Modern smartphones Honor After the brand returned to the international market, they again received a license to use Google mobile services. However, users who purchased devices during the period of sanctions, or those who fundamentally refuse the corporation’s ecosystem for privacy reasons, are often faced with the need to completely disable these components.
The “removal” procedure is actually a set of measures: from simple account deactivation to deep freezing of system applications through special tools. It is important to understand that it is technically impossible to completely erase Google Play Services without obtaining root access and flashing the device, since they are built into the system partition. However, it is possible to achieve a state in which the phone functions completely autonomously from American servers.
This instruction describes safe methods of isolating services that will not lead to loss of warranty or turning the smartphone into a “brick.” We will look at options for different versions of the shell MagicOS and explain how to replace familiar tools with domestic or open analogues.
Disabling synchronization and logging out of your account
The first and most obvious step is to break the connection between your device and the search giant's servers. This won't delete app files, but it will stop transferring personal data such as contacts, calendar, and location history.
First, you need to go to your device's settings. Find the section Users and accounts or Accounts depending on the firmware version. In the list you will see the linked Gmail email address.
Click on the desired account and select the option Delete account. The system will warn you that all data synchronized with this profile will be erased from the phone. This is a critical point: make sure you have backups of your contacts and photos.
⚠️ Attention: Once you delete your account, the Find My Device feature will no longer work. If the phone is lost, it will become impossible to track it through the standard Google interface.
If you use several profiles, the procedure must be repeated for each of them. After this, the smartphone will stop automatically downloading mail and data from the cloud storage.
Revoking access rights and disabling system applications
Even without an active account, system services can continue to run in the background, consuming battery power and taking up RAM. To stop this process, you need to manually revoke rights and disable components.
Go to the menu Applications and select item Applications in the list of settings. Click on the three dots in the upper corner of the screen and activate the display of system processes. Now find in the list Google Play Services.
Inside the application menu, first press the button Stop, and then go to the section Permissions. Here you need to deny access to all items, especially location, microphone and contacts. This will prevent hidden telemetry collection.
- 🔒 Deny access to geolocation so that applications cannot determine your location through GPS satellites without your knowledge.
- 📵 Disable permission to run in the background mode for all store applications Play Market.
- 🗑️ Clear the data and service cache to remove temporary files and authorization tokens.
A similar procedure should be carried out with the Google, Google Play Store and Google Sync applications. Unfortunately, the button Disable may be inactive on some firmware versions without obtaining extended rights.
Using ADB for deep deactivation
For users who want to achieve maximum results without rooting the device, there is a tool ADB (Android Debug Bridge). This method allows you to hide system applications so that they no longer appear in the menu and are launched by the system.
First, you need to activate developer mode. Go to About phone and quickly click 7 times on the item Build number. After the message about enabling developer mode appears, go to the new section in the settings and activate USB debugging.
Connect your smartphone to the computer via a USB cable. You need to install ADB drivers on your PC and run the command line. Enter the command to test the connection:
adb devicesA request for debugging permission will appear on the phone screen. Confirm the action. You can now enter commands to hide packages. List of main Google packages to be removed from visibility:
- 📦
com.google.android.gms—main services. - 🛒
com.android.vending—Play Market application store. - 🌐
com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox—search widget and voice assistant.
The command to disable is as follows: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 package_name. Perform it sequentially for each component.
⚠️ Attention: Do not disable system components whose purpose you do not know. An error can lead to a cyclic reboot of the smartphone (bootloop).
How to return everything back?
If, after disabling system applications, the phone begins to work incorrectly, you can return everything to its original state. Connect your phone to your PC and enter the command: adb shell pm enable package_name. This will restore the functionality of the hidden component.
Alternative stores and the Huawei ecosystem
After isolating Google services, the user will need a source to install applications. Smartphones Honor have a pre-installed store AppGallerywhich is the main source of software within the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) ecosystem.
AppGallery contains most of the popular Russian banking applications, social networks and utilities. To install applications that are not in the official catalog, you can use the “App Search” function, which aggregates links from third-party safe sources.
| Service | Status in AppGallery | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Web version / Gbox | NewPipe application |
| Google Maps | Available | Yandex.Maps / 2GIS |
| Gmail | Web version | Mail application |
| Google Drive | Absent | Yandex.Disk / Cloud Mail.ru |
For running applications that are strictly tied to Google Play Services (for example, some games or Uber), there is a solution in the form of a virtual environment Gbox or Gspace. These applications create an isolated container inside the phone where Google services are emulated.
Using Gbox allows you to log into your Google account only within this “bubble”, without giving the main system access to your data. This is a compromise option for those who need specific applications, but who do not want to integrate Google into the system completely.
When installing Gbox, give it all the necessary permissions to work with notifications and autorun, otherwise applications inside the container may not send notifications.
Replacing the browser and search engine
The standard Chrome browser is often the main data conduit to Google. Its replacement is an important step in the process of complete deprivatization of the smartphone. There are many decent alternatives available from the AppGallery store or through third-party directories.
It is recommended to install open source browsers such as Firefox, DuckDuckGo or Brave. These browsers have built-in mechanisms for blocking trackers and do not send your browsing history to search engine servers by default.
After installing a new browser, go to the system settings, section Applications -> Default applications. Change the “Browser” item to the newly installed application. Also, do not forget to change the search engine in the settings of the browser itself from Google to Yandex, Bing or DuckDuckGo.
Removing updates to the standard Chrome browser through application settings will return it to the factory version, which takes up less space and is less aggressive in collecting data, if you do not do you plan to use it at all.
Nuances of working with notifications and push services
One of the main consequences of abandoning Google is the loss of the standard push notification service FCM (Firebase Cloud Messaging). Many applications use this channel to notify the user about new messages or events.
On Honor smartphones this function is taken over Huawei Push Kit. Most responsive apps downloaded from AppGallery are already reconfigured to work with this service. However, older versions of apps or applications manually installed via APK files may not send notifications.
In such cases, you need to check the power consumption settings for a specific application. Go to Settings -> Battery -> Launch applications. Find the desired app and switch the switch to manual mode, allowing autorun, indirect launch and background work.
⚠️ Attention: Battery settings interface may vary depending on MagicOS version. If you cannot find the item you need, use the search in the settings by entering the request “Launch applications”.
☑️ Checking notifications
Correctly setting up application autostart is critical for the stable operation of instant messengers and social networks after Google services are turned off.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Is it possible to completely remove Google Play Services without root access?
It is impossible to completely delete service files from the system partition without superuser rights (root), since this is a protected memory area. However, using ADB commands, you can disable their work so that for the user and other applications they will appear as deleted.
Will banking applications stop working after removing Google?
Russian banking applications, as a rule, do not depend on Google services and work fine in offline mode or through Huawei services. Problems can only arise with foreign applications that require security verification through Google Play Protect.
How to return Google services back if you need them?
If you just disabled your account, just add it again in the settings. If you used ADB to disable packages, you will need to connect your phone to your computer and enter the command adb shell pm enable package_name for each disabled component.
Is it safe to use Gbox or Gspace?
These apps are legal virtualization tools available in AppGallery. They create a secure environment for running Google applications. However, remember that within this environment you are still logged into your Google account, and the data inside it is processed according to the rules of the corporation.