[Q] (Rooted) Safe apps to uninstall? - Streak 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

My phone is rooted and i would like to know which apps are safe to uninstall that are slowing down my phone so I can speed it up. ? I have root explore and would like a guide on how to uninstall these apps that are slowing my phone down. Thanks to anyone willing to help.

The answer is in here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1254140

lordmorphous said:
The answer is in here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1254140
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank u uncle fester but there's no answers to my question in that link.

Please see this thread. I wouldn't remove the Package checker apps as noted in this thread. ( PackageChecker.apk [com.oem.packagechecker]
PackageUpdate.apk [com.oem.packageupdate])
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1245381

Try looking here

At the bottom of the OP is a link entitled List of Apps Safe to Remove From Stock ROM. Its there...look again.
Sent from my Dell Streak using xda premium

lordmorphous said:
At the bottom of the OP is a link entitled List of Apps Safe to Remove From Stock ROM. Its there...look again.
Sent from my Dell Streak using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Morpheus you should already know he's partially illiterate, were he not, then he would have been able to find the answer and not be spoon fed from his high chair

Chirunavvutho said:
I wouldn't remove the Package checker apps...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why?
/10char

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Why?
/10char
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because, I don't think removing them did any good. Does anyone know what is their exact purpose?

Again, why?
Ok...let me rephrase. Why don't you think removing them did any good?
The apps are listed in the "safe to remove" section of the post as they do not affect the operation of the ROM. If Manii believed those apps shouldn't have been removed, he wouldn't have put them in that list. Regardless of that, if you're going to make a blanket statement that you don't believe those apps should be removed, be expected to provide a better explanation than "because" when someone asks you "why".
Manii likely would know what they are for. Ask him.

They're mainly for ota updating to my knowledge, as custom roms cant ota update they functionally dont do anything.
I've had them uninstalled for a while and i dont believe anything changed.
The only thing that shouldnt be removed that isnt a core android app is dell settings and internet provider.

TheManii said:
They're mainly for ota updating to my knowledge, as custom roms cant ota update they functionally dont do anything.
I've had them uninstalled for a while and i dont believe anything changed.
The only thing that shouldnt be removed that isnt a core android app is dell settings and internet provider.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why Dell Settings? I have blindly been removing it from every rom I install.

I cant recall why exactly, i know stageui partially depends on it and something else does in android core.
dell settings and internet providor are the only things in com.dell and not com.oem for a reason

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Again, why?
Ok...let me rephrase. Why don't you think removing them did any good?
The apps are listed in the "safe to remove" section of the post as they do not affect the operation of the ROM. If Manii believed those apps shouldn't have been removed, he wouldn't have put them in that list. Regardless of that, if you're going to make a blanket statement that you don't believe those apps should be removed, be expected to provide a better explanation than "because" when someone asks you "why".
Manii likely would know what they are for. Ask him.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please check the revised list. They are in the possibly not safe to remove zone now.

Manii provided his justification in favor of removing those two apps. I'm waiting for your justification in favor of NOT removing those two apps.
In simpler language, you still have yet to answer my question. Manii placing those apps into a gray area "Possibly Not Safe To Remove" does not render the question invalid.

Most of the list is self-explanitory just by the names:
It falls under:
Stuff you can download outright on market
Non-system apps that are not available on market
StageUI
engineering mode apps
logging apps
the 4 borderline cases
those are:
Calibrator.apk [com.oem.calibrator]
DisplayVersionInfo.apk [com.oem.mode]
PackageChecker.apk [com.oem.packagechecker]
PackageUpdate.apk [com.oem.packageupdate]
Last two are pretty obvious, they're used to ota update, removing it breaks it. Custom roms cant ota update to begin with so it's ok for them. If you're on a stock rom it depends on weither or not you consider being able to ota update important. (updating from recovery mode is something entirely different)
I really dont know what calibrator and displayversioninfo do (besides what their name obviously is), but they're not com.oem.engineeringmode.* so they could be important. But as many roms without them seem to run properly they might not be critical.
I left all 4 in since they dont really take up that much resources (rom wise and ram/cpu wise).
The last com.oem.* app that isnt com.oem.engineeringmode.* is
PreLoadNetworkSettings.apk [com.oem.prenetworksetting]
which is used to load new APNs when switching carriers/sims. If your apn is already properly loaded you COULD remove it, but if you need to auto-load new APNs for whatever reason removing that will break that function
Those 5 apks are every com.oem.* that isnt the mentioned com.oem.engineeringmode.*
Technically you can remove the majority of the apks and the system will still boot, just that every other apk has a defined function and removing it will break that functionality.
ALSO, the list is not and never will be perfect, unless someone on the rom team wants to come forward and document them clearly it's all though trial and error. The borderline cases are the only ones that need any real testing as I know for a fact that the majority of the com.oem.engineeringmode.* apks are never active as dell disabled eng mode in retail roms. You CAN manually activate functionality in them but they're more or less dorment code in the roms.

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Manii provided his justification in favor of removing those two apps. I'm waiting for your justification in favor of NOT removing those two apps.
In simpler language, you still have yet to answer my question. Manii placing those apps into a gray area "Possibly Not Safe To Remove" does not render the question invalid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just wouldn't remove them and wouldn't recommend someone to do it if I wasn't comfortable to do so in the first place.
Whatever floats your boat..

What would float my boat is for you to answer my question. There must be a reason behind you saying what you did or else you would not have said it at all.
What is that reason, or do you even have one?

Freeze
If you are worried about it, just use an app freezer, run it a few days with the apps you want off the phone frozen. Then if no ill effects, remove them.
That's what I did.

I was a bit more daring. I simply deleted them and called it a day. I figure that if I truly had an issue I could just run my backup. At worst, reinstall 360.

Related

The quest to re-enable legacy permissions...

Okay, digging deep into Android's source.... not for the feint of heart, and not for those whose coding skills are somewhere just above, "Hello, world!" (Me)
Here's the deal. We all know, with Froyo, Google disabled task killers. No app can kill another app. I for one am happy, because killing all apps when your screen goes off is stupid, pointless, and all kinds of harmful. Well, happy but for one little thing....
Killing other apps still does have a purpose! Specifically, in my case, I want to replace my long-press home option with a cool app switcher that also gives me the ability to kill a running app if I know I am done with it for the day and it refuses to die naturally. I'm sure there are other legitimate uses for it, such as killing everything before a benchmark. Sure, these are very specific, uncommon uses, but a thousand apps on the Market exist for specific, uncommon uses, and I think that most hackers/modders with su here would know better than to let a task killer run rampant. Anyone wanna discuss re-enabling this on 2.2?
Edit: I should correct myself. I keep saying "app," what I mean is "service." I know you can still stop (most) apps, but not services. Which keeps a lot of apps running, despite your best efforts. Forgive me for misusing the words
wait task managers dont actually kill in 2.2? This is news to me, as one I have downloaded seems to work fine..
stuff said:
wait task managers dont actually kill in 2.2? This is news to me, as one I have downloaded seems to work fine..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^ditto.......
stuff said:
wait task managers dont actually kill in 2.2? This is news to me, as one I have downloaded seems to work fine..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Taskiller will show the app was killed. I'm sure many others will too. But kill an app, then go to Settings>Applications>Manage Applications>Running, and you'll see that it's still running.
Edit: I should correct myself. I keep saying "app," what I mean is "service." I know you can still stop (most) apps, but not services. Which keeps a lot of apps running, despite your best efforts. Forgive me for misusing the words.
Forgive the obvious question but can't the services just be killed by a root request/process? If so, creating an interface for this should be easy as pants.
Of course, root is required but that shouldn't be a constraint.
djmcnz said:
Forgive the obvious question but can't the services just be killed by a root request/process? If so, creating an interface for this should be easy as pants.
Of course, root is required but that shouldn't be a constraint.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. But wouldn't it make more sense to allow the dozens of non-root apps that already exist to do this, rather than have to re-write an app that does the exact same thing, but has to use su? It would be safer, too. Running everything as root all the time runs contrary to the whole idea of Linux. It's better to give apps the permissions they need, rather than give everything unlimited power.
carnegie0107 said:
True. But wouldn't it make more sense to allow the dozens of non-root apps that already exist to do this, rather than have to re-write an app that does the exact same thing, but has to use su? It would be safer, too. Running everything as root all the time runs contrary to the whole idea of Linux. It's better to give apps the permissions they need, rather than give everything unlimited power.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, I see. It might be useful but that's the essence of the Froyo changes... it can't be done now without root. You've have to compromise the security model... probably not a feasible route...
I think you are mistaken, maybe in Manage Applications it still shows it as "stoppable", however... I just did a test.
1. Opened DDMS on my PC.
2. Took note of an app to test with (speedtest) that was currently running.
3. Opened Advanced Task Manager.
4. Killed speedtest with task manager and watched it disappear from the running process list in DDMS.
Obviously ATM was able to kill the task. And, just so you know, it did not start running again. Also, it was removed from the "Running" tab in Manage Applications, so you are double wrong.
And, in case you were going to further the argument that you meant to say "Services", I just killed the PhoneFusion VM service with ATM, and it was removed from the running process list in DDMS.
djmcnz said:
Oh, I see. It might be useful but that's the essence of the Froyo changes... it can't be done now without root. You've have to compromise the security model... probably not a feasible route...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or create something that uses su to kill these processes for third-party apps, without the need for them to have su. Similar to superuser apk, but on a more specific level. Or, we could make it even better, and have superuser hand out specific, user-approved permissions, rather than permit root access as a whole to any app.
Apparently there's not a lot of interest in this, but I thought it would make an interesting discussion.

[Q] Can I fool the market about my system version?

I have a tablet with android 2.3.5 on it, but I notice there are lots of apps written for android 3.0 honeycomb. I'd like to play with some of them, but the market tells me the apps are not compatible with my device. And it won't let me even download them.
Is there a way I can make my tablet report to the market that it's running 3.0?
Thanks.
Dan
Even if you did that, the apps still wouldn't work. They would just say "error parsing package" before even installing. If they "happened" to install, they would just force close on start.
Theonew said:
Even if you did that, the apps still wouldn't work. They would just say "error parsing package" before even installing. If they "happened" to install, they would just force close on start.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to disagree with this. There are plenty of apps that don't work on certain devices according to the Market yet run perfectly fine on those devices. When it comes to apps made specifically for 3.0, you're more likely to run into problems with functionality, force closes, or screen size. Parsing errors are generally from a problem with the download or package itself, but I could be wrong.
Your options are to change the build.prop to read 3.0 (assuming that's how the Market discovers your build) or to download from another source. I don't know if Amazon does some type of device check or not, but you can try that.
If you decide to try editing your build.prop, back it up first just in case.
Sent from my Evo + MIUI using Tapatalk!
plainjane said:
Parsing errors are generally from a problem with the download or package itself, but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this is wrong (in some cases). Parsing package errors occur based on firmware version. If you tried to install an app made for Gingerbread on Froyo, you would get this error. Since the OP wants Honeycomb specific apps to be able to run on Gingerbread, this error is highly likely to occur. Even if the an app worked, then there would be major functionality problems.
I think I follow: if the functionality the app is expecting isn't there, then there *will* be a problem. That makes sense.
However, I have managed to get my hands on a Motorola utility (MotoPrint) from a xoom image I found on the web, that *did* work. Admittedly, it was either going to work or not.
In this instance, it piqued my interest. And made me think that the app creators *may* be, um, overselling the "newness" of their apps by promoting them as "honeycomb." And I just wanna play. XD
I've already tried editing build.prop to no avail tho. So that's why I'm soliciting ideas.
Dan
Try and sideload the apps in question? But as posted some apps that require HC will not run or run correctly on GB.
:edit:
cranky_dan said:
However, I have managed to get my hands on a Motorola utility (MotoPrint) from a xoom image I found on the web, that *did* work. Admittedly, it was either going to work or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You already figured it out
Okay then. Thanks for ringing in, everybody.
> You already figured it out. <
I always wonder if there's another way that my noob eyes and brain don't know. So thanks.
Dan
Golleeee. Ah sure am smurt!! XD
Dealing with apk files can be easier than the android market.
And everything is free if you know where to look *cough*
Based on your first post, google will not allow you to buy the apps you want, correct?
That's not a fault of anything you are doing. Google doesn't want you to buy those apps apparently. That doesn't mean you can't "get" them.
BenKranged said:
Based on your first post, google will not allow you to buy the apps you want, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All of the apps I have been viewing on Tablified are Honeycomb. Many are free. There are few nice ideas that I'd simply like to see if they work on my VeganGinger G-tab.
Google simply says the app is incompatible with my tablet, and greys out the install button.
So far, this is the most annoying thing in Android to me. Dammit, just let me try it. I know I may not get *all* the functionality. I'd just like to see if it's a tolerable thing for me. Without needing to jump thru hoops.
Dan
Welcome to fragmentation.
Heres a legal source for free apks.
http://androiddev.orkitra.com/download/apps/
On a sidenote I use a Galaxy S Captivate with 2.2 froyo.
There are some apps (games mostly that I have encountered) that will not run at all on less than android 2.3.x regardless of where you get the apk from.
So I can only assume the same is true with 2.3.x/3.x
Thanks! I appreciate it!

Super N00b with some basic questions GAAHH! :)

Hello,
I was told this is the place to come for everything related Galaxy S III from several people. Please excuse me if this is the wrong place or section.
I'm completely new to the Galaxy 3 and Android in general.
I'm on sprint and I've had the Palm Pre since launch, I just got my GS3 yesterday (amazon $149 no tax, free 2 day shipping) :victory:
As you can imagine coming form the Pre, my mind is blown. It's a bit overwhelming, I'm a pretty tech-savvy dude (pre was hacked to its limits) so I down to tinker. But before I even get started with that I have some basic questions.
1. Is there a way to only use a password unlock once per phone power-on instead of every time the screen locks?
1a Even better would be able to use a simple pin for screen unlock but still have the SD/Internal encrypted with a long password. Is that possible?
2. When I press back, how do I know if an app has been killed? I keep getting the feeling it still somehow running in the background?
3. Is the application manager like the Windows process manager? How do I know what are essential system apps and what can be stopped?
4. What is the best way to get rid of bloatware?
5. What are the diffrent system updates? PRL, Profile, Samsung Software, Firmware?
6. Why is there "com.sec.sprextension.phoneinfo.D..." under Device administrator? Do I need that? Is that a security hole/risk?
Again, sorry for so many questions, just trying to wrap my head around all of this. If there is a better place to be asking question please let me know.
Look forward to being part of the community! :highfive:
BR
1) not by default, maybe an app could aid there, not sure, but on stock "out of the box" the answer is "no"
1a) nope, if you want to use encryption, it's password all the way
2) Settings -> Application Manager -> "Running" tab
3) Kind of. It also warns you when you try to kill off a system app, but you can't really damage anything by doing that. I tend to kill just everything I don't want at the moment (which is usually everything but the widgets and app I am intentionally running) and all is well.
Stuff that REALLY needs to run, restarts automatically anyways (and some that don't have to, do as well....)
4) Settings -> Application Manager -> All -> Tap on app -> "Disable"
5) You will find an uncountable number of ROMs / Firmwares here. Stock as well as custom. What the best one is, is personal preference.
6) might be something added by the carrier. try to disable it, see what happens
7) ( ) .... ( ) whoops, no 7 xD
Hope that helped a bit
I'm on sprint and I've had the Palm Pre since launch, I just got my GS3 yesterday
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You most certainly are in the wrong forum. This one is for the international S3 which doesn't feature LTE. There's a Sprint forum right above/below this one =)
Is there a way to only use a password unlock once per phone power-on instead of every time the screen locks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would make password unlock more or less redundant. Anyone could still access the phone.
When I press back, how do I know if an app has been killed? I keep getting the feeling it still somehow running in the background?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're correct. Well, partially. It's still "alive" in terms of being in the memory. But it doesn't use CPU anymore which is all that counts.
However you don't want to kill it. Cached processes take up no space (the RAM is emptyed whenever the capacity is needed), no resources and allow you to multi-task right back to where you left off.
Is the application manager like the Windows process manager? How do I know what are essential system apps and what can be stopped?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't want to stop anything. Refer to the prior question for this. Well... you may want to kick off some bloatware but to get rid of thm the phone needs to be rooted. There are threads listing which apps you can safely remove.
What is the best way to get rid of bloatware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As said, you need to be rooted. Use TItanium Backup to freeze the bloatware. It's still physically "there" on the disk (doesn't take up much space) and you can defrost it whenever needed but as long as it's frozen it cannot be started.
What are the diffrent system updates? PRL, Profile, Samsung Software, Firmware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
App updates are always delivered through their corresponding market. Usually the Google Play Store, but as for Samsung apps they have their own update mechanism.
Firmware and ROM are updated either OTA or through Kies on the computer. They can also be manually flashed through Odin.
"com.sec.sprextension.phoneinfo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like some carrier bloatware and from the name of it is supposed to open some file extension called '.spr' for the phone.
Thank you for the info! Mods could you please move to correct forum?

Stock Apps that are safe to remove

Now that we have root I'm sure ROMS will start being developed, but in the mean time does anyone have a list of apps that are safe to remove from the stock ROM? I'd like to do a little de-bloating while we wait for more ROM choices.
Also, I loaded up "Root Browser Lite" so I can browse to /system/app and delete the apk files there - is this the best way to get rid of the apps that don't allow themselves to be un-installed?
root uninstaller will let you freeze system apps or uninstall them if you wish to do so
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootuninstaller.free&hl=en
as for a list, I don't have one sorry, I just froze all the ones I knew for sure wouldnt mess with anything
csilvest said:
Now that we have root I'm sure ROMS will start being developed, but in the mean time does anyone have a list of apps that are safe to remove from the stock ROM? I'd like to do a little de-bloating while we wait for more ROM choices.
Also, I loaded up "Root Browser Lite" so I can browse to /system/app and delete the apk files there - is this the best way to get rid of the apps that don't allow themselves to be un-installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off, you're in the wrong forum to ask a question. Secondly, two posts down from yours is the script for removing bloatware, which includes a text file which contains the list of files that can be safely removed. Please put a little more effort into looking for your answer before asking it next time, and make sure you ask it in the Questions subforum. Thank you.
To answer your other question, I personally use Root Explorer (paid app) to remove stock apps and do anything involving files on my phone. I create a folder, '/data/app.disabled/', and put the apps from '/data/app/' that I don't want in there, in case I want/need them again or the phone breaks without them.
Also, if you're worried you'll break your phone by deleting or moving them, you can freeze just about all the stock apps in Settings -> Apps, or use Titanium Backup to freeze them.
IceDragon59 said:
Secondly, two posts down from yours is the script for removing bloatware, which includes a text file which contains the list of files that can be safely removed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1992596
bberryhill0 said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1992596
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I did find that and read it. I was hoping for an even more extensive list, but I'll experiment myself.
Actually, I discovered (via Google) that in ICS you can go to the "All" tab in Manage Apps and have the option to disable almost all of them. This seems to not only keep them from running but also takes them out of the Apps drawer - and it works without root. Surprised Verizon hasn't found and fixed that
And sorry for the breach of etiquette in the original post - I considered it to be a "Development" topic (in the form of a question?) and wasn't sure if the Development crowd watched the General Q&A forum.
csilvest said:
Actually, I discovered (via Google) that in ICS you can go to the "All" tab in Manage Apps and have the option to disable almost all of them. This seems to not only keep them from running but also takes them out of the Apps drawer - and it works without root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IceDragon59 said:
Also, if you're worried you'll break your phone by deleting or moving them, you can freeze just about all the stock apps in Settings -> Apps, or use Titanium Backup to freeze them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You didn't need to go to Google, because I included that in my original reply, which takes you to the same place. Also, it's the first trick in my 'Tips and Tricks' thread, which is linked in my signature.
And around here, most of the development crowd currently does look at all the forums. It's not a large community yet, so there's not usually a lot new to sift through in the course of a day.
IceDragon59 said:
You didn't need to go to Google, because I included that in my original reply, which takes you to the same place. Also, it's the first trick in my 'Tips and Tricks' thread, which is linked in my signature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, no offense intended. I did the googling before reading you're reply. But at least you got the opportunity to advertise your 'Tips and Tricks' thread.
I'll try to avoid posting anymore today since that seems to make you grumpy...
csilvest said:
Sorry, no offense intended. I did the googling before reading you're reply. But at least you got the opportunity to advertise your 'Tips and Tricks' thread.
I'll try to avoid posting anymore today since that seems to make you grumpy...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol. I'm not grumpy, nor am I trying to advertise my thread. Every post I make advertises my thread. I didn't mean to come off as abrasive, just trying to point out the post could have been made in a better place. Don't be afraid to ask something, I'm not trying to scare you off. lol.
IceDragon59 said:
Also, it's the first trick in my 'Tips and Tricks' thread, which is linked in my signature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sigs don't show in Tapatalk.

Advice about malware

Hi Folks.
I've done something a bit silly and hoping some Android expert on here may be able to help me.
I stupidly installed an app from an external source using a link that was given me for a specific app.
I am now freaking out about malware/spyware and all the rest of it.
At this point, I must point out that there is nothing to immediately suggest the app is bad. I only installed it a few hours ago on my phone but there hasn't been anything suspicious like extra battery use, heat, unknown apps in the list of battery usage or pop ups or anything like that. It could be that it's absolutely fine (and probably is.)
What I'm more concerned about is that there may be some nefarious background process running that means I suddenly wake up and find my bank account has been drained, or I'm being blackmailed by some Russian hacker that has hold of my emails and photos etc.
TWO IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS (before anybody states the below:
- Yes, I know it was a stupid thing to do and I don't know what came over me. But it is done now.
- I know that a full factory reset is the best way to clear all but I'm desperate to avoid that. It took me two days to setup my new S21 Ultra and hate the thought of going through all of that again!
I know that Google Play Protect helps with apps from the GP Store, but I assume this is not relevant here because it came from an external source. Is there any kind of facility where I can upload the app and it scans it? Or am I screwed?
I also know you can download Norton etc but I read that they may not be effective on things like this. FYI, I am running the January 1st Android security patch (the most recent available.)
Thanks in advance.
Scan the apk file with online Virustotal.
Meh... show us the apk in question.
I have a few side loaded apps, so what?
Playstore is no sure bet either... load what you need, disregard the rest and toss the bad ones.
A badly written app can cause headaches even after it's uninstalled. Not as common with Android as in Windows but it happens.
On a clean load I'm careful what I install ie known good apps.
blackhawk said:
Scan the apk file with online Virustotal.
Meh... show us the apk in question.
I have a few side loaded apps, so what?
Playstore is no sure bet either... load what you need, disregard the rest and toss the bad ones.
A badly written app can cause headaches even after it's uninstalled. Not as common with Android as in Windows but it happens.
On a clean load I'm careful what I install ie known good apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I've attached the apps. Thanks for your help and advice. I've scanned them on VirusTotal and they appear to be clean..
If you are worried about this, then you need to flash the phone. Then install the app to protect your phone from the official source.
philliplavelle said:
Thanks. I've attached the apps. Thanks for your help and advice. I've scanned them on VirusTotal and they appear to be clean..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did the reload go well?

Categories

Resources