The CyanogenMod or Lineage OS open-source project does not have permission to install the Google apps (Gapps) while flashing the firmware. Before 2009, CyanogenMod came with preinstalled Google apps. However, later on, Google asked CyanogenMod’s founder to stop including GApps in CM ROM. The reason was that CyanogenMod could be installed on devices that do not have a license to have Google apps. For days, the development of the CyanogenMod ROM was halted. The Internet was full of Android users with hearts full of hatred for Google. An alternative method was then found to introduce Google Apps in CM. The technique was to flash the Gapps on your own. While flashing, you may encounter various errors; one of the most common is error 70 during the installation of GApps. In this guide, we will cover how to resolve this error.
Installing GApps on an Android phone is similar to installing a custom ROM. First, you have to flash it using a custom recovery. Use this guide if you’re unsure how to flash a custom ROM and GApps on an Android phone.—Now moving on to the solution of getting Error 70 while installing GApps.
How to Fix Error 70 while installing Gapps:
A few weeks back, I was flashing a custom ROM on my Android phone. I flashed the firmware, and then flashed GApps. An error occurred.
It was Error 70: Insufficient storage space available in the system partition. (This error is pretty standard while flashing GApps, so don’t worry.)
After spending a lot of time, I figured out the solution. One solution is to reformat the system partition and increase its size. However, it is troublesome and technical, and can potentially brick your phone. If the method below doesn’t work for you, you can use this guide to increase the system partition on your Android phone.
The other solution I came across is straightforward; anyone who can flash a custom ROM can do this.
The solution is simple. Get the smallest package of Google Apps (Pico) and install it on your system.
Follow the steps below if you are unsure how to obtain the Pico package for your custom ROM.
- Go to OpenGapps.
- Select Pico Variant. It will give you all the Google Play Services and a few Google Apps. It is small and sufficient for your phone to perform a background Google Android service. If you want to install the Google apps, you can do so later by downloading a file from the Google Play Store.
- Select the Appropriate Platform/Architecture of your System. (If you are unsure about your phone architecture, refer to this guide.)
If you don’t understand the terms used in the guide above, then match up the terms below with your phone’s architecture:
- ARM: ARMv7 or armeabi.
- ARM64: AArch64 or arm64.
- x86: x86 or x86abi.
Consider the following details of CyanogenMod before selecting appropriate Google Apps:
- CyanogenMod 13Â is based on the AOSP of Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
- CyanogenMod 12.1Â is compatible with Android 5.1.
- CyanogenMod 12Â is compatible with Android 5.0.
- CyanogenMod 11Â is compatible with Android 4.4.
I hope the above solution helps you resolve error 70 when installing GApps on your Android phone. If you encounter any other errors while installing a custom ROM or GApps on your Android phone, please let me know in the comments. You can also share any other solution to this error 70 while installing Gapps. Please let us know if the above solution works out for you.
