Huawei and Honor without Google Play: how to install a VPN

In short: Huawei phones released after May 2019 have no Google Play and no Google services, because of US sanctions. So do some Honor phones from 2020, made before Honor split from Huawei. Honor 50 and newer are sold with Google Play. On a phone without Google Play, a VPN is installed as an APK file from the developer's site. If the phone refuses the file, Pure Mode is in the way. On HarmonyOS NEXT, Android apps do not install at all.

Which phone you have

If Google Play is in your app list, install the VPN from it. You can see the system version at Settings → About phone: EMUI, MagicOS or HarmonyOS. Global Huawei models, even the 2025 Pura 80, run EMUI, and Android apps install on them.

How to install a VPN as an APK file

1. 1In a browser open the VPN service's official site and download the APK file. Take the address from the service's email or its channel, not from an ad.
2. 2Open the downloaded file. If the phone asks whether to allow installs from this source, allow it for the browser. On EMUI this item is in the security settings: “Install apps from external sources”.
3. 3If the phone calls the app unverified or unsafe, open the details in the warning and choose to install anyway, but only if the file came from the official site.
4. 4If installation is blocked completely, Pure Mode is in the way; how to relax it is below.
5. 5After installing, let the VPN run in the background, or EMUI will put it to sleep: see the Huawei row in VPN turns off on Android.

Pure Mode: if the phone will not install the file

Pure Mode is a mode in which, as Huawei describes it, only apps that passed the AppGallery check can be installed. To install an APK file, relax it for a while:

1. 1Open Settings → System & updates → Pure Mode.
2. 2Turn off Enhanced Protection.
3. 3Install the APK file and confirm installing an unverified app.
4. 4If you like, turn the protection back on: the installed app stays.

Our app on Huawei and Honor

ProxysVPN does not use Google services, so it does not need Google Play to work. The APK file on our apps page is the same app as on Google Play: sign-in by code and the WataFast mode. Our testers checked the app on Android phones and it works. If anything goes wrong, write to support. Our app is not in AppGallery.

1. 1Open our apps page, press “APK version” in the Android card and install the file by the steps above.
2. 2Get a sign-in code: in your dashboard, open the device card and press “Code for the app”. The eight-character code is valid for 10 minutes and works once. No account yet? Signing up takes a minute with an email address; Telegram is not needed.
3. 3Open the app, choose sign-in by code and type the code. The phone asks for permission to set up a VPN connection: tap “OK”.
4. 4Let ProxysVPN run in the background: “App launch” → turn off “Manage automatically” → turn on “Run in background”.

The app itself is free; what you pay for is the subscription: $1.50 per device per month, taken from your balance, with nothing charged to your card automatically. Top-ups start at $5. An account opened on the Russian site is priced in roubles instead: an account keeps the currency it was opened in, whatever card tops it up.

Other clients

Happ, INCY, Hiddify and v2rayNG publish APK files on their projects' GitHub pages; on 20 October 2026 they were there. We did not check whether these apps are in AppGallery. How to install a VPN that is not in the store is in VPN gone from Google Play.

Frequently asked questions