Root Safe 'bloatware' to freeze

[Lars]

This thread title is a disservice to the android community.

You will likely have to flash restore to get updates now. Piecing together what you deleted will be hit or miss.

 

[Slug]

This thread title is a disservice to the android community.

Why, exactly? Just about every other ATR section on the site has a similar thread. If users are aware of the possible consequences it's perfectly safe.

 

[Lars]

Users are not aware of the consequences IMO. Therefore "safe" and "remove" don't fit. Just because the phone still boots doesn't make it safe. Removing causes harm, it's just delayed. I guess the argument is that this is a root forum but I just feel sorry for the constant stream of newbies that get slammed by this.

I guess it's fine then...

 

[Slug]

Users are not aware of the consequences IMO.

Then perhaps a post detailing these would be a valuable addition to this topic?

I guess the argument is that this is a root forum but I just feel sorry for the constant stream of newbies that get slammed by this.

Yes it's an ATR sub-forum so users are expected to take some responsibility for their actions. Many of those contributing to this topic have a lot of Android experience though, so I'm confident that nobody is suggesting doing anything they haven't tested themselves.

Besides, if you're rooted you should have made a nandroid backup of your handset before removing or freezing anything in /system as a sensible precaution.

 

[OutOfPhase]

Ok... here is my situation. A very quick history first:

I've been with Android since day 1 (with G1) but I've avoided root and everything to do with it mostly because I rely on my phone so much and don't want to have to screw around with it when I really need it. For whatever reason I finally cracked because of the amount of bloat on the Bionic and decided to go root mostly so I can get rid of all the bloat. So, I did that and got Titanium backup. I will admit... perhaps I rushed a little bit and didn't read up enough. I thought I'd be ok with backing up and uninstalling some apps (because I hadn't purchased Titanium Pro yet - so I couldn't freeze)... so I did that with some apps. Then I started reading more and it sounds like Freeze is the way to go and uninstalling can cause some issues. I like to be as kosher with my phone as possible, so to be safe I restored as many backups as possible then froze them (after purchasing the Pro version of Titanium).

So here is where I am now. In Titanium Backup I have the following apps which I backed up and uninstalled but I can't seem to restore them:

Guided Tours 2.3.4
IM 3.0.4.6
IM Presence 2.3.4

I also see the following apps/services which I don't think I ever uninstalled but they show up in the list with a line through them... not sure what's going on with these:

com.android.music
com.pv.android.verizon.mod
mot.app.admin

So... I have two questions. First of all... my phone is working fine.. I have had zero issues and I swear it's running better after getting rid of the bloatware. I guess my only concern is that at some point if we ever get an ICS (yeah... right...) or other update then I might run into problems. Do any of you here know... or feel fairly confident that I would run into issues with some sort of update because IM and/or Guided Tours is missing from my phone? I kind of find it hard to believe that this is the case.. but I have no real-world experience to backup my instinctive guess here. I would REALLY like to avoid having to factory reset my phone or restore to some image or something. I kind of have my phone exactly the way I want it right now... I'd really like to avoid more time and hastle.

Second question... does anybody know what those other three apps are and if I should be worried about those?

first answer is we don't know what apps Verizon or Motorola updates look for in order to verify the software but I would not worry about it because worst case you can flash the fxz file for 5.9.902 and it will put you back to stock with all the factory bloat. This will also wipe all your data.

Those other 3 apps were from previous software (.893 or .886) and is not in the latest update.

 

[SlayersRage]

So, the apps that are listed in above posts are safe to freeze but maybe not uninstalling them?

 

[OutOfPhase]

So, the apps that are listed in above posts are safe to freeze but maybe not uninstalling them?

correct. if you freeze them, you will be able to unfreeze them to take an OTA. If you delete them you need to flash an fxz file to get them back with is alot more time consuming.

 

[Somniferum]

Just wanted to note that if you are on the new ICS leak (.2233), you can disable apps via the Applications menu instead of freezing them. You may need to click "Uninstall Updates" first, but then you will be given a "Disable" button in most cases. Not sure yet of the pros and cons of disabling vs. freezing w/TiBu, but I'm hoping that disabled apps may not need to be re-enabled for an update, vs. having to unfreeze everything.

 

[SNeitzel]

Why, exactly? Just about every other ATR section on the site has a similar thread. If users are aware of the possible consequences it's perfectly safe.

While I don't agree that the thread is a disservice, I do agree that the title is misleading. Yes, those of us that root should be aware of the consequences and should be very good friends with nandroid. But, IMHO, changing the title of this thread to "Safe Bloat to Freeze" would be a very good thing. In fact, I have myself brought up that subject before in this very thread.
With new updates here now and more soon on the horizon there will be many people coming here to figure out why they can't update and looking for the <EnterProgramNameHere>.apk Why not fix it now?

Just my $.02

 

[johnlgalt]

I think it is time to start a new thread for the ICS leaks (which will probably convert over to the final ICS build when it is released....)

 

[SNeitzel]

You Rock Slug!

 

[Lars]

Nice! Yea we are all here to help each other as best as we can. I doubt the OP will mind that his title was edited.

 

[SNeitzel]

Now that the general public has ICS, are there any changes or additions to the "safe to freeze" list? Which apps can be frozen w/o rooting?