RobertB-DC
Well-Known Member
I finally reached my saturation point, deleting apps I like because of megs and megs of bloatware on my Optimus T. All I want to do (at this point at least) is delete the bloatware, and maybe run a low-level backup using (root-only) Titanum Backup. I don't want to overclock the poor thing -- it wasn't built to be a sports car, and I don't want it to become a $200 space heater. I don't want to install new ROMs so that I can flash it at my buds and pretend it's an iPhone with a purple case. I just want to get rid of the crap.
So, for the benefit of my fellow noobs, here's the step by step process I followed.
* Research the crap out of the whole concept.
Although I'm a programmer, and I'm familiar with Linux, I've never gone to the trouble to root any of my devices. The most I've done is helped my son understand that the mass of digits on the Game Shark 64 screen are actually DWORDs, and that you can spell things like 4AC0FFEE and DEADBEEF with hexadecimal numbers. So I wanted to make sure I had some clue what I was doing. (By the end of this process, I'll know if I succeeded in that task!)
* Download z4root
All roads seem to lead to this post on xda-developers.com. Thanks to the handy QR code in the post, I was able to drop the .apk file directly onto my SD card.
* Install z4root
Astro wasn't working -- it's on the SD card, and this phone frequently loses track of SD apps (which is one reason I want to free up phone memory space). But I was able to open the z4root apk file from my browser (xScope).
Note: if you're not familiar with installing outside the Android Market, a good start is to go to Amazon and follow the process for installing *their* market app. For obvious reasons, you can't get it from the Android Market.
* Unmount the SD card
I saw this advice somewhere, and it seems like a good idea. z4root installed to the phone, so it's still available at this point.
* Run z4root
So, I have the choice of Temporary Root or Permanent Root. There's no promise that Temporary will actually work -- well, there's no promise in any case, but Permanent at least has been tried more often. So I just jumped in and hit the Permanent button.
* USB debugging
Oops, I forgot to turn on USB debugging. z4root sent me to the settings page, where I turned it on.
* Run z4root again!
After some grinding, and some messages at the bottom of the screen, I was taken to a blank white screen showing only the notification bar. Then the phone rebooted. At this point, I wondered if I should have taken out the SD card physically, since rebooting of course re-mounted it.
* Wait wait wait
The phone normally takes a while to load everything after a reboot, but this time it seemed to take even longer. But once I looked away to type this, my gadgets finally reappeared. Everything seems normal; Gmail works, txt receiving works. I'm wondering how I can even tell that I've changed anything?
* Delete something!
So, can I just delete the crap now? Went into Applications and headed straight for the biggest offender: 10MB behemoth ThinkFree Office. Can I uninstall it? NO, not from the app list, not from the app info page. It's not going to be *that* easy.
* Whoa, what's that?
There's a new application showing up in the list with the other non-deletable "Applications": Superuser. YES! But clicking it doesn't cause my phone to leap tall buildings; it's where I set things up. Unfortunately, I don't know *how* to set things up at this point.
* Take a break
That's enough excitement for one playdate. I'll do some more research and see how I can use my new, Godlike powers. Meanwhile, I'll watch for any strange behaviors that would prompt me to back out. But the bloatware's days are numbered.
I'll post an update when I get back to poking on the phone. Meanwhile, any suggestions (and cautions, especially those) are heartily welcomed!
So, for the benefit of my fellow noobs, here's the step by step process I followed.
* Research the crap out of the whole concept.
Although I'm a programmer, and I'm familiar with Linux, I've never gone to the trouble to root any of my devices. The most I've done is helped my son understand that the mass of digits on the Game Shark 64 screen are actually DWORDs, and that you can spell things like 4AC0FFEE and DEADBEEF with hexadecimal numbers. So I wanted to make sure I had some clue what I was doing. (By the end of this process, I'll know if I succeeded in that task!)
* Download z4root
All roads seem to lead to this post on xda-developers.com. Thanks to the handy QR code in the post, I was able to drop the .apk file directly onto my SD card.
* Install z4root
Astro wasn't working -- it's on the SD card, and this phone frequently loses track of SD apps (which is one reason I want to free up phone memory space). But I was able to open the z4root apk file from my browser (xScope).
Note: if you're not familiar with installing outside the Android Market, a good start is to go to Amazon and follow the process for installing *their* market app. For obvious reasons, you can't get it from the Android Market.
* Unmount the SD card
I saw this advice somewhere, and it seems like a good idea. z4root installed to the phone, so it's still available at this point.
* Run z4root
So, I have the choice of Temporary Root or Permanent Root. There's no promise that Temporary will actually work -- well, there's no promise in any case, but Permanent at least has been tried more often. So I just jumped in and hit the Permanent button.
* USB debugging
Oops, I forgot to turn on USB debugging. z4root sent me to the settings page, where I turned it on.
* Run z4root again!
After some grinding, and some messages at the bottom of the screen, I was taken to a blank white screen showing only the notification bar. Then the phone rebooted. At this point, I wondered if I should have taken out the SD card physically, since rebooting of course re-mounted it.
* Wait wait wait
The phone normally takes a while to load everything after a reboot, but this time it seemed to take even longer. But once I looked away to type this, my gadgets finally reappeared. Everything seems normal; Gmail works, txt receiving works. I'm wondering how I can even tell that I've changed anything?
* Delete something!
So, can I just delete the crap now? Went into Applications and headed straight for the biggest offender: 10MB behemoth ThinkFree Office. Can I uninstall it? NO, not from the app list, not from the app info page. It's not going to be *that* easy.
* Whoa, what's that?
There's a new application showing up in the list with the other non-deletable "Applications": Superuser. YES! But clicking it doesn't cause my phone to leap tall buildings; it's where I set things up. Unfortunately, I don't know *how* to set things up at this point.
* Take a break
That's enough excitement for one playdate. I'll do some more research and see how I can use my new, Godlike powers. Meanwhile, I'll watch for any strange behaviors that would prompt me to back out. But the bloatware's days are numbered.
I'll post an update when I get back to poking on the phone. Meanwhile, any suggestions (and cautions, especially those) are heartily welcomed!