UnifiedNlp VS AuroraStore

Hello, I'm trying to add microG to my OS by following the microG wiki (very well written!) However, I'm not able to add the additional patch(https://github.com/microg/UnifiedNlp/blob/master/patches/android_frameworks_base-N.patch) to make location work (mentioned here - https://github.com/microg/GmsCore/wiki/Installation)

https://github.com/microg/UnifiedNlp - acts as a middle ware for multiple backends which have network location features.

MicroG has a list of NLP modules. Afaik it doesn't harm having several installed and working concurrently. The list here: https://github.com/microg/UnifiedNlp

Get UnifiedNLP - essentially does Locations services but not google

Another option would be to use an other location provider than google, like unifiedNLP.

I assume you are talking about microG. I have no personal experience with this because I've always just installed Gapps, but I wasn't under the impression UnifiedNLP or similar required microG. The installation instructions for UnifiedNLP just talk about downloading a couple APKs, and maybe installing as system apps (https://github.com/microg/UnifiedNlp/blob/HEAD/README.md). I do see that the app itself is made by the microG project, but it does make the claim (in several places I've found while searching) that "most" ROMs support it. What am I missing?

Here's a link to more location backends, you can rule out 4 or 5 since some are old and others are for China.

so, disable this bloat and replace it with, AuroraStore. or not.

Aurora Store (version 4.3.4): An unofficial FOSS client to Google Play with an elegant design and privacy

Aurora Store (version 4.2.5): An open-source alternative to Google Play Store with privacy and modern design

Good option, yes! Maybe something like Aurora Store could also be used to spoof a different (x86) device? https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore

AuroraStore

Android devices could push something like https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore or even F-Droid to get a preinstalled store that's not completely evil.

For Linux devices, if you have a powerful enough phone (Pine64, can we please have a really beefy PinePhone?), you could bundle Waydroid + Aurora/F-Droid.

Go to this link and download AuroraStore_4.2.3.apk, an open source client that fetches files directly from the Play Store servers. Here is an FAQ for the project if you're worried about safety or breaking Google ToS. This method is safe but you can choose to create a new Google account for the login if you're not comfortable using your main account.