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What is the easiest way to remove bloatware?

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mslisaj

Android Enthusiast
Feb 11, 2010
370
8
Klamath Falls, Oregon
#1
I rooted my phone last night following the guide and the help of a wonderful forum member and it went smoothly. I'm still on 1.5 and will stay here awhile 'till I get the nerve again to do a 2.1. I need to get used to the fact that I did just root my phone.

With all that said I have root explorer on my phone. I was going to use the list of safe apps that can be removed and I was going to cut and paste them into a backup directory in case I do something wrong. Does this sound safe and cautious? Or I was thinking about using Fresh Kitchen but I think I have to have that Rom on my phone and I don't want to go there yet. I would appreciate any suggestions on the safest way and easiest way to get rid of those apps.

Thanks for all the help.........
:)
 
#2
I deleted all the bloatware through ADB .......i find it easier for me..

download the Android SDK .... in command prompt type..

1. cd c:\android-sdk-windows\tools

2. adb shell

3. su

4. mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system

5. cd /system/app

6. ls

you'll see a list of all the apps that are installed on your phones and now you ask yourself "which apps do i need to remove and how do i remove them?" ..

to remove an app you type "rm appname.apk" and "rm appname.odex" on 1.5 based ROMs' ..

on all 2.1 based rom's all you do is type "rm appname.apk" ..no need to remove .odex because they're not on 2.1 ..

so is that simple for you? if you have problems..let me know..
 
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#4
Did you get the list I sent you last night? If not I can resend it but it should be in your gmail. As for the easiest way, you said you have root explorer now, I would just use it to delete them. if you open root explorer just navigate to /system/app and then press the menu button, on the menu should be a "multi select" option, use that
 
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#5
DFRESH said:
I deleted all the bloatware through ADB .......i find it easier for me..

download the Android SDK .... in command prompt type..

1. cd c:\android-sdk-windows\tools

2. adb shell

3. su

4. mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system

5. cd /system/app

6. ls

you'll see a list of all the apps that are installed on your phones and now you ask yourself "which apps do i need to remove and how do i remove them?" ..

to remove an app you type "rm appname.apk" and "rm appname.odex" on 1.5 based ROMs' ..

on all 2.1 based rom's all you do is type "rm appname.apk" ..no need to remove .odex because they're not on 2.1 ..

so is that simple for you? if you have problems..let me know..
Click to expand...

thats how i did it last night. i rooted then deleted the useless sprint apps and some useless htc stuff. i havent flashed to a 2.0/2.1 rom.
 
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#6
Tailsthecat you're in the same position I'm in right now. Still on 1.5 but rooted thanks to a forum member that held my hand through the process. I have followed the "safe list" of stuff to remove but didn't get any braver then that. I would love to remove the stock sms app as it's supposed to be a battery killer. I don't use it any way as I use Handcent now. But I was just curious about "safe apps" to remove without screwing up the phone. This is definitely a grand learning experience.......

Lisa
 
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#7
mslisaj said:
Tailsthecat you're in the same position I'm in right now. Still on 1.5 but rooted thanks to a forum member that held my hand through the process. I have followed the "safe list" of stuff to remove but didn't get any braver then that. I would love to remove the stock sms app as it's supposed to be a battery killer. I don't use it any way as I use Handcent now. But I was just curious about "safe apps" to remove without screwing up the phone. This is definitely a grand learning experience.......

Lisa
Click to expand...

theres a list and tutorial at xda devs on the forums...i cant link from my ps3. on msn @ tailsthecat@live.com or aim @ xHappyGuy. ill help if possible...if you want. i stuck with the regular os, i just wanted to delete those useless sprint and htc apps.
edit: fb too @ psn3002@yahoo.com
 
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#8
Tailsthecat,
You and I are in the same spot as I mentioned. But here is the issue we face. If and when Sprint comes out with 2.1 we would have to put our phones back to stock to get that and all the bloatware comes with it. While yes, I'm very happy with my little Hero I would like to move on to the next level. So our choices are to stay on the cutting edge and maintain control over out equipment or go back to Sprint. For me getting up enough bravery to root in the first place was hard. I don't want to go back to stock now. So this is the issue for folks like us. We're going to have to do a Rom sooner or later. I'm just taking a breather from the root experience before I move on to the 2.1. I understand it will wipe our phones and we have to start over but the Sprint update will do that too. So it's out choice. I just ran into this article that I have linked below that seems very interesting. I'm considering going this way for the $3 cost of the program. But it seems like a one click process from the backup to the rom. Check it out............ Good luck. I'm glad to find someone in the same place. We're just moving slower then the pro's that just jump in with two feet and do it all in one night..............

Lisa ;)

[Complete Guide] How To Flash A Custom ROM To Your Android Phone With ROM Manager + Full Backup & Restore | Android News, Reviews, Applications, Games, Phones, Devices, Tips, Hacks, Videos, Podcasts - Android Police
 
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#9
mslisaj said:
Tailsthecat you're in the same position I'm in right now. Still on 1.5 but rooted thanks to a forum member that held my hand through the process. I have followed the "safe list" of stuff to remove but didn't get any braver then that. I would love to remove the stock sms app as it's supposed to be a battery killer. I don't use it any way as I use Handcent now. But I was just curious about "safe apps" to remove without screwing up the phone. This is definitely a grand learning experience.......

Lisa
Click to expand...
Lisa! DON'T remove the stock sms app! You will not be able to send or receive text messages if you do! Handcent needs to receive the mesages in the stock app, and just displays them for you. You can turn off the notifications in the stock messaging app, and use Handcent. The battery issue was fixed with a Sprint firmware update in december.

There is a link to list of safe apps to remove in the Sticky http://androidforums.com/all-things-root-sprint-hero/38911-guide-root-rom-faq-tutorial.html , I think FAQ # 19...
 
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#10
mslisaj said:
Tailsthecat you're in the same position I'm in right now. Still on 1.5 but rooted thanks to a forum member that held my hand through the process. I have followed the "safe list" of stuff to remove but didn't get any braver then that. I would love to remove the stock sms app as it's supposed to be a battery killer. I don't use it any way as I use Handcent now. But I was just curious about "safe apps" to remove without screwing up the phone. This is definitely a grand learning experience.......

Lisa
Click to expand...


Remove the stock SMS app and say bye bye to your text messages...Handcent needs the stock sms app in order to pull the text messages out of there...so try not to remove that ..

here's some apps i can remember off top of my head on 1.5

Sprint_Nscar.apk

Sprint_TV.apk

Sprint_TVWidget.apk

com.htc.TwitterWidget.apk
com.htc.TwitterWidget.odex

com.htc.StockWidget.odex
com.htc.StockWidget.apk

Quickoffice_HTC_1.0.1.apk

Sprint_NFL.apk

amazonmp3.apk

teeter.apk
teeter.odex

Stock.apk
Stock.odex

HtcFootprints.apk
HtcFootprints.odex

HtcFootprintsWidget.apk
HtcFootprintsWidget.odex

HtcTwitter.apk
HtcTwitter.odex

all those are safe to remove..
 
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#11
Thanks for the heads up on the SMS message thing. I didn't delete it as it wasn't on a list. What is "com.htc.StockWidget.apk"? Not sure what program that is. But that list of stuff is safe to remove so I can go get more. But I may be close to putting DamageControl on my phone anyway. I think I have to keep moving forward at this point. But thanks guys for the info as I so appreciate it...........

Lisa :)

P.S. How about the IM icon/widget/program. Don't use that either................
Then I would have cleaned out everything that annoys me...........
I so appreciate your help..........
 
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#14
Someone sent me a zip file that had all the bloatware that I removed. When I installed DC's rom I too was missing a favorite program. I do have the stocks .apk and another file that looks like it would go with it. If you want to send me a PM message I'll send you the files you need I don't have the Zip file that had them all anymore but I did unzip it and and now have to full .apk's ...........

Let me know if you don't fine them otherwise.............

Lisa
 
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#17
Just use Sync and push the .apk file to the phone. I don't know about the .odex one. Not sure if the .apk installs it for you or if you have to push it separately.Sync is how I installed Swype though. I think Fresh Kitchen would do this as well. I have no experience with that program, but it gets rave reviews all over the place and seems to be designed with this kind of thing in mind.
 
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#18
KitsapAndroid said:
Just use Sync and push the .apk file to the phone. I don't know about the .odex one. Not sure if the .apk installs it for you or if you have to push it separately.Sync is how I installed Swype though. I think Fresh Kitchen would do this as well. I have no experience with that program, but it gets rave reviews all over the place and seems to be designed with this kind of thing in mind.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion, however, it didn't work. the file transfered to the phone, and gave me an option to install it, but it says the same thing I have seen many times before, installation failed.

In order to keep this thread focused only on removing apps, I have started a new thread on this issue...http://androidforums.com/all-things-root-sprint-hero/83637-help-adding-back-missing-app-please.html
 
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#19
Here is a list of what I removed from 2.1 official release.


teeter.odex
Sprint_Nscar.apk
Sprint_Navigation.apk
HtcFootprintsWidget.odex
HtcFacebook.odex
IM.odex
HtcTwitter.apk
com.htc.StockWidget.odex
Flickr.odex
Sprint_TV.apk
HtcFootprintsWidget.apk
Flickr.apk
com.htc.StockWidget.apk
Stock.odex
Facebook.apk
Sprint_TVWidget.apk
Sprint_NFL.apk
IM.apk
HtcFootprints.apk
teeter.apk
HtcFacebook.apk
Stock.apk
amazonmp3.apk
HtcFootprints.odex
com.htc.TwitterWidget.apk
HtcTwitter.odex
com.htc.TwitterWidget.odex
 
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#21
mslisaj said:
Great list! Got 'em all gone. Except for the Flickr.apk and odex. Didn't know what it was. Does anyone know what program that belongs too? I may want it if I knew.

Thanks again for the updated list. I'm on DC v2.09.1 and I just used root explorer to go in and delete them.

Lisa ;)
Click to expand...
It's for photo sharing Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing I have everything on that list removed and I'm very happy
 
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