Help mobile services manager/advertising apps

[contridiction]

I've had this phone for over a year, and now suddenly the mobile services manager is suggesting new apps. Why has it suddenly started doing this. I saw on Google that msm is a built in app, that uses large amount of data. But nothing to explain why it's suddenly started doing this. Does anybody know why, and does anybody know how to stop this. I know you can't turn off the msm, but I'm hoping that I can stop it from showing up in my notification area pushing games/apps I don't want.

 

[ocnbrze]

I've had this phone for over a year, and now suddenly the mobile services manager is suggesting new apps. Why has it suddenly started doing this. I saw on Google that msm is a built in app, that uses large amount of data. But nothing to explain why it's suddenly started doing this. Does anybody know why, and does anybody know how to stop this. I know you can't turn off the msm, but I'm hoping that I can stop it from showing up in my notification area pushing games/apps I don't want.

how do you know it is msm that is suggesting new apps? i do not think this is a function of the system app. and it should not be using large amounts of data....over time maybe, but not on a daily basis.

 

[Dannydet]

This is most likely a rogue application causing adverts.
Check out your recently installed apps and Uninstall as needed.

 

[ajhk]

Depending on your Android version, you should be able to either long-press or swipe a notification sideways to get a settings option for that particular notification. Tapping that settings option should open a list of notification settings and show the name of the app that sends these notifications. You can then either uninstall that app if it's unneeded, or if you are not sure ask here whether you should delete it.

 

[contridiction]

I know it is the msm because at the top of the notification is says "Mobile Services Manager". If I need to next time it pops up I'll get a screenshot, I guess it could be a rogue program presenting as the msm. Maybe I misspoke on how often it uses data, If I remember back to when I posted that, it made sense to me that what I wrote just meant that it used a lot of data, but did not say how often. The whole reason I asked the question here is the search I did, indicated that recommending apps was not part of the msm's job. I read three resources and none of them mentioned recommending apps, so I took that to mean it shouldn't be. I knew if anyone could help me it would be the brilliant people here. Thank you for your response, I'm sure you are just trying to understand what's going on. I do appreciate you being so thorough.

 

[contridiction]

how do you know it is msm that is suggesting new apps? i do not think this is a function of the system app. and it should not be using large amounts of data....over time maybe, but not on a daily basis.

I know it is the msm because at the top of the notification is says "Mobile Services Manager". If I need to next time it pops up I'll get a screenshot, I guess it could be a rogue program presenting as the msm. Maybe I misspoke on how often it uses data, If I remember back to when I posted that, it made sense to me that what I wrote just meant that it used a lot of data, but did not say how often. The whole reason I asked the question here is the search I did, indicated that recommending apps was not part of the msm's job. I read three resources and none of them mentioned recommending apps, so I took that to mean it shouldn't be. I knew if anyone could help me it would be the brilliant people here. Thank you for your response, I'm sure you are just trying to understand what's going on.

 

[contridiction]

This is most likely a rogue application causing adverts.
Check out your recently installed apps and Uninstall as needed.

This makes the most sense to me. I did check for any install's in the last two weeks that might have been infected, and didn't see any. So before I started deleting stuff I wanted to get the opinion of people that know more about android than I do. I'll go back over and check again.

 

[contridiction]

Depending on your Android version, you should be able to either long-press or swipe a notification sideways to get a settings option for that particular notification. Tapping that settings option should open a list of notification settings and show the name of the app that sends these notifications. You can then either uninstall that app if it's unneeded, or if you are not sure ask here whether you should delete it.

Thank You, when I did swipe right, it showed that it was the msm. Which according to my research is a system app, that you really should not see (my paraphrasing), so I wanted to get some direction from people that know more about android than I do.

 

[ocnbrze]

if it keeps happening, maybe you should check out the previous apps you installed. maybe one of the is creating the issue......sounds like it is some kind of adware to me. i would put the phone in safe mode and see if it still happens. if it does not then it is a 3rd party app causing the issue. i would check your most recent apps and work your way backward un-installing them one by one. i would delete cache and data for the app 1st before un-installing them. apps sometimes will leave behind it's data and cache when you un-install them. adware can live in the app's data and sometimes even in it's cache.....so always delete them first before you do the app.

 

[ajhk]

If it's a system app, you should not be able to uninstall it (the uninstall option should be grayed out). If you are able to uninstall it, the app might be pretending to be the Mobile Services Manager. Of course, some apps bundled with phones out-of-box are uninstallable, but I don't know what the case is with the legit MSM app.

 

[puppykickr]

First, try blocking notifications for the suspect app.

Pull down your notification screen, and long press the pestilence.
Then gently, slowly, move your touching finger to the left or right.

A pinwheel should appear, that will take you directly to the notification settings of the offending app.

If this fails, then decide if this app is really anything you need or want (regardless if it is a system app).
You should be able to do something, such as 'uninstall all updates', and/or eliminate permissions.

Personally, I have seen system apps that eventually received updates that put ads into apps that did not have ads before.

So your experience, as described, is not unheard of.

If uninstalling all updates and denying permissions DOES work, then you must be vigilant to not allow the app to ever be updated again, or the problem will begin again.

This means that if you use Google Play Store, you must have the 'auto-update' setting OFF.

The same for any other app store you may be using.

If you uninstall all updates and the problem is NOT solved, then two things...
1. it is probably not that app doing it
2. you need to find out what app is doing it

Do the notifications pop up when you are using the device?

If so, immediately check
Settings
Developers options
Running apps

and see what is running.

Another method is to use an app such as No Root Firewall, which has a log that tells you what apps connect to the internet and when.

If No Root is running, and you get a notification, check the log.

Then you can use the Apps section of No Root to block internet access for the app.

You may find that the features provided with No Root are useful with other apps, as well.
It is a very useful tool.

Try these things first and then get back with us with the results.

 

[jojo4321]

Thanks for these posts. This just happened to me. Got a push notification for an app called Chime -- never heard of it, never installed it. The notification said Mobile Services at the top. Did a long press, which opened a Custom Notifications settings mini page, with a gear wheel on top; that took me to detailed notification settings for Mobile Services; one of the types was App Recommendations; I turned that off. Hope that does the trick.