essential system apps.
It’s tough to keep up with every app working in the background or polling the Internet. So, in my opinion, you should uninstall any app that you didn’t specifically put on the phone yourself (system apps not included). This assumes that the app allows you to uninstall. System apps will only allow you to disable them. For example, I uninstalled:
Google Earth
Google +
Hangouts (after I replaced it with Textra)
Google Docs
Google Drive
Google Sheets
Google Slides
Google Fit
Any downloaded apps I’m no longer using, such as wallpaper apps.
For traveling smartphone owners, Google Now can be a godsend — always reminding you of what’s next, keeping you out of traffic jams, and keeping you on schedule. However, with Google Now, the Nexus 5 mic is always on and listening for that “OK Google” search command — which obviously uses battery power.
I found that I didn’t need Google Now at home, where my Nexus 5 sits 90% of the time (I work from home). If you’re like me, (or don't appreciate the privacy invasion and battery use), you can opt-out of Google Now — or at least stop the mic from listening.
We’ll start with the least draconian measure: stopping the mic from listening for the “OK Google” command:
From your main home screen, swipe left until you get to the Google Now screen.
Tap the three-bar symbol at top left.
Choose Settings.
Choose Voice.
Choose “OK Google” Detection.
Uncheck both “from the Google app” and “From any screen.”
If you don’t want Google Now at all (I don’t like it because it’s always updating something or doing something in the background), here’s how you disable it completely, while leaving full Google Search (and Voice Search, by tapping the mic symbol) functionality intact:
Start by disabling “OK Google” voice detection as shown above.
Then, in your Applications, open the Google Settings app.
Tap “Search & Now”.
Tap “Now cards.”
Uncheck “Show cards.”
You will see a message that asks if you really want to turn off Google Now. Go ahead and do that.
From now on, you can still easily search by swiping your finger up from the bottom of any Home screen. And you can still do voice searches by tapping the microphone on any Google Search screen.
I hope these battery-saving features do as much for you as they did for me!
U know 5.0.2 isn't available for the N5 right?
TheContinental said:
I got tired of my Nexus 5 draining its battery just sitting there in standby...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We already have two battery life threads. No need for another.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/help/battery-life-help-troubleshoot-battery-t2785128
http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/general/nexus-5-battery-results-t2509132
Ben36 said:
U know 5.0.2 isn't available for the N5 right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh? It's been available for this device since December, just not stock Google 5.0.2.
Hi,
As mentioned we already have an existing battery troubleshooting thread here. Please post your suggestions there rather than create a new thread for the same topic.
Thread closed
After 2 weeks of attempts to make it work, after several emails sent to the PoliceDeveloper team, here is my conclusion. This product is malicious or doesn't work.
Notice: I do not work for Samsung nor I've ever worked for PoliceDeveloper. I have no interest at all posting this except warning the next users. I'm simply a guy a bit pissed off by Samsung bloatwares.
Maybe my experience could bring some additional answers to a certain post reported on reddit and named: package_disabler_question.
This app is weird for several reasons explained below:
The developer team doesn't support you. The process is well documented nowhere, even in their emails, really absolutely nowhere. Apparently it doesn't work and when you show them the proof that you are dealing with an installation issue, they don't dare to reply, they simply ignore you or reply with an automated template. Truly disrespectful when you trusted them buying the app on the store.
Their website seems to refer to wrong versions only (based from my own experience). From the Google store, versions sometime work, sometime they doesn't. It was mentioned somewhere (app itself or their website) that you have to install a "PDP engine". When it's done, it still doesn't work, you write to the team and at that moment they state by email you don't need to use it anymore. So why is there a PDP engine to install at the very begining?? And the strangest thing is you don't know at all which tool is doing what, because nothing is explained anywhere.
The tool needs an internet connection, but you don't know what is it for? You guess, seeing what happens on your screen, that Knox validate the license. But is it even a genuine popup? I asked to the team what was this connection requirement for. Strange, after this email, silence from the team until the date I'm sharing my experience here.
Now if it was only about some painful installation and comunication with the dev team, I would only rank it with 3 or 4 stars, complimenting them for the great work. But there is much annoying, the tool maybe does not do what it pretends to do. When you achieve to install it and make it work after several emails, you want to disable some packages, they become indeed displayed in a disabled app list within PackageDisabler, good! But when you check the Android built-in task manager, nothing is in the Android disabled app list. I tried to run one of the recently disabled package and the app can't start. So does it do the job or does it make you think it does... I'm not an Android specialits so I simply asked about this to the team, not a single answer.
They state Samsung is trying to block their app. They just explain that maybe in the purpose to work under the radar sending you an apk by email, and of course you have to give Admin permission to that app. So is it even true Samsung is fighting them? And if it was true, why? You will tell me because they want to protect their juicy bloatware apps. Based on my experience, I'm begining to think maybe Samsung simply tries to protect their platform end users from that app...
I asked for a reimbursement. Yes even for 2$, it doesn't work on my Galaxy S9 so help me or give me my money back. No answer from PoliceDeveloper...
So I let you make your own judgement about all of these.
In my opinion, when you buy an app and ask for what the app needs/does, or simply why it seems not to do what the developer claims, you should get your answers. Otherwise there is something sleazy.
Note: Galaxy S9 Duos - Exynos here...
No problems here. I've been using it for some time and the only problem I've ever had was a minor one that was fixed with a new update.
Tel864 said:
No problems here. I've been using it for some time and the only problem I've ever had was a minor one that was fixed with a new update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May I know which phone you are using?
yecundha said:
May I know which phone you are using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S9, US Snapdragon
Been using on my s9 exynos for 2 months now. Perfect!
I actually bought package disabler pro from the play store couple days ago (s9) and it has worked fine. I found it actually helpful on reading details on apps installed. Giving it admin permission does bother me, but its permanent.
elstano2k7 said:
I actually bought package disabler pro from the play store couple days ago (s9) and it has worked fine. I found it actually helpful on reading details on apps installed. Giving it admin permission does bother me, but its permanent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would guess that for it to interact with other apps or system services it would need admin.
Works fine here on exynos s9 after update. Had bought the original app and they gave me a voucher for the new one.
It works for me but it does look hacky. It acts as a device administrator, like what a corporation might give you as a condition of using the LAN. It can not modify or uninstall apps but it can refuse their use. I would have returned my S9+ if not for this app. Samsung ads were constantly popping up even after two days of trying to get rid of them. The phone was unusable until the bloat was disabled.
kevinmcmurtrie said:
It works for me but it does look hacky. It acts as a device administrator, like what a corporation might give you as a condition of using the LAN. It can not modify or uninstall apps but it can refuse their use. I would have returned my S9+ if not for this app. Samsung ads were constantly popping up even after two days of trying to get rid of them. The phone was unusable until the bloat was disabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's just a UI for the adb uninstall commands, but backs them up so you can restore them, even the uninstall adb commands don't really uninstall them, you need root for that
working just fine for me, responsive developer (email them and give me the serial number from previous apps.), and no malicious problem here. all green
What apps are recommended to uninstall?
I'm checking now and I can hardly believe how much crap came with this phone. No wonder I couldn't get it to work before. Essentially, I disabled anything that was:
- Running in the background or using data even though I don't use it
- Popping up advertisements (all Samsung apps)
- Location spyware like weather apps and dynamic keyguards
- Bixby everything
- No chance of being needed (this will vary greatly by person)
Briefing, Yelp, Knox Enrollment Service, Galaxy Essentials Service, Galaxy Essentials Widget, Samsung Keyboard, Weather, Samsung Internet, Samsung Billing, SystemUIBixby, Samsung+, Secure your stuff, Secure Folder, Sports, Finance, Bixy Vision, Samsung Themes, Samsung Pay Framework, Samsung Cloud, Autofill with Samsung Pass, Samsung Pass, Samsung Experience Service, Keyguard Wallpaper Updator, Gear VR Service, Game Tools, Game Launcher, Find My Mobile, Secure Wi-Fi, Email, SmartThings, BixyVision Framework, Voice wake-up, Samsung voice input, Bixby Service, Bixby Global Action, Bixby Voice Stub, Bixy Voice, Smart Things, com.samsung.android.app.watch.managerstub, Bixby Home, AirCommandManager, Samsung account, KnoxVpnPacProcessor, Google VR Services, Google, Gmail, Facebook App Installer, Facebook Services, Facebook App Manager, Game Optimizing Service, Dictionary, CNN for Edge Panel
To the op: it needs internet for two reasons. To connect with knox servers to allow the app to do what it does, that's Samsung's requirement. And to verify the license for the actual app, to prevent piracy.
And for why it's not working... You didn't really describe what's happening, so we can't help you... But i mean, a lot of people have a great experience with PDP for samsung devices... I can only assume its user error... Maybe you refuse to Grant it permissions, have a device that's restricted with knox by your employer, or you're rooted (or were)...
Pretty good list.
kevinmcmurtrie said:
...Knox Enrollment Service, Samsung Experience Service, Google
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kinda surprised it still worked after partially disabling the service that makes it possible (knox)... No doubt you're getting some extra cpu drain from the errors that's causing, run a log cat, guarantee you've got a lot errors happening.
And for the Samsung Experience Service, you must be using a third party launcher, because that's essentially touchwiz.
As for Google, don't quite see the benefit of disabling that. It's where google assistant is, and hardly does anything at all in the background.
Otherwise, great list.
Tip for everyone, after disabling apps, run a logcat (google "adb log cat" or download the cat log app) and just look for the words "error", "warning", "failed, "doesn't exist", and "found"... The more time you see any of those, more than likely that means more resources wasted because of missing packages. (Services call on other services, and they tend to cause tantrums when they don't get a response)... Probably a good idea to also do it before disabling anything, to establish a baseline.
I disabled the annoying app that kept asking me to sign up for Knox services. I don't think there's any means to disable Knox itself since it's part of the bootloader. There are plenty of errors spewing in logcat but they all appear to be sloppy code rather than any specific problem.
Nova Launcher Prime replaces Samsung Experience.
Google Search is disabled because I'm not using the search bar and it seems to pre-fetch a LOT in the background. I'm not a fan of Google cross-linking everything in inappropriate ways so I'm not using their apps.
MailDroid Pro replaces Email and GMail.
I noticed that Google now spams your phone's GMail account asking you to use Google apps. There's no opt-out, of course.
Nye-uhls said:
To the op: it needs internet for two reasons. To connect with knox servers to allow the app to do what it does, that's Samsung's requirement. And to verify the license for the actual app, to prevent piracy.
And for why it's not working... You didn't really describe what's happening, so we can't help you... But i mean, a lot of people have a great experience with PDP for samsung devices... I can only assume its user error... Maybe you refuse to Grant it permissions, have a device that's restricted with knox by your employer, or you're rooted (or were)...
Pretty good list.
Kinda surprised it still worked after partially disabling the service that makes it possible (knox)... No doubt you're getting some extra cpu drain from the errors that's causing, run a log cat, guarantee you've got a lot errors happening.
And for the Samsung Experience Service, you must be using a third party launcher, because that's essentially touchwiz.
As for Google, don't quite see the benefit of disabling that. It's where google assistant is, and hardly does anything at all in the background.
Otherwise, great list.
Tip for everyone, after disabling apps, run a logcat (google "adb log cat" or download the cat log app) and just look for the words "error", "warning", "failed, "doesn't exist", and "found"... The more time you see any of those, more than likely that means more resources wasted because of missing packages. (Services call on other services, and they tend to cause tantrums when they don't get a response)... Probably a good idea to also do it before disabling anything, to establish a baseline.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any diference with AdHell 3 when disabling the apps? I'm using AdHell (is free), but I'd like to know if the uninstallation performed by PD is deeper.
Shaglok said:
Any diference with AdHell 3 when disabling the apps? I'm using AdHell (is free), but I'd like to know if the uninstallation performed by PD is deeper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adhell 3 uses KNOX, Package Disabler Pro uses ADB
*Detection* said:
Adhell 3 uses KNOX, Package Disabler Pro uses ADB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but sorry for the (surely silly) question. The result is the same? I mean, disabling via ADB is like disabling via Knox? Or one method is better than other?
Enviado desde mi SM-G950F mediante Tapatalk
Shaglok said:
Thanks, but sorry for the (surely silly) question. The result is the same? I mean, disabling via ADB is like disabling via Knox? Or one method is better than other?
Enviado desde mi SM-G950F mediante Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Different methods, same result
*Detection* said:
Adhell 3 uses KNOX, Package Disabler Pro uses ADB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Package Disabler pro on samsung devices also uses Knox, it uses adb for non-samsung devices.
kevinmcmurtrie said:
Nova Launcher Prime replaces Samsung Experience.
Google Search is disabled because I'm not using the search bar and it seems to pre-fetch a LOT in the background. I'm not a fan of Google cross-linking everything in inappropriate ways so I'm not using their apps.
MailDroid Pro replaces Email and GMail.
I noticed that Google now spams your phone's GMail account asking you to use Google apps. There's no opt-out, of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well right on, you've got your replacement apps. I couldn't do that personally (even before i got hooked on Google Assistant).
And you can turn off a LOT of the pre-fetching, and the cross linking that the Google app and others do, but of course there will always be some (web and app activity in google account. Others in the google app, like contacts, calendar, call logs, sms, etc)
I'd be interested to know how your battery life compares, because while the Google apps can be... Busy... They do their business in pretty light-weight ways.
hello with the new way of these phones andriod and others plus spyware .im wondering how do i know what apps samsung etc are spying on my phone maybe uploading my numbers and other infor without me knowing any of you guys got any idea whats the best way to stop it. tbh i hate even google assist even turning on by itself even when i diable it
Hello, first of all, please write in easily readable sentences, that way more people are going to help you.
Second, it is important to be and stay suspicious of the software you use, especially with android. But you shouldn't be worried too much as most of the data that is sent from your phone isn't sent with "evil intentions" or anything like that, it is often rather aggressive diagnostics.
Warning! The following paragraphs are filled with very radical means of removing suspected spyware! Almost all of these require root and knowledge in modding your Android! Beware!
As to how you can spot "spyware" or suspected spyware, there isn't one easy way.
First of all, you could use a custom ROM, so that your system is more open source and there isn't any suspected spyware (or any "ware" at all) from Samsung.
To go one step further, you could try to live without Google services:
Use a different search engine, for example DuckDuckGo or any other really
Use Firefox or any non-Chromium browser
Instead of using opengapps to install Google Play Services (when you install a custom ROM) you could use the replacement project "microG" (microg.org).
Get as many apps as you can from Open source app stores (F-Droid)
Don't use the official Play Store unless you really have to - it is a power hungry data collecting app (that can theoretically install any app without asking, just like the Google Play Services or any other /system/priv-app app with proper permissions) - Alternative for installing Play Store apps: Aurora Store
Replace Google Maps with OpenStreetMap (OSMand)
Use a anonymous YouTube client, for example NewPipe
etc.
These are of course only suggestions, I don't recommend doing them all at once, but if you really don't want any unnecessary data sent from your phone, these are the first steps.
For actually seeing which apps send what data you could either analyze the app bytecode with App Warden or look at all detailed permissions with AppOpsX.
Methods to neutralize spyware are rejecting the permission for the app to use internet access or even run in the background, disabling the suspected app or removing it with system app removers.
Be very careful with actually disabling or removing system apps! Many system apps are needed for the system to work and one can easily misjudge an app by its description and diagnostics! Before disabling an app you should research whether anyone else knows anything about the app and only remove it if you are really sure about it. You have been warned.
IntroductionAs the title says. We'll remove as many google things as we can. We'll replace missing functionality with microG.
This is not meant to be an extensive guide. Just a quick write up of my experience de-googling the device.
I bought this device without doing much research and was a bit bummed when I realized there's no custom ROMs for it. One unofficial build of lineage is on here, but a little known feature, called the phone app, did not work for me, so that wasn't an option. I used it with google for a while but I wanted control of the device back. I didn't find many comprehensive tutorials on how to do this without using custom ROMs, so I thought I'd make a quick and dirty one.
What's the goal?
Remove google services from the Nord CE 5G without installing any custom ROM
Get full microG functionality (all the checkmarks)
Replace sync functionality for calendar, contacts, photos, etc with NextCloud.
What's not the goal?
Fully pass safetynet
Get special google functionality such as chromecast and google pay
Verify play store purchases
Who is this for?This is basically for me 2 days ago. You have some experience messing about with android, but you don't really know what you're doing most of the time.
What you need
Oneplus Nord CE 5G already rooted with Magisk (I won't explain how to since there are plenty of guides)
A file manager with root access. I use fx file explorer
f-droid
Step 1: Disable all google things (or as many as you would like)There are ways to fully remove google apps over adb, but I wasn't sure if this whole thing would work and moreover, I couldn't be bothered. I took the simple and safe way out and recommend you to to the same. Just go to [settings -> apps & notifications], then disable google play services and all other google apps you want to remove. Surprisingly I was actually able to fully uninstall google play services after disabling it.
I disabled every google app on my phone, but you can pick and choose. Some might not work as expected.
Step 2: Install microGUnfortunately there are too many apps that depend on some part of google play services to function, even if they have nothing to do with google. Luckily people have recognized this problem and we have migroG, which aims to replace at least the basic features of google play services.
This is where I started to be confused. When visiting https://microg.org/download.html you'll see a bunch of apk's without much explanation. I was under the impression you'd have to install this as a system app or something, but apparently not. You can just install the apks using the normal installer. I also though you'd need to install all of these, but you really only need Services Core. It seems it has all the others baked in. You can choose to install this through their f-droid repo as well as explained on the microg page. Choose your poison.
Step 3: Making sure microG actually worksAfter installing microG, you'll have an app called microG settings. It has a fun little button on top called self-check and if you click it you'll see a bunch of boxes, only some of which are checked. This is where the fun starts, because we will start to increase the number of checked boxes.
PermissionsSome of these boxes are just permissions that are missing. So we jump to [settings -> apps and notifications -> microG Services Core -> Permissions] and grant all of them (or some). We also want to allow microG to always run in the background, so in app info we also click [Advanced -> Battery -> Battery optimization] and select Don't optimise. OnePlus' battery management is the absolute worst so let's hope that will do what it says.
Account and device registrationmicroG allows to register a google account. This will allow you to use google login in apps like youtube. My personal goal is to not use any google service in the long run so I skipped this.
Google device registration means that your device will be registered with google. I enabled this to get access to google cloud messaging. Some apps need this for notifications. If you leave this off, I believe microG does not talk to google at all.
Signature spoofingNow we're missing some checkmarks related to something called signature spoofing. I don't fully understand it, but it's basically the ability of microG to act as if it is the real play services (or any app to act as if it's any other app). By default this is made impossible because of obvious security risks. There are many ways of getting signature spoofing to work, and therefore plenty of ways to get lost in the weeds.
The method I used is as follows
Install LSPosed zygisk release module using Magisk Manager.
There are zygisk and riru releases. I don't know what these are. If you can't find zygisk in your magisk settings (gear icon top right), you probably need to install riru and use the riru release.
Now navigate to /data/adb/lspd/ and you'll see a file called manager.apk. Install it and open the app.
Now click the download button on the bottom left and search for fakegapps. After clicking it you can click the up arrow on the top right to go to the website. Here you'll find an apk that you have to install.
back in the LSPosed manager, click modules -> FakeGapps. Enable for microG Services Core. It is recommended not to enable any other apps.
Now signature spoofing related features should work.
LocationAfter all of this, location in OpenStreetMaps wasn't working and I thought there was no way to get it working.
It turns out I was just an idiot...
Apparently microG takes FOSS seriously enough to give you a choice of location backend. Simply search f-droid for "nlp" and you'll find a bunch of different options. I used one called Local NLP Backend Location since I see no reason for my location service to communicate with any server. After installing, you can enable the provider in microG location settings.
Step 4: Getting back some functionalityPlay store appsNow we would all like to ditch the play store altogether, but it's just a little too convenient. Luckily there is the Aurora store, which allows to download google play apps without the google play store. If you also install Aurora Services through Magisk, it will be as convenient as the real play store.
Cloud syncingI like to be able to cloud sync photos, calendars, contacts, and notes, so I'd like a solution that is tied to google. I've found that nextcloud works quite well for these purposes. NextCloud is an open source cloud solution with plenty independent providers and the ability to host yourself. I made an account at thegood.cloud, but will probably create my own host at some point.
The nextcloud app can take care of syncing photos and files from your phone.
To synchronize calendars and contacts, there is an app called DAVx5 from f-droid. This app allows you to log into your nextcloud account and you can tell it to sync your contact and calendar. This app is based on the open DAV standard, which is supported by most calendar and contact apps.
To synchronize notes over nextcloud, I use an app called Quillnote. This was actually how I discovered nextcloud in the first place.
ConclusionThis whole process was a lot less painful than I anticipated at first. There is some lost functionality but most things really work fine. Lots of apps will start bothering you and send notifications that they are broken without play services, but I have not seen any of them have any issues. The notifications can be turned off, but unfortunately only one by one.
Updates will probably be a pain since you'll have to go through this whole process again, but who's really expecting major updates for this phone anymore?
Security is likely compromised but not to an extent I'm worried about.
Notnearlynovel said:
IntroductionAs the title says. We'll remove as many google things as we can. We'll replace missing functionality with microG.
This is not meant to be an extensive guide. Just a quick write up of my experience de-googling the device.
I bought this device without doing much research and was a bit bummed when I realized there's no custom ROMs for it. One unofficial build of lineage is on here, but a little known feature, called the phone app, did not work for me, so that wasn't an option. I used it with google for a while but I wanted control of the device back. I didn't find many comprehensive tutorials on how to do this without using custom ROMs, so I thought I'd make a quick and dirty one.
What's the goal?
Remove google services from the Nord CE 5G without installing any custom ROM
Get full microG functionality (all the checkmarks)
Replace sync functionality for calendar, contacts, photos, etc with NextCloud.
What's not the goal?
Fully pass safetynet
Get special google functionality such as chromecast and google pay
Verify play store purchases
Who is this for?This is basically for me 2 days ago. You have some experience messing about with android, but you don't really know what you're doing most of the time.
What you need
Oneplus Nord CE 5G already rooted with Magisk (I won't explain how to since there are plenty of guides)
A file manager with root access. I use fx file explorer
f-droid
Step 1: Disable all google things (or as many as you would like)There are ways to fully remove google apps over adb, but I wasn't sure if this whole thing would work and moreover, I couldn't be bothered. I took the simple and safe way out and recommend you to to the same. Just go to [settings -> apps & notifications], then disable google play services and all other google apps you want to remove. Surprisingly I was actually able to fully uninstall google play services after disabling it.
I disabled every google app on my phone, but you can pick and choose. Some might not work as expected.
Step 2: Install microGUnfortunately there are too many apps that depend on some part of google play services to function, even if they have nothing to do with google. Luckily people have recognized this problem and we have migroG, which aims to replace at least the basic features of google play services.
This is where I started to be confused. When visiting https://microg.org/download.html you'll see a bunch of apk's without much explanation. I was under the impression you'd have to install this as a system app or something, but apparently not. You can just install the apks using the normal installer. I also though you'd need to install all of these, but you really only need Services Core. It seems it has all the others baked in. You can choose to install this through their f-droid repo as well as explained on the microg page. Choose your poison.
Step 3: Making sure microG actually worksAfter installing microG, you'll have an app called microG settings. It has a fun little button on top called self-check and if you click it you'll see a bunch of boxes, only some of which are checked. This is where the fun starts, because we will start to increase the number of checked boxes.
PermissionsSome of these boxes are just permissions that are missing. So we jump to [settings -> apps and notifications -> microG Services Core -> Permissions] and grant all of them (or some). We also want to allow microG to always run in the background, so in app info we also click [Advanced -> Battery -> Battery optimization] and select Don't optimise. OnePlus' battery management is the absolute worst so let's hope that will do what it says.
Account and device registrationmicroG allows to register a google account. This will allow you to use google login in apps like youtube. My personal goal is to not use any google service in the long run so I skipped this.
Google device registration means that your device will be registered with google. I enabled this to get access to google cloud messaging. Some apps need this for notifications. If you leave this off, I believe microG does not talk to google at all.
Signature spoofingNow we're missing some checkmarks related to something called signature spoofing. I don't fully understand it, but it's basically the ability of microG to act as if it is the real play services (or any app to act as if it's any other app). By default this is made impossible because of obvious security risks. There are many ways of getting signature spoofing to work, and therefore plenty of ways to get lost in the weeds.
The method I used is as follows
Install LSPosed zygisk release module using Magisk Manager.
There are zygisk and riru releases. I don't know what these are. If you can't find zygisk in your magisk settings (gear icon top right), you probably need to install riru and use the riru release.
Now navigate to /data/adb/lspd/ and you'll see a file called manager.apk. Install it and open the app.
Now click the download button on the bottom left and search for fakegapps. After clicking it you can click the up arrow on the top right to go to the website. Here you'll find an apk that you have to install.
back in the LSPosed manager, click modules -> FakeGapps. Enable for microG Services Core. It is recommended not to enable any other apps.
Now signature spoofing related features should work.
LocationAfter all of this, location in OpenStreetMaps wasn't working and I thought there was no way to get it working.
It turns out I was just an idiot...
Apparently microG takes FOSS seriously enough to give you a choice of location backend. Simply search f-droid for "nlp" and you'll find a bunch of different options. I used one called Local NLP Backend Location since I see no reason for my location service to communicate with any server. After installing, you can enable the provider in microG location settings.
Step 4: Getting back some functionalityPlay store appsNow we would all like to ditch the play store altogether, but it's just a little too convenient. Luckily there is the Aurora store, which allows to download google play apps without the google play store. If you also install Aurora Services through Magisk, it will be as convenient as the real play store.
Cloud syncingI like to be able to cloud sync photos, calendars, contacts, and notes, so I'd like a solution that is tied to google. I've found that nextcloud works quite well for these purposes. NextCloud is an open source cloud solution with plenty independent providers and the ability to host yourself. I made an account at thegood.cloud, but will probably create my own host at some point.
The nextcloud app can take care of syncing photos and files from your phone.
To synchronize calendars and contacts, there is an app called DAVx5 from f-droid. This app allows you to log into your nextcloud account and you can tell it to sync your contact and calendar. This app is based on the open DAV standard, which is supported by most calendar and contact apps.
To synchronize notes over nextcloud, I use an app called Quillnote. This was actually how I discovered nextcloud in the first place.
ConclusionThis whole process was a lot less painful than I anticipated at first. There is some lost functionality but most things really work fine. Lots of apps will start bothering you and send notifications that they are broken without play services, but I have not seen any of them have any issues. The notifications can be turned off, but unfortunately only one by one.
Updates will probably be a pain since you'll have to go through this whole process again, but who's really expecting major updates for this phone anymore?
Security is likely compromised but not to an extent I'm worried about.
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In the lineageos thread there is one version of LOS without gapps however its security patch is outdated. I also believe that LOS fan edition doesn't come with gapps by default though I have yet to try that rom.
Fisuxcel said:
In the lineageos thread there is one version of LOS without gapps however its security patch is outdated. I also believe that LOS fan edition doesn't come with gapps by default though I have yet to try that rom.
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Yes and I did install it previously but the phone app stopped working and overall it was a bit buggy for me. Not everyone seems to have this issue so you might want to give it a try.
Doesn"t seem to work on OOS 12
At microG Service Core install I think I must be missing something, it tells me the package is already installed, though I've deleted correctly the com.google.android.gms package (and of course almost everything related)
I've reinstalled the Play Services and Services Framework from Google for now to make my phone work again until a solution is found