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Hello guys.
I've been thinking about that quite long time, but I could not just give up on Google straight away.
I relay on my privacy and I don't want Google to store any data about what I'm doing and make give myself more privacy. And also better Battery life and sot on one charge.
I know, I still can be easily located bla bla bla. But I think it's a good step, better than non.
I'm already using duckduckgo search browser and I need to say that I don't miss Google at all, I was surprised how good it is.
Instead of Google maps I will use Nokia Here, it seems to be quite good choice.
I found out that Nova launcher works without Google service framework.
And... F-Droid will be as a my "Google play Store".
But first I need to flash good rom, so which OS rom will be the best with some useful preinstaled appsand and which will support xposed of course, so it needs to be Android 6.
Thank you.
Edit:
Just realised that I posted in wrong section. This post can be deleted.
Posting that to different forums wont help you any further. There is only ONE Android version you might find what you ask for and that https://www.replicant.us/ which is badly outdated due to the fact that they dont even allow binary blobs in there. So whatever you do, you have Google, Apple or Microsoft havin access to your data. It's dangerous to go alone... Choose wisely ^^
i remember the people at CM said that once, they wanted to make a google free android...look where they are now
now, i understand the privacy argument, but my friend it goes too deep for you to try and use outdated OS for it...
sites have different levels of tracking, apps you install even those that don't rely on google services still at some level do, and mostly will be collected by google as long as you're using Android,
so you can do all 3 while using google services, preserve battery, minimize(and not entirely eliminate) privacy concerns, and have an updated OS... if you're going to spend the time to get rid of google, that time will be more fruitful spent just immuning your normal android...
use adblocks, VPN, Encrypt your device and possibly your connection with VPN, and through google define or disable most of what google uses to mine data...the chances on your ISP leaking your info is more than that of Googles (or Apple...etc) under normal circumstance) , apple even set a 1st when they refused to decrypt a phone for the FBI>>>so i'd suggest to get an updated nice rom , if it's custom flash the minimal GAPPs (Pico) , spend sometime on google privacy and security pages going thoroughly through them and disabling everything, do the same on Google option on your device, install a free VPN (or a good paid one if you can afford it which will provide encrypted Connection) , you'll have root, so debloat your rom as much as possible, read a little about wakelocks and alarms and disable them reasonably, get a good Kernel that has that in mind...and you'r set , and i bet you you'll leak less data than if just removed Google services...
that said, most custom roms comes without GAPPS (google apps and services) installed, so as an example, if you flashed the latest Sultan's CM 13 you'll get what you're asking for, an android 6.0.1 rom, no gapps, good camera , great Kernel...etc (no root as well, so you'll need to flash root if you want it)
This may seem oversimplified, but isn't Hydrogen OS directly from OnePlus pretty much google free?
MicroG is a great project for you to look into then: https://microg.org/
theduke7 said:
install a free VPN (or a good paid one if you can afford it which will provide encrypted Connection)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please never install a free VPN service. They're free for a reason and that reason is to sell your data. Most free VPN services just relocate you and don't even encrypt the connection.
i use color os in my redmi note 4x without google services. you can port color os to our device and enjoy google-less phone
i think chinese developer miui roms are google free.
Hey all,
After days of testing and comparing older APKs, I found the ideal version of Google Maps for the Huawei P40 Pro without GMS:
-no Google Play missing error on startup and/or when starting navigation
-allows saving searches locally on the device instead of having to sign in
Ideally, I wanted to find a version that doesn't come with the annoying "Nearby Places" bloat. Unfortunately this requires using a version 9.xx of Maps which crashes on startup on the P40 Pro.
Get it from here:
https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/maps/maps-10-29-2-release/
Check my screenshots to see the UI and save search setting!
Also, because we can't create location pins without signing into an account, if the "recent search history" does not suffice, you can create navigation widget shortcuts to your favorite places.
Hope this helps.
I would rather just install microG (quick & simple) ... then install the current version of google maps.
While MicroG is a cool alternative, my idea remains to use this phone without logging into a Google account or bringing back some GMS libraries onto the phone. No app really compares to Google Maps and this version specifically behaves perfectly.
I like the concept .. and I would join you .. if the notifications were reliable with HMS-naked .. but unfortunately pretty much all notifications are unreliable (either nothing or late or random) .. hence I am on the next best thing HMS+microG .. but if Huawei can ever fix the notifications, then I will uninstall microG and join you.
linux2525 said:
I like the concept .. and I would join you .. if the notifications were reliable with HMS-naked .. but unfortunately pretty much all notifications are unreliable (either nothing or late or random) .. hence I am on the next best thing HMS+microG .. but if Huawei can ever fix the notifications, then I will uninstall microG and join you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please give details about the Micro G process?
neversayoceans said:
Can you please give details about the Micro G process?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Summary of Options:
HMS-naked (broken/delayed notifications on heaps of apps, even Huawei App Gallery apps)
HMS+microG (simple open-source app for notifications with google firebase cloud messaging)
HMS+GMS (notifications broken)
HMS+GMS+icebox (freeze google play store as required for notifications and unfreeze intermittently for updating apps)
microG
https://microg.org/
1. Perform a factory reset of the phone (as you need to install apps after microG install).
2. Install F-Droid app (search for the apk .. F-Droid is a store with access to search for apps)
3. Add this repo into F-Droid .... https://microg.org/fdroid/repo
4. In F-Droid, then install MicroG Services Core.
5. In F-Droid, then Install MicroG Services Framework Proxy.
6. In F-Droid, then Install the MicroG FakeStore.
6. Open the Microg Settings app. Grant it all permissions and disable battery optimizations.
7. Add your Google account.
8. Turn on Device Registration, Cloud Messaging and SafetyNet.
9. Restart your phone.
10. Open Microg Settings app, check the status under Cloud Messaging. If it says not connected enter the following in the phone app: *#*#2432546#*#* and restart your phone. Check the status again - it should say Connected. (I had to enter the phone string and restart my phone twice until it said connected).
11. Install apps
12. Check connection in microG app for Google Cloud Messaging
All this will give you is push notifications with Google Cloud Messaging (including the Google Firebase messaging).
I also had notification issues caused by either Huawei PowerGenie and Android Doze .. if the notifications work and then suddenly stop after an hour or so, then try these ..
https://forum.xda-developers.com/hua...ility-t4100277
Hey guys, long time lurker around xda and after purposely getting a huawei gms-less phone to see how it would go I ran into some frustrations learning that apks from the playstore whether from downloads or aurora store app etc, nothing would deliver notifications. My huawei is a nova7se but I had a friend test this on his and it is working as well so I presume it works for all huawei/googleless devices to a point.
The goal of this was to find a way to get notifications from playstore apps such as discord, outlook email , banking apps etc. This is not a replacement for google services apis needed for games or google apps which rely on services framework to operate in general.
A few things
-MUST BE CLEAN GOOGLE-LESS PHONE**
-Does not need root/bootloader unlocked
-Does not need sketchy downloads from random sites formatting recovery/ota/hisuite backups etc
-Mostly all open source
-Easily reversible and minimal risk
-All done through phone without additional mods or adb
-Not all apps will work for notification services for this depending on how the original developer team wrote the app to handle this situations. For example: discord, outlook, capital one bank, chase bank, apps work but protonmail did not want to connect to microg for notifications and I have not been able to successfully trick it to connect to it yet)
- APKS MUST BE FROM PLAY STORE ORIGINALLY. Using fdroid variants or personal stuff probably wont work since those packages did not rely on google notification services. I know some apps have a standalone apk you can download externally from the source but it may differ in its functionality.
-THIS IS NOT GOOGLE PLAY SERVICES AND WILL NOT MAKE GOOGLE APPS WORK. The reason it is not working for your google apps and games is because it was never supposed to. Dx
**By "google-less" phone I am referring to not having any leftover packages from attempting to install gms on the device. Google packages conflict with microG and will not be compatible. If you have used lzplay or other methods to attempt to get some form of playstore working, then you will most likely have google packages installed somewhere even if it failed to get GMS working perfectly. Keep this in mind if you get installation issues. Ideally if you are not using the phone as a daily, factory reset it to original settings if possible to ensure cleanest install if you want to pursue this.
STEP 1)
Download microG apps.
-microG services core
(optional)
- **microG services framework proxy
- **microG droidguard helper (? no idea if this is needed but was in my downloads for microg testing)
**the services framework proxy and droidguardhelper were part of the original experiment but later on I managed to get notifications running without needed either one of these.
Easiest way is to use fdroid store app and to add in microg repo found here.
https://f-droid.org/
https://github.com/microg/android_packages_apps_GmsCore/wiki/Downloads
Step 2)
Open microg settings app - self check
-Signature spoofing will not work because we have no access to anything on the phone system wise
-Installed packages should have "playservices gms core installed" and "services framework installed" checked only (see picture)
-Grant permissions and select to ignore battery optimization (so the service is not closed in background)
Step 3)
MicroG settings main menu
-Turn on google device registration
-Turn on google cloud messaging
-Turn on google safetynet (probably is not actually doing anything but turn it on for good measure)
-Add google account (Does not appear to be needed since it did not do anything specific relating to notifs)
Step 4)
Download aurora store.
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/
or
https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore
Fdroid route is easiest if you used it to install microg apps.
(Why aurorastore? Why not? The main reason is because it accesses google play store apps which inturn are the apks which are known to use google play services for notifications. Downloading an apk from another origin might not be the playstore version making it not really work with this process)
Step 5)
Download apps as needed with aurora store,
In phone settings, make sure you disable auto management of background apps.
Settings-battery-applaunch. Set apps like outlook, discord etc to manual and turn all settings to on (auto launch/run in background/secondary lauch).
Optional step 6) In aurora store settings , add microg apps to blacklist so aurora store does not try to update microg with play services which will erase micro g and give you a systemless apk of play services which does absolutely nothing.
Thats basically it. I was so caught up on trying to find ways to break into my nova 7se's bootloader and attempted to sideload microg for authentic playstore functionality and playservices but as long as notifications are working, aurora store + notifs is all the functionality I need.
No offense to those offering other ways to add in gms to huawei phones but as a security minded individual, it seems like too much of a risk to use randomly hosted internet files overwriting system functionality.
If you go into microg settings and under "google cloud messaging" you can see which apps are being monitored for notifications. Once I restarted my device, its status turned to disconnected but still catches notifications for outlook and discord as I tested. This is not using microg as a replacement for playservices because again this is ONLY FOR NOTIFICATION USAGE in this implementation.
Hope this helps anyone who wants to be able to use some google play apps but had notification issues.
It is not working as i kept getting error to install microG Services Core due to "Failed to install due to an unknown error" on my Huawei P40 Pro
zoold3vil said:
It is not working as i kept getting error to install microG Services Core due to "Failed to install due to an unknown error" on my Huawei P40 Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have any google core packages installed (even as regular systemless apps) or leftovers from previous attempts at getting gms installed then it will conflict with microg installation since it sees it as a conflicting app. This requires a clean almost factory emui without any remnants of google installation attempts. Ill update the initial post for that bit of info.
This is only for notifications, right?
I mean, this doesn't allow you to use YouTube, Gmail, Keep etc...?
i did played with microG Services as well befire... but ended up in still having the original play services installed, did tested now again with microG services and now, outlook, whatsapp, Microsoft Authenticator and Launcher only force closes... what ah mess
futureshock said:
i did played with microG Services as well befire... but ended up in still having the original play services installed, did tested now again with microG services and now, outlook, whatsapp, Microsoft Authenticator and Launcher only force closes... what ah mess
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't worry, you just have to reinstall every app that force closes.
sheikgr said:
This is only for notifications, right?
I mean, this doesn't allow you to use YouTube, Gmail, Keep etc...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. I stumbled upon this accidentally while trying to figure out a way to enable 'oem unlock' in my nova7se since huawei blocked even adb shell sysprop access to change the setting. Its not a full implementation of microG and probably is not intended to be used this way but it gets notifications through which is a plus when pulling apks from play store. Theres no xda forum for the nova7se but figured Id share it here D:
futureshock said:
i did played with microG Services as well befire... but ended up in still having the original play services installed, did tested now again with microG services and now, outlook, whatsapp, Microsoft Authenticator and Launcher only force closes... what ah mess
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea unfortunatly any attempts with getting original play services installed sort of messes with this. Preferably a clean install/phone reset is ideal starting point. App wise you might have to clear cache and data so it 'resets' which is almost the same as uninstalling and reinstalling the apps. You will still get the message that "this app wont function without play services" since you cant spoof it entirely and on some you might have to find the setting to turn notifications off and back on in the app themselves. If it shows up on microG's setting under 'google cloud messaging' option, it is working. Ive been using the nova7se for a couple days now testing it as a daily user, restarted it occasionally and things are functioning similar to regular android phones(notification wise). Just be sure to allow the app to run in background so the system battery saver/app launch process does not turn it off.
as i say'd i did played a little bit with microG services, but for example, even when reinstalling the apps afterwards, whatsapp does start, and you need to relogin, but on the restore backup screen nothing more happens, only loading forever, when microG Services are installed..
another interessting i found out right now, when the apps force closes, when putting the phone into airplane mode, the apps does open normally!
futureshock said:
as i say'd i did played a little bit with microG services, but for example, even when reinstalling the apps afterwards, whatsapp does start, and you need to relogin, but on the restore backup screen nothing more happens, only loading forever, when microG Services are installed..
another interessting i found out right now, when the apps force closes, when putting the phone into airplane mode, the apps does open normally!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh ok I get what you are talking about now. Backup functionality (for whatsapp) I believe uses google drive account which microG in this sense is not going to provide. Just a friendly reminder that this process is for push notifications only and not google api usage. provided by play services
futureshock said:
as i say'd i did played a little bit with microG services, but for example, even when reinstalling the apps afterwards, whatsapp does start, and you need to relogin, but on the restore backup screen nothing more happens, only loading forever, when microG Services are installed..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe i found there a bug of whatsapp... as whatsapp trys to find google drive... but does not work correctly it loads forever... for some reason it looks like it ah hidden error message or something like this... i hit back a couple of times, and closed whatsapp and reopend, and suddenly i saw the no backup found page... anyway still all this is BS, i really hate huawei for not unlocking the bootloader, and let us just do what we like to do... there wouldn't even be an issue with GMS anymore as we simply could flash openGapps
So, you did found a new way, GMS + HMS enabled with no notification error? Am i right?
hayals said:
So, you did found a new way, GMS + HMS enabled with no notification error? Am i right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the statement is a bit misleading, this is not really GMS but its a way to use 3rd party play store apps that would not give notifications because of play services missing. This will only cover the notification portion of apps/apks originally found in the playstore that require notifications through play services push notifications. I have not touched HMS or anything else but this basically inserts a listener under microG to monitor push notifications and deliver them as needed. Again this does not resolve the issue of missing google APIs found in the full GMS package and is not intended to do so. Strictly notification wise for apps that need them.
Personally I used aurora store to get apks from playstore without needing playstore installed (because playstore version apps are looking to use googles push notification services) but how those apps function is another story. For example: Youtube/maps/google pay etc will not work as they need google apis. But 3rd party apps like discord, outlook email, and banking apps like capital one etc do work. Games might not because they might want play games api which is not present here since this is not GMS. (Tried to fun cytus 2 and a few other games and it wouldnt start since license check fails by default)
To my knowledge this will not work with any other GMS procedure attempted so you cannot combine this with a working GMS hacked install since you will have a version of play services and gsf framework active. Think of this as another alternative entirely in a way if you want to not risk questionable modifications and want to stay on default HMS software. Idk what the future holds as huawei seems to block ways to get GMS on phones after they become popular so I see this as an alternative to the unknown with pulled playstore apks functioning as they should.
GMS and this fix won't cooperate.
I've been using this for a while, but sadly not apps are giving me notifications. Reddit for example is not sending anything to my phone.
I did a factory reset on my P40 Pro followed the guide and when you wrote to add an account I do so, I press Agree and then it stays on
Just a sec
Your device is contacting Google to
save information on your account
This can take a couple of minutes
Sorry
There was a problem communicating with Google Servers
Try again later.
And anything like games that use google to login it fails too
GrimTech said:
I did a factory reset on my P40 Pro followed the guide and when you wrote to add an account I do so, I press Agree and then it stays on
Just a sec
Your device is contacting Google to
save information on your account
This can take a couple of minutes
Sorry
There was a problem communicating with Google Servers
Try again later.
And anything like games that use google to login it fails too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunatly for something like that theres too many factors at play to trouble shoot that from my end. I would say to try a different default browser/vpn it etc as it could be any number of reasons why google servers arent connecting for it. Games that use google wont work because this is not google play services replacement. This was only intended for getting notifications working with most* apps that rely on a simple push notification service through google play services. Unfortunatly this isnt a guarentee depending on the app itself and where its pulled from . This was why I use/suggest aurora store since its pulling the playstore version of the app which almost always relies on google services for notifications.
Some apps like discord, outlook etc have a manner of continuous notification scanning in the background processes to try to get itself to connect to a push service even if they give you the error that "the device does not have google services and might not work properly". I can confirm those are working as are my banking and authenticator apps. I had an issue with proton mail specifically where it wouldnt attempt another push notification check to register with microg like the previous apps and wont recieve notifications. Its not a magic bullet but helps where it works.
Vexusia said:
If you have any google core packages installed (even as regular systemless apps) or leftovers from previous attempts at getting gms installed then it will conflict with microg installation since it sees it as a conflicting app. This requires a clean almost factory emui without any remnants of google installation attempts. Ill update the initial post for that bit of info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info
I still can't open google related apps like youtube or google app itself... Even with Vanced youtube, it is hard to keep up because I can't log in, so i can't have my subscriptions and updates. Also certain games can't be played because the data are connected to my Google Play
Bump...
..So does the MicroG method still work in 2021 or with the latest version of the OS?
arsenal74 said:
Bump...
..So does the MicroG method still work in 2021 or with the latest version of the OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does work with EMUI11.
Only advantage it's easier to install and Get push Notification and not mush else.
Now This is the only way you can install with Vanced Manager
hello with the new way of these phones andriod and others plus spyware .im wondering how do i know what apps samsung etc are spying on my phone maybe uploading my numbers and other infor without me knowing any of you guys got any idea whats the best way to stop it. tbh i hate even google assist even turning on by itself even when i diable it
Hello, first of all, please write in easily readable sentences, that way more people are going to help you.
Second, it is important to be and stay suspicious of the software you use, especially with android. But you shouldn't be worried too much as most of the data that is sent from your phone isn't sent with "evil intentions" or anything like that, it is often rather aggressive diagnostics.
Warning! The following paragraphs are filled with very radical means of removing suspected spyware! Almost all of these require root and knowledge in modding your Android! Beware!
As to how you can spot "spyware" or suspected spyware, there isn't one easy way.
First of all, you could use a custom ROM, so that your system is more open source and there isn't any suspected spyware (or any "ware" at all) from Samsung.
To go one step further, you could try to live without Google services:
Use a different search engine, for example DuckDuckGo or any other really
Use Firefox or any non-Chromium browser
Instead of using opengapps to install Google Play Services (when you install a custom ROM) you could use the replacement project "microG" (microg.org).
Get as many apps as you can from Open source app stores (F-Droid)
Don't use the official Play Store unless you really have to - it is a power hungry data collecting app (that can theoretically install any app without asking, just like the Google Play Services or any other /system/priv-app app with proper permissions) - Alternative for installing Play Store apps: Aurora Store
Replace Google Maps with OpenStreetMap (OSMand)
Use a anonymous YouTube client, for example NewPipe
etc.
These are of course only suggestions, I don't recommend doing them all at once, but if you really don't want any unnecessary data sent from your phone, these are the first steps.
For actually seeing which apps send what data you could either analyze the app bytecode with App Warden or look at all detailed permissions with AppOpsX.
Methods to neutralize spyware are rejecting the permission for the app to use internet access or even run in the background, disabling the suspected app or removing it with system app removers.
Be very careful with actually disabling or removing system apps! Many system apps are needed for the system to work and one can easily misjudge an app by its description and diagnostics! Before disabling an app you should research whether anyone else knows anything about the app and only remove it if you are really sure about it. You have been warned.
IntroductionAs the title says. We'll remove as many google things as we can. We'll replace missing functionality with microG.
This is not meant to be an extensive guide. Just a quick write up of my experience de-googling the device.
I bought this device without doing much research and was a bit bummed when I realized there's no custom ROMs for it. One unofficial build of lineage is on here, but a little known feature, called the phone app, did not work for me, so that wasn't an option. I used it with google for a while but I wanted control of the device back. I didn't find many comprehensive tutorials on how to do this without using custom ROMs, so I thought I'd make a quick and dirty one.
What's the goal?
Remove google services from the Nord CE 5G without installing any custom ROM
Get full microG functionality (all the checkmarks)
Replace sync functionality for calendar, contacts, photos, etc with NextCloud.
What's not the goal?
Fully pass safetynet
Get special google functionality such as chromecast and google pay
Verify play store purchases
Who is this for?This is basically for me 2 days ago. You have some experience messing about with android, but you don't really know what you're doing most of the time.
What you need
Oneplus Nord CE 5G already rooted with Magisk (I won't explain how to since there are plenty of guides)
A file manager with root access. I use fx file explorer
f-droid
Step 1: Disable all google things (or as many as you would like)There are ways to fully remove google apps over adb, but I wasn't sure if this whole thing would work and moreover, I couldn't be bothered. I took the simple and safe way out and recommend you to to the same. Just go to [settings -> apps & notifications], then disable google play services and all other google apps you want to remove. Surprisingly I was actually able to fully uninstall google play services after disabling it.
I disabled every google app on my phone, but you can pick and choose. Some might not work as expected.
Step 2: Install microGUnfortunately there are too many apps that depend on some part of google play services to function, even if they have nothing to do with google. Luckily people have recognized this problem and we have migroG, which aims to replace at least the basic features of google play services.
This is where I started to be confused. When visiting https://microg.org/download.html you'll see a bunch of apk's without much explanation. I was under the impression you'd have to install this as a system app or something, but apparently not. You can just install the apks using the normal installer. I also though you'd need to install all of these, but you really only need Services Core. It seems it has all the others baked in. You can choose to install this through their f-droid repo as well as explained on the microg page. Choose your poison.
Step 3: Making sure microG actually worksAfter installing microG, you'll have an app called microG settings. It has a fun little button on top called self-check and if you click it you'll see a bunch of boxes, only some of which are checked. This is where the fun starts, because we will start to increase the number of checked boxes.
PermissionsSome of these boxes are just permissions that are missing. So we jump to [settings -> apps and notifications -> microG Services Core -> Permissions] and grant all of them (or some). We also want to allow microG to always run in the background, so in app info we also click [Advanced -> Battery -> Battery optimization] and select Don't optimise. OnePlus' battery management is the absolute worst so let's hope that will do what it says.
Account and device registrationmicroG allows to register a google account. This will allow you to use google login in apps like youtube. My personal goal is to not use any google service in the long run so I skipped this.
Google device registration means that your device will be registered with google. I enabled this to get access to google cloud messaging. Some apps need this for notifications. If you leave this off, I believe microG does not talk to google at all.
Signature spoofingNow we're missing some checkmarks related to something called signature spoofing. I don't fully understand it, but it's basically the ability of microG to act as if it is the real play services (or any app to act as if it's any other app). By default this is made impossible because of obvious security risks. There are many ways of getting signature spoofing to work, and therefore plenty of ways to get lost in the weeds.
The method I used is as follows
Install LSPosed zygisk release module using Magisk Manager.
There are zygisk and riru releases. I don't know what these are. If you can't find zygisk in your magisk settings (gear icon top right), you probably need to install riru and use the riru release.
Now navigate to /data/adb/lspd/ and you'll see a file called manager.apk. Install it and open the app.
Now click the download button on the bottom left and search for fakegapps. After clicking it you can click the up arrow on the top right to go to the website. Here you'll find an apk that you have to install.
back in the LSPosed manager, click modules -> FakeGapps. Enable for microG Services Core. It is recommended not to enable any other apps.
Now signature spoofing related features should work.
LocationAfter all of this, location in OpenStreetMaps wasn't working and I thought there was no way to get it working.
It turns out I was just an idiot...
Apparently microG takes FOSS seriously enough to give you a choice of location backend. Simply search f-droid for "nlp" and you'll find a bunch of different options. I used one called Local NLP Backend Location since I see no reason for my location service to communicate with any server. After installing, you can enable the provider in microG location settings.
Step 4: Getting back some functionalityPlay store appsNow we would all like to ditch the play store altogether, but it's just a little too convenient. Luckily there is the Aurora store, which allows to download google play apps without the google play store. If you also install Aurora Services through Magisk, it will be as convenient as the real play store.
Cloud syncingI like to be able to cloud sync photos, calendars, contacts, and notes, so I'd like a solution that is tied to google. I've found that nextcloud works quite well for these purposes. NextCloud is an open source cloud solution with plenty independent providers and the ability to host yourself. I made an account at thegood.cloud, but will probably create my own host at some point.
The nextcloud app can take care of syncing photos and files from your phone.
To synchronize calendars and contacts, there is an app called DAVx5 from f-droid. This app allows you to log into your nextcloud account and you can tell it to sync your contact and calendar. This app is based on the open DAV standard, which is supported by most calendar and contact apps.
To synchronize notes over nextcloud, I use an app called Quillnote. This was actually how I discovered nextcloud in the first place.
ConclusionThis whole process was a lot less painful than I anticipated at first. There is some lost functionality but most things really work fine. Lots of apps will start bothering you and send notifications that they are broken without play services, but I have not seen any of them have any issues. The notifications can be turned off, but unfortunately only one by one.
Updates will probably be a pain since you'll have to go through this whole process again, but who's really expecting major updates for this phone anymore?
Security is likely compromised but not to an extent I'm worried about.
Notnearlynovel said:
IntroductionAs the title says. We'll remove as many google things as we can. We'll replace missing functionality with microG.
This is not meant to be an extensive guide. Just a quick write up of my experience de-googling the device.
I bought this device without doing much research and was a bit bummed when I realized there's no custom ROMs for it. One unofficial build of lineage is on here, but a little known feature, called the phone app, did not work for me, so that wasn't an option. I used it with google for a while but I wanted control of the device back. I didn't find many comprehensive tutorials on how to do this without using custom ROMs, so I thought I'd make a quick and dirty one.
What's the goal?
Remove google services from the Nord CE 5G without installing any custom ROM
Get full microG functionality (all the checkmarks)
Replace sync functionality for calendar, contacts, photos, etc with NextCloud.
What's not the goal?
Fully pass safetynet
Get special google functionality such as chromecast and google pay
Verify play store purchases
Who is this for?This is basically for me 2 days ago. You have some experience messing about with android, but you don't really know what you're doing most of the time.
What you need
Oneplus Nord CE 5G already rooted with Magisk (I won't explain how to since there are plenty of guides)
A file manager with root access. I use fx file explorer
f-droid
Step 1: Disable all google things (or as many as you would like)There are ways to fully remove google apps over adb, but I wasn't sure if this whole thing would work and moreover, I couldn't be bothered. I took the simple and safe way out and recommend you to to the same. Just go to [settings -> apps & notifications], then disable google play services and all other google apps you want to remove. Surprisingly I was actually able to fully uninstall google play services after disabling it.
I disabled every google app on my phone, but you can pick and choose. Some might not work as expected.
Step 2: Install microGUnfortunately there are too many apps that depend on some part of google play services to function, even if they have nothing to do with google. Luckily people have recognized this problem and we have migroG, which aims to replace at least the basic features of google play services.
This is where I started to be confused. When visiting https://microg.org/download.html you'll see a bunch of apk's without much explanation. I was under the impression you'd have to install this as a system app or something, but apparently not. You can just install the apks using the normal installer. I also though you'd need to install all of these, but you really only need Services Core. It seems it has all the others baked in. You can choose to install this through their f-droid repo as well as explained on the microg page. Choose your poison.
Step 3: Making sure microG actually worksAfter installing microG, you'll have an app called microG settings. It has a fun little button on top called self-check and if you click it you'll see a bunch of boxes, only some of which are checked. This is where the fun starts, because we will start to increase the number of checked boxes.
PermissionsSome of these boxes are just permissions that are missing. So we jump to [settings -> apps and notifications -> microG Services Core -> Permissions] and grant all of them (or some). We also want to allow microG to always run in the background, so in app info we also click [Advanced -> Battery -> Battery optimization] and select Don't optimise. OnePlus' battery management is the absolute worst so let's hope that will do what it says.
Account and device registrationmicroG allows to register a google account. This will allow you to use google login in apps like youtube. My personal goal is to not use any google service in the long run so I skipped this.
Google device registration means that your device will be registered with google. I enabled this to get access to google cloud messaging. Some apps need this for notifications. If you leave this off, I believe microG does not talk to google at all.
Signature spoofingNow we're missing some checkmarks related to something called signature spoofing. I don't fully understand it, but it's basically the ability of microG to act as if it is the real play services (or any app to act as if it's any other app). By default this is made impossible because of obvious security risks. There are many ways of getting signature spoofing to work, and therefore plenty of ways to get lost in the weeds.
The method I used is as follows
Install LSPosed zygisk release module using Magisk Manager.
There are zygisk and riru releases. I don't know what these are. If you can't find zygisk in your magisk settings (gear icon top right), you probably need to install riru and use the riru release.
Now navigate to /data/adb/lspd/ and you'll see a file called manager.apk. Install it and open the app.
Now click the download button on the bottom left and search for fakegapps. After clicking it you can click the up arrow on the top right to go to the website. Here you'll find an apk that you have to install.
back in the LSPosed manager, click modules -> FakeGapps. Enable for microG Services Core. It is recommended not to enable any other apps.
Now signature spoofing related features should work.
LocationAfter all of this, location in OpenStreetMaps wasn't working and I thought there was no way to get it working.
It turns out I was just an idiot...
Apparently microG takes FOSS seriously enough to give you a choice of location backend. Simply search f-droid for "nlp" and you'll find a bunch of different options. I used one called Local NLP Backend Location since I see no reason for my location service to communicate with any server. After installing, you can enable the provider in microG location settings.
Step 4: Getting back some functionalityPlay store appsNow we would all like to ditch the play store altogether, but it's just a little too convenient. Luckily there is the Aurora store, which allows to download google play apps without the google play store. If you also install Aurora Services through Magisk, it will be as convenient as the real play store.
Cloud syncingI like to be able to cloud sync photos, calendars, contacts, and notes, so I'd like a solution that is tied to google. I've found that nextcloud works quite well for these purposes. NextCloud is an open source cloud solution with plenty independent providers and the ability to host yourself. I made an account at thegood.cloud, but will probably create my own host at some point.
The nextcloud app can take care of syncing photos and files from your phone.
To synchronize calendars and contacts, there is an app called DAVx5 from f-droid. This app allows you to log into your nextcloud account and you can tell it to sync your contact and calendar. This app is based on the open DAV standard, which is supported by most calendar and contact apps.
To synchronize notes over nextcloud, I use an app called Quillnote. This was actually how I discovered nextcloud in the first place.
ConclusionThis whole process was a lot less painful than I anticipated at first. There is some lost functionality but most things really work fine. Lots of apps will start bothering you and send notifications that they are broken without play services, but I have not seen any of them have any issues. The notifications can be turned off, but unfortunately only one by one.
Updates will probably be a pain since you'll have to go through this whole process again, but who's really expecting major updates for this phone anymore?
Security is likely compromised but not to an extent I'm worried about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the lineageos thread there is one version of LOS without gapps however its security patch is outdated. I also believe that LOS fan edition doesn't come with gapps by default though I have yet to try that rom.
Fisuxcel said:
In the lineageos thread there is one version of LOS without gapps however its security patch is outdated. I also believe that LOS fan edition doesn't come with gapps by default though I have yet to try that rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and I did install it previously but the phone app stopped working and overall it was a bit buggy for me. Not everyone seems to have this issue so you might want to give it a try.
Doesn"t seem to work on OOS 12
At microG Service Core install I think I must be missing something, it tells me the package is already installed, though I've deleted correctly the com.google.android.gms package (and of course almost everything related)
I've reinstalled the Play Services and Services Framework from Google for now to make my phone work again until a solution is found