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Hi all.
I am considering to replace my vanilla LineageOS with the MicroG version.
I aim at prolonging the battery life and get rid of Google's Play Store Services, while keeping a bunch of Google apps: Gmail, Hangout and Maps.
Any experience? Anything relevant to report?
I am asking as the installation will likely require me a full reinstall (nothing I fear of, though).
https://github.com/microg/android_packages_apps_GmsCore/issues/467 You can't sign into google accounts in apps using the modern API. Google maps should work since you don't need to sign in and some gapps not updated to the new apis like google inbox too.
Hi I am using Nlos with microg for sometime now . whats not working out of my experience .Gmail ,google maps(need to use older version) alternatively use maps go ,backup on viber WhatsApp(if you want to use a backup you need to use older version again) some apps that use map api from Google
You will gain some battery but I believe microg has to do with getting free from Googles abusive practices and collecting personal information.
Google is collecting info of your location without your consent scanning your Gmail etc . (move away from Gmail that's my opinion)
Do a research of the apps you are daily using if and how they work under microg.
Hey guys, long time lurker around xda and after purposely getting a huawei gms-less phone to see how it would go I ran into some frustrations learning that apks from the playstore whether from downloads or aurora store app etc, nothing would deliver notifications. My huawei is a nova7se but I had a friend test this on his and it is working as well so I presume it works for all huawei/googleless devices to a point.
The goal of this was to find a way to get notifications from playstore apps such as discord, outlook email , banking apps etc. This is not a replacement for google services apis needed for games or google apps which rely on services framework to operate in general.
A few things
-MUST BE CLEAN GOOGLE-LESS PHONE**
-Does not need root/bootloader unlocked
-Does not need sketchy downloads from random sites formatting recovery/ota/hisuite backups etc
-Mostly all open source
-Easily reversible and minimal risk
-All done through phone without additional mods or adb
-Not all apps will work for notification services for this depending on how the original developer team wrote the app to handle this situations. For example: discord, outlook, capital one bank, chase bank, apps work but protonmail did not want to connect to microg for notifications and I have not been able to successfully trick it to connect to it yet)
- APKS MUST BE FROM PLAY STORE ORIGINALLY. Using fdroid variants or personal stuff probably wont work since those packages did not rely on google notification services. I know some apps have a standalone apk you can download externally from the source but it may differ in its functionality.
-THIS IS NOT GOOGLE PLAY SERVICES AND WILL NOT MAKE GOOGLE APPS WORK. The reason it is not working for your google apps and games is because it was never supposed to. Dx
**By "google-less" phone I am referring to not having any leftover packages from attempting to install gms on the device. Google packages conflict with microG and will not be compatible. If you have used lzplay or other methods to attempt to get some form of playstore working, then you will most likely have google packages installed somewhere even if it failed to get GMS working perfectly. Keep this in mind if you get installation issues. Ideally if you are not using the phone as a daily, factory reset it to original settings if possible to ensure cleanest install if you want to pursue this.
STEP 1)
Download microG apps.
-microG services core
(optional)
- **microG services framework proxy
- **microG droidguard helper (? no idea if this is needed but was in my downloads for microg testing)
**the services framework proxy and droidguardhelper were part of the original experiment but later on I managed to get notifications running without needed either one of these.
Easiest way is to use fdroid store app and to add in microg repo found here.
https://f-droid.org/
https://github.com/microg/android_packages_apps_GmsCore/wiki/Downloads
Step 2)
Open microg settings app - self check
-Signature spoofing will not work because we have no access to anything on the phone system wise
-Installed packages should have "playservices gms core installed" and "services framework installed" checked only (see picture)
-Grant permissions and select to ignore battery optimization (so the service is not closed in background)
Step 3)
MicroG settings main menu
-Turn on google device registration
-Turn on google cloud messaging
-Turn on google safetynet (probably is not actually doing anything but turn it on for good measure)
-Add google account (Does not appear to be needed since it did not do anything specific relating to notifs)
Step 4)
Download aurora store.
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/
or
https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore
Fdroid route is easiest if you used it to install microg apps.
(Why aurorastore? Why not? The main reason is because it accesses google play store apps which inturn are the apks which are known to use google play services for notifications. Downloading an apk from another origin might not be the playstore version making it not really work with this process)
Step 5)
Download apps as needed with aurora store,
In phone settings, make sure you disable auto management of background apps.
Settings-battery-applaunch. Set apps like outlook, discord etc to manual and turn all settings to on (auto launch/run in background/secondary lauch).
Optional step 6) In aurora store settings , add microg apps to blacklist so aurora store does not try to update microg with play services which will erase micro g and give you a systemless apk of play services which does absolutely nothing.
Thats basically it. I was so caught up on trying to find ways to break into my nova 7se's bootloader and attempted to sideload microg for authentic playstore functionality and playservices but as long as notifications are working, aurora store + notifs is all the functionality I need.
No offense to those offering other ways to add in gms to huawei phones but as a security minded individual, it seems like too much of a risk to use randomly hosted internet files overwriting system functionality.
If you go into microg settings and under "google cloud messaging" you can see which apps are being monitored for notifications. Once I restarted my device, its status turned to disconnected but still catches notifications for outlook and discord as I tested. This is not using microg as a replacement for playservices because again this is ONLY FOR NOTIFICATION USAGE in this implementation.
Hope this helps anyone who wants to be able to use some google play apps but had notification issues.
It is not working as i kept getting error to install microG Services Core due to "Failed to install due to an unknown error" on my Huawei P40 Pro
zoold3vil said:
It is not working as i kept getting error to install microG Services Core due to "Failed to install due to an unknown error" on my Huawei P40 Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have any google core packages installed (even as regular systemless apps) or leftovers from previous attempts at getting gms installed then it will conflict with microg installation since it sees it as a conflicting app. This requires a clean almost factory emui without any remnants of google installation attempts. Ill update the initial post for that bit of info.
This is only for notifications, right?
I mean, this doesn't allow you to use YouTube, Gmail, Keep etc...?
i did played with microG Services as well befire... but ended up in still having the original play services installed, did tested now again with microG services and now, outlook, whatsapp, Microsoft Authenticator and Launcher only force closes... what ah mess
futureshock said:
i did played with microG Services as well befire... but ended up in still having the original play services installed, did tested now again with microG services and now, outlook, whatsapp, Microsoft Authenticator and Launcher only force closes... what ah mess
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't worry, you just have to reinstall every app that force closes.
sheikgr said:
This is only for notifications, right?
I mean, this doesn't allow you to use YouTube, Gmail, Keep etc...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. I stumbled upon this accidentally while trying to figure out a way to enable 'oem unlock' in my nova7se since huawei blocked even adb shell sysprop access to change the setting. Its not a full implementation of microG and probably is not intended to be used this way but it gets notifications through which is a plus when pulling apks from play store. Theres no xda forum for the nova7se but figured Id share it here D:
futureshock said:
i did played with microG Services as well befire... but ended up in still having the original play services installed, did tested now again with microG services and now, outlook, whatsapp, Microsoft Authenticator and Launcher only force closes... what ah mess
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea unfortunatly any attempts with getting original play services installed sort of messes with this. Preferably a clean install/phone reset is ideal starting point. App wise you might have to clear cache and data so it 'resets' which is almost the same as uninstalling and reinstalling the apps. You will still get the message that "this app wont function without play services" since you cant spoof it entirely and on some you might have to find the setting to turn notifications off and back on in the app themselves. If it shows up on microG's setting under 'google cloud messaging' option, it is working. Ive been using the nova7se for a couple days now testing it as a daily user, restarted it occasionally and things are functioning similar to regular android phones(notification wise). Just be sure to allow the app to run in background so the system battery saver/app launch process does not turn it off.
as i say'd i did played a little bit with microG services, but for example, even when reinstalling the apps afterwards, whatsapp does start, and you need to relogin, but on the restore backup screen nothing more happens, only loading forever, when microG Services are installed..
another interessting i found out right now, when the apps force closes, when putting the phone into airplane mode, the apps does open normally!
futureshock said:
as i say'd i did played a little bit with microG services, but for example, even when reinstalling the apps afterwards, whatsapp does start, and you need to relogin, but on the restore backup screen nothing more happens, only loading forever, when microG Services are installed..
another interessting i found out right now, when the apps force closes, when putting the phone into airplane mode, the apps does open normally!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh ok I get what you are talking about now. Backup functionality (for whatsapp) I believe uses google drive account which microG in this sense is not going to provide. Just a friendly reminder that this process is for push notifications only and not google api usage. provided by play services
futureshock said:
as i say'd i did played a little bit with microG services, but for example, even when reinstalling the apps afterwards, whatsapp does start, and you need to relogin, but on the restore backup screen nothing more happens, only loading forever, when microG Services are installed..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe i found there a bug of whatsapp... as whatsapp trys to find google drive... but does not work correctly it loads forever... for some reason it looks like it ah hidden error message or something like this... i hit back a couple of times, and closed whatsapp and reopend, and suddenly i saw the no backup found page... anyway still all this is BS, i really hate huawei for not unlocking the bootloader, and let us just do what we like to do... there wouldn't even be an issue with GMS anymore as we simply could flash openGapps
So, you did found a new way, GMS + HMS enabled with no notification error? Am i right?
hayals said:
So, you did found a new way, GMS + HMS enabled with no notification error? Am i right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the statement is a bit misleading, this is not really GMS but its a way to use 3rd party play store apps that would not give notifications because of play services missing. This will only cover the notification portion of apps/apks originally found in the playstore that require notifications through play services push notifications. I have not touched HMS or anything else but this basically inserts a listener under microG to monitor push notifications and deliver them as needed. Again this does not resolve the issue of missing google APIs found in the full GMS package and is not intended to do so. Strictly notification wise for apps that need them.
Personally I used aurora store to get apks from playstore without needing playstore installed (because playstore version apps are looking to use googles push notification services) but how those apps function is another story. For example: Youtube/maps/google pay etc will not work as they need google apis. But 3rd party apps like discord, outlook email, and banking apps like capital one etc do work. Games might not because they might want play games api which is not present here since this is not GMS. (Tried to fun cytus 2 and a few other games and it wouldnt start since license check fails by default)
To my knowledge this will not work with any other GMS procedure attempted so you cannot combine this with a working GMS hacked install since you will have a version of play services and gsf framework active. Think of this as another alternative entirely in a way if you want to not risk questionable modifications and want to stay on default HMS software. Idk what the future holds as huawei seems to block ways to get GMS on phones after they become popular so I see this as an alternative to the unknown with pulled playstore apks functioning as they should.
GMS and this fix won't cooperate.
I've been using this for a while, but sadly not apps are giving me notifications. Reddit for example is not sending anything to my phone.
I did a factory reset on my P40 Pro followed the guide and when you wrote to add an account I do so, I press Agree and then it stays on
Just a sec
Your device is contacting Google to
save information on your account
This can take a couple of minutes
Sorry
There was a problem communicating with Google Servers
Try again later.
And anything like games that use google to login it fails too
GrimTech said:
I did a factory reset on my P40 Pro followed the guide and when you wrote to add an account I do so, I press Agree and then it stays on
Just a sec
Your device is contacting Google to
save information on your account
This can take a couple of minutes
Sorry
There was a problem communicating with Google Servers
Try again later.
And anything like games that use google to login it fails too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunatly for something like that theres too many factors at play to trouble shoot that from my end. I would say to try a different default browser/vpn it etc as it could be any number of reasons why google servers arent connecting for it. Games that use google wont work because this is not google play services replacement. This was only intended for getting notifications working with most* apps that rely on a simple push notification service through google play services. Unfortunatly this isnt a guarentee depending on the app itself and where its pulled from . This was why I use/suggest aurora store since its pulling the playstore version of the app which almost always relies on google services for notifications.
Some apps like discord, outlook etc have a manner of continuous notification scanning in the background processes to try to get itself to connect to a push service even if they give you the error that "the device does not have google services and might not work properly". I can confirm those are working as are my banking and authenticator apps. I had an issue with proton mail specifically where it wouldnt attempt another push notification check to register with microg like the previous apps and wont recieve notifications. Its not a magic bullet but helps where it works.
Vexusia said:
If you have any google core packages installed (even as regular systemless apps) or leftovers from previous attempts at getting gms installed then it will conflict with microg installation since it sees it as a conflicting app. This requires a clean almost factory emui without any remnants of google installation attempts. Ill update the initial post for that bit of info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info
I still can't open google related apps like youtube or google app itself... Even with Vanced youtube, it is hard to keep up because I can't log in, so i can't have my subscriptions and updates. Also certain games can't be played because the data are connected to my Google Play
Bump...
..So does the MicroG method still work in 2021 or with the latest version of the OS?
arsenal74 said:
Bump...
..So does the MicroG method still work in 2021 or with the latest version of the OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does work with EMUI11.
Only advantage it's easier to install and Get push Notification and not mush else.
Now This is the only way you can install with Vanced Manager
I have rooted my s20 Ultra on Android 10 and 11. In both cases, Google Maps have stopped tracking my gps movements in the Timeline, it keeps thinking I am at home. It works fine providing me navigational directions, its just not recording in the Timeline. The only module I have installed is Energized Ultimate adblocker.
I gave Google Maps full permission, my phone is detected and managed in the Google accounts device management. I am not sure what else I am missing.
Android 11
Magisk 21.1
Manager 8.0.3
That sounds like the hosts file Energized is using is blocking whatever address Timeline is using. To verify you can disable the module, reboot and try again. If that's the case you can figure out what address it is and whitelist it.
Didgeridoohan said:
That sounds like the hosts file Energized is using is blocking whatever address Timeline is using. To verify you can disable the module, reboot and try again. If that's the case you can figure out what address it is and whitelist it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wiped my phone and didn't install any magisk modules this time. I drove around for 30 minutes and Google Maps still show me as being at home in the timeline. Another weird thing is that everytime I reset my phone, Google keeps track of the current device. Should Google being deleting the duplicates?
Update-trying to flash again
That was the best guess I had... Every time you reset your device it'll get a new ID, and you'll have to remove the duplicates yourself in Google's settings.
Some (yours truly included) would consider it a good thing that Google doesn't track your whereabouts too much... But, I hope you get things sorted the way you want them.
I have been reading the various threads and GitHub issues for popular custom AA apps and it seems nobody has really explained the real reason the apps are not working any more: any apps developed using an unofficial AA app SDK (aauto-sdk) OR using the internal AA APIs will no longer run (crash on start - the screen just blinks and goes back to AA launcher) because of this Exception:
java.lang.SecurityException: Wrong signature - go/gearhead-retail-device
There are temporary workarounds such as downgrading the Android Auto APK and preventing server-side config from downloading to device but currently, for normal non-rooted users which have auto-update on these apps won't work. Renaming their package names won't help either as they will still trigger the Exception when trying to show their UI on AA screen.
For AA developers: Google wants to limit the functionality of AA apps for various reasons, including safety while driving. The only official way to develop AA apps is to use the Android for Cars App Library. This library does of course not allow for low-level API access which custom AA apps relied on - no longer can you just manipulate your own Activity and draw normal Android UI. It also limits the amount of text/interaction permitted. This means any custom apps will have to workaround using the very limited APIs available in this library - a full redesign will be needed.
Perhaps load older version and either use a adb edit or a package disabler to kill updates on stock devices.
OTA updates is the first thing I lock down on a stock Android... once bitten, twice shy.
Any directions what someone which is rooted should do so, never need to update android auto? I have a dedicated phone for android auto in car. I use it only for this. But every now and then, android auto doesn't work and force you to update to last version. (in which last version custom apps doesn't work).
Some suggest use firewall for Google play services and android auto, to cut internet from those. I tried it but I'm not sure it's working..
sosimple said:
Any directions what someone which is rooted should do so, never need to update android auto? I have a dedicated phone for android auto in car. I use it only for this. But every now and then, android auto doesn't work and force you to update to last version. (in which last version custom apps doesn't work).
Some suggest use firewall for Google play services and android auto, to cut internet from those. I tried it but I'm not sure it's working..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to ID what are the offending update app/UID(s).
Google play Services can be temporarily disabled but it has dependencies like Gmail and certain 3rd party apps. The update app(s) may also be dependencies of this service.
Not a practical solution.
Each case is unique. Sometimes it's a force update to an app like in my Samsung's case, Wearables. The update screwed my Buds+ sound proper. Wearables checks for updates everytime it's used.
Solution: uninstalled new version, install older previous backup copy and use Karma Firewall* to ID the app's and/or UID when it connected to the internet.
Repeat above process as when it connected it again updated Except the second time around I firewall blocked Wearables (there are actually 2 that needed to be blocked) internet access.
Took close to an hour to troubleshoot, quit irritating.
Updates, destroyer of worlds
Yes, well... play with it
*Karma's valuable logging feature is blocked on Android 10 and higher. You can still ferret out the offending app/UIDs but it's harder
Actually app are working correctly on android 9\10\11 installed using aaad, kingInstaller or aaease. Unfortunately this error is showed on android 12 devices and can't find a workaround for now
fcaronte said:
Actually app are working correctly on android 9\10\11 installed using aaad, kingInstaller or aaease. Unfortunately this error is showed on android 12 devices and can't find a workaround for now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is Android Auto not working on Android 12 ?
Ze2ro said:
is Android Auto not working on Android 12 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As now on android 12 will work only with version 6.9xxxx44 but Google is start showing a notification to update, you can avoid it for now but I don't know how lot will work this trick. The other solutions is working with new version but is really annoying and practically you need to clear data of android apps every time you want to connect to the car and use custom app
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