After the disappearance of LZPlay, an easy-to-use app enabling the installation of Google apps and services on the Mate 30 devices, another workaround was found.
On the XDA Forum, developers posted a new method that can get Google apps running on the Huawei Mate 30 Pro.
While this method is not as simple as installing Google Services Assistant and letting it do everything, it still works — with the caveat that SafetyNet will continue to fail since that is a server-side change from Google.
The steps are as follows:
- Users need to back up their files to HiSuite on a PC and factory reset their phones.
- Install the Google apps provided in the downloadable zip in the thread.
- Unzip the provided backup image zip to your HiSuite backup folder on the PC.
- Restore the backup to your device, ensuring that you also restore the “system settings” from the backup image to your phone.
- Once the provided backup has been “restored” (aka installed) on your phone, you need to restart your device.
- Next, ensure that you get into App Settings and clear all data for the Google apps that you installed, and grant all the permissions that those apps request.
- Reboot for good measure.
- Launch the Google Play Store while having an active internet connection on your phone.
The developer said the thread is not immediately clear on when you can restore your previous data. Most users will be using the method on new Huawei Mate 30 devices, so data loss should not be significant.
Do note that SafetyNet will still fail and will likely continue to fail until the political situation improves. For now, if you are looking to install Google Apps on your new device, this new workaround is your best bet.
You can read the full post here:
A cnTechPost report on October 3 mentioned that LZPlay had emerged alongside the Mate 30 devices' release, as Security researcher John Wu published an illuminating post that explained how users of Huawei’s Mate 30 Pro were able to manually download and install Google apps.
This was big news because a US blacklisting prohibits Huawei from using American components and software. The process allowed the Mate 30 Pro (along with the basic Mate 30) to run popular apps like Google Maps and Gmail that otherwise would not be permitted.
But only two days after the workarounds were found, they were taken away.
In the wake of Wu’s revelations, the Mate 30 devices lost their clearance to manually install Android apps, as reported by a number of smartphone experts.
Only Google is able to make that kind of change through what’s known as its SafetyNet anti-abuse check.
“Although this ‘backdoor’ requires user interaction to be enabled, the installer app, which is signed with a special certificate from Huawei, was granted privileges nowhere to be found on standard Android systems,” Wu wrote on Medium.
At the heart of Huawei’s problems is the Google Play Store, a system-level app that’s part of Google’s licensed bundle, which opens access to the full panoply of Android applications.
With it on board, an Android device can more effectively compete with Apple Inc.’s iPhone and App Store, equipped with globally popular apps like YouTube, Instagram, Netflix and Spotify.
Without it, no matter how great its specs and performance, an Android device is a tough sell for US or European customers.
