• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Root BLOATWARE - Lets make a list of everything safe to remove

Phateless

Android Enthusiast
I plan to continue updating this post until we have a complete list of everything SAFE to remove. Safe meaning the OS still boots and runs properly with no side-effects other than the app being gone.

I would like to keep going and remove the Genius Button app (remapped to regular Google Search) as well as any other nonsense that I don't need. I'm keeping backups of everything I remove and plan to have a Bloatware.zip file (non-flashable!) on hand for anyone who needs to unroot, restore, receive OTA updates, or what-have-you.

1-2-11 update
com.HTC.FriendStreamWidget
FriendStream
TMOUS_myTouchdemo.

So far I've removed:

AmazonMP3
AppPack
Asphalt5
com.htc.StockWidget
com.htc.TwitterWidget
Faves
FavesWidget
Flickr
HtcTwitter
Monopoly_Classic
Rockband
Stock
T-mobileTV
TmoVVM
VVM
Yahoo_im
Yahoo_imvideo
Yahoo_mail

And the corresponding odex files when they exist.

What have YOU removed?

EDIT - In case anyone is wondering you must be rooted to do this. I simply used Root Explorer from the market and went into system/app and used multi-select. Then I simply pressed MOVE and dropped everything into a folder on my sdcard for safe keeping.

MAKE A NANDROID BACKUP BEFORE DOING THIS!! That way you can restore if you **** something up.
 
Not rooted

But looking at this list of apps that I never use really makes me think that I will root soon, only to delete these apps :-P
 
I rooted the phone but could never get a full understanding how to remove so I reverted back to stock and said forget it... Thanks for the info!!!!!
 
Not rooted

But looking at this list of apps that I never use really makes me think that I will root soon, only to delete these apps :-P

I keep nandroiding back and forth between stock and cm6. cm6 is most definitely snappier, but after all this I've found I've grown accustomed to Sense, lol.

I rooted the phone but could never get a full understanding how to remove so I reverted back to stock and said forget it... Thanks for the info!!!!!

It's easy. Download Root Explorer from the market and use it to browse like any file manager. Make sure instead of deleting the files you MOVE them to your sdcard so you can reinstall them if you need to receive ota updates or whatnot.
 
That was it, man if someone would of explained that to me the other day I could have been finished... Thanks Bro, I will get the nerve to try it again soon....
 
I successfully MOVED all the apps you have listed above. I also successfully MOVED com.HTC.FriendStreamWidget, FriendStream & TMOUS_myTouchdemo.

What I'd really like to do is get rid of the pink in the icons (come on tmobile...). Any way to do this without flashing a new ROM?
 
I successfully MOVED all the apps you have listed above. I also successfully MOVED com.HTC.FriendStreamWidget, FriendStream & TMOUS_myTouchdemo.

What I'd really like to do is get rid of the pink in the icons (come on tmobile...). Any way to do this without flashing a new ROM?

So you're rooted but on stock ROM? Install a different launcher from the market.
 
I successfully MOVED all the apps you have listed above. I also successfully MOVED com.HTC.FriendStreamWidget, FriendStream & TMOUS_myTouchdemo.

What I'd really like to do is get rid of the pink in the icons (come on tmobile...). Any way to do this without flashing a new ROM?

OP updated. Thanks!
 
EDIT - In case anyone is wondering you must be rooted to do this. I simply used Root Explorer from the market and went into system/app and used multi-select. Then I simply pressed MOVE and dropped everything into a folder on my sdcard for safe keeping.

MAKE A NANDROID BACKUP BEFORE DOING THIS!! That way you can restore if you **** something up.

Can someone please clarify the statement about Root Explorer. Is that program used for rooting or used as a file manager once rooting is completed? Is it the same as OI File Manager?
 
Can someone please clarify the statement about Root Explorer. Is that program used for rooting or used as a file manager once rooting is completed? Is it the same as OI File Manager?

The second. Better than any other file manager.
 
how come when I removed some of these apps I didnt get more internal memory? I removed rockband, monopoly, asphault, tmobile tv and amazonmp3, appPack and the demo video?
 
how come when I removed some of these apps I didnt get more internal memory? I removed rockband, monopoly, asphault, tmobile tv and amazonmp3, appPack and the demo video?

Hmm, internal storage as opposed to RAM? Did you reboot?
 
I rebooted. I guess I saw a slight increase but not as much as i would assume. It went from 889 mbs to .88 gbs. Then again it might if been from removing busybox, superuser and titanium back up. I just wanted to remove bloatware and that was it.
 
I rebooted. I guess I saw a slight increase but not as much as i would assume. It went from 889 mbs to .88 gbs. Then again it might if been from removing busybox, superuser and titanium back up. I just wanted to remove bloatware and that was it.

Yeah it takes a lot to make a dent. MySense is a very large OS so it's going to be tough to make a big difference.
 
If I remove things like flickr and faves, will they appear as options in my phone? For example, if i choose a pic to upload, will i still see Flickr as an option? Also I have facebook for Android, can I un-install Facebook for mytouch?
 
Hi Phateless,

Thanks for putting this list together! Couple quick questions:

1) I've read that using Titanium backup works well to uninstall bloatware once you have root. Any idea if it is better or worse than moving the apps manually in Root Explorer?

2) Know of any good articles or posts about performing NANDROID backups?

Thanks :)
 
Hi Phateless,

Thanks for putting this list together! Couple quick questions:

1) I've read that using Titanium backup works well to uninstall bloatware once you have root. Any idea if it is better or worse than moving the apps manually in Root Explorer?

I don't think it's much different. The important thing is that you have either a backup of a the apk or a nandroid restore that includes it.

2) Know of any good articles or posts about performing NANDROID backups?

Thanks :)

Nandroid backups are easy.

Just boot into clockwork recovery (manual mode) and go to backup and restore. Before creating a nandroid I like to clear cache of my largest apps in APPLICATIONS SETTINGS and clear my call log and text messages so I have a clean slate when I restore. I also like to wipe cache, dalvik and battery stats before performing a backup.

When restoring you should really do a wipe data/factory reset beforehand so that you get a clean restore.

Here's an article that goes into more detail than you need. http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=How_to_backup_or_recover_via_Nandroid
 
when i go to the screen to remove any of the gay tmobile apps described in the first post here, the un-install icons are greyed out
 
EDIT - In case anyone is wondering you must be rooted to do this. I simply used Root Explorer from the market and went into system/app and used multi-select. Then I simply pressed MOVE and dropped everything into a folder on my sdcard for safe keeping.


Okay dl the root explorer and did exactly what you said and i get WARNING... selected items cannot be moved because the file system is read only.

Am i in the wrong folder? Also will this help eliminate the file and icon on reboot?

Thanks
 
Okay dl the root explorer and did exactly what you said and i get WARNING... selected items cannot be moved because the file system is read only.

Am i in the wrong folder? Also will this help eliminate the file and icon on reboot?

Thanks

In the top right corner there's a little button that says R/W. This will remount the directory as read/write instead of read only. THEN you can delete your apps.
 
I really want to get rid of those pre-installed apps (all of which you have listed) but does anyone have a suggestion for a free root app?

Thanks
'cause "It's so fluffy"
 
Back
Top Bottom