[GUIDE] DeGoogle any device and install MicroG

[mlolz93]

Awesome guide, I've installed microG revived from repo on magisk, will I still need to install smali patcher?

 

[TheArt.]

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!

I have a LG G7 and I will do this procedure too on the stock rom. Yes it is your best bet if no stable custom ROM is available. It will get rid of Google Tracking but you have to look for the apps from LG and Lenovo because there is also tracking made by manufacturers.
It is dangerous to remove ALL LG apps from a stock ROM, for example. But you can do some tests and see how far you can get prior to end up in a bootloop.
For the rest of LG apps you can remove and you think they do some sort of tracking, you can either disable them with adb (maybe it will give different results with respect to uninstalling) or you may block their internet connection (with NetGuard or similar) so they will quietly sit there and will not be able to send tracking data to LG.

 

[Vladd]

I have a OnePlus 8T on Android 11, any info if it works wiith the newer models of OnePlus and Android 11, and possible pitfalls? I'd really like to try it, so I'd be grateful for any feedback

 

[zeus_r6]

I have a OnePlus 8T on Android 11, any info if it works wiith the newer models of OnePlus and Android 11, and possible pitfalls? I'd really like to try it, so I'd be grateful for any feedback

Same here

 

[TheArt.]

lol same, I guess some of us have to try!

 

[zeus_r6]

lol same, I guess some of us have to try!

The stock ROM is great minus having microg onboard honestly.

 

[Vladd]

The stock ROM is great minus having microg onboard honestly.

You mean, the chance for some problem arising is significantly greater with stock ROM, even if it is thoroughly cleaned from Google apps, or something else?

 

[nacos]

It worked like a charm on S20 Thank you OP for this clear & detailed guide.

FYI:
One possible hiccup when installing microG. Depending on which package you choose to install AND what phone (Android OS) you're using, you may end up installing the Play Store (PatchPhonesky) in the wrong directory (you can tell that by the repeated crashes upon reboot). In my case, I had to manually move it to /system/product/priv-app, which was the original Google Play Store apk location. The standard microG package, by default, installs it to /system/priv-app.

 

[mrw0lfe]

Having a hard time trying to get this to work
Trying to flash the standard zip on S20, but i always get a "Fatal Error. Cound not find a rom in /".
Edit: but i did flash it using magisk successfully, but still, microg shows no spoofing.

 

[xero4zero]

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.)

Thank you for this great post, works perfectly Fixed my problem here

[Solved] Error: "Unfortunately, Google Play Services has stopped" On different Note 4 Variants!!

Getting an error on multiple Note 4 variants N910V running Modest Rom & N916K (converted to N910C) running eRobot all within the last couple of days "Unfortunately, Google Play Services has stopped" , seems like a global issue anyone knows why &...

forum.xda-developers.com

 

[Hornelen]

Thank you for this thread!

I have installed microG on a Havoc OS 4.12 phone.
I installed microG with froid repo.
All 4 modules.
Self check all checked on active, except battery optimisation.
I have not installed any Unifiednlp or location module.

Questions:
- Is there any problem with installing as user app? Is there a difference compared to installing as instructions as system app?
- Is Magisk and rooting necessary? I would like to keep my phone unrooted if possible
- Safety pass is impossible right now with microG correct?
- Why does microG needs all those excessive permissions (full read/write, fulltime location on background, contact access) ??
Does Gapps also have those permissions automatically?
Is that not a vulnerability?
- What to do with Unifiednlp? How to install.
I use no google products or services except google maps and that through browser and no google account. Perhaps google earth app too.

Thanks.

 

[jadedteck]

I have a galaxy a7 lite cellular and would like to get rid of everything google. My tablet is currently able to make cellular calls as well as sms/mms and lte data so I want to keep those functions. I just want a browser capable of accessing https sites and I want the overall system response to improve. There is no twrp currently available for a7 lite so is there another way to use this process? I don’t think I even need microg but I want to rid of google and still use a web browser.

 

[Marcyvee]

It works well. Is there a way to sync contact?

 

[nacos]

It works well. Is there a way to sync contact?

With Google!!!???

 

[Marcyvee]

Good idea. But I installed microg because my device was too slow with gApps.