MobilePay app has stopped working since app update on Fariphone 4

Using /e/OS Applications
22

I asked ChatGPT and got this quite depressing answer:

:x: Why MobilePay No Longer Works on /e/OS (as of version 3.0+)

Error Message:

"Security check failed. MobilePay is not supported on a 'rooted' device."

:mag: Root Cause

As of MobilePay version 3.0, released in mid-2025, the app performs more strict device integrity checks using the Google Play Integrity API, replacing the older SafetyNet Attestation method.

This has the following implications:

Devices running de-Googled operating systems like /e/OS, LineageOS, GrapheneOS, etc., do not pass the new integrity checks, even if rooted status is hidden or if you use microG.

MobilePay now explicitly blocks access on any device it detects as "rooted", tampered, or insecure according to Google’s Integrity API.

Older versions (like 2.7 or 2.9) used to work because microG could spoof SafetyNet – but this is no longer possible with the newer API.

:lock: What Is the Play Integrity API?

Google’s Play Integrity API ensures that apps only run on:

Certified, unmodified Android OS

Devices with Google Play Services

Devices not rooted or altered

Devices that pass Google's “strong integrity” test (often requiring hardware attestation)

Since /e/OS does not include Google’s proprietary services, it fails these checks by design, and MobilePay refuses to run.

:white_check_mark: What You Can Do
Option Description Viability
Use a second Android device Install MobilePay on a device with stock Android and Google Play :white_check_mark: Highly recommended

Use your bank’s own app Some banks support P2P transfers without MobilePay :white_check_mark: Limited functionality

Try advanced spoofing (Magisk + Shamiko etc.) Attempt to bypass integrity checks on /e/OS :warning: Complex, unstable, and often fails

Contact MobilePay support Not helpful in most cases – they officially do not support rooted/custom ROMs :x:

Summary

MobilePay 3.0+ is no longer compatible with /e/OS, or any other de-Googled/custom Android ROMs.
This is due to the new security enforcement based on Google’s Play Integrity API, which your phone cannot satisfy.

To continue using MobilePay, the best solution is to install it on a Google-certified device.

Hope that somebody have a better solution than ChatGPT. :unamused:

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23

MobilePay is working since reinstall 3 days ago. Useed it yesterday.
Get back when/if it stop working.

24

Ok, had to reinstall again today. May not be the most effiecient payment method in the bar at the Roskilde Festival :wink:

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I can confirm it broke down yesterday, and that after a simple re-install it works today.

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26

Found this in the MobilePay/Vipps developer documentation :disappointed: :

Please note that the app doesn’t work on phones that are rooted or if “insecure” apps are installed on the phone. If you have a rooted phone and haven’t done it yourself, we recommend contacting the people you bought the phone from or who helped you install it. In some cases, the solution may be to reset the phone completely. If you have installed an “unsafe” app, you must uninstall it before you can use the app.
The apps don’t work on Android phones that don’t have Google Play Services (e.g., Huawei).

Screenshot (in case the docs change)

image
image1142×386 54.1 KB

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Hi Thaulow and others on this thread,

Thanks a lot for your guide. However, as a coming user of Fairphone gen. 6 with e/os v3 preinstalled I am wondering whether these workarounds on MobilePay only applies for those with more technical experience like unlocking the bootloader, user debugging mode, connecting with a computer etc?
In other words, should I expect MobilePay not to work once I receive my phone AND that I will have no (relatively straightforward, not overly technical) way to remedy it?

I ask because I think MobilePay will be hard to miss out on. I think I can live without MitID (Danish citizen ID app, where one can alternatively use a physical code generator) and banking apps can be replaced by using the web page version.

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28

Hi HansBD
I hesitate to make a diagnosis based on my own observations. But somthing indicates, that even with a preinstalled e/OS on Fairphone there is a good chance you vil have problems.
Though I am not an expert on how the security on Googles App store (can’t remember de name) and MobilePay are connected. But it seems that the App is virified against the App store from time to time. If you bye the device with e/OS it is not rootede, and it would be very interesting to see if that is working.
Bu the way. I have written the danish minestry og digitalization as they proudly announced the are going Open Souce, that is probably Linux and LibreOffice. I have pointed out that one of our primary day to day infrastructure digital tools are MitID and MobilePay and if the are tightly connected to Google I am not shure if we are much closer to digital sovereignty.

Best regards Søren

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Hej Søren og alle andre der er kommet med input.

Tak for jeres svar og forsøg på at hjælpe. Godt, at du har skrevet til digitaliseringsministeriet. Jeg har det samme problem, som I beskriver. Jeg kunne kun få adgang til Mobilepay ved at afinstallere Browser-appen, men det resulterede kort efter i problemet med sikkerhedstjekket, at Mobilepay ikke fungerer på en “rooted” enhed. Det lader til at være svært at gøre noget ved.

Øv, hvor er det ærgerligt, for at Mobilepay ikke fungerer, det er lidt en dealbreaker for mig. Det er simpelthen meget svært at undvære i dagens Danmark.

Mvh
Olav

30

Can somebody here perhaps explain, if there are any technical or practical obstacles that could prevent governments (or the EU) from creating their own repositories for essential apps like MobilePay, MitId and others?

Best wishes
peter

31

Dear Olav and Søren,

I’ll answer in English so that others might be able to read along.

Firstly, thanks for your reply Søren. It’s good that you’ve contacted the responsible authorities. Maybe they will come to their senses eventually:?

Looking at your response and other posts on the same or related topics I have come to the conclusion that having these high-priority apps working (banking app, MobilePay and MitID) might not be a realistic path to follow for me on e/os. See also a recent op-ed in the Danish newspaper Politiken on this struggle having an /e/os device in Denmark.

It’s so sad as I believe in this de-googling effort a long way, but I have cancelled my FP6 with e/os and bought a regular FP6 instead.

I wish the best for all of your efforts making it work and my respect for the Murena team for their project.

Best,
Hans

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32

Dear Peter
Good point. If we want digital sovereignty that would be a way to go. And I can’t see any technical obstacle. But we might have to push the right dessionsmakers. I am not shure they know the existens of the problem. It seems that for a lot of people digital sovereigntyis all about office applkications and storage.
Best regards
Søren

33

Dear Hans
Understandable. I got to admit that I get a little subbern, så for now it is creditcard, cash and MitID key token. Yes I am just a grumpy old man :wink:
Maybe a time for downscaling. That was my original motivation for the FP5, repair things … and now e/OS and privacy.

Best regards
Søren

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34

Like Søren, I am a little stubborn.

A couple of years ago, I asked The Danish Agency for Digitisation (Digitaliseringsstyrelsen) about a government repository for essential apps like MitId and MobilePay.
After two and a half year and a few extra e-mails, they told me that a governmental repository is not possible because the security guaranteed by the MitId-app can only be obtained through GooglePlay or AppStore [“Statsgaranteret repository er ikke en mulighed, fordi MitID App, på en Android eller Apple platform, kun kan få det sikkerhedsniveau, der kræves i MitID, hvis de hentes fra de respektive appstores”].

Indeed a strange answer: only Google and Apple, the infamous snoopdogs, can guarantee my privacy!

Nice to know, Søren, that I’m not the only one being stubborn.

Best regards
Peter

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35

I guess this will be true the way things are set up now.

So they still need to find a way to make their project non-reliant on the named actors.

I am all for democratic pressure … I think that your pressure might need to change … perhaps avoid suggesting the “solution” as “government repositories” (if it won’t work) they need to find a solution which will keep the secure parts of the system run “in house”.

36

Yes, you may be right. I know nothing about the technical issues, so I should not suggest solutions. What I can - and should - do, is to describe the problem and hope, that somebody responsible will take action.

Thanks for your response
Peter

Edit:
Being kind of stubborn I’ve been thinking about this through the night.

Have I got this right?
Can an otherwise secure app be at risk if run on an insecure device? Insecure meaning a modified or ‘unknown’ OS (unknown to the repository owner, that is)

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37

While it is good to reach out to the authorities and Mobilepay, it will probably take a long time for anything to happen that way. But isn’t this a problem that Murena should be able to solve themselves? I mean, it seems the problem most people encountered was that the MitId authentication was not possible becomes it opened in the Browser-app instead of the chosen default browser. The security problem seemed to arise from using adb to delete the Browser-app. But the fact that Mobilepay does not open the link to authentication in the right browser, isn’t that something that Murena can fix?

Best regards
Olav

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38

Perhaps if one wanted to Report an issue an affected user could collect a logcat or use LogFox to record this Browser failure.

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I’ve observed the same app behavior. It works for a while, but then one morning complains about a “rooted” device when trying to login. Clearing app data makes it work for a while again.

I don’t have any silver bullets, but just came to note that they have a feedback form: Send os din feedbck – helt anonymt - MobilePay.dk
It’s available in other Scandinavian languages as well.

Probably not worth holding your breath :roll_eyes:.

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40

I have the same ‘does not work with “rooted” devices’ problem, and would like to know if somebody uses MobilePay with a Murena Fairphone and if that works?

Writing to MobilePay and asking to support /e/ OS may be a good thing in general. Still, I would not expect to get this problem resolved in any reasonable time frame via that route. I would consider it more probable that if they are informed of this discussion, they will instead “fix” it by making it not work for the first few minutes or days.

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41

But that doesn’t make sense… MitID works fine, it’s only MitID authentification on MobilePay that doesn’t work…? I authenticated via MitID on Flextrafik app a couple of days ago, but on MobilePay, it hasn’t worked since June 6th. (FP5, Murena 3.01).