SkinJob

I got another "weird app" problem. The last time, it was an app I wanted to save (and I never succeeded in doing that, even after having spoken with the devloper!). This time, it's an app I want to get rid of.

It's something called "Ringer Volume", and it showed up on my SEARCH button, of all places. I don't know where it came from. Sure, I was testing a lot of ringer locking apps recently, but this wasn't one of them. I thought I might have installed it from my pc, but no, I have nothing by that name in my archive. I'm pretty sure I did not download it from the market, because I can't even find it there. (No, it's not the "Ringer Volume" by "Android Labs").

Now how do I get rid of it?? There is no icon for it in my app drawer, so I can't get information from it that way. The app itself just shows volume settings, there is no menu within it that can be called up to identify its owner. The app does not show up in "Manage Applications" in my system settings, nor Titanium Backup, and I searched my system with Root Explorer for the term "ringer" and it did not find it. I can only assume "Ringer Volume" does not have an apk, and must have been spewed from some other program via shortcut. (Well, that's how "Fast Dialer" was born... I discovered that dialer app gets created as soon as you first launch "360 Guards").

Now seriously... how do I get rid of this thing?!

jefboyardee

In Settings>Manage Apps, did you look in Running?

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sherri

Almost sounds as if you somehow changed the function of the "search" button, as it is only raising and lowering volume....

RyanB

Well, you could take the nuclear option and do a factory reset followed by restoring your apps one at a time to find the culprit

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lunatic59

Are you sure it's an app and not just recent search criteria showing up in the search bar? Google will remember old searches and try to give you a head start.

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SkinJob

jefboyardee: In Settings>Manage Apps, did you look in Running?

I tried starting it, then going to task manager to switch to the running app, System Settings. Ringer Volume does not show up in system settings. It does not even show up in MIUI's task manager.

sherri: Almost sounds as if you somehow changed the function of the "search" button, as it is only raising and lowering volume....

No, I didn't (although I did attempt to remap the search button a few hours ago. But this is after discovering "Ringer Volume" on my search button). The search button does not raise or lower the volume. All it does is show a list of (mostly) search apps, a couple of dialers, and then this ringer volume app. Selecting Ringer VOlume in the list brings up a volume control panel.

RyanB: Well, you could take the nuclear option and do a factory reset followed by restoring your apps one at a time to find the culprit

That is NOT an option at this point! To make a long story short, I have gone through too many trials of having to rebuild my system from scratch, the last couple of weeks. I have close to 300 apps installed now, so I don't have any more time for that!

lunatic59: No, I'm not sure it's an app; especially as Root Explorer could not find it by name. It could be a shortcut created by an app (although I don't see which app it could have come from). However, I AM sure that it's not a "recent search criteria showing up in the search bar". It's not showing up in a search bar. It's showing up in the selection menu that pops up when you hit the search button (and you have more than one search app installed).

sherri

Did you try any Ad Aware apps? This may show you which app put this on there.... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.trustgo.addetector

This is one of my favorites.

SkinJob

I have "Add-ons Detector" so I tried a scan with that. It only listed "Escalating Ring" as having an add-on (push notification). I froze Escalating Ring, it had no effect on the Ringer Volume app.

Still, "TrustGo" seems to be worth checking out....

lunatic59

Could you post a screen shot?

RyanB

+1 on the screen shot.

SirSpace

Is it possible you got it threw an app you installed like how an exe. File would on a computer you know how they throw in extra stuff if you don't uncheck the box?

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SkinJob

No, I don't think so. I've never seen anything like that during an installation of an app, and I'm always careful about that sort of thing. At any rate, it doesn't really matter how it got installed, it matters how to get rid of it! Being a PC tech guy, I really find this unfathomable, that Android gives you no option to trace the ownership, or even location, of a software program that is living, breaing and running on your phone. I mean, if I could talk to the people at Google, the first thing I would say is, "Are you nuts?!".

Sure. Here's a screen of the app in action, and one of the search list that calls it up. Keep in mind, the glassy blue skin could be due to some iPhone theming program I have installed. It's possible the program might have a different look on another stock phone. But if anyone out there recognizes it, please... give me the destruction code for this cockamamie thing. I want it off my phone, is that asking too much?!!

Last edited by SkinJob; December 12th, 2012 at 05:25 PM.

RyanB

So the second picture is what you get when you press your search key? Or is it when you long press it?

sherri

Excellent find! I didn't realize that long pressing the search button did anything. Now I see it brings up some apps, along with the "Complete Action Using...." I have no idea which apps it chose. I see Soundhound/Friendcaster/Google/ and Media. I thought it was recently launched, but I haven't used Google or media all day.

However, a short tap on search icon brings up the regular Google Now search.

Could OP have messed with settings while trying to map keys? Maybe length of tap?

jefboyardee

I would never think that a reset is NOT an option, let alone proclaim it.

I have about a hundred apps and always figured that as long as I’m trying software from complete strangers, the occasional reset is almost inevitable.

To that end I backed them up with AppMonster and kept track of it all with MyAppsList. And I have had to reset a few times, but with that stuff, it was not even a couple hours to put everything back. I assume in your case it would just take three times as long.

LexiconStudios

Agreed, reset must always be an option.

It's definitely a piece of an app that you've downloaded.

I'd nuke it. It's going to be very hard to track down without downloading eclipse and enabling debugging on your phone.

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SkinJob

Ok folks, mystery solved, thanks! I was going through some apps via Autostarts, to see what services get started on boot, and what I need to just remove from the phone. I came across one called "Super Manager". I don't think I had even tried it yet, because it started with a 1,000 line disclaimer you had to accept before entering the program. I noticed that within the 10,000 tools this thing has, one of them is called "Volume Manager". It looks exactly like the "Ringer Volume" menu that gets called up when I press my search button (yes, long press). Man, is this thing ever going bye-bye!