A lot of people suggest removing built-in apps by deleting apk files in /system/app in terminal (su) or using root explorer. However I wonder whether it is a clean uninstallation. I know apps create data and cache in /data/data, /data/dalvik-cache if no other locations. Simply deleting apk files does not remove the data and cache, and the entries in packages.xml. There will be error when running fix_permissions.
Can anyone suggest a proper command to fully uninstall built-in apps?
sagementor said:
A lot of people suggest removing built-in apps by deleting apk files in /system/app in terminal (su) or using root explorer. However I wonder whether it is a clean uninstallation. I know apps create data and cache in /data/data, /data/dalvik-cache if no other locations. Simply deleting apk files does not remove the data and cache, and the entries in packages.xml. There will be error when running fix_permissions.
Can anyone suggest a proper command to fully uninstall built-in apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I finally find the proper way to uninstall the system apps.
Step #1 - Find the package names of the apps (e.g. IM.apk=com.android.im)
In console, type
su
pm list packages -f
Step #2 - Delete the apk files from /system/app
In console, type
su
mount -o remount,rw /system
rm /system/app/IM.apk
Step #3 - Uninstall the package
In console, type
su
pm uninstall com.android.im
mount -o remount,rw /system
mount -o rw,remount /system
Those 2 ways are found in numerous places
around the internet. Each one of those
does NOT accomplish anything in terminal.
I kept receiving a usage message explaining the syntax....
After searching, trying, searching, trying...
I just decided to try this, and it worked...
mount -o,remount rw /system
Just thought I would share.
I'm running Dwang's latest, if that matters to anyone.
This works great. You don't have start fresh-n-clean with your device by reinstallaing original rom, just get rid of the stuff you don't want that your service provider wants you to want.
EDIT
Related
Ok, so I just bought my first game from the market and my concern is that I will lose the game because of the amount of times i flash and wipe my phone with new firmwares.
I want to ensure I can back it up properly and would like confirmation if I am doing it right.
Since I can't do a adb pull in the app-private folder, I went into the terminal of my phone and copied the apk from the app-private to the app folder.
I then did a adb pull /data/app/filename.apk file.
So if I wipe and flash my phone and all that jazz, can I merely do a adb push /data/app/filename.apk and then copy it from the terminal in the app-private folder?
or is it more complexe than that?
You do realize that no matter how many times you wipe you can just go back into the market and download again for free?
There are methods of copying and moving files around, but I'm sure most of the developers that make these apps really don't want to talk about it.
flixxx said:
Ok, so I just bought my first game from the market and my concern is that I will lose the game because of the amount of times i flash and wipe my phone with new firmwares.
I want to ensure I can back it up properly and would like confirmation if I am doing it right.
Since I can't do a adb pull in the app-private folder, I went into the terminal of my phone and copied the apk from the app-private to the app folder.
I then did a adb pull /data/app/filename.apk file.
So if I wipe and flash my phone and all that jazz, can I merely do a adb push /data/app/filename.apk and then copy it from the terminal in the app-private folder?
or is it more complexe than that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can wipe as many times as you want. You wont lose your paid apps. They stay in the market as purchased forever and ever. This isnt some crap like EA and their BS DRM limit to 5 installs per owner.
Edit: Even if the dev pulls the app from the market that you have purchased. It will still be available to download for you at anytime. Only time it will vanish is if the dev refunds you at his request.
beautiful
so many new roms to try.
ok so i did my flashing and all and as you all said I was able to redownload robo defense.... but all my saved content is GONE!
So to prevent this in the future, where do the profiles get saved? is there a folder or file? I have managed to backup that zip file that comes with robo defense but it didn't do the trick.
flixxx said:
ok so i did my flashing and all and as you all said I was able to redownload robo defense.... but all my saved content is GONE!
So to prevent this in the future, where do the profiles get saved? is there a folder or file? I have managed to backup that zip file that comes with robo defense but it didn't do the trick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Application Data is stored in /data/data/{packagename}/
jashsu said:
Application Data is stored in /data/data/{packagename}/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beautiful! thanks a lot.
flixxx said:
ok, so i just bought my first game from the market and my concern is that i will lose the game because of the amount of times i flash and wipe my phone with new firmwares.
I want to ensure i can back it up properly and would like confirmation if i am doing it right.
Since i can't do a adb pull in the app-private folder, i went into the terminal of my phone and copied the apk from the app-private to the app folder.
I then did a adb pull /data/app/filename.apk file.
So if i wipe and flash my phone and all that jazz, can i merely do a adb push /data/app/filename.apk and then copy it from the terminal in the app-private folder?
Or is it more complexe than that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont know how i did it but one of my paid apps i do have back-up on my sdcard...the one i have is the snes.apk..in i paid $2.99 for it
Terminal
su
cp /data/app-private /sdcard/ -rf
done.
lbcoder said:
Terminal
su
cp /data/app-private /sdcard/ -rf
done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so what i have to do in terminal cause it tell me not found...more details plz
Do you have apps2sd ?
issue
wel i am having a big issue. i recently flashed my phone. once i installed the cyanogen apk. my market data was one. luckily i downloaded backup for root users. now the problem i am having is when i get to the apps that have backed up as a zip file, how do i install them. extracting leaves me with folders that i cant use. and changing the file extension to .apk doesnt cut it either as it comes back and says installation failed. any clues guys?
To back up private apps
Use Adb pull system/sd/app-private/filename <directory on desktop>
*this is if you have apps to sd
[email protected] said:
Use Adb pull system/sd/app-private/filename <directory on desktop>
*this is if you have apps to sd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
speaking of apps2sd, how does it work exactly?
does it create a link from /data/ to /system/sd or are they seperate folders entirely?
I ask because when i go delete a file from /data/app, it gets deleted from /system/sd/app so i figured there is a link to the SD card, but then when i do a ls -F in /data folder, the app does not seem to be a symbolic link.
Hello,
I was having problems with force closing on my G1, so I was reading some threads in the forums and saw that some people fixed the problem by removing the dalvik-cache and having the Andorid framework recreate it. So I decided to give it a shot.
I did:
Code:
su
mount data
cd data
mv dalvik-cache dalvik-cache-backup
rm -rf dalvik-cache-backup
exit
The rebooted the phone. Now it says low app memory (49MB) and my apps aren't working because its no longer set up with Apps2SD (unionFS method).
I was going through this thread(http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=512743) and I was going to perform an update and see if that would work but it says it will delete all my apps first. Is there a way I can back them up or re-union them without deleting them?
I was thinking about going into /system/sd/ and doing a "mv" to rename the folders. Then update it. Then somehow move the apps back to the rightly named folder.
Any other ideas or steps I would take to do this the correct way?
Thanks for all your help.
Solved: I actually didn't mess up the phone... All I had to do was reboot twice.
I've been experiencing an unusual issue on all Cyan builds since the builds requiring the ADP1 image to be flashed prior to the Cyan image. I'll provide as much info as I can along with my own thoughts
Every morning I wake up to my Market notifications and the number of updates available is always one (1) more than the actual number of " new updates available" in the my downloads section e.g. even when there are no new updates in "My Downloads" I get a notification saying "1 new update available".
I found this on t-mobile help which highlights the same problem however iv not had any residual apps left after uninstalling like these people have.
After a full wipe and reflashing the ADP1 and Cyan image respectively, i have not installed anything from Market this is My Downloads list:
Google Maps (installed)
Google Search by Voice (Installed)
SuperUser whitelist [Blackginsoft] (Installed)
Terminal Emulator [HelloAndroid.com] (Installed)
Yet i still get a notification every night.
I think the issue may be one of the latter two on the list as I know in both cases they are not the same apps as Cyan has included in his build although they do have the same named APK's in /system/app
Cyans Terminal has been modded to look black and have additional features and the one on the Market is a rip from the AOSP tree by HelloAndroid.com.
Cyans SuperUser has been modded to be faster and easier to use and has a new icon of the Ninja, but the one on the Market is the old nasty version from JF old builds that have the blue # as its icon.
I know Cyans included Log Collector is out-dated and new version is available but i have removed this from the settings menu because I dont need it so it cant be causing the problem.
Has anyone else had this problem?
Does anyone know if its any of Cyan's included apps causing the problem?
do you have apps2sd? if so then do
Code:
su
rm -r /system/sd/dalvik-cache
reboot
See if that helps
Good luck
Ah of Course!
borodin1 said:
do you have apps2sd? if so then do
Code:
su
rm -r /system/sd/dalvik-cache
reboot
See if that helps
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never thought about excess data being held in the cache.
Only question before I do so... will doing this wipe any settings?
Thanks
No. It will take a long time for that first reboot though so don't freak out.
And no guarantee that it will fix it neither but it never hurts to clean dalvik once in a while anyway. Let us know... we may have to try something else if this doesn't work.
Still No Luck
borodin1 said:
No. It will take a long time for that first reboot though so don't freak out.
And no guarantee that it will fix it neither but it never hurts to clean dalvik once in a while anyway. Let us know... we may have to try something else if this doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cleared the cache and rebooted. After reboot went into Market and then came out of it and almost immediately after the Market closing I recieved a notification of 1 new update. Checked My Downloads and everything is reporting Installed.
Whats next?
P.s. Thank you so much for your help.
Very lovely....
Well... just to rule this out
Code:
ls /system/sd/app
ls /system/sd/app-private
ls /data/app
ls /data/app-private
ls /system/app
See if there's anything that you might have install at some point but don't use anymore/uninstalled. Basically, anything out of the order.
Do a nand backup and rm any left-overs that may cause problems if you know what you're doing. Otherwise paste a log/screenshot of your findings and let someone else look thru it.
You could also clear data from Checkin Service, Download Manager, Market and Market Updater. Not sure if this would help though since you're coming from a clean install and wiped multiple times.
Try it out. Always back-up your work though.
Stupid Question
borodin1 said:
Very lovely....
Well... just to rule this out
Code:
ls /system/sd/app
ls /system/sd/app-private
ls /data/app
ls /data/app-private
ls /system/app
See if there's anything that you might have install at some point but don't use anymore/uninstalled. Basically, anything out of the order.
Do a nand backup and rm any left-overs that may cause problems if you know what you're doing. Otherwise paste a log/screenshot of your findings and let someone else look thru it.
You could also clear data from Checkin Service, Download Manager, Market and Market Updater. Not sure if this would help though since you're coming from a clean install and wiped multiple times.
Try it out. Always back-up your work though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was wondering if I ask a pretty stupid question that I've been wondering for some time that may help me understand the structure of how android stores its app data.
For example if I set up a program to do something and it remembers those settings, where does it store that data. Does it write it into the actual apk itself? Or does it store it in another directory somewhere?
If I knew this I could make sure I fully backup and remove every trace of Term.apk, VoiceSearch.apk, and Superuser.apk. I'll then wait for the Market to forget that I have downloaded these items previously (Data which i assume is briefly held on the Google cloud under my Google account) Once that is refreshed i'm going to push the 3 files back to /system/app. I'm certain its one of these apk's causing the problem and this is the only way i can think to make Google forget I have downloaded them previously.
So anyway back to the main question... If for instance Term.apk remembers my settings for background color and font size etc, where does it keep this data?
*Update*
I have backed up and removed the 3 apk's VoiceSearch.apk, Term.apk and Superuser.apk from system/app
Next I tried to remove all traces I could find of each:
Code:
adb remount
adb uninstall com.android.term
failure
adb uninstall com.google.android.voicesearch
failure
adb uninstall org.zenthought.su
failure
I don't know why the uninstallation failed. Is this because Package Manager cannot uninstall system apps?
As these failed I manually removed the data from /data/data/:
Code:
adb shell rm -r /data/data/com.android.term
adb shell rm -r /data/data/com.google.android.voicesearch
adb shell rm -r /data/data/org.zenthought.su
Now there is no trace of each app, however My Downloads in Market still says:
Google Search by voice (Installed)
Superuser Whitelist (Installed)
Terminal Emulator (Installed)
Have I missed something out? Or does Market take a while to update/refresh the My Downloads list?
With the intention of helping all those who have difficulties in removing blotwares even with programs like TITANIUM and others..
Here is a small step by step that I did to remove the blotwares..
STEP - 1
You install the app available in the playstore, called System app remover Https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jumobile.manager.systemapp&hl=en_US
1.1)
You need to install the app available in the playstore, called Termux Https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.termux&hl=en_US
1.2)
grants root access to the 2 apps.
STEP - 2
Perform apk removal With the Termux application open,
you enter as root
-> su (enter as root)
You should now allow to modify the directory system
-> mount -o remount, rw -t rfs /dev/stl5 /system
Now you need to get into the "System app remover" application and pick up the APP directory you want to remove.
-> rm -r [DIRECTORY]
Now you need to return the directory system to read only, 'ro', to prevent malicious activities
-> mount -o remount, ro -t rfs /dev/stl5 /system
Restart your phone and you can see that the app is no longer on your device.
NOTE: If you can not go back to read only, after the system reboot you will be able to.
My mobile got much faster and with no crashes after deleting these apps ...
I had difficulty removing blotwares from a rom I downloaded that is available on this link for ZUK Z2 PRO
https://forum.xda-developers.com/zuk-z2-pro/development/miui-8-version-zuk-z2-pro-t3563578
ALERT: As all androis have the same command system, should work for any device, but be careful not to remove applications essential for system operation. It can cause an infinite loop in system reboot.
If you have a rooted phone, you can just download "ES Datei Explorer", grant root access and remove the folders in /system/app , /system/priv-app , /system/preload of the apps you don´t want. After reboot, you´ll just have to remove the icons from your homescreen.
Make a backup by moving the folders somewhere else. You´ll never know when you need one of these "unnecessery" apps.
Tuerkay said:
If you have a rooted phone, you can just download "ES Datei Explorer", grant root access and remove the folders in /system/app , /system/priv-app , /system/preload of the apps you don´t want. After reboot, you´ll just have to remove the icons from your homescreen.
Make a backup by moving the folders somewhere else. You´ll never know when you need one of these "unnecessery" apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well thought, I'm accustomed to using linux, commands are the same, so it was something that I created in a "homemade" way and decided to share. This app actually displays the root directory, so, it's very good and less difficult, but the app remover can be useful for help you to know what file you need remove..
Thanks for adding the information ..
This is the link what app he's talking about
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estrongs.android.pop
Grants root access and go to directory for remove the file you want.
can anything be done without rooting?
akyiboy007 said:
can anything be done without rooting?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This procedure can not do without root, but, have one way you can do without root, i never tested.
This is the link, for Android 4.4, i don't know if works for 5.0 , 6.0 or 7.0, take a look...
https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-remove-bloatware-from-your-android-device-xda-tv/
Good day,
First of all, I have a rooted P10 (VTR-L29C636 B166) using Magisk method. I have tried moving the app using Lucky Patcher and /system/app Mover, but both are unfortunately unable to perform the task.
I tried using Total Commander to remount the /system app as RW, but it won't do it. Basically right now the only way I've found to write to /system is by mounting it thru TWRP, and doing an ADB push. But from there, the app that was moved to /system/app doesn't appear in my app list.
I have a feeling I'm missing out on a crucial step here in order to mount /system/app as RW without having to go through TWRP, but I can't find it. Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.