As you know, Chinese versions of MIUI don’t have Google apps preinstalled due to Chinese government’s restrictions. But worry not, there IS a way to have them on this version of MIUI. And in this article, I’m going to guide you through how.
Let’s start with the terms I’ll be using first.
GApps: Short for “Google Apps”. The apps that are usually preinstalled on stock ROMs. For example Google Play Services, Google Play Store, Google app, Google Calendar Sync, Google Contacts Sync, Google Services Framework, and so on.
TWRP: Standing for “TeamWin Recovery Project”, TWRP is a modern custom recovery you need to have on your device in order to flash unsigned packages or the ones your stock recovery doesn’t allow installing (GApps packages or Magisk for example).
MIUI Recovery: As in its name, MIUI’s stock recovery image.
Now, there are 2 ways to accomplish this.
1st way is to enable it right in the system – There are MIUI ROMs providing GApps this way!
Firstly, open up Settings.
Secondly, scroll down until you see an entry named Accounts & Sync. Open it.
Thirdly, look for a section named GOOGLE, and for an entry named Basic Google services underneath. Open it.
And lastly, enable the only switch you see, namely Basic Google services. The reason why it says “It will slightly reduce battery life.” is because of Google Play Services always working in the background and apps you get from Play Store or utilizing Play Services in some way depending on them. Enable the switch.
And there you go! Now you should have Play Store popping up on your home screen now. If you can’t see Play Store, just download and install apk.
Video Guide
2nd way isn’t much complicated, but requires that you have TWRP installed and that it isn’t overwritten by MIUI with MIUI Recovery.
Install GApps via TWRP
Firstly, you need to get a GApps package to flash. We did the testing with Weeb GApps but you can try some other GApps packages as long as you’re careful with them. Ah, and make sure to download the GApps package for your Android version of course. Pretty much all packages have Android version they’re made for appended in their file names.
Once you get one, reboot into recovery – In this case, TWRP and choose “Install”, follow the path to the GApps installed. (We flashed Weeb GApps version 4.1.8 for Android 11, MIUI 12.x here.) And then swipe the slider to right.
After that’s done, tap on “Reboot system” and let the system to fully boot. Lastly, voila, you should have working GApps out of the box!
As a little information though, external GApps method might cause much shorter battery life than integrated one. So always prefer first way whenever possible.
