How to fix “The device isn’t Play Protect certified” error message in Android

I’m currently testing Zidoo M6 with Android 11. The mini PC is mostly designed for industrial and commercial use cases, so it may not need to be certified by Google in order to access Google apps and services like a consumer device.

But for review purposes, it can still be an inconvenience, as I got the message “The device isn’t Play Protect certified – Google apps and services can’t run on this device” when trying to use Google Play and login with one of my Google accounts.

This device isn't Play Protect certified

This does not look good, and Chrome, a Google app, refuses to work as well. I still tried to log in, but it just failed, returning an error telling me: “Your account wasn’t added. Try again”.

Not Play Protect certified error: Android Your Account Was Not Added

That would mean I’d have to download the apps on my PC and sideload them with a USB flash drive. That’s not practical, and there’s must be a solution to this, as developers would not be able to use/test Google Play and other Google services before the device is certified. And indeed Google has a solution. If you just bought a consumer device you may want to check with your vendor to obtain a certified software for security and privacy reasons, but as a developer or if you are using a custom ROM, you can simply register your device to enable Google Play services with your device’s Google Services Framework Android ID, or Google ID for shorts

Google tells us to get the ID with ADB. So I have to connect a USB cable between OTG port of Zidoo M6 and my Ubuntu 20.04 computer, install adb, and run the commands to obtain the value for android_id field as follows:


I could then copy the android_id, paste it into the Device registration page linked above, and click on Register.

Android Device RegistrationLater I found out using adb was optional, at least on the Android 11 firmware running on Zidoo M6, since the Google Id is also listed in the About settings:

Android 11 Google IdAll good. But does it actually work? I still got the message, so I decided to reboot and try again. This time, I was not even asked to log in. As soon as I clicked on the Google Play icon, I got a window denying me access with another message reading “The device isn’t Play Protect certified” just bigger!

Android 11 Google Play Not Play Protect certifiedAh. So what can I do next? Actually nothing, I tried again a little later and I could finally log in, and access the Google Play store. So the device registration might just take some time to propagate…

Google Play Store Android 11

I suppose that must be a frequent “issue” on single board computers and phones running custom ROMs, but I haven’t been using Android on SBCs for a while, nor TV boxes due to import regulations.

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3 Comments
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Willy
2 years ago

Thanks for sharing. I find it difficult to use android on SBCs, and last time I tried, I gave up before facing such issues. For sure that would also stop me, so at least if I ever try again I’ll know there’s a solution 🙂

Christopher Price
2 years ago

The good news is, if the Android EU Antitrust Judgement is upheld in the court of appeals, this won’t be necessary soon.

Khadas VIM4 SBC