When using a ROM with pre-installed GMS (such as Pixel Experience/Evolution X), we need to complete the boot guide to perform some initial configurations. However, sometimes this guide cannot be completed offline and requires a connection to Google servers for further operations. This has caused great inconvenience for users in mainland China - they need to install certain tools after the boot guide to connect to Google, but they cannot connect to Google without the boot guide. This article documents the cause of this situation and several solutions.
Added on September 13, 2022:
Note: This method may be affected by the network environment. The author successfully performed the operation using home broadband without a proxy when writing this article. However, subsequent feedback from readers indicated that it was ineffective. This disclaimer is hereby made.
If this method is ineffective, you can also try removing the SIM card and retrying (a method to skip the MIUI EU boot from @梦里水乡).
Reasons for Unable to Complete the Boot Guide Offline#
To put it simply, the reason for being unable to complete the boot guide offline is that the device has triggered Google's FRP lock, which is often caused by not signing out of your Google account during the last system wipe.
In the introduction to Google FRP, we can see the following description:
If your device has been lost or stolen, and has been Factory Data Reset in an untrusted environment, this will trigger the FRP lock.
If you want to reset your device to factory default settings in an untrusted environment, ensure that you know your Google account login credentials as you will need it to log in once you have reset your device.
In short, if your device is restored to factory settings in an untrusted environment, it will trigger the FRP lock. In this case, you need to log in to your Google account for verification during the boot process.
Skipping Methods#
Most of the methods mentioned in articles can be summarized into three types:
- Use a network that can connect to Google for login verification.
- Modify /system/build.prop and add a line
ro.setupwizard.mode=DISABLEDto the file. - Forcefully remove the FRP on the device.
However, personally, I don't think any of these three methods are ideal.
The first method requires configuring a LAN proxy for the computer/router, manually entering the proxy port when connecting to the hotspot on the phone, and connecting to Google through the proxy configuration on the computer/router. This is the most authentic method, but the drawback is that the operation is too complicated and costly.
The second method is to write the configuration to disable the boot guide in build.prop. Without a text editor in the Android phone terminal, you need to first copy the file to the /sdcard directory in recovery, transfer it to the computer via USB, add the line, transfer it back, overwrite the original build.prop, and finally give it 755 permissions.
In terms of operability, this method is simpler than the first method. I have used this method on Android 10 and below systems. However, recently I found that this method has issues on Android 11 - although the boot guide verification is successfully skipped, the installer frequently crashes during program installation, and the log shows can't install packages while in secure frp. This indicates that although we have successfully bypassed the verification of the boot guide, the frp lock still exists and affects normal use.
The third method is even more aggressive, forcefully removing the FRP verification mechanism on the device. I personally have not used this method, but I think although this mechanism is somewhat complicated to deal with, fundamentally it is to ensure device security, so it is not good to rashly delete it.
Next is the method that this article focuses on, also mentioned in the title, skipping verification from the ground up.
Since the reason for this verification is that the Google account was not signed out on the device before restoring it to factory settings, as long as the Google account is signed out, the FRP lock will naturally disappear. So our method is: sign out of the Google account on the device through the cloud.
- Visit the Google Account homepage.
- Find Security -> Your devices and click.
- Click on the device that you forgot to sign out of the Google account and click the "Sign out" button.
- After successfully signing out, you will find that the phone will no longer force you to log in to the Google account for verification, and you can complete the boot guide offline.