Sometimes it happens that after flashing the smartphone some essential applications are missing. Without them, the full-fledged operation of the apparatus is impossible. Neither download a program, nor a game. How to deal with it? Just install the necessary applications. But the trouble is that they are “sewn” into the firmware, and simply installing apk will not work. Such programs are provided by Google and are called Gapps. What kind of animal is it, we will analyze a little lower.
What are Gapps?
Google Apps - applications from the company of the same name that are implanted in the firmware and allow you to use Android to the fullest. They also include the notorious Play Market. Accordingly, without Gapps you will not be able to install a single application. Without this software package, YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps and many others will also be inaccessible.
Usually, Cyanogen Mod firmware suffers from Gapps. Probably, their authors perceive Google applications as an unnecessary rudiment, and therefore do not supply their crafts with such kits. Here is one more reason to install only official firmware. Not the point. Now you need to figure out how to return the Gapps to their proper place.
Applications from "Google" are characterized by the fact that mercilessly "eat" the RAM of the device. If your device cannot boast an impressive amount of "RAM", then it is entirely possible that without Gapps your "pet" would be much better. Be that as it may, for actions to uninstall or install Gapps you will have to get root-rights on the device or even replace the firmware. More on this is written below.
Installation
If you upgraded your Cyanogen Mod, then Clockwork Mod recovery was installed with it by default. It's good. No need for extra movements to install Gapps. What is Clockwork Mod? This is an "advanced" recovery, with which you can install firmware, updates and generally manage the entire system at the administrative level. Now we are only interested in some of its features. For example, installing zip packages.
To get started, we are looking for the right package with Gapps for our firmware. The CM website has a table of correspondence between Google applications and firmware versions. You need to download the appropriate package. After that, you can proceed to the next step of the “How to Install Gapps” instructions.
Now copy the downloaded zip package to the device’s SD card and reboot the smartphone into recovery mode. Next, select Install zip from sd card. We select our zip package and installation begins. After installation, you need to reboot the system using the Reboot system now item . After loading the OS, you can use Gapps. Of course, after they are updated.
If not installed
If Gapps are not installed via CWM recovery, then something is wrong. There are several options here. First, you downloaded the wrong package with applications that does not fit your firmware. In this case, you will have to sort through all the packages using the “scientific poke” method.
The second option is a “broken” recovery. There are times when the software itself starts to fail. Here the only way out is to reinstall the recovery. Usually, for installation it is enough to download the installation package, “drive” the device into Bootloader mode and flash the recovery using a computer. But in some cases, you will have to perform additional steps to bring the software back to life.
The third option is a “broken” firmware. As a rule, third-party firmware is not stable due to the lack of some components. That is why it is recommended to establish official ones. In this case, you will have to replace the firmware. Perhaps the new one will be much easier, and you do not have to bother with Gapps. That this is the most preferred option, and so it is clear.
Delete
Some individuals categorically do not welcome Gapps, believing that through them Google spies on users. We will not go into details of this sensitive topic, but simply talk about how to remove Gapps. You can delete it very simply - roll “custom” firmware without this software. If this option does not fit, then you need to make the device root-rights and remove all Google applications manually.
Of course, official instructions from Google do not recommend removing the Gapps package, but in some cases it is simply necessary. For example, your device suffers from a catastrophic lack of RAM, and Gapps eats a lot. In such cases, it is better to remove this package. Or the package has become terribly buggy due to some errors. Then Gapps must be removed. How to do this has already been described.
Chinese devices
There are people who want to install on purebred "Chinese" Gapps. That this is knowingly doomed to failure is unnecessary to say. These phones are simply not designed to work with Google applications. Typically, such devices have such weak hardware that even Market will not work on them. But if you are confident in the quality of your “Chinese” and want to stick Gapps on it, you will have to learn a lot of instructions. For each device has its own instructions for installing “custom” firmware and Gapps.
Of course, the "Chinese" are different. Some are even equipped with a “sane” Android OS. It is with them that you can perform actions to install Gapps. But it’s far from the fact that your efforts will succeed. Still, these are not original devices. And how they managed to install Android on them, no one knows. It is possible that by interfering with the firmware you will take down those “crutches” on which the long-suffering OS rests. But in any case, it’s worth a try. It is possible that after this the device will work as expected.
Problem devices
Some smartphones do not lend themselves to standard firmware methods due to a locked bootloader. On the one hand, this is good, since it protects devices from the actions of “crooked” users. And on the other - these are unnecessary problems when changing the firmware. These "sores" are usually affected by devices from Sony and HTC. Also, the latest Samsung devices have such a tendency, which means that it will be problematic to install or remove Gapps on these smartphones. But every problem has a solution.
If your smartphone is classified as a problem, do not rush to despair and tear your hair out. Progress does not stand still, and craftsmen have long come up with a way to unlock your tough nut. The main thing is to try. For if nothing is done at all, then the problem will simply remain unresolved. And this option is absolutely not suitable for us. Go ahead. There are no unsolvable problems.
Conclusion
To summarize. We learned how to install Gapps or remove them. Do you need applications from Google, decide for yourself. But only with this software package can you use Android one hundred percent. However, by uninstalling Goggle Apps, you will free up a considerable amount of RAM. There is something to think about. In the meantime, you can experiment.
It should be warned that you perform all actions to modify your smartphone at your own risk. Therefore, you must make a backup copy of the operating system. This is necessary in order to be able to restore the device’s operability, if suddenly because of your actions it will turn into a "brick". Anyway, such actions with the device need to be done with a certain amount of caution.