I own Huawei P20 lite phone and because of the US dispute with the manufacturer, certain Google apps no longer work correctly. My question is, if I install a custom ROM will the Google apps then work properly ie will those currently blocking the app still know that it is still a Huawei phone?
 
I have one of these too, and dont have any app problems, what are you having problems with?
As for the custom roms, I couldn't be sure, but suspect there would still be a p20 lite market in the rom. Most of these roms are available from various forums, and generally have a detailed description of what the rom does.
 
Google Maps no longer works with my cars Infotainment system since the USA /Huawei /Google Services bust up. Originally I thought it was a firmware issue with the Infotainment system - upgraded it and now it works with my wife's Pixel 3a (Android 11) and an older Samsung S2 tablet (Android 7) but not on my P20 lite (Android 9).Love my P20 but this is a problem for me
 
I haven't got that system, but maps works on my system she'll talk over spotify, but not over the radio, I presume that is something to do with the fact the phone is controlling both spotify and maps.
My p20 lite is two years old and is just about to be upgraded, I've not had any problems at all. My understanding was that the models that were already out - p2o/p2o lite would not be affected by this dispute, only later models.
 
I own Huawei P20 lite phone and because of the US dispute with the manufacturer, certain Google apps no longer work correctly. My question is, if I install a custom ROM will the Google apps then work properly ie will those currently blocking the app still know that it is still a Huawei phone?
Personally I do my best to live in a google free world - Install a custom rom (say Lineage or /e/ for example), then put F-Droid and Aurora appstores on it and you will have access to pretty much all of the apps from everywhere.
Generally speaking, irrespective of device or rom many google services will not work fully or in some cases work at all if the device is not associated with a google account. It is of course possible to install google services on almost any custom rom if you wish to do so.
 
Personally I do my best to live in a google free world - Install a custom rom (say Lineage or /e/ for example), then put F-Droid and Aurora appstores on it and you will have access to pretty much all of the apps from everywhere.
Generally speaking, irrespective of device or rom many google services will not work fully or in some cases work at all if the device is not associated with a google account. It is of course possible to install google services on almost any custom rom if you wish to do so.

Thanks so much for the detailed reply. Just saw this late on will reply tomorrow 👍👍
 
Never had a problem with apps on my p20 lite or my p30 or p30 pro it's only the new models that couldn't have Google supported apps like the p20 smart 2021/p40 pro/p40 lite from what I'm hearing tho the harmony os will be released onto all non Google supported phones
 
Never had a problem with apps on my p20 lite or my p30 or p30 pro it's only the new models that couldn't have Google supported apps like the p20 smart 2021/p40 pro/p40 lite from what I'm hearing tho the harmony os will be released onto all non Google supported phones
Well I never noticed a problem either until I started driving after lockdown which was only a few weeks ago. My car (Skoda Octavia 2017) uses Android Auto and Google Maps connected between the phone and the Infotainment system via a USB cord. It works perfectly on my wifes Google Pixel and on my Samsung tablet but not on my Huawei P20 Lite. I did work fine with the Huawei prior to lockdown. All software on the phones is updated, and I have also updated the cars infotainment firmware. My P20 lite was bought around sept.2018. Huawei are not updating it beyond Android 9 nor are the even offering the new Harmony OS on my model and as far as I can see, they dont have an equivalent to Android Auto anyway. I have tried their new Petal Maps which is fine but cant be made with to work on the cars display. Its a mess
 
Personally I do my best to live in a google free world - Install a custom rom (say Lineage or /e/ for example), then put F-Droid and Aurora appstores on it and you will have access to pretty much all of the apps from everywhere.
Generally speaking, irrespective of device or rom many google services will not work fully or in some cases work at all if the device is not associated with a google account. It is of course possible to install google services on almost any custom rom if you wish to do so.
Hi
Love the idea of a Google-free world. Years ago many tried to live Microsoft free but . . . .
Anyway I've just detailed the problem to bazcfc 1 below. Do you think that if I go for a custom ROM my phone will not be recognised as a Huawei (the enemy) and I will be left alone unmolested. I will still need to load some Google Apps, (Android Auto, Maps and Gmail) but not much more than that. Do you have any user experience of Custom ROMs. Ive looked at a number of variations on https://www.getdroidtips.com/best-custom-rom-huawei-p20-lite/ and will probably go for a Lineage or the Pixel Experience ROM as thes seem to be judged as the most stable. Glad to listen to anyone else's experience about ROMs good, or bad. Thanks

PS I've never done this before but I've seen a few YouTube videos and it seems not too complicated

 
Hi
Love the idea of a Google-free world. Years ago many tried to live Microsoft free but . . . .
Anyway I've just detailed the problem to bazcfc 1 below. Do you think that if I go for a custom ROM my phone will not be recognised as a Huawei (the enemy) and I will be left alone unmolested. I will still need to load some Google Apps, (Android Auto, Maps and Gmail) but not much more than that. Do you have any user experience of Custom ROMs. Ive looked at a number of variations on https://www.getdroidtips.com/best-custom-rom-huawei-p20-lite/ and will probably go for a Lineage or the Pixel Experience ROM as thes seem to be judged as the most stable. Glad to listen to anyone else's experience about ROMs good, or bad. Thanks

PS I've never done this before but I've seen a few YouTube videos and it seems not too complicated

This sort of thing can sometimes be a bit of a b@$t@rd sometimes if you wade in unprepared. Do your research on your make and model and on your target ROM.
I suspect that your recent difficulties are coming about as a result of the Google and Huawei diverging from each other as version updates of all the different elements that make up things (or lack of some of them at least) come to pass. I could be wrong, as I have said, personally I am not willing to use the services of the axis-of-evil.

Lineage is probably the best documented and supported of all alternative android ROM's. When you flash to it you will be offered the opportunity to also install google play services and subsequently to associate everything with a google account. That in turn will allow access to the google play store just like any google OEM device. Many people do exactly that - - - cannot see the point of doing that myself, but hey, to each their own.
Procedurally different devices will often require a different approach in order to install a custom ROM. This is due to the different (vast range) of hardware types available, so do not always expect the procedure for your device to be the same as another device even from the same manufacturer. (like I said, do your research on your exact make and model of device).

If you are minded to step away from google's all encompassing talons, there are alternative app stores available. You will find that you will probably need to make compromises in terms of choice and use a different app to what you have traditionally used in the past. The F-Droid app store is a place where most of the apps are issued under the GNU-GPL license (so Free Software as defined by the FSF). Where apps depart to another permissive Open Source license then that is made very clear in the F-Droid app store's info. Additionally there are alternatives to gaining access to apps that are hosted in the google play store, which you can think of as a proxy that you use in order to get at the app you want. Perhaps the most well-known one is called Aurora with Micro-G running a close second. Using a combination of F-Droid and Aurora is probably a line of least resistance for anyone new to this type of thing. However, custom ROM's such as those provided by the /e/foundatation come with Micro-G already built-in. (The /e/ ROM is basically a fork of Lineage and aims to offer a Google and Apple free experience).
Some apps will however give you problems and are sometimes difficult to troubleshoot. Perhaps the best example of that is banking apps (personally I am not willing to use internet banking on a mobile device). You might find that one bank's app appears to be available in a store like Aurora but will not download. Others will download but not install, Others will download and install but will not run or not run properly. This is because of different banks placing different criteria when searching for information about the target device that you want to install the app on, and the point in time or stage when that discovery procedure is undertaken. There is no common standard for that sort of thing. Those sorts of issues can usually be got around, but not without a fair bit of effort. Aurora for example will offer you a choice of different installation 'modes' as a way of combating this, but many banking apps will either not install or work on a device that is running in 'root' mode, so in some cases it is just of switching-away from 'god-mode' after the ROM has been installed. Once again, research is usually called for and you will typically find that someone has been there before you and has documented it. (industrial-stregth opterx at the ready, as you will be in for allot of reading).

Running a custom ROM on your hardware should not give you 'enemy' type of problems.
I often run some pretty whacky looking setups using things like Sailfish OS as the ROM running on the bare metal and then (Docker) containers in which I place certain android apps or other Linux apps. That type of thing is not for the faint of heart, and probably not the type of thing to do on a device that you have as your 'daily-driver' and you have to be prepared to wear out the old shoe-leather making mistakes and learning before the thing can be considered reliable or 'production-use ready'. Truth is, Sailfish OS actually offers way more apps than I am ever likely to actually want or need, but hey, how else am I supposed to learn about this sort of stuff.

Anyway, I hope that those ramblings are of interest, and good luck
 
Brillant and very detailed answer. You've given me a lot to think about and lots of homework to do. I'll not rush into this, it's about deciding whether or not the cure is worse than the diease. But whatever route I go, I thank you for the work you have put into this 👍
 
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