I’m running iodéOS 7.4 on a OnePlus 9 Pro. Having trouble with the installation of a few Google apps that I need for my phone’s work profile and for my work/my employer.
I’ve created the work profile using the shelter app, integrated my work Google account. So far so good.
Can I install apps like Maps, Gmail, Drive and, if so, how? It seems that microG services need certain permissions but I cannot figure out how to find them within the phone’s settings. And I need help with the overall installation process.
AFAIK, some Google apps recently had updates that break MicroG-compatibility to a degree. For example GMaps can’t load content from the internet anymore. I installed the previous release to work around that. I would assume that there will be a fix at some point but I don’t know anything more specific.
I suggest using Google’s webapps (in the browser) if that is good enough for you. This is probably very reliable. Unfortunately with google updating apps & services constantly, there is always a chance that things break at some point until a fix is committed by the MicroG-team.
If this is not acceptable for you (which I assume is the case if you need it for work), you should probably use a GSF-based OS, not a MicroG based like iodeOS.
With Shelter, just copy over the “Aurora” app from your main install to Shelter. Then launch and use it there to install your other apps! Also make sure the microG settings for your shelter profile are all enabled.
Yes, I was able to install everything needed. Now I have to wait for our IT admin to unlock and activate my apps/activate my account to be able to use them.
As of now I still cannot use the Google apps needed:
I cloned the Aurora Store app to Shelter (ie. it’s now an app in the work profile of my phone), downloaded the apps I needed from there, gave them the permissions they need, but I couldn’t log in to my work account opening any of those apps.
Installed the Device Policy from within my work profile but that didn’t help.
Our IT admin said he assumes that I need to install a version of microG that can give me the Google Play Services, he said there are different versions/components of microG, but I assume he doesn’t know what he is talking about…
I’ve added the microG repo to F-Droid and selected it over the iodéOS version of microG.
I believe all three components of microG are installed on my phone.
I don’t think the actual microG packages are at play. Instead, can you try to login with your work Google account to the “work profile version” of microG, then check again? Also in that microG version, confirm that all checkboxes and features are enabled.
It is certainly possible (even probable?) that some of the services are not built out yet for microG. So looking into bug reports there may help understand more if you are still not able to get things working: Issues · microg/GmsCore · GitHub
More Details … app is opened?, you see the login window? Your login is not accepted?
I can’t help in detail, since I don’t use it, but i see in the microG settings, some sub-settings under google accounts, device registry, device attestation, PlayStore services… Have you ever gone through these?
Yes, I have gone through those settings and activated the needed ones (ie. most of them).
All Google apps connected to my work Google account cannot be used as they don’t sync to the Google servers to show for example my files (Drive) or my emails (Gmail).
I wonder if it wasn’t better to use seperate devices. Let them provide a smartphone to you with all the stock ROM and apps and data leakers. Leave the device behind once you leave the office. They don’t own your private time and there is no need for your boss to send instructions in the middle of the night.
Use iodéOS and FOSS apps on your private device.
Sounds radical, but I remember the time when people did not have to be available to their business 24/7 …
Thanks - that’s basically what’s happening already (and will most likely happen for another year (after which I’ll retire)):
I’m using my ‘old’ phone with all the Google crap until I can switch to FOSS completely. And I’ll sell my ‘old’ phone then, it’s running Android 12, ha ha ha…
To your issues though, the main suggestion is to use the available open source apps to integrate with Google Services. Install Davx5 (F-Droid) in order to sync contacts and calendar to the already-installed open source apps. Use Thunderbird for Gmail.
For other Google services that have their own app and don’t integrate with open source apps, you can often use them directly: you can use Google Maps or Google Keep directly, for example. Google Drive I haven’t looked at, you can of course just make a browser “webapp” for it, which isn’t ideal but does work. Maybe the app itself works?
I believe to say Google’s own apps work is true insofar as they start, show my Google account but nothing from there. I think that’s a problem with the Device Policy construct:
In order to connect to my account’s content in the Google cloud (files, emails and such) my work admin has to unlock and activate my phone for the apps to find my content within our Google Workspace, and for whatever reason that doesn’t work.
My phone, being de-googled, is spoofing itself as a Pixel XL phone whereas it is a OnePlus 9 Pro, and although the spoofing may work (all except one apps I installed in my private/main profile worked running iodéOS) the stuff I need in my work profile (Google apps and access to Google’s cloud) does not.
I even had an email today from The Google Cloud Team saying:
“Your request for work account access on your UX510UWK is pending”
and the email itself said:
“You’ll be able to access your work account on your UX510UWK as soon as your request is approved. Please follow up with your administrator if you have any questions.”
So, some proper connection by my phone was made at some point.
Re. your suggestion for alternative apps:
I’m already using an app as my calendar (aCalendar, subscribed to years ago and happy with it), another one for my emails (Aqua Mail), both work perfectly on my iodéOS phone with all the settings from my old phone copied over. But yeah, there might be other problems in the pipeline.
This doesn’t help you with you work apps, but Google Maps works absolutely fine without logging in to a Google account. The only missing feature is remembering you journeys and favourite / bookmarked places.
I use it because I have yet to find an alternative app - FOSS or proprietary - for in-car navigation that comes close to it in terms of functionality and ease of use.
@petefoth : I have been using OsmAnd~ (from F-Droid) happily for years. You can download (contry / region) maps before your trips (there are updates every month or so, but you can live with an older map if you want to spare your time) and use them on the road even if you have no access to mobile data (foreign country, bad coverage, etc).
Thanks. I use OsmAnd~ also, but the feature it doesn’t have is live traffic updates and knowledge if road closures sn d traffic jams. Google Maps does all that, and does it well. And as I use it without logging in, it’s not sending my personally identifiable information to Google.
