While you may remotely set up and operate a Raspberry Pi without a monitor or an Ethernet cable, if you decide to install Android on your Raspberry Pi 4 board, you will need a variety of wired accessories. Consequently, we provide to you in this post a comprehensive instruction on how to install Android on the Raspberry Pi 4 and 3. Although there is a way to run the Android 11 build on a Raspberry Pi, we have decided to continue with Android 10 for reliability and performance. In light of this, let’s move on to discovering how to run Android on the Raspberry Pi 4 and RPi 3.
Install Android on Raspberry Pi 4 & 3 (2022)
This comprehensive tutorial will show both novices and professionals how to install Android on a Raspberry Pi. You should carefully follow the step-by-step instructions in order to quickly have Android running on your board.
Basic Requirements
1. To configure and install Android on the Raspberry Pi, you will need a different monitor.
2. Depending on your board, an HDMI cable.
While Raspberry Pi 3 needs an HDMI to HDMI cable, Raspberry Pi 4 only needs a mini HDMI to HDMI cable.
2. A microSD card with at least 16GB of free space.
3. A mouse and keyboard. Even better if it’s a wireless combi model.
Essential Downloads
4. Depending on your board, an adapter for power.
1. Install Android on your Raspberry Pi first. A popular developer by the name of KonstaKANG creates Android ROMs for the Raspberry Pi 3 and 4. The Lineage OS-based ROMs come in a variety of versions, including Android 9, 10, and 11. Download any Android version that works with your board, however for stability I’d suggest Android 10. You can click here to access the RPi 4 download page. Go to the Devices menu in the top-right corner and select “Android for RPi3” from the list of available options.
2. Since the Android build does not include Google apps and services, you must download the GApps package next.
Install Android on Raspberry Pi
To install the Android 10 build and pico, which is the very minimum needed to use Google Play Services, open this link and select ARM and Android 10.
3. The next step is to download the free BalenaEtcher programme so you can flash Android onto the SD card.
1. After extracting the Android build that you downloaded, you will receive an IMG file.
2. Next, choose the Android IMG file in balenaEtcher and open it. It’s an Android 10 build in my instance. Next, select the SD card and then click Flash!
3. Remove the SD card and place it inside the Raspberry Pi module after the flashing procedure is finished. Connect a keyboard and mouse as well. Connect the monitor’s HDMI wire and power supply lastly.
Install Google Play Store and Services on Android-based Raspberry Pi
4. After you turn on the Raspberry Pi, Lineage OS will start to load on the screen.
5. After a while, the typical Android setup procedure will appear.
Make sure to connect to a Wi-Fi network and adhere to the on-screen instructions.
1. Add support for the Google Play Store and other services now that Android has been installed on the Raspberry Pi.
Move the GApps package from your computer to the Raspberry Pi using a USB device. I attempted to directly download the GApps package to the Raspberry Pi, but that failed. It will be simpler for you to download it if you can do so directly from the board.
2. Open Settings and navigate to About tablet after moving the GApps package on the board. To access Developer Options, continually click on Build Number 7-8 here. If About tablet does not appear on the settings page, you can look for build there.
3. Return to the primary Settings menu, then select System -> Advanced -> Developer Options.
4. After that, activate Advanced Restart.
5. Press and hold the F5 key on the keyboard in order to restart Android on the Raspberry Pi. Then select Recovery after clicking on Restart.
Note: The following are some keyboard shortcuts for Android on the Raspberry Pi: F1 for Home, F2 for Back, F3 for Multi-tasking, F4 for Menu, F5 for Power, and F11 and F12 for Volume Up and Down respectively.
6. You will now enter TWRP recovery mode. Click Swipe to Allow Modifications if prompted. Click Install after that.
7. Select the GApps package that we downloaded to the Raspberry Pi computer here.
8. To confirm Flash, click onSwipe.
Fix Device is not Play Protect certified Error on Android-based Raspberry Pi
9. To access the main menu, click the TWRP icon in the top-left corner of the screen. Go to Wipe this time and then swipe to Factory Reset.
10. Select Reboot System from the same page after the reset is finished.
11. And presto! On your Raspberry Pi, Android will start up immediately. And this time, the Google setup prompt will appear. Now proceed and log into your Google account by following the directions on-screen. Given that Google has recently been cancelling accounts for unidentified policy infractions, I advise against adding your main Google account.
12. So, this is all. All Google services, including the Play Store, are now installed and operating flawlessly on the Raspberry Pi. If you receive a message saying that your device is not Play Protect certified or that some apps, like Netflix, aren’t available for download, follow the instructions below to resolve the problem.
Run Android on Raspberry Pi Without Any Restrictions
There is nothing to worry about if this issue appears on your Raspberry Pi running Android. Your Raspberry Pi running Android can be manually added to Google’s list of approved devices. Install the Device ID app by Evozi from the Play Store or APKMirror first on the Raspberry Pi. You can sideload the Device ID APK from APKMirror if Play Store won’t open for you.
2. After that, launch the Device ID app, and it will show the Google Service Framework code (GSF). Simply click it to copy the code.