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Installing LineageOS

Time to take off the gloves and jump straight into freeing your phone. It’s time to install LineageOS.

First check whether your device is supported at https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices. Make sure to deselect the Discontinued Devices filter if you’re willing to use an older build. Each device gets a code name – for example, the original Moto G is “falcon”, our XZ1 is “lilac”, and the POCO X3 has the moniker “surya” for ease of reference. Don’t try to install a ROM for another device (and make sure you are certain exactly which device you have) – flashing an incorrect ROM will definitely not end well. Check the wiki page for your device carefully because there could be quirks. For example, installing a new ROM on some Sony devices (including our XZ1) erases the DRM keys that let the camera do its magic. And there’s no easy way to undo this.

If you can’t find an official build for your device, all is not lost. The community at https://xdaforums.comenjoys nothing more than preparing custom builds of LineageOS and all kinds of other AOSP-based ROMs. Obviously, these are slightly less supported than LineageOS – the person who ported a particular build may stop caring about it immediately after release – but using them is likely much safer than an outdated Android version. Unofficial LineageOS-based builds follow the same install process as the official one, which we’ll outline in a moment. But do check the release notes in case there are quirks or caveats. This also applies to the official LineageOS builds.

SIDELOADING THE GOOGLE APPS

Google apps packages have to be installed immediately after a new OS is installed, otherwise they won’t work. The Googley bits have to be on there before any user data.

You’ll find links to the required packages at https://wiki.lineageos.org/gapps/ for each Android version (and 32-bit and 64-bit ARM architectures). For clarity, it’s entirely possibly to have Play Services (and associated Google apps) installed without signing into a Google account. You won’t be able to use some apps (in particular the Play Store), and Google will still track you to some extent. If you need apps from the Play Store, you can use an alternative front-end (such as Aurora, which you’ll find on F-Droid). If you really need GApps, flash it with: $ adb -d sideload MindTheGapps...-14.zip

Then continue with the reboot instructions as detailed in the main text. And enjoy a less Google-fied but still quite Google-fied experience because of what you just did.

SIDELOADING THE GOOGLE APPS

Google apps packages have to be installed immediately after a new OS is installed, otherwise they won’t work. The Googley bits have to be on there before any user data.

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Linux Format
May 2025
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