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So I'm rooted on my Evo and as far as I can tell I've flashed the stock rom that should allow me to uninstall the bloatware, however, I dont see any uninstall options for that crap like facebook.
Anything I'm doing wrong?
I followed this guide to root and flash. I've tested my root using the "Terminal Emulator" and typing "su" and it returned a "#"
Thanks XDA, I love most of you
You know you need to uninstall from your computer using adb
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk
I've installed Android Debug Bridge but I was under the impression that rooting my phone would allow me to do things on my phone, such as install and uninstall what I want.
Could you explain the process more or send me to a link that does?
If you want to do it in android you either need console program or a file manager. Root explorer us the best one and easiest. Looks just like a typical explorer, tap the rw/ro button for read only or read write and delete away.
You have to have completed the second part of unlocking nand. Otherwise your only option is using a computer and adb in recovery.
They dont make this easy do they? I would have figured Android to be very open for things like this, I'm starting to feel like I have to "jailbreak" again, only this time it's to remove crap.
This seems like so much work to get rid of facebook and sprint tv.
It took me 10 minutes total including the file downloads. Its a one time thing and there is a learning curve with any new platform.
Aridon, is there a free explorer you'd recommend? I dont mind buying software, just want to make sure I'm not mistaken before I buy something that is worthless to me.
You get a trial on any purchased software in android. After its installed if you go backto market and pull it up again there will be a refund option. So no risk. I think its for 24 hours.
As for a free one I'm not sure when I first started messing around with android I bought it because people said it was the best. I don't have any regrets.
Just remember to tap the top button for rw. Long press brings up options. Menu had an option for multiple file select and other goodies. its very powerful.
Aridon, thanks for everything, just 1 more question. I bought it, and the program is slick. I went to /system/app and deleted facebook, is that all I need to do?
Cause I still see it in the menu
I may have done a bad thing, my phone just reset itself.... I need a trainer to be with me at all times.
So after that restart, the files I thought I deleted are back.
Yes just go into system/app, make sure it says rw up top which means read write access, then select the file, general an .apk and .odex and delete. Not all files have both and some roms don't have any .odex files.
I'll be up for another 30 min or so and I'll keep an eye on this thread in case you have any questions.
Ok that means the second part where you unlocked nand wasn't done correctly. Make sure you go slow, download the files again because they are different and watch for errors.
The only hiccup I had was when I copied the new recovery and other files to my sd and tried to adb push it gave me some kind of can't find file error. I had to reboot and it was fine. It send after the boot I could go back in and adb the files it must have been some kind if a refresh error on the sd while in recovery.
Edit. I'm responding on my evo and in bed so excuse errors.
Go to sleep, I'll resume this thread tomorrow if I'm still having trouble. You Sir, are a life saver. This is why XDA is THE FORUM for anything mobile.
Good night then.
I know it can be a bit of a pain to do this but I promise you it will be worth it. Things have only just started and the custom roms are already awesome. Once we get the source code things are going to be insane over here.
Got it! Everything is working well. However, now my voice mail says it can not download messages.... Rebooted and it's all good.
Facebook and Twitter Free! Also, no more Sprint crap.
Life is good, again.
Another terminal substitute is Android Commander, out is naturally a file explorer that allows transfer and deletion off whatever you want. This program runs in your pc.
As Was mentioned above, root explorer is the easiest way.
Aridon said:
If you want to do it in android you either need console program or a file manager. Root explorer us the best one and easiest. Looks just like a typical explorer, tap the rw/ro button for read only or read write and delete away.
You have to have completed the second part of unlocking nand. Otherwise your only option is using a computer and adb in recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So with Android - one simply deletes the application rather than un-installing it? That doesn't cause problems with the system thinking the application still exists somewhere?
DrawnToScale said:
So with Android - one simply deletes the application rather than un-installing it? That doesn't cause problems with the system thinking the application still exists somewhere?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on where it is installed. /system/apps do not allow you to just uninstall you have to delete it. One this is done its gone. Obviously if you delete phone.apk you are going to have issues or if you delete a process that is running you may get a force close but for the most part unless you delete an app like people or dialer you are fine. After the single force close everything works properly.
Some custom roms moved programs to /data/app which allows them to be removed the other way.
I rooted my phone, installed lagfix, and removed some bloatware from the phone via Titanium. The phone was stupid fast after doing this, almost everything loaded up instantly. However I started to notice some things weren't functioning properly. Apps on the marketplace would not download, I would try to download Launcher Pro and nothing would happen, nothing downloaded. Tried this with other apps, same thing. I rebooted the phone and noticed upon reboot that a force close/app error happened, not sure which app it was but it had google in it. I have no idea what app it could have been since I only removed apps if I knew what they were like Slacker, Kindle, Sims etc. Maybe removing the Sims caused the error?
I also noticed that emails wouldn't send (or would take a long time) even when I was on wifi. And the XDA app wouldn't work. I would go to make a post, click the text input box, but it wouldn't let me move the text cursor. I would press the keyboard and nothing happened.
I removed a crap ton of apps but they weren't anything major. I also removed the samsung widgets since I would never use those. Guess I should have asked on the forums before removing so much stuff.
---
Which apps are okay to remove? Any ideas on which app could have caused the market to mess up?
From what you listed, those are all safe apps to dump. I would have thought any issue is more likely to come from the lag fix than nuking "safe" apps. There are several threads discussing the apps that are safe to get rid of, take a look in the stickie for a link if you can't find it via seach.
Cool thanks!
SykesAT said:
From what you listed, those are all safe apps to dump. I would have thought any issue is more likely to come from the lag fix than nuking "safe" apps. There are several threads discussing the apps that are safe to get rid of, take a look in the stickie for a link if you can't find it via seach.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I 2nd that, I accidentally installed both lag fixes and got the force close thing. I had to nandroid restore and reinstall.
Sent from the best phone from TMO... Vibrant
DELETE THE BLOAT!
Download Root Explorer (i'm not associated with) and go to System/App to remove a lot of the bloatware that came on the phone. I strongly encourage researching what can & can NOT be removed. ALWAYS make a backup. Here is a good thread about removing the bloat. Remember, I am not responsible. It will be some time before we have a custom ROM that removes this crap for us.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read the Tips and Tricks sticky. There's a lot of good stuff in there.
Which is the best for removing bloatware; Titanium, Root Explorer, or Root Manager?
Arcadia310 said:
Which is the best for removing bloatware; Titanium, Root Explorer, or Root Manager?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used root explorer, to "move" apps to a backup folder on sd card. Then went into Android settings -apps-manage apps --filter - all and uninstalled the apps.
Two step process. First step puts them out of sight, second properly gets rid of them. FYI, you can not do step 2 without doing the first step.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
SykesAT said:
I used root explorer, to "move" apps to a backup folder on sd card. Then went into Android settings -apps-manage apps --filter - all and uninstalled the apps.
Two step process. First step puts them out of sight, second properly gets rid of them. FYI, you can not do step 2 without doing the first step.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes sense. What if I move lets say 10 "bloatware" apps onto the SD card, delete them from the phone, then something goes wrong or something stops working. I can just move it back and it'll be fine right? And you don't literally mean you can't do step two without doing step one right?
I did filter all in the manage apps but I have two questions.
1. I went to a random app ThinkFree Office, there was no option to delete it there. I thought you could only delete bloatware in an app like Titanium?
2. When you delete an app it creates that long "com.app.uselessword here.word" listing right? In order to truly remove an app you would have to delete it in Titanium/Root Explorer then delete the thing I said right?
Unless you do step 1 you can not delete them in apps manager. Not sure why and it makes it a PITA.
when I dumped my bloat files were compeately gone from system/app. there was no com.app.uselessword here.word type listing.
I have not used Ti to remove apps so I can not speak as to how it works, if it truley uninstalls then it could be a one step process (I would still back the apk odex files first).
Again I have not tried to reinstall but I would imagine it works in reverse, move apk/odex to system/app and install.
I recently rooted/installed CleanROM for my S4, but now I have some basic questions regarding what actually happened in the process and how I could improve it. (First smartphone, first Android).
1. Is flashing the exact equivalent of installing a kernel/ROM/app in a recovery like TeamWin that is zipped in an SD card? All I did was select my zipped file and install--the guide says to use GooManager but I never used it. Also, does updating TWRP, kernel, or ROM (same application/kernel/ROM, but newer version) require that you delete the old ZIP, copy over the new ZIP, then install it? Is there a cleaner method (I feel that since we have to wipe to prevent old files from interfering with new ROM that maybe parts of the old version of a ROM may be redundant or may interfere with the new ROM?
2. Is there a way I can save the phone settings when dealing with one ROM and transferring these settings to another ROM? I really don't want to spend 20 minutes to go through all the settings and change it to my liking every time I install a new ROM.
3. With TWRP I could backup the entire ROM and also be able to install that backup ROM if I don't like the new ROM installed? What does Titanium Backup offer in regards to this aside from backing up app data and the ability freeze/uninstall system apps?
4. Does Titanium Backup leave any residual files? I see other apps designed to uninstall system apps and Titanium Backup seems like an all-in-one jack of all trades.
5. I thought I wiped everything and to me, that sounds like reformatting the entire drive. I only wiped system, boot, and data though (good enough for ROMs, according to what I've read). I was surprised when I saw my videos that I had already backed up to my PC accessible on the phone. Should I just wipe literally everything (I assume it would be cleaner) like cache, preload, EFS, modem, recovery, etc.? Will wiping literally everything be like reformatting my phone (since my phone was not reformatted because my personal videos was still there when I installed my custom ROM? If I were to install completely different ROMs cleanly and wanted to keep my personal files, I would only need to wipe system, data, and boot?
4. Do I have to use CASUAL again to install an updated TWRP?
5. Does backing up a ROM also backup its root? I'm going to assume this is a dumb question and the answer is no. I'm also guessing I have to block OTA updates from AT&T to ensure I keep my root. How would I go about doing this? Also, would my phone be "safe" if I stick to my ROM (no updates or anything) for 4+ years? I'm asking this as an extreme case because I feel like I'm missing out on AT&T security updates that could protect my phone and also I don't think the developer my ROM (CleanROM) will do frequent updates).
6. I had problems with my computer not being able to recognize my phone and my SD card in the phone after I wiped everything and before I installed a ROM. I literally had to take the SD card from the phone and use an SD card reader to transfer my custom ROM/loki then put it back into the phone. Was I missing a driver?
7. What are some must-have apps a newly rooted user would want?
8. I read that you only need 1 EFS backup and you don't need to back it up every time you are going to install a custom ROM. Can I get a confirmation?
9. What does Goo Manager do and would I want it?
10. Is it essential that I keep up to date with news about my custom ROM/phone to ensure my phone is secured?
**Not Root/ROM related--Is swiping an app away from the Recent Apps List (long-press home button) the equivalent of killing an app? I use the Recent Apps List often but I don't want to go about swiping apps away if means it is killing it, since I read that killing apps are bad and actually drains battery life. Also, is there a mod that lets you access the Recent Apps List by long-pressing the menu one? I only see a mod that kills the app if you long-press it.
Also, any ROMs you guys can recommend me that is like CleanROM? It has to be TW-based because I use multi-windows. Basically, I want a stable, popular (popular ones tend to be more frequently updated, which is important because there are often bugs in custom ROMs), and optimized/debloated ROM (as debloated as possible, I rather use my own large list of apps than pre-installed ones). I was looking at GoldenEye but I'm not sure.
Thanks. I'm hoping for many responses as I have more questions to ask but not a lot of free time (I will check back on this thread every several hours until there are no more responses on the thread.
Hey there! Here is my take on at least some of your questions. I am not a super pro, but I will try not to give you any wrong info.
1. The zip files that are still out on your SD card are just the install files for whatever you are flashing. They won't be cleaned up automatically and you will need to delete them yourself if you want them gone. That being said I would recommend leaving the previous version's zip out there in case you need to back out of the new version.
2. If by phone settings you mean all of the settings in the various option menus baked into the ROM it is best to redo those when switching between ROMs. Many ROMs add and take away options and add whole new option sections so you will want to go through those and set things to your liking. Another option is to use a launcher like Nova Launcher that lets you back up its settings and restore them which is a big chunk of the things I change when going to a new ROM. Some people may have a different opinion on this one.
3. Yes if you make a backup in a recovery like TWRP and then restore from it it will be like you never flashed the other ROM. Titanium backup does what you say and also can backup individual Apps themselves and restore them.
4. Once you have a recovery installed you should not have to go through the hoops you went through to get it there to update it. Check the thread for the recovery for upgrade instructions.
5. Your SD card will not be wiped when you wipe system or data. There is also the internal "sdcard" that if I recall is not wiped when you do a standard wipe which will keep things like pics and videos between flashes.
6. So you were trying to access the phone storage/SD card while it was in recovery? I have never had much luck with that. I always just make sure I have all of the files I will need to install the new ROM moved over before I wipe it. That being said if you have the right driver it might be possible.
7. Titanium Backup, a file explorer that can leverage Root access like Root Explorer, maybe something like Greenify (I think it takes Root). Other than that check out the thread in the Apps/Themes subforum where people list their top 5 apps.
8. Pass (but I think what you heard/read is right)
9. Goo Manager can let you know if there is updated version of your ROM or what other ROMs are available for your device and download them. It can also be used to install a recovery. Personally I don't use it and just check ROM threads for updates if the ROM doesn't offer OTA updates.
10. I rarely see mention of security fixes/features in custom ROMs so I don't think you need to stay on top of threads for that reason. With that said, if security is crazy super important to you then a custom ROM might not be your best bet. Even though source code is available for most if not all of them that doesn't mean someone has gone through the code looking for security flaws (or even malicious code).
11. You can test this yourself. Go into the "Apps" section of the options and look at what Apps are running then swipe one away and check again. Personally I would go ahead and swipe away Apps as needed since that is a core Android feature. I haven't seen a mod for what you are asking.
12. The other two TW-based ROMs I have used are Goldeneye and Alpha. Both are good, but I am using Alpha now due to its higher degree of customization. Goldeneye hasn't been updated in a month or so, Alpha is being updated regularly at the moment.
---------- Post added at 08:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:09 PM ----------
Here is the link to the thread where people list out their top 5 apps!
Nice post, very good help...serious...
Incredibly helpful, thanks. I will post more questions if I have here, kind of busy at the moment.
Question:
What is the best way to detect whether a third-party app has a keylogger? I read from an article that it is incredibly easy for someone to put a keylogger on an app. Is Avast Mobile Security and Antivirus capable/overkill for this job? Also, I was worried that Avast may actually be bad because it would deteriorate (wear and tear on the SSD of the phone) through all the scannings? Or am I completely wrong? If I am wrong, I'm guessing it's because an antivirus only reads your files and therefore does not wear down a SSD (I'm not even sure if this is right).
mindstormer said:
Question:
What is the best way to detect whether a third-party app has a keylogger? I read from an article that it is incredibly easy for someone to put a keylogger on an app. Is Avast Mobile Security and Antivirus capable/overkill for this job? Also, I was worried that Avast may actually be bad because it would deteriorate (wear and tear on the SSD of the phone) through all the scannings? Or am I completely wrong? If I am wrong, I'm guessing it's because an antivirus only reads your files and therefore does not wear down a SSD (I'm not even sure if this is right).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can read a SSD all day long, that doesn't wear it out. Writing to a SSD will cause wear, not reading. I'm thinking that most antivirus apps can find that kind of stuff, but don't download from unknown sources or those you don't trust. Even Google Play has some shady stuff. I would recommend researching an app on Google if you have any doubts about it. I'm sure it can be done, but I really doubt any of your friends know how to reprogram one of your apps to have a keylogger, plus I wouldn't let them use my phone in the first place.
To answer your questions:
1. Antivirus doesn't wear anything out, it just puts load on your system.
2. Most antivirus apps should detect apps like the ones your talking about.
agent929 said:
You can read a SSD all day long, that doesn't wear it out. Writing to a SSD will cause wear, not reading. I'm thinking that most antivirus apps can find that kind of stuff, but don't download from unknown sources or those you don't trust. Even Google Play has some shady stuff. I would recommend researching an app on Google if you have any doubts about it. I'm sure it can be done, but I really doubt any of your friends know how to reprogram one of your apps to have a keylogger, plus I wouldn't let them use my phone in the first place.
To answer your questions:
1. Antivirus doesn't wear anything out, it just puts load on your system.
2. Most antivirus apps should detect apps like the ones your talking about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the confirmation.
Another question for anyone:
Clean Master found the folder of an app that I installed on a precious ROM, so I not wipe the device cleanly. I though wiping system, boot, and data was enough--what was I missing, or should I have checked everything to be wiped on TeamWin Recovery?
Are you sure its not coming from your SD card?
Sent from miPhone using XDA Premium HD app
So I bought a Galaxy Tab 4 7 inch a few weeks ago and love it (minus a few issues here and there of course) so of course the inner mod freak inside me (thanks to the XDA community) decided to achieve root access for my device.
So far I say this with mixed emotions I am pretty happy with the store bought stock firmware with root but the thing that bugs me is that I cannot remove any apps with Root Uninstaller for example I want to get rid of chrome. My problem is when I start up Root Uninstaller it achieves root permissions and loads up my list of apps. So of course since I have root permission and find Chrome in my list I click on it to try to uninstall but Root Uninstaller locks up. I'll be clear about this bit of info. Only the app locks up. My soft buttons still work and I can drop down my notification bar and I can also swap between apps. So after clicking a few times to see if it didn't register my click it comes up with a notice saying Root Uninstaller isn't responding and asks if I would like to wait or close the program. The notice will pop up 3 times before finally forcing the app to close. Now I will also be clear about this too it does not "force close" it just closes with no warning at all. I understand the easy answer might be to flash a debloated deodexed custom rom with stock apps stripped from the rom itself but I was hoping to avoid downloading a huge rom package as my only form of downloading is while I am at work. Please anyone who could drop any information on me would be much appreciated.
sherlockpwnz said:
So I bought a Galaxy Tab 4 7 inch a few weeks ago and love it (minus a few issues here and there of course) so of course the inner mod freak inside me (thanks to the XDA community) decided to achieve root access for my device.
So far I say this with mixed emotions I am pretty happy with the store bought stock firmware with root but the thing that bugs me is that I cannot remove any apps with Root Uninstaller for example I want to get rid of chrome. My problem is when I start up Root Uninstaller it achieves root permissions and loads up my list of apps. So of course since I have root permission and find Chrome in my list I click on it to try to uninstall but Root Uninstaller locks up. I'll be clear about this bit of info. Only the app locks up. My soft buttons still work and I can drop down my notification bar and I can also swap between apps. So after clicking a few times to see if it didn't register my click it comes up with a notice saying Root Uninstaller isn't responding and asks if I would like to wait or close the program. The notice will pop up 3 times before finally forcing the app to close. Now I will also be clear about this too it does not "force close" it just closes with no warning at all. I understand the easy answer might be to flash a debloated deodexed custom rom with stock apps stripped from the rom itself but I was hoping to avoid downloading a huge rom package as my only form of downloading is while I am at work. Please anyone who could drop any information on me would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium Backup can uninstall system apps, it's what I used to debloat when my devices didn't have any custom roms available yet
Wow I feel like a dummy I didn't even think about that haha. I use titanium backup too and didn't even know lol. Just to be safe I backed it up and uninstalled it. Thank you for the help in such a speedy fashion!
Hello new here and while I have done some searches I am not quite finding what I am looking for which is maybe because I am not asking the right questions or searching for the right terms so hopefully someone can direct me to the right place!
I have an old Galaxy Grand Prime Sm-G530W running Android 5.1.1. It has 8gb storage and I would like to maybe remove some of the apps that I wont use, are not useful or are just bloatware.
However I am not sure what apps are what and which one I should avoid removing?
The phone will be used primary to make calls, will not be on a data and only use free wifi hotspot and the wife from my home.
I would like to maybe keep some kind of google maps ability, I do not want chrome but rather would use firefox along with ad blockers etc I know work well for me on FF.
I have have done some research but not a phone expert by far so I am not sure I want to root my phone, install custom roms. I read something about remove bloatware via "remove the pre installed apps using ADB commands" however figured I get some tips advice from people that know what they are talking about.
Ideally it would be great if there was some kind of program I can just plug into from my PC or some such that allows me to then simply remove the samsung and google bloat or unwanted programs so I could gain more room for apps I do want.
Right now after factory reset it uses like 3.50GB out of 8gb.
is there any Debloat program I can use on it out there?
smdebloat said:
Hello new here and while I have done some searches I am not quite finding what I am looking for which is maybe because I am not asking the right questions or searching for the right terms so hopefully someone can direct me to the right place!
I have an old Galaxy Grand Prime Sm-G530W running Android 5.1.1. It has 8gb storage and I would like to maybe remove some of the apps that I wont use, are not useful or are just bloatware.
However I am not sure what apps are what and which one I should avoid removing?
The phone will be used primary to make calls, will not be on a data and only use free wifi hotspot and the wife from my home.
I would like to maybe keep some kind of google maps ability, I do not want chrome but rather would use firefox along with ad blockers etc I know work well for me on FF.
I have have done some research but not a phone expert by far so I am not sure I want to root my phone, install custom roms. I read something about remove bloatware via "remove the pre installed apps using ADB commands" however figured I get some tips advice from people that know what they are talking about.
Ideally it would be great if there was some kind of program I can just plug into from my PC or some such that allows me to then simply remove the samsung and google bloat or unwanted programs so I could gain more room for apps I do want.
Right now after factory reset it uses like 3.50GB out of 8gb.
is there any Debloat program I can use on it out there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello member of this small community, well the best way to remove bloatware is by root, the process is relatively simple.
1) Download the twrp recovery (.tar) belonging to the model you have.
2) Install it through Odin
3) Install Magisk Manager
With this done you can use applications such as root uninstaller, another alternative is to look if there is a custom rom for your model, but do not expect much as many roms have been abandoned and only a new project is kept alive, if the current rom does not present problems in performance, I recommend you leave it alone and start removing junk apps, another recommendation is to install SD maid, a great app for cleaning junk content of the phone.