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Making flashable zip files for Android devices can be… frustrating.
For those who have never tried, here are some of the more irritations:
You use a very limited scripting language called edify to write your install scripts. So limited, that some people replace the binary (update-binary) used to parse the script (updater-script) with a normal shell script that performs the installation instead. What’s the point of having update-binary and updater-script, then?
Any app installed to /system/ with bundled libraries in the apk need to have those libraries extracted in order to not crash.
Various system files need to be created to grant certain permissions to apps by default, and you need to know the syntax of each one (usually some dialect of XML).
If the correct permissions are not set on an installed file, it can cause the system to bootloop.
The Solution:
I’ve created a program in Go that reads entries from a configuration file and builds a flashable zip for you, while taking care of the implementation for you. The name is simple: Zip Builder.
Features:
Configuration files can be written in JSON, YAML, or TOML.
Supports Android versions since 5.0 Lollipop
Automatic generation of updater-script and an addon.d persistence script.
Automatically extracts libraries from apps being installed under /system/.
Can specify different file or app sources for different versions of Android and/or CPU architectures. updater-script will only install the files for that particular system.
Validate downloaded files with md5, sha1, and/or sha256.
F-Droid interoperability: Specify the repo URL and app’s package name, and zip-builder automatically gets the rest of the app’s information from F-Droid’s repository, including a download link for the latest version of the app.
Remove any files you specify, e.g. apps that you are replacing with your own version or apps/files you just don’t want on your system.
Standalone binaries available for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows. Android binaries (to use in a terminal app) coming soon.
Linux binaries may be usable with Termux on Android, though this is not tested or supported.
Links
Latest release announcement
Download zip-builder
Example configuration files
Complete documentation
Zips built with this tool
EmojiOne Emojis - Replace the NotoSans emojis with the ones from EmojiOne
F-Droid installer - Includes the F-Droid privileged extension, allowing F-Droid to perform automatic installs and updates.
Hacker bundle - Includes the F-Droid builds of Termux with API, Float, and Widget addons, and Hacker's Keyboard.
Google swipe libs - Includes the swipe libraries for the AOSP keyboard. One zip for all Android versions since 5.0 on all architectures.
microG - Installs the FOSS replacement for Google Play Services, microG. Optionally install the Play Store for downloading apps, using the patched version from NanoDroid.
Google Play Store - choose between the vanilla Google Play Store or the patched one from NanoDroid.
Google Sync Adapters - install the Google sync adapters for use with microG. Install contacts sync, calendar sync, or both.
UnifiedNlp - If you want network-based location without Google Play Services or microG, install this zip. Comes with the Mozilla location backend and Nominatim geocoder backend.
No GAPPS app packs - FOSS replacements for Google Apps packages, provides basic system apps for ROMs running without Google Play Services.. There are multiple tiers of zips you can download, matching the OpenGapps flavors. Click on the link to view the contents of each zip.
microg.zip doesn't flash anything in my redmi 2 oreo aosp. log attached
kurtn said:
microg.zip doesn't flash anything in my redmi 2 oreo aosp. log attached
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm currently working on polishing up a new release of a different project of mine, then I'll have time to look it over.
Per your PM, though, you said busybox wasn't in the location that the zip assumed it was. Can you search through your system and tell me which directories contain either busybox or toybox? (I believe busybox was found in two different folders when I flashed Lineage before)
Shadow53 said:
I'm currently working on polishing up a new release of a different project of mine, then I'll have time to look it over.
Per your PM, though, you said busybox wasn't in the location that the zip assumed it was. Can you search through your system and tell me which directories contain either busybox or toybox? (I believe busybox was found in two different folders when I flashed Lineage before)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just have to search with the right tool. In twrp I see busybox in the expected location.
kurtn said:
Just have to search with the right tool. In twrp I see busybox in the expected location.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a little bit of time to flash a beta Oreo ROM for my phone and had no issues with things getting copied to my system correctly. If busybox is in the location that the script expects it to be, it's not obvious what the problem is.
The log you gave me seems to show that it mounted your system and data partitions correctly, detected that a folder did not exist, and then exited normally.
Have you tried an updated zip recently? A little while back I had the script output the found values for Android version and CPU architecture. It's possible it got fixed along with whatever I was working on at the time.
Re-downloaded microg.zip from @Shadow53's page. Now it works as expected.
Pushed a commit that should hopefully fix the issue @marcdw reported in the MicroG thread at https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...y-services-t3217616/post74531435#post74531435
@marcdw, I rebuilt the zips with a build containing the fix. Can you confirm that the libraries are now loading correctly? Things are working on my end, except for the patched Play Store requiring a reboot before working.
@rottenwheel do you really mean xposed? I have the impression magisk gets more attention.
@Shadow53,
I had actually edited the updater and add-on.d scripts to use the short names on most of your zips and all was good.
After work I'll start anew using your rebuilds. ?
ZTE Axon 7 A2017U, Dark ROM, microG (NoGAPPS), Tapatalk 4.9.5
rottenwheel said:
As read on the microG thread:
Although XDA community and most Android modders tend to side with Xposed-based solutions, I need to emphasize this is not the absolute case. I rather to stay away from it as much as I can, because it's given unstability to my devices as soon as I start tinkering with some modules; as soon as I get it removed from my setup, bugs are gone. I don't want to engage in unrelated discussions here, I just wanted to let you know your zip solutions have been working like a charm and many of us will miss if you lose enthusiasm about it. Keep it up and rocking. Thanks to you, getting microG onto our handsets is easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NanoMod is optionally a Magisk module and has nothing to do with Xposed, though I appreciate the sentiment.
*If* I were to lose interest in this project or in providing scripts, the code for the zip-builder is open source and contains the build recipes I use for all of the zips I provide, so it shouldn't be too hard for someone to pick up if they wanted to.
That said, I have no intention of stopping providing zips any time soon, though development on the zip-builder itself is slow because university is keeping me busy. I use my zips too, so I gotta be at least a little invested
Shadow53 said:
@marcdw, I rebuilt the zips with a build containing the fix. Can you confirm that the libraries are now loading correctly? Things are working on my end, except for the patched Play Store requiring a reboot before working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Howdy sir. My apologies for not getting back. Work got in the way.
The zips work perfectly. I setup two ROMs on my Axon 7 with microg-playstore, no-gapps, and hacker. Not a single hiccup with the included apps or Play Store. All is good.
Must say again, I like the apps included in no-gapps.zip. Most of those I use and have to get manually from F-Droid.
Perfect with Dark ROM which has no apps or launcher and thus no worries of duplicate functionality (like two cameras, two calendars, etc.).
I see Firefox has replaced Lightning. Haven't used Firefox since v28 so I get to see what the new one is all about.
??
LG G3 D851, PAC-MAN LP ROM, MultiROM, Tapatalk 4.9.5
Awesome. Been looking into how to get F Droid and Micro G plus most other things to work for my sm-g900p!
Really not liking the way Google has been going.
So looking into HOW to get that this to work for me.
From what I had seen so far....
PLEASE keep working on this!!
Thank you Shadow 53!
marcdw said:
Howdy sir. My apologies for not getting back. Work got in the way.
The zips work perfectly. I setup two ROMs on my Axon 7 with microg-playstore, no-gapps, and hacker. Not a single hiccup with the included apps or Play Store. All is good.
Must say again, I like the apps included in no-gapps.zip. Most of those I use and have to get manually from F-Droid.
Perfect with Dark ROM which has no apps or launcher and thus no worries of duplicate functionality (like two cameras, two calendars, etc.).
I see Firefox has replaced Lightning. Haven't used Firefox since v28 so I get to see what the new one is all about.
??
LG G3 D851, PAC-MAN LP ROM, MultiROM, Tapatalk 4.9.5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad to hear that it's working for you. I'll be posting a new release on GitLab around the end of the week (yay finals...)
Regarding the no-gapps zip, most included apps also remove the AOSP equivalent if present, with a couple exceptions such as Silence for SMS not removing the default SMS app and Firefox not removing the built-in browser, both to avoid potential issues.
godofsalt said:
Awesome. Been looking into how to get F Droid and Micro G plus most other things to work for my sm-g900p!
Really not liking the way Google has been going.
So looking into HOW to get that this to work for me.
From what I had seen so far....
PLEASE keep working on this!!
Thank you Shadow 53!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Development of the zip builder is stalled right now, largely due to time. It works great for what I need at the moment, but I will work on bug fixes for things that come up. The zips are rebuilt every week by a cron job on the server, though packages containing the official Play Store may not get updated if opengapps updates their version (which changes the URL). I try to catch that, but I don't always have time to check.
I'm considering putting together a comprehensive gapps removal zip that should remove as much trace of Google as possible from the device, including any application data. That will take some investigation, though, and so it shouldn't be expected soon. If/when it comes, it'll largely be for removing installations by opengapps and Beans gapps, as I can't account for all differences between OEMs.
Hey no worries about updates being "stalled"!
I know what your going though believe me. Can be such a frickin headache!!! Not to mention anxiety that some poeple get this time of the year!
AM certainly glad to hear that you are still somewhat working on it though. Plus frim what I can see, this has not been out long, so I don't thing others may even know about it!
I believe they will!!!
Running paid apps having a license verification at runtime
I installed a recent LineageOS for microG (build date 11/29) on my Samsung Tablet SM-T800 (chagallwifi) and added root by flashing the zip provided by LineageOS.
I first tried Yalp Store (version 0.29, downloaded from fdroid), but then figured out that I cannot use any paid apps that make use of a license validation at runtime. However, there are some paid apps that I require.
I did some reading and it seems like the installation of the original Google PlayStore is a solution.
So here are my questions:
1) Can I get paid apps running when I install the original PlayStore as a system app following the procedure described on the blog shadow53 (sorry, cannot post the link cause I am a new user, but it is easy to find when searching for 'shadow53 android downloads')?
2) Is there anything I have to do in addition to flashing the PlayStore zip?
3) Does flashing the original PlayStore give rise to any conflict with the FakeStore that comes installed as part of microG? If so, how do I remove the FakeStore?
ebiel said:
I installed a recent LineageOS for microG (build date 11/29) on my Samsung Tablet SM-T800 (chagallwifi) and added root by flashing the zip provided by LineageOS.
I first tried Yalp Store (version 0.29, downloaded from fdroid), but then figured out that I cannot use any paid apps that make use of a license validation at runtime. However, there are some paid apps that I require.
I did some reading and it seems like the installation of the original Google PlayStore is a solution.
So here are my questions:
1) Can I get paid apps running when I install the original PlayStore as a system app following the procedure described on the blog shadow53 (sorry, cannot post the link cause I am a new user, but it is easy to find when searching for 'shadow53 android downloads')?
2) Is there anything I have to do in addition to flashing the PlayStore zip?
3) Does flashing the original PlayStore give rise to any conflict with the FakeStore that comes installed as part of microG? If so, how do I remove the FakeStore?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yes, you will be able to check licenses at runtime with the Play Store installed.
3. Yes, they use the same package name, so having both apps installed causes a conflict. Depending on where the FakeStore is installed, the Play Store zip may recognize where it is and automatically remove it for you. You will see some output while flashing, something like "Deleting existing file /system/priv-app/Phoneksy" if it was discovered (file path may be different).
If it does not automatically remove FakeStore, find the directory it is installed in and delete it, then on next boot modify the playstore addon-d script to delete that directory. You should see where and what to change when you open the file. If you do not make this change,
2. You may have to manually remove FakeStore with the above process. You should also look at https://shadow53.com/android/no-gapps/faq/playstore-not-loading/ regarding other gotchas with getting the Play Store running and https://shadow53.com/android/no-gapps/faq/playstore-incorrect-signature/ if you use the patched version of the Play Store.
The addon.d survival script dosn't work on my rom (play store patched). I use lineageos with microg on nexus 7 (flo).
memarama said:
The addon.d survival script dosn't work on my rom (play store patched). I use lineageos with microg on nexus 7 (flo).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whether addon.d stuff works depends on the ROM. Some ROMs have a backup feature during flashing but a lot do not. Does LOS support addon.d backups?
ZTE Axon 7 A2017U, Dirty Unicorns UNOFFICIAL v11.7.2 ROM, Tapatalk 4.9.5
memarama said:
The addon.d survival script dosn't work on my rom (play store patched). I use lineageos with microg on nexus 7 (flo).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LineageOS has addon.d sopport. Maybe you should post a recovery. Log
memarama said:
The addon.d survival script dosn't work on my rom (play store patched). I use lineageos with microg on nexus 7 (flo).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After installing the microG Lineage fork on my own device to test, I realized that the Play Store zip marks FakeStore as something to remove on initial installation, but not across system updates. The addon.d script doesn't re-remove FakeStore.
Try downloading the latest version of the zip and installing it. FakeStore should stay uninstalled now.
In other news, I've decided to make my no-gapps zip into multiple, similar to the various OpenGapps zips. This means a larger selection of open source apps that can be installed, including some more replacements for AOSP apps. I'm working through a couple bugs right now potentially related to these zips, then I'll add an update with more details.
Updated and tested for Android 10 (with Omnirom)
Why MicroG?
Here is a great explanation from the official wiki itself: https://github.com/microg/android_packages_apps_GmsCore/wiki
There are different and good reasons to move away from Google services and get microG services:
1) More privacy: all Marvin's work is open source and focused on privacy. The "Google Play Services" app is probably the worst app you can have on Android when it comes to telemetry, spying, etc. It's always running tons of services to know all your comings and goings. As a side note, it's also good to not rely on Google too much.
2) More RAM available: Google Play Services use a lot of RAM when GMScore uses almost nothing.
3) More battery life, especially while idling: you'll avoid all the wakelocks related to Play Services (whether they are intentional or not)
CREDITS / Thank you:
@MaR-V-iN, for his wonderful and amazing work to free us from Google. One of the most underrated dev in the Android world.
@Setialpha , for his nanodroid module and his availability to help.
@topjohnwu for Magisk
How will your Android experience change?
Actually, not so much. If you're only interested in MicroG for the reasons 2) and 3), you can still use all Google apps, including the Play store (you need a patched version). Be aware, some apps don't work or are not working properly. Implementation status of different Android/Google services can be found here: https://github.com/microg/android_packages_apps_GmsCore/wiki/Implementation-Status
If you wonder if an app works or if you've tried and it doesn't work, just check on the issues tracker on Github or on your favorite search engine.
Now, if you want to change your habits, F-Droid will become your new best friend. It's an app store, like the Play Store, but which only delivers controlled, quality and open source apps. Both stores share many apps in common but F-Droid also has apps that the Play Store doesn't, because they're against Google policy for example. It should become your main app store as it's always good to use open source apps, for many reasons. Let's not start a debate here.
However, at least, at the beginning, it's tough to not use ANY app from the play store. For that, you should use Aurora store (whick is a fork of Yalp Store FYI). You get access all apps from Play Store. You can either use an anonymous account or use your own Google account. In the second case, you'll be able to download your paid apps. However, these won't work if they include a license check (most of them nowadays). You can nicely ask the dev if there's a workaround. Some accept, like the team behind Titanium Backup for example. Or SmartPack Kernel Manager's developer.
If you're looking for open source alternatives to the apps you usually use, I could list a few of them but this list is just great: https://github.com/offa/android-foss .
If you don't know how to replace Google services, this list is great as well: https://shadow53.com/android/no-gapps/alternatives/
You can also check on reddit like on this subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/fossdroid/
What ROM to use?
Any custom AOSP ROM should work, as long as :
1° it supports signature spoofing
2° it's deodexed
3° it supports alternative location backends, it's
-I wouldn't recommend any ROM that comes with gapps included. It just makes things more complicated.
On Android 10, I would highly recommend OmniROM, which offers an archive with microg prebundled, and also because it perfectly supports microG (signature spoofing, alternative location backends, etc.)
USEFUL LINKS
-MicroG thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-microg-gmscore-floss-play-services-t3217616
-MicroG wiki: https://github.com/microg/android_packages_apps_GmsCore/wiki
-UnifiedNlp thread (location): https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-g-unifiednlp-floss-wi-fi-cell-tower-t2991544
-Nanodroid (provides packages related to open source / microG stuff): https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/module-nanomod-5-0-20170405-microg-t3584928/ (you need to download the microG edition) + here to understand how to edit the .nanodroid-setup file: https://gitlab.com/Nanolx/NanoDroid/blob/master/doc/AlterInstallation.md#detailed-description
-microG unofficial installer (doesn't work on our device yet): https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/microg-unofficial-installer-t3432360
-Useful website about installing, getting packages, etc. : https://shadow53.com/android/no-gapps/setup-guide/microg/
-Great list of FOSS (open source software) apps for Android: https://github.com/offa/android-foss
-Alternative to Google apps: https://shadow53.com/android/no-gapps/alternatives/
-Personnal experience feedback: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/gapps-free-samsung-galaxy-s3-lte-gt-t3553620
If you read all these threads you'll start to have a good understanding of what is microG and how to live without Google.
Prerequisites:
-OnePlus 6
-Unlocked bootloader
-TWRP installed
-A ROM supporting microG
-All files downloaded, on your device
DOWNLOAD LINKS
-OOS: https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-6/how-to/official-oxygenos-5-1-5-ota-oneplus-6-t3794232
-TWRP: https://forum.xda-developers.com/on...overy-unofficial-twrp-touch-recovery-t3860815
-Magisk: https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445
-Nanodroid: https://downloads.nanolx.org/NanoDroid/Stable/ (you need to download the microG file)
-Push Notification Tester: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.firstrowria.pushnotificationtester
-Working Google Maps app: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/maps/maps-9-82-1-release/
-F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/FDroid.apk
INSTALLATION TUTORIAL
Italic = recommended, but not mandatory. Do it if something doesn't work properly
0) DON'T RESTORE your apps until everything is set up, otherwise you'll have issues with GCM (getting instant notifications from messaging apps for example)
1) Flash the custom ROM of your choice ( these instructions should work: https://privatebin.net/?42d550f9ae5df09f#imAFxWjM0gW+V9+ex+8nRyYSoSQzLPjhNXsbKIUjzqA= )
2) Flash magisk, reboot to system
3) Reboot to recovery
4) Flash Nanodroid (you need to download the microG edition, and make sure you have made the .nanodroid-setup file at the root of your internal storage, see instructions here https://github.com/Nanolx/NanoDroid/blob/master/doc/AlterInstallation.md) or you can also try MinMicroG (https://github.com/FriendlyNeighborhoodShane/MinMicroG_releases/releases).
If you choose nanodroid, update microG thhis way: https://www.reddit.com/r/MicroG/comments/fd7udr/fork_of_microg_gmscore_with_unifiednlp_working_in/
5) Reboot to system
6) Open MicroG, give it permissions if that's not already the case
7) Click on self-check. Give signature spoofing to all the empty boxed so they get ticked.
For Omni/Arrow/Aex, you can make sure it's allowed in settings/apps & notifications/apps permissions/spoof package signature. for playstore/fakestore make sure you click on the 3 dots and check system apps (if it exists).
8) Give permission to ignore batter optimizations.
9) Enable Google device registration and Google Cloud Messaging.
10) Enable Safetynet if you want
11) Click on UnifiedNlp and active the 3 backends: location backends: Mozilla+ Déjà Vu; adress lookup backends: Nominatim.
12) REBOOT
13) Open your phone app, and type this:
Now try this instead in order to manually enable device registration and connect to Google Cloud Messaging:
Code:
*#*#2432546#*#*
Code:
(old) *#*#42678278#*#*
. Nothing will appear on your screen but it can help. It's probably necessary but I prefer to make all the steps to make everything work. Sometimes logging in on your Google account through settings help. You can then log out if you don't want to use any Google account.
14) Install Push Notification Tester from Yalp Store.
15) Test the app, see if everything works. If it doesn't, ask for advice here as it should at this point. You can try to reboot one more time. Make sure that in the GCM settings you're connected since X time, otherwise something is wrong. Step 23 is the most important step to check if it doesn't work.
16) Go back to the self-check menu, now you can check the self check status and almost all boxes should be ticked. Some are not for me but GPS still works, even on Google Maps. Here is a screenshot of how it looks like for me: https://i.imgur.com/WsPX5RC.png
17) Now you can try to install the apps you want! Don't install apps that need push notifications before all these steps otherwise they might never be registered. Clean installing apps is recommended. You can try to restore them from a backup as well, but it often doesn't work. The middle ground solution is to install the app with the Yalp Store / F-droid and then restore its data with Titanium Backup for example.
18) Now you should see apps being registered in microG.
19) You can make sure your gps work with either OSM (https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.osmand.plus/) or Google Maps (see apk mirror link earlier, the last version won't work). You should get your location without any isuses at this point.
20) Enjoy your almost Google free phone.
EXTRAS:
α) If you have issues with location, you can try this (on some custom ROMs, Google Maps finds my location but then it doesn't update and so if I move around it won't update my location. Also sometimes I need to reload the app to update my location which is quite inconvenient. It seems that doing the steps following help)
Install a terminal emulator (I recommend Termux)
Make sure your phone has root rights and type :
Code:
su
Authorize the app
Type next:
Code:
pm grant com.google.android.gms android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
Then
Code:
pm grant com.google.android.gms android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
iii) Reboot
β) If you have issues in general, try to update Nanodroid (if you used Nanodroid, ofc) apps from F-Droid. Add this repo to F-Droid: https://www.nanolx.org/fdroid/repo/
And then make sure all your apps are updated (including microG GmsCore)
A) DroidGuard uses non-open source stuff. It's in order to pass safety net.
B) GCM is not open source either.
C) If you want google maps to work, you need to install an "old" version and not update it. You can find it here: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/maps/maps-9-82-1-release/. Sometimes, your location might never appear. In this case, restart a few times Maps until your position shows up.
D) You can also try to install MicroG and its dependencies as user apps. I've tried it and wasn't very happy with the results as they don't work as well being user apps. From what I've heard, everything works fince except location. So you can give it a try as well this way.
E) My personal .nanodroid-setup is this one (to understand what it does, check here: https://gitlab.com/Nanolx/NanoDroid/blob/master/doc/AlterInstallation.md#detailed-description ):
Code:
nanodroid_gmscore=0
nanodroid_play=21
nanodroid_overlay=0
nanodroid_mapsv1=1
nanodroid_gsync=0
nanodroid_swipe=1
nanodroid_forcesystem=0
nanodroid_fdroid=1
nanodroid_nlpbackend=1100
Reserved.
Very nice,
too bad that it doesn't support OOS but it's understandable.
nimrodsv said:
Very nice,
too bad that it doesn't support OOS but it's understandable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe it could work with nanodroid patcher for signature spoofing and then manually deodexing the ROM. It would also be necessary to remove all the Google apps. So yes I guess it's just easier to use a custom ROM as a saner base.
nimrodsv said:
Very nice,
too bad that it doesn't support OOS but it's understandable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like above, it could work. By installing xXx module and choose total gapps removal then try what he said above for spoofing. Tempted to try, but can't atm.
OOS has normally odexed system and do not support signature spoofing.
An option would be to deodex services.jar and the use the nanodroid patcher to enable signature spoofing.
I have done that for some 8.1 OOS roms but not on the latest releases.
whizeguy said:
Like above, it could work. By installing xXx module and choose total gapps removal then try what he said above for spoofing. Tempted to try, but can't atm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NisseGurra said:
OOS has normally odexed system and do not support signature spoofing.
An option would be to deodex services.jar and the use the nanodroid patcher to enable signature spoofing.
I have done that for some 8.1 OOS roms but not on the latest releases.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I'll give a try it seems possible.
@Tomatot- I see that you've tried to working with MicroG on Omni but getting bootloops and that you will try working with it again soon.
Anything I should know before I try this on Omni? Thanks!
nimrodsv said:
@Tomatot- I see that you've tried to working with MicroG on Omni but getting bootloops and that you will try working with it again soon.
Anything I should know before I try this on Omni? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a weird experience on Omni. At first it was working all fine with nanodroid-microG, but then I tried to change the .nanodroid-setup and it broke all my system, I was never able to make it work again on Omni. I also tried once the Nisse .zip and it didn't work either. So I can't really tell what's the pattern to make things work or not work... I really liked Omni so I'm going to try again within the next few days, with a nice clean flash and Nisse zip. I will let you know. If you're impatient and want to try, try to follow the steps from this tutorial and let me know how it goes.
Omni is a bit tricky with permissions, use the latest Nanodroid-microG from https://downloads.nanolx.org/NanoDroid/Stable/ to install on omni, it adds bit more (calendar and contacts sync etc) that i dont want tho
NisseGurra said:
Omni is a bit tricky with permissions, use the latest Nanodroid-microG from https://downloads.nanolx.org/NanoDroid/Stable/ to install on omni, it adds bit more (calendar and contacts sync etc) that i dont want tho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you manage to make your script work on Omni? I'm not interested in these extras either.
Tomatot- said:
Did you manage to make your script work on Omni? I'm not interested in these extras either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but some extra work is needed: Open the zip with 7-zip and extract all item from priv-app and delete the priv-app folder from the zip.
Install rom, the modified zip and boot into system.
Install the extracted apps normally.
Use https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/module-terminal-app-systemizer-ui-t3585851 to convert the 4 installed apps (gms, gsf, phonesky and yalp) to system apps (to priv-app).
Thats bit much but its functional on omni.
NisseGurra said:
Yes, but some extra work is needed: Open the zip with 7-zip and extract all item from priv-app and delete the priv-app folder from the zip.
Install rom, the modified zip and boot into system.
Install the extracted apps normally.
Use https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/module-terminal-app-systemizer-ui-t3585851 to convert the 4 installed apps (gms, gsf, phonesky and yalp) to system apps (to priv-app).
Thats bit much but its functional on omni.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, thanks, I'll try this asap.
I will update OP but I can tell Arrow OS seems to support perfectly MicroG. And your script works directly @NisseGurra . I've noticed the location apps are a bit oudated, could you update them please? Cheers.
Thread updated with my experiences with the different custom ROMs available on our device. i've also improved instructions a little and make some steps not mandatory but recommended.
Thanks very much for this great tutorial although I've never had an OnePlus. Quite a long time ago, I tried to capture my personal way to become GApps-free from the very beginning by installing µG un to today where I always use NanoDroid. Maybe my thread contains some information useful to you?
Oswald Boelcke said:
Thanks very much for this great tutorial although I've never had an OnePlus. Quite a long time ago, I tried to capture my personal way to become GApps-free from the very beginning by installing µG un to today where I always use NanoDroid. Maybe my thread contains some information useful to you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I read it and it was very useful. Your thread was already included in "useful links" btw.
Updated backends microg installer (attached)
NisseGurra said:
OOS has normally odexed system and do not support signature spoofing.
An option would be to deodex services.jar and the use the nanodroid patcher to enable signature spoofing.
I have done that for some 8.1 OOS roms but not on the latest releases.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whizeguy said:
Like above, it could work. By installing xXx module and choose total gapps removal then try what he said above for spoofing. Tempted to try, but can't atm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bumping you again to give you some news.
So I really don't feel like going back to use Google Play services but I miss OOS for battery life and performance reasons.
However, I feel like deodexing OOS is really not optimal, see these links:
https://i.imgur.com/FRJgqVm.png
https://github.com/anestisb/vdexExtractor/issues/33
https://i.imgur.com/9Y6JBGD.png
So yeah, it's a tough choice...
Tomatot- said:
Bumping you again to give you some news.
So I really don't feel like going back to use Google Play services but I miss OOS for battery life and performance reasons.
However, I feel like deodexing OOS is really not optimal, see these links:
https://i.imgur.com/FRJgqVm.png
https://github.com/anestisb/vdexExtractor/issues/33
https://i.imgur.com/9Y6JBGD.png
So yeah, it's a tough choice...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aw man.. That's just too bad :/ thanks for the update mate.
This guide explains how to deGoogle any android by removing most of google invasive crap. (yes, GPlay services is also removed).Play store, Google app and other crap is also removed from system, so if you want to use them, install them as user app. The installation for play store is different, and it is explained below.
Check my Post on reddit for more up to date info and clear instructions HERE
When we remove Gplay services, many apps and services stop working . Many apps will give error but still work (like maps and telegram and whatsapp). Play store will definitely not work and many apps that use push notification through Gplay services (most of them) will not be able to do so. In my case Uber, ola or any other ride app was also not working and was crashing constantly. Paytm will also not work without play services. And on top of that many apps that use location might not behave properly.
Whoosh! those are a lot of problems for uninstalling play services. So, why would anyone want to do that?
Simply put it, Google is an Advertising company. No it is not a company that sells product, i mean yes it sells products and earns from them BUT more than 60% of their revenue comes from Ads that they serve you. And yes, google is the biggest Ad company in the world with more than 80% of ad share (i may be wrong about the %, feel free to search yourself). So obviously they want ta make money out of your data (by selling it) and to do that what better way than to install spyware on world's largest mobile OS.
Google play services record your every action, tracking every app that you opened and everything you do. That data remains with google and they sell it to 3rd parties (and you agreed to it when you made Google account and setup your android device. Remember Clicking on "I AGREE"?).
Here i will not discuss how invasive it is. A simple Web search with "google play services tracking" will give you much more information. (and please do search it, i beg you) (Pro Tip: reddit has best answers, so explore reddit links from search)
Here is a good one explaining things
And Gplay services Eat a LOT of battery by constantly Running in background. So if you want better battery, remove it
So you have decided to degoogle your phone (and debloat it). What to do about all those errors after removing play services?
Here Comes MicroG. microG is an Open Source replacement for Google Play Services.
"MicroG is a free-as-in-freedom re-implementation of Google’s proprietary Android user space apps and libraries.
The linux-based open-source mobile operating system Android is not only the most popular mobile operating system in the world, it’s also on the way to becoming a proprietary operating system. How is that?
While the core operating system is still released as part of the Android Open Source Project, the majority of core apps are not. It gets worse: More and more libraries and APIs are only available on phones that run various Google apps pre-installed, effectively locking third-party apps to the Google ecosystem. For these reasons Android is described as being a “look but don’t touch” kind of open.
At this point, several popular open-source applications already require some of Google’s proprietary libraries to be installed. Increasing demand in the free software community in addition to severe problems in Google’s proprietary software discovered by the Android modding community, have led to the development of a free software clone of Google’s proprietary core libraries and applications - the microG Project was born.
Although most microG components are far from complete, users are amazed by the results. Free software users got extended application support, privacy-caring users can reduce or monitor data that is sent to Google and especially older phones can expect some battery life improvements."
(So it basically removes all those errors. Great!)
So, Lets start Degoogling!
Warning: bootloader needs to be unlocked, magisk should be there and twrp should be installed.
NOTE: MAKE FULL NANDROID BACKUP OF YOUR DEVICE BEFORE PROCEEDING BY GOING TO TWRP -> BACKUP -> SELECT ALL . store it in PC or somewhere safe
Removing google crap
Flash TWRP and install magisk.
We need Signature spoofing in the ROM. Download SmaliPatcher from here and tick all patches, (We are interested in the "signature spoofing" one but all of them are useful) and follow the instructions on its page to install that module. Now your system supports signature spoofing. (I recommend SmaliPatcher even if your rom supports Signature Spoofing so that no issue arises)
Other ways for signature spoofing are given in MicroG wiki here
(IF YOU ARE ON STOCK ROM)
In case you had the Google Play Services previously installed (which Users having stock ROM have), remove all updates and the packages in /system/priv-app of the Google Services (you can use TWRP file manager or any root explorer to delete below packages, just delete the apk files in respective folders):
GmsCore (PrebuiltGmsCore, PrebuiltGmsCorePi, PrebuiltGmsCorePix)
GoogleBackupTransport
GoogleFeedback
GoogleLoginService
GoogleOneTimeInitializer
GooglePartnerSetup
GoogleServicesFramework
Phonesky
SetupWizard
Velvet.
In case you forgot to remove the GmsCore updates, you can manually remove these using adb uninstall com.google.android.gms.
After that, reboot your android device - all privileged GAPPS should be removed. (a bootloop may be caused, but dont worry, just boot into TWRP and follow below steps.)
IF YOU ARE ON CUSTOM ROM-> after flashing rom zip, do not reboot and follow below (DONT FLASH ANY GAPPS)SIZE]
Make full backup of your device if not made till now
Installing MicroG
Download Latest "MinMicroG-Standard-XXX.zip" from here
Add "system-" to start of package name (thus making it like "system-MinMicroG-Standard-XXX.zip" ) and copy it in sdcard or internal storage of phone. Now boot into TWRP
flash "system-MinMicroG-Standard-XXX.zip".
OLD METHOD, USE THIS IF ABOVE WONT WORK
Download the following from here
full NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip
NanoDroid-setupwizard.zip
NanoDroid-uninstaller.zip (if it causes brick)
Copy below in sdcard or internal storage of phone. Now boot into TWRP
NanoDroid-setupwizard.zip
NanoDroid-uninstaller.zip (if it causes brick)
flash NanoDroid-setupwizard.zip, now an aroma installer is opened. click on next , agree to terms and click next, chose save location "/data/media/0" (you can change this as per your needs but remember this location since here the installer will save 3 files) and click next
now from here onwards you can select yourself according to your needs or follow my tutorial till the end of aroma installer.
you should be on generic settings page, tick 'apps', 'maps apiv1', 'init scrips', 'gnu bash', and 'shell utils'. click next.
in microG page, select "full", next, on f-droid page select "official", next, select all 4 nlpBackends, next, now here select "play store(patrched)" if you want to use Play store (your choice, if you want to degoogle select "Aurora + fake store"), next
now select apps of your choice here, next, on Debloat setup page click next (yeah just skip it), and finally click on create config, next and finish.
Aroma installer Ends now.
Now while in twrp, connect your phone to PC and browse to internal storage (or the location you selected during aroma installer to save files)
the 3 files will be ".nanodroid-overlay", ".nanodroid-setup", ".nanodroid-apps". Copy these to PC and keep them in some place safe. Now open "nanodroid.zip" (that you downloaded earlier) with winRAR or 7zip and drag and drop these 3 files in it. (they should be in root of the zip where "meta-inf" folder is)
now copy NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip to your phone and flash it.
now boot into system. if flashing nanodroid causes bootloop, restore from twrp backup that you made (i told you so!).
Configuring MicroG
You need to setup microG , go into microG settings (in app drawer or in settings) and set up everything like:
check results in Self-Check, grant all the missing permissions (by tapping on them)
especially the Battery Optimization item
if Phonesky (= Fake Store or Play Store) lacks signature spoofing permissions head to Settings / Apps / Permissions / Signature Spoofing and grant it
enable Google device registration
enable Google Cloud Messaging (only if you want to receive push messages from your applications)
enable Google SafetyNet, required for applications that utilize SafetyNet, for example Pokémon GO (Currently Broken)
in UnifiedNlp Settings choose all (whichever you've choosen to be installed)
Déjà Vu, Mozilla, Apple, and others (like GSM and WiFi Location Service)
Nominatim as Address lockup backend
after everything is done, reboot
if you installed Play Store open it, setup account and install your apps
Make sure you have all options ticked in self-check of microG settings (except maybe for last one). if not web search it or post it here.
Congratulations, you have successfully removed Gplay services.
ONLY IF YOU HAVE USED OLD METHOD (USING NANODROID)
Updates of nanodroid
Make full backup of your device before update. In case anything happens after update, you can rollback easilySo the nanodroid is updated quite frequently with the apps that come with it. So when you see an updated version of nanodroid on official download page (yeah there are no automatic updates, you have to manually check by going to the download page and download it) download below zips from here
full NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip (the updated version)
NanoDroid-uninstaller.zip (the updated version)
* Now open "NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip " (updated version) with winRAR or 7zip and drag and drop those 3 files [ ".nanodroid-overlay", ".nanodroid-setup", ".nanodroid-apps".] in it. (just like you did before)
* Now copy NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip to your phone and flash it through twrp.
You may need to re-configure microG, so just do it again.
Huge thanks to the below members for the tools.
@FriendlyNeighborhoodShane for MinMicroG
@MaR-V-iN for microG (thank you sir!)
@Setialpha for nanodroid
and other ones whom i forgot to add
reserved
reserved 2
reserved just in case
Damn near best tutorial i've ever seen, thank you good sir!! :good::good::good:
i'm not sure i made it work completelly tho..
Coming from stock marshmallow on Galaxy Note 4. I uninstalled google crap first using Titanium backup even tho the phone seemed to get stuck when i was uninstalling the Google Play services, took it almost 1½ hour..). Then manually cleaned some leftovers using file manager in TWRP.
Then just for the heck of it tried to run the Nanodroid patch file but i got an error message that it couldnt deodex one x.jar file (can't remember it's name just now). Tried instead to patch with Smalipatcher but the damn thing couldn't see i have admin privileges no matter what i did and just refused to run alltogether.
Then i tried this way you described. Did everything as the tutorial says, got no error message, everything seemed to run smooth and the apps i chose were installed. (altho TWRP did freeze a couple of times during aroma setup so i had to reset by taking out the battery). Now i know i should set upp the microG settings, but the microG icon and the app is nowhere to be found. The modul named NanoDroid exists and is activ in Magisk, but it's not possible to open it.
Not sure what is happening and how to proceed from here.. Could you give a pointer or two? Would be much appreciated.
What about GoogleLocationHistory???
Is this one needed or does it have to be removed as well?
prkfsz said:
Damn near best tutorial i've ever seen, thank you good sir!! :good::good::good:
i'm not sure i made it work completelly tho..
Coming from stock marshmallow on Galaxy Note 4. I uninstalled google crap first using Titanium backup even tho the phone seemed to get stuck when i was uninstalling the Google Play services, took it almost 1½ hour..). Then manually cleaned some leftovers using file manager in TWRP.
Then just for the heck of it tried to run the Nanodroid patch file but i got an error message that it couldnt deodex one x.jar file (can't remember it's name just now). Tried instead to patch with Smalipatcher but the damn thing couldn't see i have admin privileges no matter what i did and just refused to run alltogether.
Then i tried this way you described. Did everything as the tutorial says, got no error message, everything seemed to run smooth and the apps i chose were installed. (altho TWRP did freeze a couple of times during aroma setup so i had to reset by taking out the battery). Now i know i should set upp the microG settings, but the microG icon and the app is nowhere to be found. The modul named NanoDroid exists and is activ in Magisk, but it's not possible to open it.
Not sure what is happening and how to proceed from here.. Could you give a pointer or two? Would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
updated the guide, see new instructions
Retseem said:
What about GoogleLocationHistory???
Is this one needed or does it have to be removed as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just search in internet what that does and if its useful to you, dont remove it.
Looks good! Almost there?
Thank you for your good work.! All seems well after I follow your steps using a AICP rom. All the checks in microG are green except the play store phonesky, that I can not fix but does not seem to be a problem
Problem:
One test case for me however is the app flightradar24. This app can be installed just fine from the Aurora store. When I start it however it prompts me immediately to install the google play services as they appear not to be installed or up to date. I can also install these from aurora, but haven't done that as it would defy the purpose of of all the previous work.
So my question is:
- Should I expect Flightradar24 to work on a minmicrog system on android 10?
- If so, where is it going wrong?
- Yes I have the microG location services enabled.
PS. Also I tested Gmail. It also complains about absent play services.
Addition: Actually I find that no application the requires Google is working at all. Did I miss something perhaps?
Samsung-frisbee said:
Thank you for your good work.! All seems well after I follow your steps using a AICP rom. All the checks in microG are green except the play store phonesky, that I can not fix but does not seem to be a problem
Problem:
One test case for me however is the app flightradar24. This app can be installed just fine from the Aurora store. When I start it however it prompts me immediately to install the google play services as they appear not to be installed or up to date. I can also install these from aurora, but haven't done that as it would defy the purpose of of all the previous work.
So my question is:
- Should I expect Flightradar24 to work on a minmicrog system on android 10?
- If so, where is it going wrong?
- Yes I have the microG location services enabled.
PS. Also I tested Gmail. It also complains about absent play services.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After further investigation I have not been able to run any apps that depend on Google play services. They all fail on not recognizing GPS.
All checks in microG are OK. I am puzzled
^- signature spoofing must be failing.
thanks for making this.
There's LineageOS with microG baked in: https://lineage.microg.org/
Hritwik said:
This guide explains how to deGoogle any android by removing most of google invasive crap. (yes, GPlay services is also removed). Play store, Google app and other crap is also removed from system, so if you want to use them, install them as user app. The installation for play store is different, and it is explained below.
Check my Post on reddit for more up to date info and clear instructions HERE
When we remove Gplay services, many apps and services stop working . Many apps will give error but still work (like maps and telegram and whatsapp). Play store will definitely not work and many apps that use push notification through Gplay services (most of them) will not be able to do so. In my case Uber, ola or any other ride app was also not working and was crashing constantly. Paytm will also not work without play services. And on top of that many apps that use location might not behave properly.
Whoosh! those are a lot of problems for uninstalling play services. So, why would anyone want to do that?
Simply put it, Google is an Advertising company. No it is not a company that sells product, i mean yes it sells products and earns from them BUT more than 60% of their revenue comes from Ads that they serve you. And yes, google is the biggest Ad company in the world with more than 80% of ad share (i may be wrong about the %, feel free to search yourself). So obviously they want ta make money out of your data (by selling it) and to do that what better way than to install spyware on world's largest mobile OS.
Google play services record your every action, tracking every app that you opened and everything you do. That data remains with google and they sell it to 3rd parties (and you agreed to it when you made Google account and setup your android device. Remember Clicking on "I AGREE"?).
Here i will not discuss how invasive it is. A simple Web search with "google play services tracking" will give you much more information. (and please do search it, i beg you) (Pro Tip: reddit has best answers, so explore reddit links from search)
Here is a good one explaining things
And Gplay services Eat a LOT of battery by constantly Running in background. So if you want better battery, remove it
So you have decided to degoogle your phone (and debloat it). What to do about all those errors after removing play services?
Here Comes MicroG. microG is an Open Source replacement for Google Play Services.
"MicroG is a free-as-in-freedom re-implementation of Google’s proprietary Android user space apps and libraries.
The linux-based open-source mobile operating system Android is not only the most popular mobile operating system in the world, it’s also on the way to becoming a proprietary operating system. How is that?
While the core operating system is still released as part of the Android Open Source Project, the majority of core apps are not. It gets worse: More and more libraries and APIs are only available on phones that run various Google apps pre-installed, effectively locking third-party apps to the Google ecosystem. For these reasons Android is described as being a “look but don’t touch” kind of open.
At this point, several popular open-source applications already require some of Google’s proprietary libraries to be installed. Increasing demand in the free software community in addition to severe problems in Google’s proprietary software discovered by the Android modding community, have led to the development of a free software clone of Google’s proprietary core libraries and applications - the microG Project was born.
Although most microG components are far from complete, users are amazed by the results. Free software users got extended application support, privacy-caring users can reduce or monitor data that is sent to Google and especially older phones can expect some battery life improvements."
(So it basically removes all those errors. Great!)
So, Lets start Degoogling!
Warning: bootloader needs to be unlocked, magisk should be there and twrp should be installed.
NOTE: MAKE FULL NANDROID BACKUP OF YOUR DEVICE BEFORE PROCEEDING BY GOING TO TWRP -> BACKUP -> SELECT ALL . store it in PC or somewhere safe
Removing google crap
Flash TWRP and install magisk.
We need Signature spoofing in the ROM. Download SmaliPatcher from here and tick all patches, (We are interested in the "signature spoofing" one but all of them are useful) and follow the instructions on its page to install that module. Now your system supports signature spoofing. (I recommend SmaliPatcher even if your rom supports Signature Spoofing so that no issue arises)
Other ways for signature spoofing are given in MicroG wiki here
(IF YOU ARE ON STOCK ROM)
In case you had the Google Play Services previously installed (which Users having stock ROM have), remove all updates and the packages in /system/priv-app of the Google Services (you can use TWRP file manager or any root explorer to delete below packages, just delete the apk files in respective folders):
GmsCore (PrebuiltGmsCore, PrebuiltGmsCorePi, PrebuiltGmsCorePix)
GoogleBackupTransport
GoogleFeedback
GoogleLoginService
GoogleOneTimeInitializer
GooglePartnerSetup
GoogleServicesFramework
Phonesky
SetupWizard
Velvet.
In case you forgot to remove the GmsCore updates, you can manually remove these using adb uninstall com.google.android.gms.
After that, reboot your android device - all privileged GAPPS should be removed. (a bootloop may be caused, but dont worry, just boot into TWRP and follow below steps.)
IF YOU ARE ON CUSTOM ROM-> after flashing rom zip, do not reboot and follow below (DONT FLASH ANY GAPPS)SIZE]
Make full backup of your device if not made till now
Installing MicroG
Download Latest "MinMicroG-Standard-XXX.zip" from here
Add "system-" to start of package name (thus making it like "system-MinMicroG-Standard-XXX.zip" ) and copy it in sdcard or internal storage of phone. Now boot into TWRP
flash "system-MinMicroG-Standard-XXX.zip".
OLD METHOD, USE THIS IF ABOVE WONT WORK
Download the following from here
full NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip
NanoDroid-setupwizard.zip
NanoDroid-uninstaller.zip (if it causes brick)
Copy below in sdcard or internal storage of phone. Now boot into TWRP
NanoDroid-setupwizard.zip
NanoDroid-uninstaller.zip (if it causes brick)
flash NanoDroid-setupwizard.zip, now an aroma installer is opened. click on next , agree to terms and click next, chose save location "/data/media/0" (you can change this as per your needs but remember this location since here the installer will save 3 files) and click next
now from here onwards you can select yourself according to your needs or follow my tutorial till the end of aroma installer.
you should be on generic settings page, tick 'apps', 'maps apiv1', 'init scrips', 'gnu bash', and 'shell utils'. click next.
in microG page, select "full", next, on f-droid page select "official", next, select all 4 nlpBackends, next, now here select "play store(patrched)" if you want to use Play store (your choice, if you want to degoogle select "Aurora + fake store"), next
now select apps of your choice here, next, on Debloat setup page click next (yeah just skip it), and finally click on create config, next and finish.
Aroma installer Ends now.
Now while in twrp, connect your phone to PC and browse to internal storage (or the location you selected during aroma installer to save files)
the 3 files will be ".nanodroid-overlay", ".nanodroid-setup", ".nanodroid-apps". Copy these to PC and keep them in some place safe. Now open "nanodroid.zip" (that you downloaded earlier) with winRAR or 7zip and drag and drop these 3 files in it. (they should be in root of the zip where "meta-inf" folder is)
now copy NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip to your phone and flash it.
now boot into system. if flashing nanodroid causes bootloop, restore from twrp backup that you made (i told you so!).
Configuring MicroG
You need to setup microG , go into microG settings (in app drawer or in settings) and set up everything like:
check results in Self-Check, grant all the missing permissions (by tapping on them)
especially the Battery Optimization item
if Phonesky (= Fake Store or Play Store) lacks signature spoofing permissions head to Settings / Apps / Permissions / Signature Spoofing and grant it
enable Google device registration
enable Google Cloud Messaging (only if you want to receive push messages from your applications)
enable Google SafetyNet, required for applications that utilize SafetyNet, for example Pokémon GO (Currently Broken)
in UnifiedNlp Settings choose all (whichever you've choosen to be installed)
Déjà Vu, Mozilla, Apple, and others (like GSM and WiFi Location Service)
Nominatim as Address lockup backend
after everything is done, reboot
if you installed Play Store open it, setup account and install your apps
Make sure you have all options ticked in self-check of microG settings (except maybe for last one). if not web search it or post it here.
Congratulations, you have successfully removed Gplay services.
ONLY IF YOU HAVE USED OLD METHOD (USING NANODROID)
Updates of nanodroid
Make full backup of your device before update. In case anything happens after update, you can rollback easilySo the nanodroid is updated quite frequently with the apps that come with it. So when you see an updated version of nanodroid on official download page (yeah there are no automatic updates, you have to manually check by going to the download page and download it) download below zips from here
full NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip (the updated version)
NanoDroid-uninstaller.zip (the updated version)
* Now open "NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip " (updated version) with winRAR or 7zip and drag and drop those 3 files [ ".nanodroid-overlay", ".nanodroid-setup", ".nanodroid-apps".] in it. (just like you did before)
* Now copy NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip to your phone and flash it through twrp.
You may need to re-configure microG, so just do it again.
Huge thanks to the below members for the tools.
@FriendlyNeighborhoodShane for MinMicroG
@MaR-V-iN for microG (thank you sir!)
@Setialpha for nanodroid
and other ones whom i forgot to add
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is gold. Haven't tried yet but will be donating to the MicroG project if this works.
Hritwik said:
This guide explains how to deGoogle any android by removing most of google invasive crap. (yes, GPlay services is also removed). Play store, Google app and other crap is also removed from system, so if you want to use them, install them as user app. The installation for play store is different, and it is explained below.
Check my Post on reddit for more up to date info and clear instructions HERE
When we remove Gplay services, many apps and services stop working . Many apps will give error but still work (like maps and telegram and whatsapp). Play store will definitely not work and many apps that use push notification through Gplay services (most of them) will not be able to do so. In my case Uber, ola or any other ride app was also not working and was crashing constantly. Paytm will also not work without play services. And on top of that many apps that use location might not behave properly.
Whoosh! those are a lot of problems for uninstalling play services. So, why would anyone want to do that?
Simply put it, Google is an Advertising company. No it is not a company that sells product, i mean yes it sells products and earns from them BUT more than 60% of their revenue comes from Ads that they serve you. And yes, google is the biggest Ad company in the world with more than 80% of ad share (i may be wrong about the %, feel free to search yourself). So obviously they want ta make money out of your data (by selling it) and to do that what better way than to install spyware on world's largest mobile OS.
Google play services record your every action, tracking every app that you opened and everything you do. That data remains with google and they sell it to 3rd parties (and you agreed to it when you made Google account and setup your android device. Remember Clicking on "I AGREE"?).
Here i will not discuss how invasive it is. A simple Web search with "google play services tracking" will give you much more information. (and please do search it, i beg you) (Pro Tip: reddit has best answers, so explore reddit links from search)
Here is a good one explaining things
And Gplay services Eat a LOT of battery by constantly Running in background. So if you want better battery, remove it
So you have decided to degoogle your phone (and debloat it). What to do about all those errors after removing play services?
Here Comes MicroG. microG is an Open Source replacement for Google Play Services.
"MicroG is a free-as-in-freedom re-implementation of Google’s proprietary Android user space apps and libraries.
The linux-based open-source mobile operating system Android is not only the most popular mobile operating system in the world, it’s also on the way to becoming a proprietary operating system. How is that?
While the core operating system is still released as part of the Android Open Source Project, the majority of core apps are not. It gets worse: More and more libraries and APIs are only available on phones that run various Google apps pre-installed, effectively locking third-party apps to the Google ecosystem. For these reasons Android is described as being a “look but don’t touch” kind of open.
At this point, several popular open-source applications already require some of Google’s proprietary libraries to be installed. Increasing demand in the free software community in addition to severe problems in Google’s proprietary software discovered by the Android modding community, have led to the development of a free software clone of Google’s proprietary core libraries and applications - the microG Project was born.
Although most microG components are far from complete, users are amazed by the results. Free software users got extended application support, privacy-caring users can reduce or monitor data that is sent to Google and especially older phones can expect some battery life improvements."
(So it basically removes all those errors. Great!)
So, Lets start Degoogling!
Warning: bootloader needs to be unlocked, magisk should be there and twrp should be installed.
NOTE: MAKE FULL NANDROID BACKUP OF YOUR DEVICE BEFORE PROCEEDING BY GOING TO TWRP -> BACKUP -> SELECT ALL . store it in PC or somewhere safe
Removing google crap
Flash TWRP and install magisk.
We need Signature spoofing in the ROM. Download SmaliPatcher from here and tick all patches, (We are interested in the "signature spoofing" one but all of them are useful) and follow the instructions on its page to install that module. Now your system supports signature spoofing. (I recommend SmaliPatcher even if your rom supports Signature Spoofing so that no issue arises)
Other ways for signature spoofing are given in MicroG wiki here
(IF YOU ARE ON STOCK ROM)
In case you had the Google Play Services previously installed (which Users having stock ROM have), remove all updates and the packages in /system/priv-app of the Google Services (you can use TWRP file manager or any root explorer to delete below packages, just delete the apk files in respective folders):
GmsCore (PrebuiltGmsCore, PrebuiltGmsCorePi, PrebuiltGmsCorePix)
GoogleBackupTransport
GoogleFeedback
GoogleLoginService
GoogleOneTimeInitializer
GooglePartnerSetup
GoogleServicesFramework
Phonesky
SetupWizard
Velvet.
In case you forgot to remove the GmsCore updates, you can manually remove these using adb uninstall com.google.android.gms.
After that, reboot your android device - all privileged GAPPS should be removed. (a bootloop may be caused, but dont worry, just boot into TWRP and follow below steps.)
IF YOU ARE ON CUSTOM ROM-> after flashing rom zip, do not reboot and follow below (DONT FLASH ANY GAPPS)SIZE]
Make full backup of your device if not made till now
Installing MicroG
Download Latest "MinMicroG-Standard-XXX.zip" from here
Add "system-" to start of package name (thus making it like "system-MinMicroG-Standard-XXX.zip" ) and copy it in sdcard or internal storage of phone. Now boot into TWRP
flash "system-MinMicroG-Standard-XXX.zip".
OLD METHOD, USE THIS IF ABOVE WONT WORK
Download the following from here
full NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip
NanoDroid-setupwizard.zip
NanoDroid-uninstaller.zip (if it causes brick)
Copy below in sdcard or internal storage of phone. Now boot into TWRP
NanoDroid-setupwizard.zip
NanoDroid-uninstaller.zip (if it causes brick)
flash NanoDroid-setupwizard.zip, now an aroma installer is opened. click on next , agree to terms and click next, chose save location "/data/media/0" (you can change this as per your needs but remember this location since here the installer will save 3 files) and click next
now from here onwards you can select yourself according to your needs or follow my tutorial till the end of aroma installer.
you should be on generic settings page, tick 'apps', 'maps apiv1', 'init scrips', 'gnu bash', and 'shell utils'. click next.
in microG page, select "full", next, on f-droid page select "official", next, select all 4 nlpBackends, next, now here select "play store(patrched)" if you want to use Play store (your choice, if you want to degoogle select "Aurora + fake store"), next
now select apps of your choice here, next, on Debloat setup page click next (yeah just skip it), and finally click on create config, next and finish.
Aroma installer Ends now.
Now while in twrp, connect your phone to PC and browse to internal storage (or the location you selected during aroma installer to save files)
the 3 files will be ".nanodroid-overlay", ".nanodroid-setup", ".nanodroid-apps". Copy these to PC and keep them in some place safe. Now open "nanodroid.zip" (that you downloaded earlier) with winRAR or 7zip and drag and drop these 3 files in it. (they should be in root of the zip where "meta-inf" folder is)
now copy NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip to your phone and flash it.
now boot into system. if flashing nanodroid causes bootloop, restore from twrp backup that you made (i told you so!).
Configuring MicroG
You need to setup microG , go into microG settings (in app drawer or in settings) and set up everything like:
check results in Self-Check, grant all the missing permissions (by tapping on them)
especially the Battery Optimization item
if Phonesky (= Fake Store or Play Store) lacks signature spoofing permissions head to Settings / Apps / Permissions / Signature Spoofing and grant it
enable Google device registration
enable Google Cloud Messaging (only if you want to receive push messages from your applications)
enable Google SafetyNet, required for applications that utilize SafetyNet, for example Pokémon GO (Currently Broken)
in UnifiedNlp Settings choose all (whichever you've choosen to be installed)
Déjà Vu, Mozilla, Apple, and others (like GSM and WiFi Location Service)
Nominatim as Address lockup backend
after everything is done, reboot
if you installed Play Store open it, setup account and install your apps
Make sure you have all options ticked in self-check of microG settings (except maybe for last one). if not web search it or post it here.
Congratulations, you have successfully removed Gplay services.
ONLY IF YOU HAVE USED OLD METHOD (USING NANODROID)
Updates of nanodroid
Make full backup of your device before update. In case anything happens after update, you can rollback easilySo the nanodroid is updated quite frequently with the apps that come with it. So when you see an updated version of nanodroid on official download page (yeah there are no automatic updates, you have to manually check by going to the download page and download it) download below zips from here
full NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip (the updated version)
NanoDroid-uninstaller.zip (the updated version)
* Now open "NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip " (updated version) with winRAR or 7zip and drag and drop those 3 files [ ".nanodroid-overlay", ".nanodroid-setup", ".nanodroid-apps".] in it. (just like you did before)
* Now copy NanoDroid-xx.xx.xx.xxxxxxx.zip to your phone and flash it through twrp.
You may need to re-configure microG, so just do it again.
Huge thanks to the below members for the tools.
@FriendlyNeighborhoodShane for MinMicroG
@MaR-V-iN for microG (thank you sir!)
@Setialpha for nanodroid
and other ones whom i forgot to add
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is gold. Thank you. Will be donating to the MicroG project if they accept donations, worth every penny.
Edited on Dec.10,2021
It works like a charm with Havoc OS (Samsung S8)
Hi,
I just installed MicroG on a Samsung S8 running Android 7 and although the installation went perfect, without any errors, I don't have any icon, thus I cannot get access to settings. I do see the microG Services Framework application installed in Application Manager but I cannot launch it.
I followed the new instructions to the letter.
Please advise!
Thanks!
SafetyNet fails?
will this guide work on the Stock MIUI 12.0.9 for Mi 9T?
I could use some assistance finding some files. I've tried several methods but can't seem to locate the files below. I'm using a rooted and unlocked S20 5G (986U1) Can you help me with a method or app to find these. I'm using Cx for file manager but the search seems limited, or I'm doing it wrong.
• In case you had the Google Play Services previously installed (which Users having stock ROM have), remove all updates and the packages in /system/priv-app of the Google Services (you can use TWRP file manager or any root explorer to delete below packages, just delete the apk files in respective folders):
o GoogleBackupTransport
o GoogleLoginService
o GooglePartnerSetup
o Phonesky
o Velvet.
goobener said:
I could use some assistance finding some files. I've tried several methods but can't seem to locate the files below. I'm using a rooted and unlocked S20 5G (986U1) Can you help me with a method or app to find these. I'm using Cx for file manager but the search seems limited, or I'm doing it wrong.
• In case you had the Google Play Services previously installed (which Users having stock ROM have), remove all updates and the packages in /system/priv-app of the Google Services (you can use TWRP file manager or any root explorer to delete below packages, just delete the apk files in respective folders):
o GoogleBackupTransport
o GoogleLoginService
o GooglePartnerSetup
o Phonesky
o Velvet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download an all called App Manager from F-Droid
Thank you for this guide!
I have two new devices that I'm not using.
LG K50s and Tablet Lenovo M10
Would like to get them in shape before any use.
There's no Lineage for those or found a linux distro.
Is this the best way yo get rid of all the crap, bloatware, spyware, tracking?
Does it get clean of trackers?
Thank you!
Hello again, I have currently installed on my xiamoi redmi Note 9 pro Lineage 18.1 and would like to continue using it. Since I need Google services for my bank app, I need one of the above packages. I would also like to get faker Pro from the store apps like Android and GPS would also be necessary at some point, you can never be sure if you need it. Now my question is what you would rather advise me to opengapps or microg?
+1
Opengapps is mislead in misleadingly named. The only part of it that's open source is the install script. It's really just the proprietary Google services.
microG is a re-implementation of some core proprietary Google services that allows you to use some features on your phone that would otherwise require Google's packages installed, without ever installing them or having anything Google related on your phone.
So to answer your question: microg is better for privacy.
xXx yYy said:
Opengapps is mislead in misleadingly named. The only part of it that's open source is the install script. It's really just the proprietary Google services.
microG is a re-implementation of some core proprietary Google services that allows you to use some features on your phone that would otherwise require Google's packages installed, without ever installing them or having anything Google related related on your phone.
So to answer your question: microg is better for privacy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks now I work with lineage 19.1. How I can unistall the mindthegapps packet? So I think the microg are all apk format or?
Why do you want to switch? MindTheGApps is a minimal GMS ( GApps ) package with no customization options. It provides everything required to make use of Google systems and no more.
OK thanks for the information!
I have come across a lineage OS 16 (android 9) treble ROM by Mse1969. Since I am used to flashing Gapps, I did it too. However, Gapps all refuse to flash citing no space in the system partition. I tried to resize the system partition only to break my phone.
But after getting the phone back up and running again, I found that there was an app called Fakestore with
com.android.vending
which suggests that it could be replaced by the real one.
I unzipped a MindtheGapps package, then with internal root deleted the fakestore directly from priv-app folder phonesky using root explorer and replaced it with the real one. After a reboot, it showed up on the home screen and worked normally.
Detailed instructions:
Go to settings and enable developer options.
In developer options, you can find the enable root (which has been ported from CM)
Use a root explorer (Preferably one from the play store, as giving root privileges to unknown apps can result in very bad consequences)
(You can find apps also on Apkpure, Aurorastore, F-droid, UptoDown and other sites. Be sure it is a legitimate site as Trojans still are a thing on Android, that is probably why you should install Google Play in the first place as it has policies in place, so you are less vulnerable to malware)
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=6006931924117895957
Unzip the MindtheGapps package from Androidfilehost and find the folder containing phonesky with the Google play apk.
Replace the folder in the Root explorer called fakestore in Priv-app with the phonesky folder. Go back to settings and revoke root. Reboot your device and now you should have Play store ready!
I have tried other variants of Gapps but currently only MindtheGapps work.
The Play store currently cannot update itself and refuses to run after a forced apk update. Will be looking into this issue.
Spoiler
Huge thanks to Mse1969 for his contributions to the modding community, for an old phone that has been abandoned by Huawei which repeatedly let down us, eventually refusing to unlock the bootloader.
This company deserves the sanctions.
For now I guess I would support Asus and HTC which are based in a democracy.
HI ..
I am interested in the procedure .. Please it could be possible to have some more info ?
Thanks
golvelliuscs said:
HI ..
I am interested in the procedure .. Please it could be possible to have some more info ?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your suggestion. Original post updated with detailed instructions.