Database Info

Clarification on no GMS please

Looking to grab the mate 30 Pro.. Or potentially the p40 Pro after tomorrows launch. But really wanna check out the slow mo on the mate, plus love the design
I'm an android user.
Been doing a lot of reading and still struggling to grasp if I actually need google services on my phone or not? I know I won't have generic Google apps, but there a possibility to install them. Done some custom rom installs many moons ago.
I'll still have my Samsung s10e work phone.
Can anyone clarify or point me in the direction of an an article that explains the pros and cons?
Failing this it looks like the p30 pro is by best alternate. As I tend not to go mainbsteam Samsung

Hi there,
The installation of gms right now is unstable or tricky. For example using Chatpartner+Ice Box+Island is the most stable as it gets, but it has its own drawbacks(you can see info about the methods in the other threads). I don't know if we will get a clean permanent solution. I hope we get.
So let's assume you don't get gms, because you don't want to mess with the current unstable solutions. The drawbacks from my point of view are:
- no PlayStore -> So you don't get your paid apps. Also you can't get all apps from the Huawei store, because some of them are missing. Some partial solution: Use ApkPure or some other app store to get your apps.
- no Youtube -> Youtube requires gms. Solution: use Youtube Vanced;
- no Google Maps -> It requires gms. Solution: use Waze;
- no Google Drive/Photos -> It requires gms. Solution: use Microsoft OneDrive or any other cloud;
- no Contact Sync -> It requires gms. Solution: export contacts from Google and import them.(here I decided again to go with Microsoft so I sync my future new contacts in a cloud after all)
- no Gmail -> It requires gms. Solution: use Outlook app or any other email app like Nine. You can add you gmail account there.
Some people suggested to use the google apps through a browser and put shortcuts on your home screen, but this is not a replacement for the actual apps in my oppinion.
Bottom line:
- If you don't want any hassle and you want everything everywhere working then get P30 Pro;
- If you want to try the available workarounds for google apps and you won't get overwhelmed or irritated when some errors occur and you have to tinker again then get the Mate 30 Pro;
- If you want to detach from google ecosystem and try some new apps then get the Mate 30 Pro(just make sure you thought of all apps that you need and found a comfortable replacement);
- For the P40 Pro I can't speak;
I have one of the workarounds of GMS on my phone and the apps are working. However I am trying to move away a bit from gms, because I want to be free to try new tech and use all my apps. I am a heavy Google user paying for subscriptions for some services so I am dependent on their apps. However with this phone I realized that Google is closing their services forcing users to have certain hardware which I dislike. This is why I will make an attempt to use alternatives(mostly I will use Microsoft products) so I can buy whatever phone I like and use it seamlessly.
I hope this helps!

xchatter what GMS work around are you using on your current device?

Darkisde said:
xchatter what GMS work around are you using on your current device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chatpartner+Ice Box+Island , but I see someone just created a thread saying that ChatPartner doesn't work now(I don't know if it is true). However Chatpartner is just the first part for getting the gms on the device which can be achieved also with other methods like restoring a backup which has this chinese app for installing gms(you can search, videos are everywhere showing it). Then afterwards probably you will start getting the non-stop notifications that your device is not certified. From that point you will need to follow the guides to add your account and then use Ice Box to freeze some google apps(playstore and services). This way you won't get the notifications, but any installed google apps will work. From there you can use Island to activate your work profile and unfreeze those apps in an isolated scope where you can have your Play Store to get apps or you can just use some other app store. You can get more details in the other threads, basically this is the main topic in the whole Mate 30 Pro forum.

Nesiah said:
Looking to grab the mate 30 Pro.. Or potentially the p40 Pro after tomorrows launch. But really wanna check out the slow mo on the mate, plus love the design
I'm an android user.
Been doing a lot of reading and still struggling to grasp if I actually need google services on my phone or not? I know I won't have generic Google apps, but there a possibility to install them. Done some custom rom installs many moons ago.
I'll still have my Samsung s10e work phone.
Can anyone clarify or point me in the direction of an an article that explains the pros and cons?
Failing this it looks like the p30 pro is by best alternate. As I tend not to go mainbsteam Samsung
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the installation of gms is tricky complicated for most users, but it can be done if you want to learn. it works for now but no one knows till when.
the P40 definitely wont have GMS too, so if this is a problem, go with another brand or P30 or mate 20 if you still want huawei.

this is how you can enjoy using the p40 even without google app huge list alternative

i wanted to paste the guide here but xda is not accepting my doc formatting please see the guide here
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13X_ZZELINL5jIJZTcpPDRsmIGQ7cYMy6nuahJQJ5DzE/

Nice guide - albeit I couldn't overlook the irony of using Google Docs here!

Nice document. For me though it's not really the Google apps that I can't substitue, I hardly use any anyway. It's mainly apps that don't work because of GMS.

i have to say that having had this phone for a few days and trying to use it without play services it was becoming a struggle for me.
I downloaded as many of my apps i use from the app store and 3rd party sites but its just not the same. I forgot how much information i had stored with google like passwords and login details etc.
I managed to install the play services yesterday and so far everything seems fine, no errors and everything i used on other android devices available and working. Dont think i would have kept it otherwise even though the build quality and specs are amazing.
For those of you in doubt who have been a long time android user its really worth the effort with the installation.

hpsauce37 said:
I managed to install the play services yesterday and so far everything seems fine, no errors and everything i used on other android devices available and working. Dont think i would have kept it otherwise even though the build quality and specs are amazing.
For those of you in doubt who have been a long time android user its really worth the effort with the installation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which guide did you follow? I see one on XDA and other ones floating around the web. Did you run into any issues or did the guide works step by step?

I followed the one on here which does not use a usb you plug in the phone. The video is in German and a but hard to follow at times and did face a few issues but I think that was because I had missed a step. I then found a similar video on YouTube that had some English on it and managed to figure it out.

Search an app called 'MoreAPP' in AppGalary, it has the apps you are missing.
there is one called 'Youtube Vanced' which doesn't require GMS

rambits said:
Search an app called 'MoreAPP' in AppGalary, it has the apps you are missing.
there is one called 'Youtube Vanced' which doesn't require GMS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you won't be able to sign in without gms in YouTube vanced

ptlsajan said:
But you won't be able to sign in without gms in YouTube vanced
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can sign into YouTube Vanced without GMS. You just need to install MicroG. Not root required too.

steveli92 said:
You can sign into YouTube Vanced without GMS. You just need to install MicroG. Not root required too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that with OGyoutube and login in with microg service wasnt possible for me

hpsauce37 said:
I followed the one on here which does not use a usb you plug in the phone. The video is in German and a but hard to follow at times and did face a few issues but I think that was because I had missed a step. I then found a similar video on YouTube that had some English on it and managed to figure it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed the same guide and everything but the notifications works. Only notifications from a few apps work. All apps that require the Google services to get the notifications (about 85% for me) do not seem to work.

I too didn't managed to login with MicroG and without GMS...

Think it would be useful to update the list to include apps e.g. works 100% (Facebook) works ok but no notifications (BBC News) or does not work at all (eBay, The Athletic).
The more digging that I do the more it seems that other than getting some of the core Google apps to work the difference between using a P40 Pro with and without the GPS hack is actually quite minimal as I understand that the hack may help you say get Photos working but it will not help you get all of the notifications that still rely on GPS?

arsenal74 said:
Think it would be useful to update the list to include apps e.g. works 100% (Facebook) works ok but no notifications (BBC News) or does not work at all (eBay, The Athletic).
The more digging that I do the more it seems that other than getting some of the core Google apps to work the difference between using a P40 Pro with and without the GPS hack is actually quite minimal as I understand that the hack may help you say get Photos working but it will not help you get all of the notifications that still rely on GPS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's funny that you mentioned eBay and The Athletic as they are two apps that I use quite regularly and am having the same issue - is there any way around this without installing GMS?
My P40 Pro only arrived a couple of days ago and I really like the look and feel of it but the notifications thing is already bugging me. Currently, I'm only HMS (no micro-G or GMS) but not being able to get notifications from the stock email app (my account is Gmail) or news notifications from BBC etc. is a real flag for me...

Tmel14 said:
I'm only HMS (no micro-G or GMS) but not being able to get notifications from the stock email app (my account is Gmail) or news notifications from BBC etc. is a real flag for me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
install microG and move on .. notifications are completely screwed on HMS-naked .. even Huawei App Gallery apps are screwed-up with notifications .. very strange that this is often overlooked in the P40 Pro reviews ... how can you answer a skype call if the app never rings with a notification?

P40 Lite 5G

I got a P40 Lite 5G in the last couple of days, and didn't think or know about the Huawei / Google issues. I'm not from the US, so it was something I heard in the news, but wasn't sure if it would affect us.
I'm probably fine without having google services on my phone for personal use, the alternatives should be fine - never been a big fan of getting tracked like that anyways.
BUT, we use GSuite at work and I need Google Chat on my phone ... so it's a pretty hard stop for me
I'm not opposed to rooting the phone and installing a custom rom, but:
1. Does this solve all the problems, does google apps/services work fine on a rooted phone and custom rom? Or does google block it based on the hardware? (Is that what the spoofing circumvents, or would it still not work?)
2. Doesn't seem like there are any custom roms available even?
I searched through the forum here and did not see anything that looked like it works, I did try Googlefier, MicroG, etc - none worked so far. (My EMUI is already updated, which I understood you shouldn't do - didn't know).
That said, most of these posts were from a few months back, not sure if anything has changed by now?
Any help/advice appreciated, please

wb90 said:
I got a P40 Lite 5G in the last couple of days, and didn't think or know about the Huawei / Google issues. I'm not from the US, so it was something I heard in the news, but wasn't sure if it would affect us.
I'm probably fine without having google services on my phone for personal use, the alternatives should be fine - never been a big fan of getting tracked like that anyways.
BUT, we use GSuite at work and I need Google Chat on my phone ... so it's a pretty hard stop for me
I'm not opposed to rooting the phone and installing a custom rom, but:
1. Does this solve all the problems, does google apps/services work fine on a rooted phone and custom rom? Or does google block it based on the hardware? (Is that what the spoofing circumvents, or would it still not work?)
2. Doesn't seem like there are any custom roms available even?
I searched through the forum here and did not see anything that looked like it works, I did try Googlefier, MicroG, etc - none worked so far. (My EMUI is already updated, which I understood you shouldn't do - didn't know).
That said, most of these posts were from a few months back, not sure if anything has changed by now?
Any help/advice appreciated, please
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know we can't root the phone.
The best work around I've found is using vmos to create a sandbox for Google login. It's not perfect but it does the job I need.

If I'm not wrong, you can still use the web browser version, like Doc, Sheet, Slide, Keep, Calendar and etc. So most probably you can still use Google Chat in your mobile browser without problem.

Yeah, but google chat doesn't have a mobile web version ... you can put Chrome into "Desktop Site" mode, but it's not a great experience.
Also, the important part for having it on my mobile is the notifications of new messages if there's any issues...

I thought id highjack to ask my own questons about the p40 lite 5g in relation to the dualspace method
how often do i have to reinstall dualspace?
Is the process of upgrading google apps any more complicated than stock android?
Are there any google apps that cant be installed?
are there any apps that have only partial functionality?
Do the apps crash any more often?
do the google apps have ads in them?
are the ads intrusive?
does it need to be rooted?
How does dualspace affect the phones and apps performance?

I didn't find any functionality of DualSpace ... on Mate40 pro.
Maps isn't working ok, banking apps isn't working (security warnings) ... Nothing new for me.

Understanding the current state of Google-use on P40-line

I got a few of questions regarding the current state of using Google services on the P40-series devices to make sure my understanding of the situation is up to date (I'm specifically using P40 Lite but my guess is all this applies to any P40 device):
What did I actually do to the phone currently? - I keep reading about multiple methods to get things working, mentioning freezes and other modifications, so I want to know what exactly I did myself. To get the phone working on my side, I went through a firmware downgrade, then installed Googlefier and went through the steps in it. Is this the freeze-thing that people mention or is it something completely different?
As far as I understand, we have currently only 2 options, would this be a correct way to describe them?:
Googlefier - to allow logging in Google accounts, use of Google apps however with non-working notifications (and notification delays)
MicroG - resolves all/almost all notification issues however no use of Google account/apps is possible
Updating the Google Play Services the normal way through Google Play Store is pretty much not possible, is that correct?
As far as I understand, if a factory reset is performed on a phone that previously had Googlefier installed and working, re-installing it will not require a firmware downgrade (only installing Googlefier and setting it up will be needed, not a whole downgrade again). If that is correct, is there a way to fully restore a stock firmware that would leave the phone in its factory state?
Any information or clarifications would definitely be welcome.
I just wanted to make sure the information I have is up to date since there are so many things floating around and a lot of them appear to be very outdated.

I have the same questions, I just bought a P40 pro, and don't really now what to do, to solve this problem

Gato.evolution said:
I have the same questions, I just bought a P40 pro, and don't really now what to do, to solve this problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't ask anything regarding a problem, I just want to know what type of workaround the method I used was along with a few general questions, I'm not actually asking how to get something working (other than notifications in some apps, everything else is fine on my end).

So googlefier was a package of apps that simplified the process of downloading and installing multiple apks manually. The app that it came with is lzplay and it becomes a device admin.
I don't know much past that, but how did you get most notifications to work?

I just bought a P40 pro last week and working on exploring best option going forward too
Googlefier is actually a wrapper work which eventually uses LZPlay to get the job done. B/c of the limitations in LZPlay, people need to get P40 phones downgrade to an old firmware so that LZPlay could work - I find it not really possible as I couldn't find the correct firmware for my P40 pro now (maybe it's b/c of my region ... )
Then recently there is DualSpace, haven't tried it but looks like an easy go
It looks like a method of separating a new user/app space (sounds like a VM on a physical computer sort of concept ?)
Google actually has very similar thing called "work profile" I remember that can setup a personal as well as a work related dual accounts on same phone and the data space are separate also allows diff. security policies
Work profiles | Android Developers
Learn how to make sure your apps operate smoothly in a corporate environment by following some best practices.
developer.android.com

ykjae said:
So googlefier was a package of apps that simplified the process of downloading and installing multiple apks manually. The app that it came with is lzplay and it becomes a device admin.
I don't know much past that, but how did you get most notifications to work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No clue, they just work on my side, only did a downgrade followed by the Googlefier process and then update to the latest security patch.
Google Play Services version is highly out of date though (v20.09.13).
Anyway, could still use information on my original questions.

@CrisR82
I can tell you if you factory reset the device it would just wipe it. Which in theory should leave it at its current software firmware version. So no you wouldn't need to downgrade again. (Unless you upgraded after getting Google services to work)
I also got most of everything working perfectly now. But I decided to freeze gsf with icebox so I could get all notifications.
It's actually not bad. I was able to find all apps that I use on Huawei app store and if not I then use apkpure or aurora.

[Discussion] Help with MicroG and GMS

Hello XDA people
I have a simple, yet complex question to solve
So we all know that the P40 Pro can install GMS services, but notifications do not work on it
This reddit post I found: Notification fix
Uses MicroG to fix their notification, but installing MicroG whilst having GMS installed is not possible unless uninstalling GMS and installing MicroG, which then loses the ability for google on the phone
Is there any sort of way to install both MicroG and it's services with GMS still installed onto the phone? It doesn't matter if I have to downgrade my phone I just need any method that works and fixes my discord push notifications whilst keeping my GMS services
Thank you