New to forum - want to remove factory apps

[julesofthenyle]

After waking up to a flashing alert stating I needed to make updates to programs I never plan on using (but can not get rid of), I stumbled upon this site during a search. I'm pretty computer savvy, but don't even know the first thing about cell phone programming, so when y'all refer to "freezing", "rooting" or anything abbreviated, my head spins. (I am thoroughly convinced some of you get off on being the geekiest too...) Why does my phone need rock band, tunewiki, let's golf or rhapsody? I want a phone that fits me and is organizable like the desktop on my pc. Are there options to create folders in my apps, at least? I could label all of the junk that came on my phone as such and stow it away. Where does an absolute beginner start? I want to stick it out with my droid, but I refuse to let samsung and verizon tell me I need their partnered programs installed on my $600 machine.

I'm using a samsung charge and it's a 2.3.6.

Any input on where to start would be great.

 

[Caro332]

Hi Jules and welcome to AF!!
I think you will get more help if you share your questions to the Samsung geeks!!
go through this link and enter the forum of your phone.
Android Phones - Android Forums
I do agree that some apps which cannot be deleted can be quite annoying and use too much space. So the best thing is to root you phone which basically means getting Admin rights. The only catch is that it will void your warranty and plus, it is a bit risky. So please make sure you read thousands of threads and watch hundreds of youtube videos before you consider doing it

 

[D-U-R-X]

Hello and welcome to the forums - thanks for joining!

Sorry you've been finding it difficult to get to grips with stuf like "freezing" or "rooting"... we're not trying to hide info from people by being geeky I knew nothing about this stuff until a year ago and now I'm a guide on here, trying to help others get their problems solved!

If you want to remove pre-installed carrier bloatware / apps that came with the phone which were installed by the carrier, such as game demos, sound hound and the like, then you would need to root your phone. Please bear in mind that rooting your phone voids your warranty, however there are also positives to doing so (like the removal of pre-installed apps). More info on rooting can be found in the “All Things Root” section of your device’s sub-forum, should you want to go for it.

Once you have rooted, it is then possible to install “root only” apps, such as Titanium Backup. TB allows you to remove any apps (including pre-installed carrier apps). It is worth noting that some apps, even if you don’t use/want them, could be used by your system, so it is important not to just start removing apps. Please also note that if it is safe to remove apps for one device, it doesn't necessarily mean that the app is safe to remove for ALL devices. It really depends on the services provided by the app as specified by the particular rom/build. More importantly, system apps are not easily restorable like simply installing an .apk file. And once deleted, even a factory reset will not recover them. You will have to locate and flash a stock rom image to get them back.

One option in TB allows you to freeze apps – I would suggest that you do this initially, as you can always unfreeze the app if you notice that you are experiencing any issues. If, once apps are frozen, your phone is behaving normally, then you can look to removing them. It would be a good idea to freeze apps individually, so that you will notice if each one affects your phone adversely.

You might like to check out Samsung Droid Charge - Android Forums (the sub-forum for your phone) and the "All Things Root" section in there... that should help give you a better idea of rooting, what's involved and the benefits, etc.

If you need any more info, post in the forums or drop a guide a PM and we will either answer, or point you in the right direction!

Hope you find this place useful!

 

[shadowwalker]

can we remove bloatware from the samsung galay note 10.1?

 

[Metroid Prime]

Hello shadowwalker and welcome aboard.

The only way to remove pre-installed apps is through rooting your device I'm afraid which also voids your warranty if you root.

 

[DonB]

Glad to have you aboard, and enjoy the site.