The Tesco Pay App is expiring on 27th Feb 2023… The new app is Tesco Grocery, but will not install on my Fp4. Says I need Google Play to install it. I do not want Google Play on my phone…
Ok dont see where this is a FP4 issue🤔
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Looks like you may have to talk to Google or Tesco. What OS are you using, the default FOS
Did you uninstall Google Play as if so maybe you could install in temporarily to get the Tesco up and running and then disable it etc.
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I use e/os system and do not have anything Google on phone. Do not want anything Google on phone either… Do not want Microsoft anything either…
So you have your answer then, the App does not accept microG instead of GSF, there is nothing wrong about the FP4, nor can we help you here, if at all, report to e/OS team…
Thanks but i know nothing wrong with phone… love it…
I can tell you that Tesco Grocery (the new app) installs and works perfectly on stock Android 12. I’ve used it to unlock SAYS, use coupons and vouchers, and to get Rewards redemption.
I can only assume the it requires Google Play services to install and run.
That’s was in the original post 
This of course isn’t FP4-specific, and you’d likely get better (or at least, certainly more constructive and less hostile) responses on more general forums, but as the error here sounded a bit unfamiliar, I thought I’d look into it a bit. Surprisingly, it is not the Google Services Framework or SafetyNet problem I expected it would be. It appears that the app is checking something new and specific about not just Google Play (the app, not the services), but about the source of the Tesco app installation. MicroG is not the problem: it appears that the app will also not run, even with a full GSF/GMS installation, if it has not been installed through Google Play itself.
I’m running LineageOS 20 (Android-13-based) on an FP4, with MindTheGapps, and Magisk with Zygisk, Universal SafetyNet Fix, Shamiko, and Props Config set to FP3. All apps I use requiring GSF, GMS, or SafetyNet are working properly, including contactless payments.
As I am not currently in the UK, I used Aurora to install the app. Running it switches contexts to Play Store, and gives an error message I’ve never seen before, of “Get this app from Play [cutesy failure message artwork] To continue using Tesco Grocery & Clubcard, get it on Google Play”. Presumably, in your case, it gives a similar message in-app. Adding the app to Magisk’s denylist does not change anything (I didn’t expect it to; it doesn’t appear to be looking for that).
In what seems like an amusing or depressing example of Tesco’s views on privacy and apps, the app starts asking for notifications permissions before it does this check, and asks every time it is started.
I can barely find anything about this error message in searches. The only reference I was able to find was for what appeared to be a paid app available through subscription through Google Play. It may be that Tesco is abusing a system meant for paid subscription apps. In any case, it looks like a new anti-AOSP technique, and it will likely take time for it to be dealt with.
With all that said, and not wanting to question your views on Google, I might point out that, if it is for privacy reasons that you don’t want Google apps on your phone, I can only assume that Tesco’s app is also extremely problematic for privacy.
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In that case the issue could probably be solved by /e/OS spoofing the app as installed by Google Play.
CalyxOS has started doing that for apps installed through Aurora store precisely because some apps check where they’ve been installed from.
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This is Tesco we’re talking about. Clubcard is one of the largest scale datamining operations in the UK recording personal shopping habits and tailoring specific offers. That however is beyond the scope of this forum.
The app does ask for Files&Media, Camera, Calendar and Location permissions. I’ve got all denied and the app still runs. Alongside your analysis @const , I think we’ve worked out why @Paul_Fungii was having problems and it isn’t an FP4 specific problem.
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I agree.
Yes, this is not anything to do with the phone, it’s about the absence of Google Play. On /e/ (A11) I successfully installed from Aurora. With this config the app launches, loads a home page quite normally and then this is what I see:
So, I fear the low-down is that it’s not going to work for a while outside of a straight Google-friendly context.
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