Root Android shoving built-in apps up my, ahem...

Actually the reason you can't remove them is very simple: they are installed to the /system partition, and as the phone user you don't have administrator privileges and so cannot modify system software. This is the default for the simple reason that if you let every random user modify the system software you'll end up wasting a lot of time and money fixing their phones after they remove stuff that turns out to be important.

So there are 2 solutions:

1) disable them: Settings > Apps > All, select the app and look for the disable button. Most (but not all) apps should have this (I don't own a Nexus so cant' check directly which do). This doesn't uninstall the app, but does prevent it running. Because it is in a different partition it isn't using any of your app/data space, though the app data and any updates are (but those can be cleared/uninstalled). So to all practical ends there is little difference between disabling and uninstalling.

2) gain administrator privileges. This process is known as "rooting", because "root" is the name of the default Linux administrator account. Once you have root access you can, at your own risk, uninstall anything you want. I'd advise taking a system backup before doing so though, just in case.

So, if you want to find out about rooting the place is our Nexus 5 All Things Root forum (rooting procedures and software are device-specific, so you need to know how to root this particular phone). I'll move this thread over to there so you can get advice from the people who have experience of this.

I should say for the record that I root my phones and actually don't have any of the apps you name installed on my phone

You can't uninstall most of them, only some. Even if you root the phone and try deleting them you could break some functions.

You can:
A. Root the phone and install an ASOP Android ROM which is bare-bones Android without the Google apps. Or...
B. Go to Settings > Apps > Select app > Disable. Not all apps can be disabled and you may lose some functionality. Or...
C. Simply ignore the stuff you don't use.

I use Option C.

Be aware that rooting carries some risk and reduces the security of your device somewhat..

They will always tell you that disabling an app could cause problems. That's just boilerplate, and will be the same message if you disable any system app, no matter which or whether anything at all does depend on it.

As I said, I don't have any of the apps you named installed and my phone works fine (and I have a working GMail account, which I access using Kaiten Mail). Yes, if one app depends on another you could break something, e.g. if you use the Google Now launcher and disable or delete the Google Search app then you'll certainly lose some of the functionality. It's a matter of knowing what you want (disclosure: I decided a long time ago that I do not want to use Google Now, so I do uninstall the Google Search app). Now I'm running 4.4 rather than 5.0, but unless they have introduced new dependencies I think you are fine.

I'm surprised at it asking for updates for a disabled app, as I've never seen that myself.

If you root and either uninstall or "freeze" using Titanium Backup (that app's version of disabling) then you certainly won't get update notices. But not everyone wants to root.

Play Store settings - turn off notifications.

RC90RR said:

Well, I did try to disable some but they tell me that if I do, something else might break, Almost on a daily basis I keep getting a notification from google than some apps need to be update and lo and behold... the apps I disable are the ones needing update!

Also, if I want to disable them why does it tell me that they will be replaced by the Factory app? What is the use of disabling something if it will get replaced by something else that I don't want? boggles the mind.

So, yes, I am on a Nexus 5 with Lollipop, what exactly must I do here to prevent the notification to update them? Am I really going to break something if I delete Fit, Drive, Cloud Print for instance?

Since I am using Wisemail, can I disable Gmail?

Click to expand...

There are several layers to this, but ultimately, if you want to control your device rather than have Google control your device, it's all about who controls that system partition. You want control. Learn to Root. Root will allow you to install a custom recovery so you can make a back up image of your stock, rooted device which means if you make a mistake mucking around with things in the system partition, you can recover. It will allow you to install Titanium Backup which will allow you to freeze and delete individual apps (freezing is a good way to see if deleting them will cause problems before you do).

There is a rooting guide at the top of this forum and folks here who will help you.

Rooting also means you can install alternative ROMs that don't have the Google Apps built in letting you select your own Google apps package with some that install only the play store and Android services and then you can pick individual Google apps you want from the Play Store. This, like rooting, requires a little research and it is not without risk, but again, there are folks here willing to help you if you do the research and have questions.


Short of rooting, disable apps is about the best you can do. You can't delete system anything without root. I suspect if you are told the Factory App will be restored it is because it doesn't offer "Disable" but "Delete Updates." You can turn off app updates globally in the Play Store settings and I recommend you do. Letting any app update automatically is a risk. You should just periodically check "My Apps" in the play store for updates and check what early adopters are saying about the changes in the update, even waiting a while for those reviews to appear. Another advantage to rooting is Titanium Backup can recover a pre-update version of an app if you hate the update and you can even prevent it from being updated.

Bottom line. If you really want control, root. This is no different than any platform. BlackBerry didn't let you chose what they pre-installed. New versions of Android will always add new capabilities regardless of whether they are capabilities you individually want or not. The easiest path is just ignore them if they are not things you see value in.

RC90RR said:

Sound Search appears like an app that built-in and Installed, yet, I can't see it anywhere nor I can use it... I have read somewhere that some apps need to added to a widget or something of this nature, if this is true... how hard this is and why is this so?

Click to expand...

Maybe it's just me - but I've read that 6 times (yep - six) and I do not understand the question.

Ok, I gotcha.

That six-dot thing - when you open it, that's your App Drawer. (Trivia - the early Android had a handle thingy for that and you slid it open - like a drawer. Now it's different but we still call it a drawer.)

Your whole homescreen deal, including the app drawer, including the buttons at the bottom (usually the phone, etc etc) - is courtesy of an app called a launcher.

Most stock launchers only show apps (Nexus owners have to correct me here) but most do not show the other interesting bit - widgets.

Some functions you get to on your phone without an app - just a widget. Apps are bigger, badder, more memory, more etc etc, but widgets are just lighter ways to get to things.

Sometimes apps have no widgets. Sometimes apps also install their own widgets. Sometimes widgets are just that - no app, just a widget - won't appear in the app drawer because it's not an app - will appear with widget methods (that can vary a little by model and over time) - and are mighty handy for getting access to apps, services and settings.

Usual way on most any Android to get to your stash of widgets - find a blank spot on a homescreen and long press it until the menu pops up. If yours responds to that, you'll like see choices for apps, shortcuts - and widgets.

Widgets can only be placed on homescreens and conspire with the launcher to make you happier using Android.

I have a big widget on my phone that to the naked eye looks like time and weather. I touch it in various places and it opens up a Google weather widget, or it opens my HTC accuweather app, or my alarm clock and timer, or my weather radar. Plus I have the weathers set up so I can quickly see what the weather is like at my distant kid's house. I think it's all very cool - and it's just super easy to get to functions that I use all of the time without having to go into the app drawer, scroll here, scroll there, figure out which app it was, go back, lather, rinse, repeat.

The Google Play Sound Search is a widget.

And if you decide you don't like how your launcher is working - you can replace it. I use Nova. When I open my app drawer, right at the top, I get an extra tab just for checking out my widgets, not just apps. Ok, that's not a big deal but the point is - anything that frustrates you about the look and feel of things - you can change up and make it your way.