LineageOS for microG
The full Android experience
without Google Apps
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Link to original content: https://lineage.microg.org/
The full Android experience
without Google Apps
Our ROM has built-in microG free-as-in-freedom
re-implementation of Google's proprietary Android user
space apps and libraries.
This enables you to use every Google service you need
without keeping another closed-source binary blob in your
Android system.
LineageOS for microG comes with F-Droid already installed. You can use it to access plenty of FOSS applications or even the Play Store via Aurora Store.
We ship OTA updates from upstream LineageOS twice a month. In this way you always receive new features and security updates just few days after they are released mainline.
This ROM has few changes from the official LineageOS ROM, so you can follow the installation guide for your device on the LineageOS wiki.
Before installing the ZIP you should check that it has the correct signature. You have to use a Python script to verify the signature, available here. Install Python 3 (if not already done) and the required packages (as explained in the README), then run:
python3 update_verifier.py lineageos4microg_pubkey lineage-microG.zip
If you don't care about losing your current data just reboot into recovery, wipe System, Data, Cache and Dalvik and, without rebooting, install LineageOS for microG.
Our ROM and LineageOS use different signing keys, so you can't directely flash our ROM on top of the official LineageOS while keeping your data; however, the procedure needed to migrate from the official LineageOS is very simple.
Firstly, make sure the ZIP you want to install is newer than the current installed ROM, if it is not, wait for the next build.
If you have installed unofficial builds of:
you have to uninstall them before the ROM migration. You also have to uninstall the GApps if you have previously installed them.
Then, depending on your recovery type, two methods apply:
To upgrade from one LineageOS for microG major version (15.1, 16.0, 17.1 or 18.1) to another, follow the instrucions for your device here.
First, open the "microG Settings" app and check if everything is OK in the "Self-Check" section; you will probably have to give microG some permissions, like location and file access. The UnifiedNlp section will have some issues: that's normal, we haven't configured it yet.
UnifiedNlp is the microG Network Location Provider, which provides the current location of the device without the use of the GPS. While Google's NLP can only use Google's servers for positioning, UnifiedNlp obtains the geolocation through different plugins, which interface to different services.
By default there are two plugins installed:
If you want to use these plugins, go to microG Settings -> UnifiedNlp Settings, configure and enable both.
If you instead want different plugins (like the LocalGsmNlpBackend, which uses a local offline database of the GSM towers to obtain the location) you can download them in F-Droid and enable them in the same way.
Reboot and check whether UnifiedNlp is correctly set up in the "Self-Check" section of the "microG Settings" app.
You have the F-Droid Privileged Extension installed by default, why not use it? To make a good use of it go to the F-Droid Settings and enable auto updates.
Many apps rely on the Google Cloud Messaging, a Google proprietary system to push notifications to your device. This feature is implemented in microG but, as not every user requires it, is disabled by default. If you need it, enable the "Google Device registration" and the "Google Cloud Messaging" features in the "microG Settings" app.
If you want the weather features of LineageOS (like in the lock screen or in the cLock widget) you have to download a weather provider from here. Choose your favorite one, install it and configure it in cLock (or in Settings → Apps → Gear icon → Weather).
Our ROM doesn't include root by default for security reasons, but you can easily install it: go here, download the appropriate ZIP and install it from the recovery.
Why all of this? Isn't OpenGApps free software?
Yes and no, the name "OpenGApps" is misleading. While
OpenGApps uses free
software to retrieve and bundle the GApps, the apps
themselves are not free software, they are in fact the same
Google Apps you find on a new phone.
Why should I use microG instead of the
standard Google Play Services?
First of all, freedom. I can't explain here why free software
is so important (this is a FAQ, not a 200 pages manual), but
if you're interested you can start by reading this.
Second, the Play Services are very expensive in terms of
resources, they drain lots of battery and they use lots of
space, while microG requires much less resources. To give you
an idea, the smallest possible package of OpenGApps ("Pico
Package") on ARM 7.1 is ~125 MB, while the full microG suite
(GmsCore, GsfProxy, FakeStore, MozillaNlpBackend and
NominatimNlpBackend) is ~4 MB.
Isn't Android free software? Can't I just
install LineageOS without both GApps and microG?
Android is based on the AOSP project, which is free software.
However many common features are handled by the proprietary
GApps, generally by the Google Play Services. You can use
LineageOS without GApps/microG, but you will probably miss
something. In particular, you won't have the:
With microG these services (and many others) are reimplemented.
Is LineageOS for microG completely free
software?
Unfortunately no, like LineageOS it still has some non-free
components. See the Replicant project for more
information.
Which is the current status of microG? Which
APIs are already implemented?
See
here.
Why do we need a custom build of LineageOS to
have microG? Can't I install microG on the official
LineageOS?
MicroG requires a patch called "signature spoofing", which
allows the microG's apps to spoof themselves as Google Apps.
LineageOS' developers refused
(multiple
times)
to include the patch, forcing us to fork their project.
Wait, on their
FAQ page I see that they don't want to include the patch
for security reasons. Is this ROM unsafe?
No. LineageOS' developers decided not to include this patch
for various
reasons.
The signature spoofing could be an unsafe feature only if the
user blindly gives any permission to any app, as this
permission can't be obtained automatically by the apps.
Moreover, to further strengthen the security of our ROM, we
modified the signature spoofing permission so that only
system privileged apps can obtain it, and no security threat
is posed to our users.
Do you use test keys?
Heck, no! We sign all our builds with our own private
keys.
Do you offer OTA updates?
Yes, twice a month.
Do you offer delta updates?
Not currently, but it can be done if there's real demand.
Can I install apps from the Play Store on
this ROM?
F-Droid is included in our ROM, so you can freely download
all the FOSS apps on their repositories.
However, if you need apps which are available only on the
Play Store, you can use a Play Store client, like
Aurora Store.
Do I have to enable "Unknown sources" to
install apps in F-Droid?
Our ROM includes "F-Droid Privileged Extension", which allows
F-Droid to install and update apps without the need of user
interaction or the unsafe "Unknown sources" option.
Can you add support for my device? It is
officially supported by LineageOS
We already build LineageOS for microG for every device
supported by LineageOS. Find your device in our Downloads
page!
Can you add support for my device? It is not
supported by LineageOS though...
No, I'm sorry.
I don't trust your build, I want to build it
myself!
No problem! Our builds are done with this
Docker image, feel free to build it yourself.
I am running a custom build of LineageOS,
but yours is way cooler! How can I migrate to it without
losing my data?
Replace the LineageOS official keys in our migration ZIP
with your keys (or follow the suggestions in the
LineageOS migration guide).
