How to Get Google Assistant On Any Phone Running Android Marshmallow or Higher

Posted by Swapnil Suryawanshi

Google Assistant,

The new intelligent, informal virtual assistant, is unfortunately only officially offered for their new pixel phones. However, with a bit tweaking, you will get it and all of Assistant’s powerful search and chat features on any phone running Android 6.0 or higher. Here’s how.

Google Assistant, once you try it, is unbelievably helpful. You will get a daily briefing each morning that tells you the weather in your space, traffic on your commute, and what you have got on your calendar for the day. You will even have difficult conversations together with your phone. For instance, once you raise what movies are playing, I will follow it up by requesting showtimes, reviews, and more. All of your recent favorite voice commands are still there. However, the total experience is far nicer. If you are comfortable tweaking your phone, it is well worth making an attempt it out.

What You will need:

  • Android Nougat:
  • Root Access (Method #1):
  • A Root File Explorer (Method #1):
  • Flashable .zip Files (Method #2):
  • Download link
  • Unlocked Bootloader (Method #2):
  • Custom Recovery or Fastboot (Method #2): 

 

Surprisingly, getting Google Assistant on your phone is less complicated than you think it would be. To oversimplify, we will be tweaking a file on your phone referred to as build.prop which has lots of information regarding your phone. We will change it so that once a program asks “What phone are you?” it responds “ I am pixel XL ” rather than no matter phone you have got. It is an easy tweak with least risk.

There are a couple of ways to do this. Technique #1 involves writing the build.Prop file directly and needs root, ‘ill whereas technique #2 can flash a .zip that may apply the tweak for you and doesn’t need root. Here’s what you will need for each method:


Method #1: Manually Edit the Build.prop File (Root Required)

If you already have a rooted mobile, then this  is an easy tweak. Once you have all of the items listed above, follow these steps:
 
  • Open  Explorer. (your preferred root file explorer app may have slightly different steps).
  • If you haven’t enabled root storage, slide out the left-panel and click the settings gear icon. Scroll to the bottom and enable “Show root storage.” Exit settings.
  • Slide out the left-hand navigation panel and tap Root.
  • Scroll down and tap System.
  • Scroll down and tap “build.prop”
  • Open the file using SE Text Editor.
  • Find the line that reads ro.product.model=[YOUR DEVICE] and replace it with the following: ro.product.model=Pixel XL
  • Add the following on its own line: ro.opa.eligible_device=true
  • Save and exit the file.
  • Reboot your device.
  • Once you’ve rebooted, go to the Apps section of your Settings app and find the Google app & clear its data and cache. After the reboot, you should be able to activate Google Assistant by long-pressing your home button. Congratulations! You have a Pixel-exclusive feature before the phone’s even out.


Method #2: Flash .Zip Files

XDA user “FaserF” created some  flashable .zip files that you simply will use if you don’t wish not to  unlock bootloader  & root your phone . Avoiding root could also be easy if you wish to get early updates under the android Beta Program. you’ll either use a custom recovery to flash the .zip files or use fastboot to do so from your PC/laptop. We shall show you the way to do it with a custom recovery, however, the method you use is up to you.
  • It’s recommends uninstalling the Google app entirely before proceeding with this method.
  • Download the three .zip files from this link and  them to your phone’s internal storage.
  • Reboot your phone into recovery mode.
  • Tap or navigate to Install in your custom recovery. For the popular TWRP recovery, Install will be a large gray button on the first screen you see in the recovery.
  • Install GoogleAssistantVelvet.zip
  • Install GoogleAssistantBuildProp.zip
  • Reboot your phone.
Once your phone reboots, you’ll need to manually provide it permissions to use things like your mic, camera by heading to the Apps section of your Settings app. From there, look for Google, then click on Permissions and alter the mandatory permissions. Once again, long-press the home button to have Assistant on board.
Swapnil Suryawanshi
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Computer Engineer, Blogger, passionate for tech journalism and loves to explore and play with new smartphones.