FAQ

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:

network localization services, which means that you can only use the GPS for the positioning

Google Cloud Messaging, so you won't receive any push notification for any app that relies on it

the Maps API, which means that any app that uses Google Maps through the Maps API will probably crash

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 informations.

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, once a week.

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're free to host your personal instance of PlayMaker or GPlayWeb and connect it to your F-Droid client, which will let you download apps from the Play Store and install them via F-Droid. Another solution is to use a local app, like Yalp 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).