Living without Google Play Service - has anyone bought a recent Huawei phone? Is it viable?!

Stevie G

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I'm due a phone upgrade in a month or so and have been really happy with my Huawei Mate 20 Pro and really like the look of the Mate 40 Pro, especially the camera. The probaby rather big issue with it is the lack of Google's Play services and I'm wondering how other people have coped!

Google Maps doesn't look so much of a probably now that Huawei have their own alternative from TomTom, but it's things like Google Pay and mobile banking I'd really miss. Are there any alternatives to Google Pay? I use that most of the time at the moment as it means I can leave the house with just my phone and nothing else in my pockets (our front door is a Yale Conexis so the phone even opens that).

I know the P30 didn't have Google stuff on it, can anyone give me any feedback? Is it worth taking the plunge? Or is it really just not worth the hassle?

My second choice is the iPhone 12 Pro, but I'm loathe to go back to iPhone if I can avoid it....!

Thanks!
 
The P30 did have GMS, it's the P40 onwards that doesn't.

Personally, I wouldn't have a phone without GMS, check if your bank or banks have an HMS app, and if things like SkyGo will work. Both were a no last time I checked.

There's a lot of apps not officially available that can be sideloaded, but there's always the danger of a future update crippling them.

 
Wow, that's a lot on that list that aren't available!
 
My wife has the P30 and it has the google stuff everything works great,, and the camera is the best camera i have ever come across on a mobile it blows my sony xperia z5 into oblivion

i am currently looking at getting a new phone and no way will i get a Huawei now that Google is not usable - a real pity because they are great phones
 
It must have hit Huawei masively, the P40 and Mate 40 Pro look to be excellent phones but hard to see many being sold outside China.
 
You can load Google services into your phone.... YouTube it.... Is not easy but it can be done





Ice



With no guarantee it will still be working tomorrow or next week or next month...

The only hope Huawei have to continue their success in the west is if Biden changes US policy relating to China.
 
The latest getaround I've see is:


and


But who knows how long it will last.
 
I'd say the P30 is still a great buy. Superb cameras which have improved with updates, full GMS, and Android 11 coming. Security updates have been regular, but I guess will stop sooner then the P40 series. I prefer the flat screen to the P30 Pro.
 
But banking ones wont work will they, and I can't see that there's an alternative to Google Pay for Huawei. I use that all the time, saves me having to take a wallet anywhere. There is a Huawei wallet app..... but it only lets you add loyalty vouchers and discount codes, so pretty useless!

And if you can get it working using the above methods, if you accidentally allow it to install an update in the future that could mean none of it works again. I'd love a Mate 40 Pro, I'm just not sure I can live without a number of the apps I regularly use.
 
I've been using a p40 pro for a couple of months, I'm sure my banking apps transferred over from my old phone and worked fine. I've put google on it now mainly for Google photos as couldn't find an alternative. Google pay is the big one I'm missing now.
 
I've been using a p40 pro for a couple of months, I'm sure my banking apps transferred over from my old phone and worked fine. I've put google on it now mainly for Google photos as couldn't find an alternative. Google pay is the big one I'm missing now.

Which banking apps are you using?
 
First direct, nationwide and RBS

You haven't seen problems like this?

I transfered to the P40 lite and all banking apps that transferred over worked fine - right up until a banking app update was required. Now the Nationwide banking app says update app, when clicking update it says already installed. Petal search just creates a shortcut to the website login so basically it's feked

 
Not as yet no I've done quite a few updates and they all work. First Direct did flag think that the phone was rooted and asked me if I wanted to continue at one point abit out of the blue. All the updates have been through Google play.
 
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I think people who assume the Huawei ban in the US will be reversed are in for some disappointment. The suspicions surrounding Huawei won't magically go away

And even it is at some point, it would be pretty naive of Huawei to rely on US companies. Because the next Trump (if not Trump himself) could be just 4 years away, ready to crack down again.
 
No offense intended, but if the phone is likely to be a problem in relation to the services you need. Then buy one that isn't. There are hundreds of android phones out there. Life's too short to spend having unnecessary headaches. 👍
 
I got the P40 pro and was well aware of the issues, i like tinkering to see if you can get things to work. I came from a note 10+ and for me it beats it hands down for what i want. Will I keep it for two years, probably not but I tend to swap phones farely regularly. I find it odd that Microsoft can continue working with huawei yet Google cant. I'm sure when they realise the Chinese companies are going to keep knocking Samsung and Apple further down the tree there will be more restrictions imposed.
 
No offense intended, but if the phone is likely to be a problem in relation to the services you need. Then buy one that isn't. There are hundreds of android phones out there. Life's too short to spend having unnecessary headaches. 👍

The thing is, for me it's not as simple as that. I want the Mate 40 Pro as it's the best camera on an android phone and all the specs are exactly what I want. To choose any other Android phone would be compromising on the specs to get access to Google's services. Likewise, the other option I'm considering is an iPhone 12 Pro, but then there are compromises with that in that I don't really like iOS and there are apps Iuse that I can't get on iOS.

So for me it's a case of where do I compromise? I either have [what I believe is] the best phone with currently the best camera but lose access to GMS, compromise on getting a different Android phone with an inferior camera/specs or go iPhone 12 Pro and lose access to the apps I want.

I'm veering more towards the Mate 40 Pro at the moment. I can survive without most of Google's stuff and banking should be able to do on my Samsung tablet, so the one other big miss for me would be Google Pay. I have a Fitbit with contactless so can use that for up to £30, so that partly meets that, but I'd probably end up having a debit card stuffed into the back of my phone case so I always have a decent payment method with me.

The Mi-10-t looks very nice and the camera looks very good, but it's just a bit too big (the Mate 40 Pro is also pushing beyond what I consider to be acceptable size but having had the 20 Pro I have no qualms about getting Huawei again)
 

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