In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to install and play Roblox on your Raspberry Pi.
The operating system for this project is a build of LineageOS from KonstaKANG.
With just the plain installation of the OS, you wont be able to do much other than things like browsing the web, which is why you need a custom software package from NikGapps. This package will allow you to install the google play store so that you can install apps.
Prerequisites:
- Raspberry Pi 5 ( might work with a Pi4 but I recommend using a Pi 5. If you use a Pi4, make sure to install the Pi4 version of the software from KonstaKANG)
- A computer
- A Display for your Raspberry Pi
- Keyboard and mouse for your Pi
- An SD card (I recommend atleast 32GB)
- Internet connection
1. Downloading and Installing the OS
1.1 Download the OS
To download the OS, visit the Pi 5 section on the KonstaKANG website.
Then, scroll down to the LineageOS builds section.
Click the latest version of LineageOS. In this case it’s “LineageOS 21 – KonstaKANG (Android 14)”. Make sure you download the regular version of the OS, and not the Android TV version.
Once you click it, it should open a new page:
Scroll down and then click the link to download.
1.2 Flash the OS to your SD card
Once you have downloaded the OS, open balenaEtcher to flash it to your SD card.
If you don’t already have it installed on your computer you can install it from their website.
Once balenaEtcher is open, select the OS image you downloaded and your SD card and then click flash.
1.3 Setting up the OS
Once your SD card has been flashed with the OS, insert it into your Raspberry Pi, plug in your peripherals, and power it on.
Once your Pi has booted, you should see the LineageOS welcome screen.
Press start and continue through the setup process to setup language, date, time, passcode, etc.
Once you’ve finished the setup process, you’ll reach the LineageOS homescreen.
2. Installing Google Play store
2.1 Downloading the NikGapps package
Now the plain operating system is installed, but there aren’t many apps to use, so in order to install any apps, you’ll need to install google play store first.
Go to the download section on the NikGapps website, using the browser on your Raspberry Pi.
For this project, the core version is enough, as all we need is the google play store.
Scroll down and click the download button to open the sourceforge page.
Once you’ve opened the source forge page go into the “Releases” folder.
You should see multiple folders. We need to use a folder with the “NikGapps” prefix.
However, as there are multiple folders starting with the “NikGapps” prefix, to make sure you use the right folder, check the NikGapps hompage, where you can see which letter is for which version of Android.
Use the list to find the letter for the version you downloaded earlier from KonstaKANG.
For example, I downloaded “LineageOS 21 – KonstaKANG (Android 14)“, so i should use the folder ending with “U”.
Once you’ve found your letter, open the corresponding folder.
Then, open the folder with the latest dated name.
Then, click the core file to download it.
If it says “Software downloads may not be possible on this device”, click “Try To Download Anyway”.
If you get this popup:
Click Download.
Open the files app and check the downloaded file is in your Downloads folder.
2.2 Installing the package
Now, it’s time to install this package.
But first you’ll need to enable recvover boot mode from settings.
Open the settings app, then go to System > Buttons > Power menu.
Enable “Advanced restart”.
Now swipe down to open notification centre, and click the power button.
Click restart.
Then click recovery.
Once your Pi boots into the recovery menu,
Click Mount.
Tick the Data box to mount the Data partition.
Then go back to the menu and click install.
Scroll down and click “sdcard”.
Then click “Download”.
Click the package.
Swipe to install.
Once it’s done, go back to the menu and click reboot.
Click System.
Once your Pi reboots back into the OS, swipe up to open the app library.
You should see that the Play Store has now been installed.
Click on the icon to open the Play Store.
Once it’s open, click sign in.
You should be greeted with this:
3. Fix “This device isn’t Play Protect certified”
To fix this, open the browser on the Pi, visit the download page for Device ID APK.
This app will let you view your GSF ID (Google Services Framework Identifier), which you can use to certify your Raspberry Pi with Play Protect.
Click download.
Scroll down and click download again.
If you get this popup:
Click Download.
Once it’s downloaded, open the files app and go to the downloads folder.
Double-click the apk file.
If you get this:
Click “settings”, then enable “allow from this source”.
Click Install.
Click Open.
Find “Google Service Framework (GSF ID KEY)” and copy the key.
In the browser, visit https://www.google.com/android/uncertified/.
You’ll need to sign in with Google.
Once signed in, paste the key, complete the reCAPTCHA, and click Register.
Once done, reboot your Pi.
4. Installing Roblox
Once your Pi has rebooted, open Play Store again.
Click sign in.
This time, you should be allowed to login without any problems.
Once logged in, search for Roblox and click install.
Once installed, click Play.
Then, Login to Roblox.
Once you’ve logged in, choose a game and play!
I’ve tested a couple of games and they perform just about playable, however some work better than others.
5. Boost performance
To increase the performance of games, you can change the performance settings of the CPU.
WARNING: DO THE FOLLOWING STEPS AT YOUR OWN RISK, I DO NOT RECOMMEND YOU DO THIS IF YOU DON’T HAVE ADEQUATE COOLING i.e. GOOD HEATSINK AND FAN.
Open Settings, go to System > Raspberry Pi settings.
Increase the Maximum CPU frequeny.
Set CPU governor to “performance”.
I hope you enjoyed making this project, and found this tutorial useful.
Why might this project be useful?
Wanting to play Roblox on the TV screen?
But don’t have a console?
Don’t want to plug and unplug your Laptop/PC everytime you want to play Roblox on the TV?
You can follow this tutorial to create your own Roblox-Pi, and leave your setup next to your TV ready to use whenever you like.
You could even add a game controller, and play like a console.
Not to mention, if you don’t have a smart TV, you’ve setup Android, so you can install any other app from the play store that you’d like to use on your TV.
Issues
If anything goes wrong while trying this, or you have any questions regarding this tutorial, please leave a comment, and I’ll try to get back to you, or alternatively, leave a post on the forum.
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