Nokia X is the first attempt by Nokia with Android and this is first of the three handsets announced by Nokia at the Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona. Nokia X runs Android (AOSP) and unlike normal Android phones, it does not come with Google’s services and API. Instead Nokia has added its own store which does have some popular apps, but many other apps are missing.
Google apps like Gmail, YouTube, Maps, Google Music, etc. will not work on Nokia since it does not have the Google’s service running. But if you are looking for a full fledged Android experience from Nokia X, you need all the Google’s apps and thankfully you can get it by rooting your phone and getting the services running on Nokia X.
Related Reading: How to Import or Transfer Google Contacts to Nokia X from any Smartphone
As you can see from the images above, Google services and apps including Google Now launcher has been installed on Nokia X by rooting. This original guide was first published on XDA Developers forum and all the credit goes to the member. There are basically four steps in rooting and installing apps on Nokia X.
Related Reading: How to Sideload and Install Android Apps on Nokia X Platform
Important Note: Please note that this process involves rooting your phone, which might void your warranty. We will not be responsible for any issues caused to your device by following this guide. Please root the phone at your own risk.
Steps to Root Nokia X and install Google Apps:
- Root Nokia X using Framaroot
- Install a Root Explorer which has access to root files on your phone
- Download and extract the content in this zip file to system/app using the Root Explorer
- Finally extract the the Google Apps zip file and install all the apps required.
The detailed process has been showed in the video below. The process is pretty simple and can be done in a matter of 10 minutes. If you are not sure of rooting Android phones and how it works, do not try it.
Here is a video tutorial on how to Root Nokia X and install Play store and other Google Apps.
Once you have installed Google Play store, you can add your Google Account and install apps just like the way you do on any Android phone. Google Now launcher with Ok Google feature also works very well.
its great to kn0w that nokia has finally launched its android phone but it is sad that it does’nt have google apps like gmail also. thanks for sharing your video tut.
Great tutorial…eventhough I dont use Nokia but yours tuts really easy to understand