While Xiaomi makes awesome Android Phones, it ships its phones without Google Play Store and Google Apps like Gmail, YouTube, Chrome and others that you would normally expect in an Android Phone. However, you can easily overcome this problem by installing Google Play Store on Xiaomi Phones, which in-turn will allow you to install other Google Apps.
No Google Apps On Xiaomi Phones
Xiaomi Tech is one of the leading device makers in China which is also popular in India, Hong Kong and Singapore for its impressive looking Android Phones that it makes available at very competitive prices.
Being a Chinese Device Maker, Xiaomi Tech follows Chinese government regulations and blocks access to Google Play Store and Google services like Chrome, Gmail, YouTube and Maps.
Xiaomi has developed its own app alternatives for many of the Google Apps and has its own App Store known as the MI App Store.
While the international version of Xiaomi phones can and should include Google Apps, it is not uncommon to find Google Play Store and other Google Apps missing in Xiaomi phones sold for international market.
Install Google Play Store on Xiaomi Phones
The most logical and easy way to install Google Play Store on your Xiaomi Phone would be to look for the Play Store App on Xiaomi’s own MI App Store.
However, this was not possible in our case, as we were unable to find Google Play Store app on the MI App Store. This led us to download and Install the Google Play Store app on Xiaomi Redmi Phone by making use of the Google Installer APK.
The entire procedure for Installing Google Play Store on Xiaomi Phones can be broadly broken into the following two sections.
- Allow Downloads from unknown sources on Xiaomi Phone
- Download Google Play Store on Xiaomi Phone by using Google Installer APK.
Allow Downloads from Unknown Sources
In order to download the Google Installer APK on your Xiaomi phone, you will first need to Enable Downloads From Unknown Sources option on your Xiaomi device.
1. From the Home screen of your Xiaomi phone, tap on the Gear Shaped Settings icon.
2. On the Settings screen, scroll down to the “System & Device” section and tap on Additional Settings (See image below).
3. On the Additional Settings screen, tap on Privacy.
4. On the Privacy screen, turn ON the option for Unknown Sources to Allow Installation of Apps from Unknown Sources (See image below).
5. Next, you will see a pop-up, tap on OK to allow downloads from unknown sources on your Xiaomi phone
Download Google Play Store Using Google Installer APK On Xiaomi Phones
After you have allowed downloads from unknown sources you are ready to download the Google Play Store on your Xiaomi phone using the Google Installer APK.
1. Open the Browser on your Xiaomi phone
2. Next, Download the Google Installer APK on your phone from MIUI Forum (Use This Link)
3. You will see a pop-up at the bottom of your screen, tap on OK to install the Google Installer APK.
4. The downloaded file will automatically open itself with a permission screen once it finishes downloading. When it opens, tap on Install to begin installation of Google Installer on your device (See image below)
5. Once the application is installed, you will see the App installed Screen, tap on Open
6. On the next screen, tap on the big blue Install button to begin installation of Google Basic Services on your Xiaomi Phone (See image below).
7. The Google Installer will start installing the following Google Basic services on your Xiaomi phone
- Google Services Framework
- Google Account Management
- Google Play service
- Google Calendar Synchronization Service
Note: Google Services Framework, Google Account management, Google Play service and Google Calendar Synchronization Service are all required to download the Google Play Store on your device.
For each of the basic services above you will need to tap on Install on the permissions screen and then tap on Done once each service has been installed. (See image below)
8. Once the 4 Google Basic Services have been installed, the Installer will finally ask your permission to install the Google Play Store on your Xiaomi phone. Simply, tap on Install on the permissions screen to install the Google Play Store.
9. Once the Google Play Store has been installed on your Xiaomi phone, tap on Open to open the Google Play Store
10. On the next screen, enter your email address and tap on Next.
Note: Tap on Or Create a new account link in case you do not have a Gmail Account.
11. On the next screen, enter the Password for your email address and tap on Next.
12. Next, tap on Accept to agree to Google Play Store Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
13. On the next screen, choose whether or not you would like to setup Automatic Data Backup to Google Drive and tap on Next.
That’s it you have now finished setting up Google Play Store on your Xiaomi Phone and you are all set to download other Google and Android Apps to your Xiaomi device.