[isaac Participant 29 March 2022 isaac Participant]

Try not to root your device as in most cases it often does more harm than good.

Instead of going through all these troubles i think u can disable google play services from the device end itself. Then if any of the problems you faced arise again you can just enable it back. Just go to Settings > Apps > Google Play Services and tap Disable.

[nylah Participant 29 March 2022 nylah Participant]

@is good suggestion! But I think users will be able to enable it back easily from device end so from an admin pov this doesn’t seem like a complete solution. Personaly I would recommend using a package disabler to enable as needed or firewall to block it as needed.
I leave Google Play Services enabled but firewall block it unless needed.

[ketan Participant 29 March 2022 ketan Participant]

@nylah I’ve used NetGuard (F-droid version) as a firewall before, and I’m wondering if it’s safe to use… I’ve google services framework installed, but used adb to remove google play services and play store.
Is it possible to use a package disabler to remove google play services from a device without causing problems…. I have the pro package disabler, but I’ve heard that it’s not compatible with android 11.

[nylah Participant 29 March 2022 nylah Participant]

Hey @ketan
Don’t try to remove google play services in my opinion. It’s got dependencies with many other apps and might coz issues like the ones @wyat had.

Its battery consumption is reduced significantly when it is blocked by a firewall itself. So instead of using a package to restrict it, I’d recommend using a firewall to block it and then enable it as needed.

A package blocker is generally preferable to ADB because it can be enabled and disabled easily… but in general I’d still say using pkg blocker might be excessive in most cases.

[Emma Hexnode 29 March 2022 Emma Moderator]

Hey folks, thanks for being such an active part of the community!
@wyatt To answer your query, we do not recommend blocking Google Play Services as it is one of the most critical layers of software that connects your apps, Google services, and Android.

Nevertheless, if you try out other users’ suggestions, we’d greatly appreciate it if you let us know what worked best for you.

Although if you are concerned about preventing the installation of google apps, we have various restrictions in store for you:
Navigate to Policies > Android > Advanced Restrictions > Allow App Settings 

• Install Apps – Uncheck this restriction to prevent apps from being installed on the device. [Supported devices: Samsung Knox Standard SDK 2.0+, Android Enterprise – Device Owner, Profile Owner.]
• Google Play Store – Uncheck this restriction to hide your device’s Google Play Store icon. [Supported devices: Samsung Knox Standard SDK 2.0+]
• Install apps from unknown sources – Uncheck this option to prevent users from installing apps from unknown sources. [Supported devices: Samsung Knox Standard SDK 2.0+, Android Enterprise – Device Owner, Profile Owner.] 

Looking forward to hearing from you again.

Cheers!
Emma Jones
Hexnode UEM