[Q] Stock keyboard and removing bloatware - Defy Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi. I have a Defy Mini, which I purchased unlocked. I have unrooted the phone and have gotten most of the bloatware out using Titanium Backup and Root Explorer. However, there are some that I cannot find in the /system/app folder and some result in 'APK not found' under the Titanium backup app. How should I remove those apps?
Also, I'm using the stock Android keyboard right now. "Tap to select a word" does not work; tapping a word just moves the cursor to wherever I just tapped. Also, I don't think auto correct is working at all.
Please help, thank you.

Related

How do you remove all the junk pre-loaded apps from Bell Samsung Galaxy?

I know this has been probably asked and answered many times but I'm new to xda community, if anybody can point me to a thread where it explains how to remove these useless apps like (bell pvr)
I use titanium backup. It is free in the Market. But be careful what apps you remove, I was told that certain apps require others to work.I just removed bell PVR and all the "social network" stuff.
When Titanium opens (Must be rooted) select backup/restore button at the top. Then scroll down to the apps you want to remove. Tap the icon then a list will appear, select uninstall.
And you are good
Enjoy your Galaxy!!
I am aware about the Titanium backup and want to remove some useless (for me) apps, but as the above poster mentioned I am not sure which ones are safe to be removed and more importantly, what do we do in case we remove an app that shouldn't have been removed... So if anyone has successfully uninstalled some of the stock apps could mention which ones?
Your best bet would be to backup the files you want to remove. You can do this in Titanium. Then after you remove the files you want to remove. After you reboot see if it works. If not then simply go back into titanium and restore the backup.
vylent said:
I know this has been probably asked and answered many times but I'm new to xda community, if anybody can point me to a thread where it explains how to remove these useless apps like (bell pvr)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you need to be rooted, and use Titan Backup (free)
everything in RED is preloaded
some are safe to remove, some are not
so make a backup before you remove anything
Guys, Where can I find this junk you deleted ...i need bell pvr app.
Anyone got a full backup of bell samsung vibrant ?
not me sorry, that is one of the very first thing i deleted, since i don't use Bell TV
actually i quit TV since like 7 years ago
as soon as i found out i can watch all my favorite TV shows anytime i wanted online/offline
i still have a TV somewhere, i just get the Free Over The Air, like the good old fashioned way, with the Rabbit Antennae
If u guys dont want to do it manually, might i suggest "systemapp remover" in market. It allows deletion of the apk followed by uninstalltion of the appropriate package name.
Titan Backup does that already, it backup and then uninstall
so if you screw-up by "accident" (removing things you shouldn't) you can restore from backup
Is there a nandroid backup or something we can extract the apk from.
Comeon guys, help me out here
thanks
mohitmoudgil said:
Is there a nandroid backup or something we can extract the apk from.
Comeon guys, help me out here
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did u make a nandroid backup ? if so just unyaffs system.img
If not, then download the firmware ur currently using and proceed with this :
Link
Guys, I have t mobile vibrant. Else I would already have that apk.
If anyone can provide me a backup file then I can extract.
Here is the backup file that Titanium Backup created for the Bell PVR application. I hope this helps.
http://www.framedfiction.com/posts/ca.bell.android.BellRpvr-20100929-164710.tar.gz
I've read all over these forums about how you can use titanium backup to uninstall the bell apps that come with the phone. But whenever I launch Titanium all I see are the following:
Accounts
Application Widgets
Bluetooth Pairings
Country, Language, Time Zone
Wi-Fi Access Points
I've checked the filters and they're not on.
Is it broken?

Help with self-inflicted keyboard problem......

If anyone can shed some light as to what I need to do, I'd greatly appreciate it.
So I rooted my phone. After doing so, I just wanted to remove some bloatware.......so I downloaded Root Explorer. I did install Clockwork and Titanium backup before doing anything also, fwiw.
Over the past couple of days, I have been disabling some of the stupid factory apps.....and also began using LauncherPro. I like LP much better, except for the fact that it only uses Swype keyboard (which I hate). While I was looking for the last two apps that I never use (so I could disable), I decided to disable Swype.
I at least I hope to give some of a good laugh with my stupidity today. And my problem now is that I can't use my keypad at all......in any app, or anything. I freaked out, and also figured I didn't have too much to lose either....so I decided to try and do a backup. No success. I did a factory reset, no succcess.
Suggestions?
Do you mean you tried a restore?
And you are able to use any keyboard you want with any launcher. Just long press and select input method.
Go back into titainium and unfreeze swype.
Next time just install a custom rom with all the bloat already removed.
Worse case, do a odin restore
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
I think he deleted the apps through root explorer..like he said brother just do an odin back to stock and if you want to remove bloatware use titanium backup to freeze apps instead of just delete them. Or if you download something like jt1134's super clean rom bloatware will already be gone. And just for the record launcher pro doesn't just use swype..if you long press in the text field and select ' input method ' you can change keyboards..in fact try that lol before you do anything else.
Hope this helps!
SCH-I500 - DJ05/SuperClean .8/Nemesis OTB 1200lv/Galaxy Red Evolution
slvrevoix said:
Do you mean you tried a restore?
And you are able to use any keyboard you want with any launcher. Just long press and select input method.
Go back into titainium and unfreeze swype.
Next time just install a custom rom with all the bloat already removed.
Worse case, do a odin restore
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I tried to do a restore. I figured out another method though, and was successful.
And no, I can't change from Swype on LP for some reason....when I long press the only thing that shows is Swype.
Neuman.Tim said:
I think he deleted the apps through root explorer..like he said brother just do an odin back to stock and if you want to remove bloatware use titanium backup to freeze apps instead of just delete them. Or if you download something like jt1134's super clean rom bloatware will already be gone. And just for the record launcher pro doesn't just use swype..if you long press in the text field and select ' input method ' you can change keyboards..in fact try that lol before you do anything else.
Hope this helps!
SCH-I500 - DJ05/SuperClean .8/Nemesis OTB 1200lv/Galaxy Red Evolution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually didn't delete anything, just renamed the apps I didn't want to .bak.
What I was able to do is download Root Explorer to my desktop, then drag it on the root of the phone. With the Fascinate, there is a folder that says "My Files", in which I can run an app from the root. What I had to do, since I couldn't use the keyboard......is send myself a text over the internet with "Swype.apk" and copy the text, then rename the swype file back from bak to apk by pasting the text into the field. Worked like a champ.
Slick move brother
SCH-I500 - DJ05/SuperClean .9/Nemesis OTB 1200ul/Voodoo5/Darkstar
Neuman.Tim said:
Slick move brother
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The screw up, or the fix?
both haha

[Q] Deleting Files

Now that I have 'rooted' my Iconia Tab a500, and thank you to the folks on here for making the process very simple, what is the app I should use to delete some of the unwanted blotware? I have looked at several file managers but do not see the option for delete. Any suggestions appreciated.
Thank you
TJ
I used Root Uninstaller (Pro). By the way, don't uninstall things, it's better to 'freeze' them (the app is capable of doing that). That way you don't delete anything accidentally, and the frozen apps won't start or show up in the menu.
The free version of Root Uninstaller can freeze, but cannot unfreeze the apps (you need Pro for that). It can uninstall them however, but then they're gone forever unless you can get them from somewhere else.
adancau said:
I used Root Uninstaller (Pro). By the way, don't uninstall things, it's better to 'freeze' them (the app is capable of doing that). That way you don't delete anything accidentally, and the frozen apps won't start or show up in the menu.
The free version of Root Uninstaller can freeze, but cannot unfreeze the apps (you need Pro for that). It can uninstall them however, but then they're gone forever unless you can get them from somewhere else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium Backup can freeze/backup/uninstall, etc - IMHO it's the best you can get
By the way, what exactly is 'freezing'? I know what it does in principle, but I'm curious about HOW it does it Thanks.
"Freezing" to open more ROM space?
Perhaps "freezing" means the program will not be loaded in ROM or RAM, not sure. If this is true, this would be a way to make more space available in ROM. Comments?

Titanium Backup to system app

The Titanium Backup Pro-version has an option to change application status from a user app to a system app and vice versa. But how can I make a TB itself into a system app? I want to do this in case of need for system factory reset. I had to factory reset my phone just a couple of hours ago, because I got it stuck so bad that I had to pull the battery out of it and when it restarted it had forgotten all the defaults and when asked about a launcher i chose Zeam and automaticly checked the option that said "use as default". Zeam then forceclosed and forceclosed and fc,fc,fc.... So basically I couldn't get anywhere. I managed to close phone and restart it, but now it remembered the defaults and opened Zeam force closing it time after another. I closed the phone again and went to CMW-recovery and wiped the caches and made a factory reset (maybe not a smartest solution, but I couldn't think of anything else). And then when opening the phone I noticed that some apps (E-mail, file manager, Talk, etc..) that aren't included in the custom ROM (void. (2.2.2; #eridanus)) but ones I had backupped from previous ROM and transfered to this were automaticly included, because when backupped, were saved as system apps and installed automaticly as such. So I went to Market and bought a Pro-version of TB and set some other apps(SlideIt keyboard) as a system ones in case I screw the phone up again, but I cant figure out how to make TB a system app itself, since then I wouldn't even have to go to Market to restore my phone in case of another factory reset.
All of the apps you downloaded will almost always placed in the folder /data/app Just use root explorer to copy the apk files there to a safe place for backup. The system apps will also be loaded during start up. They are located in /system/app You can read more in this forum in order to help yourself make progress in the learning path.
Sent from my IDEOS X5
Got it, thanks!
Sent from my u8800 using XDA Premium App
Have you tried Links2SD, it also has super powers similar to Titanium Backup, and will allow you to change it from a system app to an user app, and then to uninstall it completely.

Useful Tips for using Titanium Backup for newbies

Quick Tip for using Titanium Backup
1. Backup "application widgets". Once you restore your launcher, restore this and reboot so that your widgets will work and you don't have to reconfigure your home screen widgets (which would say "problem loading widgets" otherwise).
2. Backup "accounts" to remember the fact that you have "allowed" access to your google account for various apps (mainly google apps and any app that accesses your google account). This is also required to remember your facebook and skype passwords.
3. Backup "LogProvider" for the call log. A lot of people think call logs are backed up by "contacts storage" but they're not.
4. "contact storage" backups your speed dial
5. "dialer storage" backups your SMS/MMS. After you restore you need to reboot for it to take effect.
6. No need to backup "calendar 1.0". Just calendar 1.1. (this backups the setting not the actual content provided that you sync with google)
7. Most settings in Setting cannot be backed up (ie. Voip account, wifi hotspot ssid, ringtones, volume, etc). Simply re-enter them.
8. After upgrading your rom version or migrating to a different rom, before you restore, for "system" apps, make sure you check each one to see if the version has changed. If so, don't restore or you will probably have force-closes down the road. This is especially true if you move to cyanogen or miui, don't restore system apps at all.
9. Generally you don't need to save system apks unless you plan on uninstalling them to experiment instead of freezing.
10. Don't backup/restore "market" settings or you'll lose market links to your apps. In fact after you restore all your user apps you won't see all of them linked in the market even if titanium backup is set up to remember the links. Just use titanium to clear the market user data, restart market and you're ready to go.
11. Titanium backup does not save your default programs. (ie. DEFAULT browser, dialer, and for different file types).
12. Let TB save the settings to sd card. The next time you install TB you won't need to install the "pro" app. It remembers.
13. TB does not remember what apps are frozen. So after a reinstall, you need to refreeze whatever apps you want to freeze.
Other things good to know:
If you migrate to a new rom, although titanium Pro has an option to attempt to restore system apps to be compatible, try only restore user apps just to avoid force closes.
If you have a fixed set of apps you know you want to freeze, create a filter containing these apps. If you install a new rom, you can freeze all of them all at once without having to go through each.
Can you expand on what you mean in point 1.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Scenario:
I have, say, go launcher or touch wiz as my launcher, I put widgets on my home screen like weather, google search bar and maybe a music player widget. I can use TB to backup my launcher, which would supposedly backup where these widgets are located on your home screen. However after reinstalling the rom, if I restore my launcher without restoring "application widgets", the place where these widgets are supposed to be will show "problem loading widgets". And you would have to remove these problematic widgets and recreate them.
So when you backup your launcher, backup "application widgets" as well. When you restore, restore both of them. And preferably after restoring, reboot before you go back to your launcher
By the way "application widgets" is an actual backupable item in TB (shown in green)
Is this making any sense?
Thanks and yes you are making perfect sense.
Many times I've had to delete then replace widgets from my launcher after restoring using TB so I'm interested in where in TB to find this option.
I'm probably looking right at it but just can't see it. Can you steer my in the right direction in TB?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Nice to learn new things, especially the widgets, hate having the "problem loading widget" all the time.
Thanks for highlighting these.
Ok found it.
It's an item in the app list called "application widgets" with the TB icon next to it.
Cool thanks never noticed it before.
Great tip.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Having a Problem
Ok so I am tring to do an Extract from CWM Backup...
Just Flashed Jugg. 2.0 everything is running great!!!
But TBP is just stuck at Restoring 0% on my first program... I have even followed their help page. cleared the market memory... What am i doing wrong please help...
T-mobile - SGH - T989
ROM: Juggernaut 2.0
Bardouns said:
Ok so I am tring to do an Extract from CWM Backup...
Just Flashed Jugg. 2.0 everything is running great!!!
But TBP is just stuck at Restoring 0% on my first program... I have even followed their help page. cleared the market memory... What am i doing wrong please help...
T-mobile - SGH - T989
ROM: Juggernaut 2.0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you enabled USB debugging and UNKNOWN sources?!
yes on both
---------- Post added at 08:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:16 AM ----------
Ok... Don't know WTF... but its working like lightning now... have no idea... didn't do anything except download google text to voice... weird
Been using it for years and didn't figure out the speeddial backup. Good post. A couple thoughts in general as far as backup strategy.... IMO freezing is better than removing system apps because space is not an issue with the sgs2 like it is with some (older) phones. Swap a lot of roms and sooner or later your are going to either on accident or purpose delete something you shouldn't have and then have to restore. Going down the list and freezing them only takes a minute and is readily reversible with the same end result. If you must be rid of them freeze them first and give it a few days for any oddness to show up. Then uninstall.
Agree on restoring system apps. Always a good way to get odd behavior or fc's and the like. Normally there is no need anyways as the new rom has the same system apps in it and most of the settings can be remembered elsewhere. I do back up system apps though in case I want to grab an apk that isn't in the new rom.
Also IMO its a good idea to copy the entire contents of the internal sd over to the pc after doing a nandroid and ti backup. This way if things go to hell you have everything. The process I use is to do a ti backup and then nandroid in recovery. I mount while still in recovery and copy everything over to a folder on the pc. Now I have all my pics, everything. I use the external sd for music and other items that I know will move from rom to rom so that I don't have to hassle with them. Do this and your covered in every way if you have problems with your ti backup or nandroid. Both can happen sometimes. Also if your phone dies, goes missing etc at least you have a backup as recent as your last rom swap which for us is probably not too long ago. lol I keep the most recent two backups and delete the oldest as I make new ones with each new rom. This only takes a few minutes extra during the rom swap and if you need it you will be glad you have it.
Thank you for tips!
Very helpful. Been using TB for a while now but did not know all the details!
thanx for your efforts...
got some useful tips. I thought I know TB, but I didn't.
Nice write-up!
Any advice on what to do when you try to restore an app and it tells you "problem parsing the package"?
Seam to happen more often with apps that did not come from Android Market or Amazon Appstore...
Very good guide and not just for newbie's.
Thank you.​
App Folders i nApp Draw
i cant seem to figure out where the folders in the app draw are actually stored. i tried to do a restore from a previous rom (apps only, widgets ect) but im not sure where to go for app folders, thats if it will even do this for me.
Many Thanks...
...to the OP & others for this thread & the tips in it ;-)
Just rooted yesterday & ran TI backup. Have run it again incorporating the tips in this thread. Very good suggestion to copy the lot over to PC as well.
Also, people should remember to make a copy of their EFS file & keep that somewhere safe off the phone (keep a copy on your external SD card as well).
Everything I've read so far suggests you're royally boned if you trash your EFS, so making a couple of copies & keeping them in various spots (one on the external SD/one on PC) makes sense to me. Hellcat's kTool does a bangup job & is a nice little app to have handy ;-)
Hi everyone. If someone can give me the confirmation about the following:
1. is Titanium backup saving the settings for the backed up app or only the app itself?
2. are social hub, readers hub, game hub, talk, IM, safe to freeze or unistall cos I don't use that?
3. When you freeze the app, is the icon gone or it stays under "menu"?
4. is Email app safe to freeze/uninstall or I need that for using Gmail app?
I'm on stock 2.3.3 + CF-Root-SGS2_XX_OXA_KH1-v4.1-CWM4 for now.
thank you and regards.
Thanks - very helpful to have more information.
3. Backup "LogProvider" for the call log. A lot of people think call logs are backed up by "contacts storage" but they're not.
This was really helpful. Thank you.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

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