How to install the Google Play Store on the Huawei P40

With Huawei still being placed on the US Entity list and with the US and China trade war not looking like it will come to an end soon, it means that for the foreseeable future, Huawei users should probably not expect to have Google Play Services available on their devices.

But there is good news for those looking to put a bit of work into it.

This is because thanks to a workaround, you can actually install Google Play Services on your Huawei P40 smartphone. There are a lot of steps involved and it is by no means an official method, but if you absolutely need to have Google on your phone, then do read on as we’ll guide you through the entire process step by step.

Before you get started

• You’ll want to backup your phone and all of its files in the event that something goes wrong
• You will also need an external USB drive
• You will also need an adapter that will let you connect your USB drive to your Huawei P40

How to install Google Play Store on the Huawei P40

1. Download the Huawei GMS Install file from here
2. Load it onto the USB drive and connect it to your Huawei P40
3. Go to Settings > System & updates > Backup & restore > Data backup > External storage > USB storage
4. Select the file you loaded onto the USB drive and tap Restore
5. Enter the password shown on your screen and tap OK
6. Clear all background applications
7. Look for the app on your home screen with a purple G icon and tap on it to launch the app
8. Tap Activate
9. Tap Allow
10. Return to the home screen and clear all background apps again
11. Relaunch the app and tap on the blue button at the bottom of the app’s screen and let it run in the background
12. Go to your phone’s files and open the USB drive
13. Look for the Google installation folder and tap on it
14. You will have to install the first six files so tap on them one by one to install them
15. Go to Settings > Users & accounts
16. Tap Add an account and select Google
17. You will be prompted with an error message informing you that the app was built for an older version of Android, but tap OK anyway
18. Tap Existing
19. Enter your Google login credentials and tap Sign in
20. Tap Next
21. At this point you can keep adding Google accounts you want associated with the device, but you will have to do so now because once the process is complete, you won’t be able to unless you restart the entire installation procedure
22. Clear all background applications
23. Go to your phone’s files and open the USB drive
24. Look for the Google installation folder and tap on it
25. Tap on the seventh file which will be Google Services Framework
26. Tap Allow
27. Tap Install and wait
28. Once installed, tap Done
29. Give the phone a minute or two and you will start seeing a bunch of error messages which will be normal. You can then choose to mute these error messages if they’re getting too annoying
30. Go to your phone’s home screen and you should see the Google Play Store app
31. Launch the newly-installed Google Play Store
32. Download and install an app called Device ID by VTechSevi
33. Launch the app and look for Google Service Framework
34. Clear your background applications
35. Go to your phone’s Settings > Apps
36. Tap the three-dot icon to the top right corner and select Show system processes
37. Look for Google Play Services
38. Tap Force Stop
39. Tap Uninstall
40. Clear all background applications
41. Go to your phone’s files and open the USB drive
42. Tap on the Google installation folder and install the eighth application called GMS Core Mod 1
43. Tap Allow
44. Tap Install
45. Go to your phone’s Settings > Apps
46. Tap the three-dot icon to the top right corner and select Show system processes
47. Look for Google Services Framework and tap on it and go to Storage
48. Tap Clear Cache and Clear Data
49. Clear all background applications
50. Launch the Device ID app and you will notice that the Google Services Framework ID is gone
51. Launch the Google Play Store – At this point some of you might be greeted by an error message asking you to retry. Keep doing this until the app launches without any error messages. This could take several attempts
52. Launch the Device ID app and check if the Google Services Framework ID has been regenerated
53. Repeat steps 3 & 4 until the ID reappears
54. Once the Google Services Framework ID has been stored, go to your phone’s Settings > Apps
55. Tap the three dot icon to the top right corner and select Show system processes
56. Look for Google Play Services
57. Tap Force Stop
58. Tap Uninstall
59. Go to your phone’s files and open the USB drive
60. Tap on the Google installation folder and install the ninth application called GMS Core Mod 2
61. Tap Allow
62. Tap Install

Conclusion

Assuming you follow these steps correctly, you should have no issues using the Google Play Store and downloading apps from it. We should also note that Google did previously warn against sideloading its apps onto unauthorized devices, so you might encounter errors in the future when trying to use them,

Now, as we said, this is a rather long series of steps and we imagine that some might feel uncomfortable using this method. If this isn’t for you, then Huawei’s app store should still have most of the major applications available on them.

Source: #GNTech

Install the Play Store on other Huawei phones

• How to install the Google Play Store on the Huawei P40 Pro
• How to install Google Play Store on the Honor 9X Pro
• 5 Google Play Store alternatives for Huawei smartphone owners