How to use Google Assistant on any Nougat device

Google announced the Pixel smartphones, "Phones by Google", in an event on October 4. Of the multiple features the Pixel devices boast of, the flagship feature certainly was the Google Assistant, which had initially made it's debut with Google's messaging app Allo.

It was just about time that the development community of XDA ported the flagship feature of the Pixel devices to be put to use across other devices. And, as it turns out, this certainly has happened. That's why you are reading this post after all!

There are certain prerequisites which have to be met if you intend to use the Google Assistant. The first one is that your devices needs to be rooted, have an unlocked bootloader and you should be having the latest Google app (6.5.35.21 and newer would do). You can grab the APK file of the latest version of the Google app by clicking here.

All this can be done with the help of certain modifications to the build.prop file. XDA member brianla has created a simple mod, which can you can flash in a custom recovery such as TWRP, CWM & Philz. Flashing the mod will modify several attributes of the original build.prop file such as the device model.

The mod will modify your device's name to Pixel XL and the build number will be changed to NDE63H, the build number which the Pixel devices come with. Thus what this mod will do is, it will reflect your device as one of the Pixel devices which will allow the Google app to give you the consent to use the Google Assistant.

Since this patch works with the stock ROM, it should also work with AOSP based ROMs as well. Even though we may not have that many AOSP based Nougat ROMs at the moment, there do exist some and this patch should work with these ROMs, but do remember that the ROM you are using should have the October security patch.

Download Links

As we told you above, you have two ways to go about things here. Either you can flash the ZIP files linked below, or you can manually add the tweaks to the build.prop file in the root of your system. We have described both the methods below.

Flashable ZIPs

GoogleAssistantVelvet.zip

GoogleAssistantBuildProp.zip (11/10/2016)

tweak.prop

1) Download the three files linked above.

2) Copy all 3 Files to your device

3) First flash GoogleAssistantVelvet.zip 

4) Then flash GoogleAssistantBuildProp.zip (this will install the "tweak.prop" into your build.prop)

If Google Assistant is not showing up you can try wiping the Google app data from the settings menu.

After modifying the build.prop or after flashing the ZIP file, if Google Assistant is not working by long pressing the home navigation button, wipe your data in recovery to get Google Assistant. Wiping the data will remove all your existing apps and accounts if you have any. Make sure to have backup your existing apps and data using Titanium Backup. A nandroid backup is also recommended.

Manual Method

Steps:

1) Using any file manager which has the ability to access files at the root of system, go to the folder named "system".

2) Open the build.prop in a text editor.

3) Now, add or replace the following lines in the build.prop file.

ro.product.model=Pixel XL
ro.opa.eligible_device=true

If Google Assistant is not showing up you can try wiping the Google app data from the settings menu.

After modifying the build.prop or after flashing the ZIP file, if Google Assistant is not working by long pressing the home navigation button, wipe your data in recovery to get Google Assistant. Wiping the data will remove all your existing apps and accounts if you have any. Make sure to have backup your existing apps and data using Titanium Backup. A nandroid backup is also recommended.

Archives

This section will list the download links of the old build.prop files and flashable ZIPs. If you have downloaded the files from the links above, you don't need to worry about downloading any files from this section. We will update this section and the post as soon as the mod is updated.

GoogleAssistantBuildProp.zip (10/10/2016)

Krittin Kalra

Krittin Kalra is a 20 year old Android freak. Striving for passions, chasing down his dreams and living a life without regrets is his sole mantra. A bit moody, he also does custom ROM reviews for AndroGuider. Currently pursuing his B.Tech, he aspires to follow his heart.