Database Develop

[HowTo] Remove preinstalled apps - no need to flash custom roms or gold card root!

I know there are some people like myself who actually like Sense and doing a 'full' root can be daunting, especailly if all you want to do is remove the crud that Vodafone or your Telco install on your branded Legend. But there is no reason this can't be used to remove apps that are in a custom ROM - as far as I am aware! If someone with a custom ROM could confirm this, that would be great!
Righto, as per usual here is the disclaimer - doing this is risky and you do so at your own peril! Don't come crying to me or Paul @ MoDaCo if it bricks your phone (it shouldn't but this is just a warning)
Enough of that you get the idea Now for the fun bit!
First if you are not you'll need VISIONary+ from MoDaCo, at the time of this writing r13 is the latest and is available on page 7.
Please read and check the original post as there may be an updated version. If you are rooted skip to the next step.
This is Paul's guide he done quickly on his G2, it's more of a pictorial guide (same rules apply to the Legend as G2 in this case).
Once installed use the Temproot option, this can take 15 seconds or so to complete, use a Terminal Emulator and type su then return/enter and your $ should change to a # - this means you have temproot.
Go to the market and install SuperUser, Titanium Backup, BusyBox.
Open Titanium Backup allowing it root access when prompted, go to Backup/Restore and scroll to find one of the preinstalled bloatware apps, I chose the Vodafone Music app and the Vodafone Web app.
Long hold on the app you want to remove and scroll down a bit and choose the option "Force remove app (by recovery exploit)"
This will reboot your phone TWICE, you will get the recovery screen up - LET IT RUN IT's COURSE! DO NOT INTERRUPT THIS.
Once it boots back into your normal check that the app is no longer in your App drawer
Repeat for all the Apps that came preinstalled that you don't want, just be careful you don't remove anything that may still be needed!
A huge thanks to Paul at MoDaCo for this ingenious hack and the Titanium Backup, BusyBox and SuperUser developers for their hard work in writing their apps which also allow us to easy do this
Oh and you can use the Temproot on boot to have a sortof but not fully permaroot

Great work. I'll try on CM 6.1 RC1. One thing though...If I'm rooted I presume I need only the Titanium backup not VISIONary or other tools, right?

Yes you need the other apps, but you can remove them afterwards if you want. You'll need SuperUser to be able to grant Titanium Backup access, and Titanium Backup requires BusyBox to be installed - Titanium Backup gives you the option to install BusyBox if you press the 'Problems?' button under the Overview tab.
PS: you can use the free version of Titanium Backup for this exercise.

Yes, thank you. I knew about busybox and the option to install it from Titanium. SuperUser I have it already since I'm using CyanogenMod RC1 and it is included in the ROM (I think it is OK like this). So only Titanium (+busybox) needs to be installed.
I'll give it a try and let you know the results. I'll try to remove a rather large application (for ex Google Maps) and I'll install it afterward on the sdcard (since it is system appl, it cannot be moved directly to sdcard)
Later edit: IT WORKS! So I've tried to (and succeeded) remove 2 "system" applications: Google Maps and Calculator. Both were removed and the free space is now available (before 80 Mb free, after 91.2 Mb free).
There was only one issue with Maps, the icon still showed up in the application drawer and it was working (even after going through all above). After several checks I found the reason. The Maps were installed twice...the version included in the CM ROM (that was deleted by this procedure) AND the updated Maps (it once asked for upgrading the application from the market and I did that). After removing the "system installed" version of Google Maps, the "updates" remained. I went to Settings-Applications-Manage Applications and I found Maps there. I've uninstalled the updates then rebooted the phone. After that the icon was gone completely.
To conclude, for CM ROMS (or for all phones that are already rooted and have already the SU application), the steps to be performed for removing a system appl are:
1. Install Titanium Backup
2. Press (as instructed) "Problems" button. This will install a working version of busybox.
3. Check if the application you want to remove, has also updates (from Market or some other places) installed. If YES, go to Settings-Applications-Manage Applications and uninstall all the updates.
4. Start Titanium Backup and perform the steps indicated in the first post by TheLegendaryJay.
So it is working on custom ROM's as well and you don't need VISIONary or other application/tools.
All credits go to Paul, CM team and this whole community, the ones which made such things possible for our phones. TheLegendaryJay, thank you also for sharing this with us. Perhaps for rooted phones it is easier to remove applications with adb commands, but some are maybe not so technical to install the SDK or know how to use it (I can be counted as one of them), or they just might want to remove an application when they don't have a pc with SDK nearby.

yap, can confirm this. works great on cm 6.1 rc1. thanks for the hint

For you guys who are rooted - why not just flash the overlay filesystem patch, enable it, and then use any file explorer and go to /system/app/ and delete the apps you dont want? just a tip, it's much easier.. (and takes less time)

Because one of the reasons for which I wanted to rip out an application from the ROM is to gain some more space... By using overlay system, as I understood, you're practically duplicate the whole system to make it accessible for writing so I don't know if you gain some more space. Eventually you'll have less. Or, if that space is on the sdcard, that does not suit me also cause as I know, is working slower from there. Anyhow, I don't want to detail this here cause we'll be off-topic.

Rapier said:
Because one of the reasons for which I wanted to rip out an application from the ROM is to gain some more space... By using overlay system, as I understood, you're practically duplicate the whole system to make it accessible for writing so I don't know if you gain some more space. Eventually you'll have less. Or, if that space is on the sdcard, that does not suit me also cause as I know, is working slower from there. Anyhow, I don't want to detail this here cause we'll be off-topic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I understand it, the system folder is only linked so the phone believes it's on the SD-card. This should mean, no extra space is taken (except for the few kB that makes this possible). i could be wrong, but I use system overlay and I see no whatsoever decrease in performance. Not in benchmarks nor in usage.
If you are rooted - and dont want system overlay, I still think there is a better wway - ADB! just mount system, cd to system/app, ls it and rm whatever apps ypu dont want.. no need for multiple reboots - quick and effective

adb way might be quicker but it might prove to be ineffective (at least for me it was). In order to remove an application, you must check its filename (with ls command). I've tried to remove Facebook and Twitter applications using adb remove and guess what...they're still there. I admit I might have done something wrong, what I'm saying is that through this new method described above, someone is able to remove an appl by chosing it from a list. For the ones that don't feel so confortable using adb, this is an alternative
Sent from my Legend using XDA App

Rapier said:
adb way might be quicker but it might prove to be ineffective (at least for me it was). In order to remove an application, you must check its filename (with ls command). I've tried to remove Facebook and Twitter applications using adb remove and guess what...they're still there. I admit I might have done something wrong, what I'm saying is that through this new method described above, someone is able to remove an appl by chosing it from a list. For the ones that don't feel so confortable using adb, this is an alternative
Sent from my Legend using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When it comes to ADB, you must write the filename exactly as it is, if you want to remove Facebook.apk you must rm Facebook.apk, not facebook.apk or just rm Facebook*
What I do, I ls all files, copy the filenames I want to remove into into a txt file. ex. "rm facebook.apk Torch.apk voiceDialer.apk AndroidTerm.apk" and so on. When I flash a new rom, i just copy that file string and remove em all with that one command ofc. I ls it after and check if there is anything new I want to remove, but I get rid of most of it in a few seconds. (good tip!)

I understood that. Now I've checked again and I know what happened...the same thing I said above. The appl was removed also with adb command but the updates of that appl were not. I've removed the updates from Settings and after that the whole appl was gone (Facebook in this case). So both metods work, everyone can choose what he likes more
Anyway this was much more to test if it's working on custom ROMs as was asked by TheLegendaryJay and less as of providing an alternate way for rooted owners.
Sent from my Legend using XDA App

You both are wrong. Overlay is just an overlay... it uses several file systems or parts of file systems (directories, files), merge them and show them to us as one new merged file system. The principle is such that if U have one read-only and one read-write file system merged together, all writes are then performed to that read-write one. If you'd like to delete one file from read-only portion, that action is noted on read-write portion and your system doesn't t see that file again through merged file system whereas it is in fact still there...

BlaY0 said:
You both are wrong. Overlay is just an overlay... it uses several file systems or parts of file systems (directories, files), merge them and show them to us as one new merged file system. The principle is such that if U have one read-only and one read-write file system merged together, all writes are then performed to that read-write one. If you'd like to delete one file from read-only portion, that action is noted on read-write portion and your system doesn't t see that file again through merged file system whereas it is in fact still there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for this, great info. Now I'm glad I use adb and not file overlay for removing files

Why's that? Overlay is really handy thing for testing... U can make the system think that the file is not there but in fact is. If something goes wrong (boot loop) because of that, U just disable overlay and U R back on with origial state. After U are satisfied with changes, U can merge those changes into read-only file system via recovery mode.
Sent from my HTC Legend

BlaY0, you're totally right. Overlay is a great thing for testing (and by the way many thanks you for what you did). But if you're not a tester, just an enthusiast who look for new stuff for his phone, overlay could be much more than he needs.
I'm looking for example to have as much free space in memory as possible. REAL free space. If I'm using overlay, that will not be gained right? The read only files will still be there, only the overlay will show them "deleted". So...what I'm doing instead is that I'm flashing one of the existing ROMs (as per my preferences - CM 6.1 RC1 for ex.) that will not "brick" my phone, I customize it with widgets and applications as I like, than I start deleting what I don't need. For sure I can use overlay for that, but I can do it also without it. This topic presented an alternative for doing that, to the known adb commands. Also from what I've understood, the method in this topic is more aimed to the ones that are not (or don't want to be) rooted. And for those, the adb method doesn't work

You sure are totally right, but then again if you deleted some apk from /system/app that is needed for some other apk and U didn't know about that, you could end up with a so called boot loop. And if this is done by some noob, the simplest way for him to restore would be to wipe and reflash the original ROM. Overay can prevent such accidents. Actually even with overlay you can save space especially where is needed the most, that's on data partition - there's no need for dex in dalvik-cache any more etc. and surely you get more free ram as that app isn't loading any more. For the system partition it actually doesn't matter if it is full in fact why it shouldn't be full. When we get our S-OFF the first thing I will do is to rearange mtd partitions shrinking system and extending data coz now I have like nearly 50 MB free on system partition that I can not use wisely.
Sent from my HTC Legend

Thanks, VF music and web app not banished from my Legend

Okay, I must be doing something wrong, but I have no idea what. I have the same ROM as Rapier on my Desire, I have Titanium Backup and I did everything he said above. The pre-installed apps are uninstalled with TB (Car app, News and Weather, Facebook, Twitter, Google Voice, Maps, Quickoffice 2.0 which I have no idea what really is), I clear the Dalvik cache and many mega are freed. Then if I reboot, they're back. Like nothing happened.
Do you have any idea or should I give more details? Thanks for the help, guys.

Have you checked also if those applications you're removing do not have some updates installed? Because if they do, you'll get them back on the phone. First remove the updates from each application (from normal "Application" management), then remove the application residing in system with TB.
PS. QuickOffice is a suite program similar with MS Office, that allows you to read (and in the paid version also to write) office documents (.doc, .xls, .ppt...etc)

Thank you for your quick reply.
Yes, I have checked and uninstalled all updates. They are all with the basic version.
About Quickoffice, I know what it is It's just that the one that came with CM 6.1.0 RC1 cannot be accessed, it can only be used to open supported file formats (I just found out after posting here ). I'd prefer the normal Quickoffice with which I can access my dropbox and Google docs too, that's why I wanted to uninstall this in the first place.

[Q] geniewidget not transparent anymore after reboot

Hey guys,
Downloaded the transparent geniewidget and overwrite/backup the original one in the /system/app folder - using super manager app (rooted with visionary). Did an install and everything works fine..(background is transparent).
However upon phone reboot, background is not transparent anymore..(Had to repeat the process above to get background transparency)..It seems that the original file is automatically reinstalled upon reboot (Can't even find my backup file anymore). What did i do wrong here?

Did you enable root access in super manager?
That's all I can think of.
It's one of the first options in the settings.
I would also suggest that you disable super manager's task killer and power management functions.

You might also try tapping on geniewidget apk once it's in system/app and installing it, even though it should work without installing it that way I think that might sometimes help.

daveyian said:
Did you enable root access in super manager?
That's all I can think of.
It's one of the first options in the settings.
I would also suggest that you disable super manager's task killer and power management functions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
daveyian said:
You might also try tapping on geniewidget apk once it's in system/app and installing it, even though it should work without installing it that way I think that might sometimes help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
root access is enabled..
how do i disable task killer and management functions? i'm on super manager lite btw..
tried installing it..but it says 'Application not installed'

bossnass15 said:
root access is enabled..
how do i disable task killer and management functions? i'm on super manager lite btw..
tried installing it..but it says 'Application not installed'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have super manager installed right now, that is one way to disable it's management functions btw (uninstall it)
I used super manager before there was a lite version, so maybe things are a little different now, there were a couple of settings I would turn off related to task killing and there was an app2sd reminder function.
I am really fumbling around in the dark myself so take anything I say with a grain of salt.
You should try putting the geniewidget I made (or the other one in the thread) in /data/app as well as system/app.
Try installing it from there too.
Although I just re-checked, and putting the apk in system/app alone did the job for me.

I've never had the probem exactly the way you describe it but I have run into the problem where I haven't found the correct file to rename and then the new file does nothing. I haven't seen the problem manifest on reboot, it just doesn't work.
Make sure you have found geniewidget or com.geniewidget (I forget the exact name), rename it to xxxapk.bak.
Is it still there after your reboot as xxxapk.bak?

daveyian said:
I've never had the probem exactly the way you describe it but I have run into the problem where I haven't found the correct file to rename and then the new file does nothing. I haven't seen the problem manifest on reboot, it just doesn't work.
Make sure you have found geniewidget or com.geniewidget (I forget the exact name), rename it to xxxapk.bak.
Is it still there after your reboot as xxxapk.bak?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope its gone.

[Q] Can't add apps to system on a rooted device (s-on)

I just rooted my htc one (att version) and i'm using superSU. I want to use BetterBatteryStats, which required to add itself as system app. I tried its own method, Titanium Backup, LuckyPacher and even move the apk myself by Root expolorer, but none of them works- It seems work, but after rebooting the apk I copied to /system/apps (or /system/priv-apps) disappeared.
So my question is, is this operation required "S-off"? I knew I can't delete bloat apps due to this, but INCREASE files into system folders is also prohibited? If so, how could SuperSU be installed into /system/apps in the first place?
I knew this question may sound stupid, please forgive my very basic knowledge about android and thanks!

fireattack said:
I just rooted my htc one (att version) and i'm using superSU. I want to use BetterBatteryStats, which required to add itself as system app. I tried its own method, Titanium Backup, LuckyPacher and even move the apk myself by Root expolorer, but none of them works- It seems work, but after rebooting the apk I copied to /system/apps (or /system/priv-apps) disappeared.
So my question is, is this operation required "S-off"? I knew I can't delete bloat apps due to this, but INCREASE files into system folders is also prohibited? If so, how could SuperSU be installed into /system/apps in the first place?
I knew this question may sound stupid, please forgive my very basic knowledge about android and thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to change your kernel, the stock kernel has write protection on it, try elementalx and no you don't need s-off

How exactly do I uninstall and reinstall my adb drivers?

I'm trying to fix the "daemon started successfully" problem, but I don't think I'm uninstalling and re-installing the driver correctly, I just uninstall the device from device manager, then plug the phone back in and let it install.
That must be wrong because it's not working. The program I'm trying to use is xUltiamte2.4 to deodex my phone.

Astralogic said:
I'm trying to fix the "daemon started successfully" problem, but I don't think I'm uninstalling and re-installing the driver correctly, I just uninstall the device from device manager, then plug the phone back in and let it install.
That must be wrong because it's not working. The program I'm trying to use is xUltiamte2.4 to deodex my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If anyone has had this problem and fixed can you please tell me how you did it?

Astralogic said:
I'm trying to fix the "daemon started successfully" problem, but I don't think I'm uninstalling and re-installing the driver correctly, I just uninstall the device from device manager, then plug the phone back in and let it install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is that a problem? You want the "daemon" to start successfully, ADB won't work if it doesn't... If it stays stuck on that, maybe you have some program interfering/using ADB. Maybe you have some other ADB program open (flashtool) or maybe you use Bluestacks; check your running processes for a running "adb.exe" process and kill it, then try again.
Removing the drivers should should work as you're doing it already, but before connecting your phone, you should reinstall the drivers first. Or, once it's installed, manually update the drivers through the Windows "Device Manager", by locating the "sa0105adb.inf" file manually.
It can be extracted from the drivers installer (the one that comes with Flashtool) with 7zip, or you might find it still in your temp folder.

Antiga Prime said:
Why is that a problem? You want the "daemon" to start successfully, ADB won't work if it doesn't... If it stays stuck on that, maybe you have some program interfering/using ADB. Maybe you have some other ADB program open (flashtool) or maybe you use Bluestacks; check your running processes for a running "adb.exe" process and kill it, then try again.
Removing the drivers should should work as you're doing it already, but before connecting your phone, you should reinstall the drivers first. Or, once it's installed, manually update the drivers through the Windows "Device Manager", by locating the "sa0105adb.inf" file manually.
It can be extracted from the drivers installer (the one that comes with Flashtool) with 7zip, or you might find it still in your temp folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing works, isn't there a better way of deodexing then using this stupid program?
Edit: I have a better question. The only reason I want to deodex is so that I can debloat using this guide, that thread already gives me the list of bloatware, isn't there a way I can just go in and manually delete the bloat? Without have to worry about deodexing in order to get the debloat script to run?

Astralogic said:
Nothing works, isn't there a better way of deodexing then using this stupid program?
Edit: I have a better question. The only reason I want to deodex is so that I can debloat using this guide, that thread already gives me the list of bloatware, isn't there a way I can just go in and manually delete the bloat? Without have to worry about deodexing in order to get the debloat script to run?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually you can also debloat your rom while its odexed. At least as long as the framework is not changed.
Just do a backup, then get a root file manager and delete the safe to remove apps and their odex files. Reboot afterwards.
The only reason why the debloat script doesn't support odexed roms ia that the odex files are not deleted during the script. (However, it would be easily possible to add these lines)

WhiteNeo said:
Actually you can also debloat your rom while its odexed. At least as long as the framework is not changed.
Just do a backup, then get a root file manager and delete the safe to remove apps and their odex files. Reboot afterwards.
The only reason why the debloat script doesn't support odexed roms ia that the odex files are not deleted during the script. (However, it would be easily possible to add these lines)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you tell me what folder those files are in that I should delete?

Astralogic said:
Could you tell me what folder those files are in that I should delete?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, if you were following that guide you would have seen that practically everything it's deleting is in /system/app:
delete("/system/app/FBCalendarSync.apk"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The odex files are in the same folder, and have the same name aside from the .odex extension.
Then again, that program sometimes has issues; you could always copy the files from /system/app and /system/framework manually without using ADB to the corresponding folders, after starting the program open the Windows Task Manager and kill of the "adb.exe", and the program will continue running and let you deodex the files. Then you'd just have to figure out how to copy them back which is not hard.
Or you could also try a different deodexing program such as Universal Deodexer V4. I've never used any of those since I've deodexed my ROM with dsixda's Rom Kitchen, for which you'd just need to follow the instructions and then copy the resulting files manually (as you'd have to do in the above mentioned example anyway).

Antiga Prime said:
Well, if you were following that guide you would have seen that practically everything it's deleting is in /system/app:
The odex files are in the same folder, and have the same name aside from the .odex extension.
Then again, that program sometimes has issues; you could always copy the files from /system/app and /system/framework manually without using ADB to the corresponding folders, after starting the program open the Windows Task Manager and kill of the "adb.exe", and the program will continue running and let you deodex the files. Then you'd just have to figure out how to copy them back which is not hard.
Or you could also try a different deodexing program such as Universal Deodexer V4. I've never used any of those since I've deodexed my ROM with dsixda's Rom Kitchen, for which you'd just need to follow the instructions and then copy the resulting files manually (as you'd have to do in the above mentioned example anyway).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't mean I want to manually deodex, I mean I want to manually debloat, deleting the appropriate APK and ODEX file from /system/app seems easy enough, but what would I delete (if anything) from the /system/framework folder?

Astralogic said:
I don't mean I want to manually deodex, I mean I want to manually debloat, deleting the appropriate APK and ODEX file from /system/app seems easy enough, but what would I delete (if anything) from the /system/framework folder?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, I'm just giving you a solution since that program you're using has always given me issues, and even now, knowing that ADB works, it still get's stuck on that "starting ADB daemon" message.
I'm not trying to be rude, but if you're following the guide you'd have noticed that nothing gets deleted from the framework folder. All it tells you are which apps are safe to remove; whichever apps you do end up removing are up to you. I think the Google Talk app is garbage, but someone else might use it, so debloating is also subjective.
Also, you could just as easily do this with Titanium Backup and actually just freeze the app first in case you're not sure about deleting it.

Astralogic said:
I don't mean I want to manually deodex, I mean I want to manually debloat, deleting the appropriate APK and ODEX file from /system/app seems easy enough, but what would I delete (if anything) from the /system/framework folder?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, manually deodexing that way would cause a bootloop because of missing classes.dex files in every system app.
Some people that dont like the preinstalled Sony apps prefer getting rid of all the bloat and remove SemcGenericUXPRes.apk from framework folder.. And some (or most) of the framework jar files beginning with "com.sony..."
This will of course bring noticeable smoothness increases, but is very likely to cause bugs when not done by experienced users.
And it could cause a bootloop on odexed builds as the odex files in system/app do no longer fit to the framework.
Just for information.

WhiteNeo said:
I know, manually deodexing that way would cause a bootloop because of missing classes.dex files in every system app.
Some people that dont like the preinstalled Sony apps prefer getting rid of all the bloat and remove SemcGenericUXPRes.apk from framework folder.. And some (or most) of the framework jar files beginning with "com.sony..."
This will of course bring noticeable smoothness increases, but is very likely to cause bugs when not done by experienced users.
And it could cause a bootloop on odexed builds as the odex files in system/app do no longer fit to the framework.
Just for information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just gonna use titaniums backups freeze feature, I never knew it could do that.
I don't suppose someone somewhere has listed which of the com.sony*** files are safe to disable have they?

Astralogic said:
I'm just gonna use titaniums backups freeze feature, I never knew it could do that.
I don't suppose someone somewhere has listed which of the com.sony*** files are safe to disable have they?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TiBu's freeze doesnt help against some apps. They keep running in background but are no longer shown in Settings or Greenify.
Nope, but you might check any flashable "Xperia Media App port" zip. The more complete, the better.
The files that are included in framework folder are usually safe to remove. :good:

WhiteNeo said:
TiBu's freeze doesnt help against some apps. They keep running in background but are no longer shown in Settings or Greenify.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have yet to see this happen. Maybe you can point me to one example, since I'd like to test this?

Antiga Prime said:
I have yet to see this happen. Maybe you can point me to one example, since I'd like to test this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OmniSwitch.
Add it to Greenify first, then freeze it and reboot. Check Greenify main activity and you'll see.
Was getting on my nerves for two months, till I finally decided to uninstall it.

WhiteNeo said:
OmniSwitch.
Add it to Greenify first, then freeze it and reboot. Check Greenify main activity and you'll see.
Was getting on my nerves for two months, till I finally decided to uninstall it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, don't know why you would add it to Greenify first, makes no sense, but nonetheless, you're right. But then again, this might be due to the way OmniSwitch is integrated into OmniRom in order to use it for the Recent Apps switch. I don't remember this happening on Carbon, which also has OmniSwitch without that integration. I'm on Omni right now so I can't verify this.

In Titanium Backup some apps are red, any idea why?
I'm going to disable two of those com.sony things every morning, but most of them are red.

Astralogic said:
In Titanium Backup some apps are red, any idea why?
I'm going to disable two of those com.sony things every morning, but most of them are red.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the framework stuff cannot be disabled, it has to be uninstalled because Dalvik cache would have to be rebuilt when its gone.
I suggest trying doenen's heavily debloated 4.3 rom. Or at least having a look at its apps and framework to see what he has removed. :good:

Astralogic said:
In Titanium Backup some apps are red, any idea why?
I'm going to disable two of those com.sony things every morning, but most of them are red.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium Backup has a help section which explains the colors. A red colored app means it's a System Service. I'm sure you can open the help section and check out what the other colors mean.
And as @WhiteNeo said, having a look at some other debloated ROM will help you decide what you can remove or not; don't disable or uninstall something just for the sake of disabling it. Find out what it's for and then decide if you need it, or if your Rom needs it in order to function properly.
If it's of any help you can use this as a reference. I made that back when I used to use Stock ROMs .

WhiteNeo said:
TiBu's freeze doesnt help against some apps. They keep running in background but are no longer shown in Settings or Greenify.
Nope, but you might check any flashable "Xperia Media App port" zip. The more complete, the better.
The files that are included in framework folder are usually safe to remove. :good:
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Click to collapse
Antiga Prime said:
I have yet to see this happen. Maybe you can point me to one example, since I'd like to test this?
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WhiteNeo said:
OmniSwitch.
Add it to Greenify first, then freeze it and reboot. Check Greenify main activity and you'll see.
Was getting on my nerves for two months, till I finally decided to uninstall it.
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Click to collapse
Just confirming that @WhiteNeo is right. Even on Carbon Omniswitch's process is still active even though it's frozen/disabled. It doesn't consume RAM as far as I can tell, but this is odd behavior.

Cannot Remove Project Fi app either in system or in Play Store

Hello, I bought my Nexus 6 from Amazon (US version) unlocked. I joined Project Fi which requires installation of the Project Fi app. Now I am leaving Project Fi going back to Verizon but I cannot remove the Project Fi app. I'm only able to uninstall all updates, and disable the app. Clearing the cache, disabling the app with SIM removed, rebooting with no SIM, etc. Nothing removes it. I also tried to remove it via the Play Store by holding on it and removing it with the X at the upper right. Well there is no way to select it in the play store, it can only be "enabled".
Project Fi support is of course useless. I know this app did not come on my phone unless it was hidden in a system partition until activation?
Any ideas on how to remove this app totally? I want to get it removed so I can get back on Verizon without it causing issues trying to interact with the SIM. Thank you

wats6831 said:
Hello, I bought my Nexus 6 from Amazon (US version) unlocked. I joined Project Fi which requires installation of the Project Fi app. Now I am leaving Project Fi going back to Verizon but I cannot remove the Project Fi app. I'm only able to uninstall all updates, and disable the app. Clearing the cache, disabling the app with SIM removed, rebooting with no SIM, etc. Nothing removes it. I also tried to remove it via the Play Store by holding on it and removing it with the X at the upper right. Well there is no way to select it in the play store, it can only be "enabled".
Project Fi support is of course useless. I know this app did not come on my phone unless it was hidden in a system partition until activation?
Any ideas on how to remove this app totally? I want to get it removed so I can get back on Verizon without it causing issues trying to interact with the SIM. Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sure, its very easy, but you need root to remove it, since its a system app. just use a root file explorer to find it in /system/app/, then delete it and reboot. when you boot up, it'll be gone. or, you can perform a factory reset, then boot up first time with your Verizon sim in the phone. then the app will go back into hiding in your system partition.

simms22 said:
sure, its very easy, but you need root to remove it, since its a system app. just use a root file explorer to find it in /system/app/, then delete it and reboot. when you boot up, it'll be gone. or, you can perform a factory reset, then boot up first time with your Verizon sim in the phone. then the app will go back into hiding in your system partition.
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Click to collapse
Thank you sir. Just so that I am clear: I need to obtain root via this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/how-to-nexus-6-one-beginners-guide-t2948481
which will wipe the device. I can then use any root file explorer app to delete the system/app/folder
It's been a while since I've worked on phone but I've been rooting/flashing since the OG DROID. I just want to be very clear before I wipe my device. Thank you again for any clarification.

wats6831 said:
Thank you sir. Just so that I am clear: I need to obtain root via this guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/how-to-nexus-6-one-beginners-guide-t2948481
which will wipe the device. I can then use any root file explorer app to delete the system/app/folder
It's been a while since I've worked on phone but I've been rooting/flashing since the OG DROID. I just want to be very clear before I wipe my device. Thank you again for any clarification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well.. yes and no. root has slightly changed since 6.0.1. and i mean slightly.
1. unlock your bootloader(which will wipe your device, so move what you need to your computer). boot up once after this as well.
2. flash the twrp recovery to your phone via fastboot.
3. flash any nexus 6 custom kernel with twrp(new step)
4. flash the latest SuperSU zip(for root)
5. reboot.
the custom kernel will let you obtain root, its needed in there as of 6.0.1. oh, then don't delete the /system/app/ folder, delete the google fi app folder with its apk inside. otherwise you'll delete all your system apps.

simms22 said:
well.. yes and no. root has slightly changed since 6.0.1. and i mean slightly.
1. unlock your bootloader(which will wipe your device, so move what you need to your computer). boot up once after this as well.
2. flash the twrp recovery to your phone via fastboot.
3. flash any nexus 6 custom kernel with twrp(new step)
4. flash the latest SuperSU zip(for root)
5. reboot.
the custom kernel will let you obtain root, its needed in there as of 6.0.1. oh, then don't delete the /system/app/ folder, delete the google fi app folder with its apk inside. otherwise you'll delete all your system apps.
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Click to collapse
Ok. So do I still obtain root with the fastboot procedure linked in the FAQ? If not, can you link to a current guide for unlocking the bootloader and flashing the TWRP. I'm also not sure where to get a custom kernal, or which one. After that I think I got it. Thanks.

wats6831 said:
Ok. So do I still obtain root with the fastboot procedure linked in the FAQ? If not, can you link to a current guide for unlocking the bootloader and flashing the TWRP. I'm also not sure where to get a custom kernal, or which one. After that I think I got it. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can always check if you have root by downloading and installing a terminal emulator app from the play store, then open it and type su. if you have root, it'll return a #

simms22 said:
you can always check if you have root by downloading and installing a terminal emulator app from the play store, then open it and type su. if you have root, it'll return a #
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have root, I've never touched this phone. I'm just trying to make sure I understand the correct way to obtain root in 6.0.1. Your post made it sound like maybe that guide I linked wasn't the current way?

wats6831 said:
I don't have root, I've never touched this phone. I'm just trying to make sure I understand the correct way to obtain root in 6.0.1. Your post made it sound like maybe that guide I linked wasn't the current way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, it is the correct way. I just added that a kernel has to be flashed as well. but chainfire might have fixed that, I heard that a few hours ago. if he did, then the method is correct. I rooted over a year ago, my n6. so its been a while :angel:

I understand. Thank you for making that clear. I can't even root due to USB driver issues...not sure why. I followed the steps exactly.

I've switched to SuperSU 2.66, so I've just checked it, and you don't need a custom kernel for it anymore, just flash ir frim TWRP.
Sent from my Nexus 6 running cyosp using Tapatalk

simms22 said:
sure, its very easy, but you need root to remove it, since its a system app. just use a root file explorer to find it in /system/app/, then delete it and reboot. when you boot up, it'll be gone. or, you can perform a factory reset, then boot up first time with your Verizon sim in the phone. then the app will go back into hiding in your system partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I unlocked, and rooted with Wugster and SUperSU. I booted first time with my Verizon SIM and project Fi app is still there. I can see it in my apps list, but i can't see it in the system/app/ any clue where it is? thanks.
It's in #/data/user/0/com.google.android.apps.tycho
somewhere but i can't find it

wats6831 said:
So I unlocked, and rooted with Wugster and SUperSU. I booted first time with my Verizon SIM and project Fi app is still there. I can see it in my apps list, but i can't see it in the system/app/ any clue where it is? thanks.
It's in #/data/user/0/com.google.android.apps.tycho
somewhere but i can't find it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it has a weird name, not fi. its like tycho or something similar. if you look into that folder, its there.

simms22 said:
it has a weird name, not fi. its like tycho or something similar. if you look into that folder, its there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok looking in that folder, i see nothing in any subfolder except for a file called "Switching.xml"
Should I delete the whole tycho folder?

The ProjectFi app is "Tycho"
You can also remove GCS (Google Connectivity Services). Only ProjectFi uses it for joining open wifi networks and the Google VPN, among other things. Totally useless unless you're a Fi'er.

Gandalf said:
The ProjectFi app is "Tycho"
You can also remove GCS (Google Connectivity Services). Only ProjectFi uses it for joining open wifi networks and the Google VPN, among other things. Totally useless unless you're a Fi'er.
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Click to collapse
So to be clear should I delete the whole Tycho folder? I don't want the app to show up at all in my app list.
Can GCS be removed or does it have to be deleted in /system/app? thanks.

wats6831 said:
So to be clear should I delete the whole Tycho folder? I don't want the app to show up at all in my app list.
Can GCS be removed or does it have to be deleted in /system/app? thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can delete it but I would recommend either Disabling it in Settings > Apps or using Titanium Backup to freeze it. Assuming you're running stock, mounting system rw will cause issues with verity