When using a ROM with pre-installed GMS (such as Pixel Experience/Evolution X), we need to go through the boot verification process to perform some initial configurations. However, sometimes this verification process cannot be done 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 verification to connect to Google, but they cannot connect to Google without going through the boot verification. This article documents the causes of this situation and several solutions.
Added on 2022.09.13:
Note: This method may be affected by network environment. The author successfully performed the operation using home broadband without a proxy at the time of writing this article. However, subsequent feedback from readers indicated that it was ineffective. This disclaimer is hereby made.
If this method does not work, you can also try removing the SIM card and retrying (a method provided by @梦里水乡 to bypass MIUI EU boot).
Reasons for Unable to Offline Boot Verification
To put it simply, the reason for being unable to perform offline boot verification 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 simple terms, if your device is reset to factory default settings in an untrusted environment, it will trigger the FRP lock. This requires logging in to your Google account for verification during the boot process.
Bypass Methods
Most articles mention three methods:
- Use a network that can connect to Google for login verification.
- Modify /system/build.prop and add a line
ro.setupwizard.mode=DISABLEDto disable the boot wizard. - Forcefully remove the device's FRP.
However, personally, I don't think any of these three methods are ideal.
The first method requires configuring a local network proxy for your computer/router, manually entering the proxy port when connecting to the hotspot on your phone, and connecting to Google through the proxy configuration on your 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 wizard in build.prop. Without a text editor on the Android phone terminal, you need to first copy the file to the /sdcard directory in recovery mode, transfer it to your 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 verification is successfully bypassed, 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 boot verification, the FRP lock still exists and affects normal usage.
The third method is more aggressive, forcefully removing the device's FRP verification mechanism. I have not personally used this method, but I think that although this mechanism is somewhat complex to handle, it is fundamentally for device security, and it is not good to rashly remove it.
Next, I will introduce the method that is the focus of this article, also known as the method to bypass verification from the ground up.
Since the reason for this verification is that the device was reset to factory default settings without signing out of the Google account, as long as we sign out of the Google account, 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 on it.
- 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 verification offline.