Starting from this month (March 2018), Google has started a new policy of allowing the Google apps to work only with the certified devices. This means that if your device is not certified by Google then you won’t be able to use any of the major Google apps. Even if you side load these apps on an uncertified device, it will display the message that your device is not certified and will not allow you to use these apps.
The certification is done to ensure that these devices use Google apps as outlined by Google. Usually this headache is taken care of by the device manufacturer when they install the official Android ROM on the device in their factories. But if you have installed a custom ROM (like Lineage OS) on your device, then perhaps it will not be certified by Google. But how do you really find out if your device is certified or not? Here is how:
- Update the Google Play store in your Android device.
- Launch Google Play store and swipe from left to right to open the sidebar.
- From the side bar, select Settings to open the Play store app settings.
- Scroll down the settings screen and at the very bottom you will find the Device Certification status.
If your device is listed as Certified then you do not have anything to worry about. But if your device is listed as Uncertified, then you may have to take some steps. If your “uncertified” device is using official ROM released by the device manufacturer then you should contact the manufacturer support helpline and ask them for help regarding this. If you are using a custom ROM, ported ROM or a modified ROM, then you can have your device certified by visiting https://www.google.com/android/uncertified/ and entering your device ID. You can find your device ID as we have explained – how to find device ID in Android smartphones.