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

Root Newbie with a rooting question??

M

momo662

Lurker
Hello all,
Just picked up a Casio Commando and I was looking into rooting. My question is this- Can i root my phone to eliminate a bunch of apps I will never use and unroot the phone afterwards?

I ask because I am concerned with my phones security after rooting.
I am under the assumption rooting can open my system up to compromise.

Any help would be appreciated
 
Yes -

SuperOneClick will root & unroot your phone. Once rooted use Titanium Backup to uninstall the apps you do not want. Make sure you back up the apps somewhere safe before uninstalling them. After you do this, use SuperOneClick to remove root.

In the event you need to restore the phone for a warrenty issue or return, re-root, use Titanium backup to restore the uninstalled apps, then remove root.
 
FWIW:
I just did the same and removed the following apps:

Bing
Books
City ID (It's a pay service)
Guided tours
Mobile IM
My Verizon Mobile (Never worked anyway, see note below)
NFL Mobile
Skype Mobile
Slacker
Social Beat
VCast Apps
VCast Music
VCast Tones
VCast Videos
Voice Control VSuite (see note below)
Voicemail 1.0 (I didnt want to pay for VVM, and this app just slows you down if you want to use regular VM)
VZ Navigator

I also removed GMail. I run my GMail account via the regular EMail app that I use for my ISP EMail account. I never understood why They put two e-mail apps on these things.

Note: The only problems so far are hitting the VM or Speech buttons in the dialer cause the dialer to force close. This can be cured with a different dialer app from the Market.

I installed a different launcher as well and that got rid of that stupid snap-out menu and fixed the hard "search" button so it now works with Google.....after loading Google Search.

The phone is much faster, and boots much faster.
It boots so fast...... the last part of the boot process, the Verizon Wireless logo with the red splash, only shows for about 1/2 a second....when it shows at all.
 
Rafael I used abd and superoneclick to root my phone. Now what do I do. I am a total newb but i gotten this far so any help would be great!! I backed up everything using titanium backup too. Do I have to uninstall those apps or can I just freeze them?? plus what is a launcher? and how did u get rid of the snapout junk?? i would also like google search for that soft key??
 
You should first try freezing an app to make sure it does not cause problems....and give the phone a workout.....trying all the functions you can think of to make sure it did no harm.

My preference, once you determine to remove an app, is to use Titanium to convert it to a user app. You long press the app in question and a menu pops up where you can make different choices. Once it is converted....you can uninstall it just like any other app.

Keep in mind.......YOU are responsible for everything you do.
Your configuration, and the apps you use, may be different than mine and what works for me may cause a problem for you.
Make sure you have a good backup. I actually made a separate backup on an extra SD card just so I would always be able to put it back to stock.

A launcher overrides the existing home-screen app.....the one with the snap-out menu. You do not remove anything to install a launcher.....just download one from the Market. I am running a launcher called "Go Launcher EX". It is easily removed if you don't like it.....and it's free.

When the new launcher is running my search key brings up Google Search just fine....of course you need to install Google Search from the Market.
 
Hey thanks for the quick response!! I put on go launcher ex and it works great. plus I have already frozen all the apps that you posted earlier. Does it help speed up the phone if I delete them or is freezing them the same thing?

After I froze voicemail 1.0 now when I get a voicemail I can't just click on it out of the notifications menu. I have to dial star *86 or long hold the 1 on dialer. What dialer app did you put on it to fix that??

Also do you know an app that will make the flash work right in camera mode? I hate the blinding light at night. It works great for video but everyone hates my regular camera light at night.

And sorry last question but what is the default browser called? I would like to freeze it because I use Dolphin HD. It is way better.
 
I have noticed that some apps don't actually freeze when frozen......that is to say that I can see evidence of them still running.

In these cases I have removed them. Once the app actually stops running I can usually see an improvement in benchmark performace.......and I can certainly tell if they are no longer available because the functions they bring cease to operate.

I have not quantified how much individual apps slow the system.......and don't really care.
I simply decide if they are needed....and if they are not I remove them.

I went so far as to remove the GzGear as well. The compass was the only one I would use...and I prefer GPS-Status, available on the Market.

As to Voicemail:
The Voicemail system never allowed me to enter my VM password. I had to type it every time I used voicemail. To make this a one-touch action, I created a contact called "VoiceMail", and entered the "*86PP" and my password as the phone number. Then I created a direct-dial shortcut on the screen. touch it once and it calls my voicemail the way the stock app "should" but doesnt. (callmecolt pointd out my mistake in using commas instead of P's for pauses).

The voicemail notification shows on the notification bar when unread messages are present in your voicemail and tells you how many, and disappears when they have been read.....it just won't work as a way of launching voicemail. This is not a problem for me. I think it works fine this way.

As to the camera:
I don't have a problem with the camera. Not sure what you are talking about there.

Browser is called "[Bookmarks] Browser 2.2.1".
I like the existing browser....with the exception that the "VZW Home" and "My Verizon" bookmarks cannot be deleted. I have no use for the Verizon crap....other than the basic service, and wish I could find the standard browser app without these two bookmarks. I wonder if I can just take the standard browser package from another phone?
 
BTW.....
I had a problem getting Go-Launcher-EX to go back to being the default browser, it was my fault since I was tinkering with settings....took me a while to figure out I had to clear defaults in the "Home" app. Home is the default launcher. I froze "Home" and have not had a problem.....you cannot even go back to it without unfreezng it. Works for me!
 
Ya the camera app takes great pictures but when the flash is on in camera mode. It doesn't just flash it is a solid beam of light as if the flashlight widget was on. Try it at night it is blinding. I took it to Verizon before I rooted it because I thought it had been programmed. They took two out the box and showed me that they all do this. Then they called Casio and confirmed it.

On the voicemail thing I tried making a contact and making the number *861234 but it says that something weird it doesn't take me to messages.. hmm??

Oh and you didn't mention what dialer that your got from the market?? Maybe thats why voicemail contact doesn't work like that
 
I am told that this phone cannot do the password for you on voicemail.
The method I gave you works well for me.

I tried another dialer and have since returned to the stock one.
It was called TouchPal.
Nothing I tried got the voicmail buttons working properly.

If you figure out a fix; let us all know.
 
My removed app list has grown:

Adventure Training
Backup Assistant
Bing
Books
Calendar
Calendar Storage
Calendar Sync Adapter
City ID (It's a pay service)
com.nec.android.ncmc.gzgear.shortcut
Compass
Earth Compass
Gmail
Guided tours
GzGear 1.0
InnopathAvtiveCare (you will not get updates without this)
Memo 2.2.1
Mobile IM
Moonrise Moonset
My Verizon Mobile (Never worked anyway, see note below)
NFL Mobile
Pedometer
Rainy Day Popup
Skype Mobile
Slacker
Social Beat
Star Gazer
Sun / Moon
Sync Service
Thermometer
Tides 1.0
Tides 1.0 (Yes, there are two different apps)
Trip Memory
VCast Apps
VCast Music
VCast Tones
VCast Videos
Virtual Trek 1.0
Voice Control VSuite (see note below)
VoiceMemo 1.0
Voicemail 1.0 (I didnt want to pay for VVM, and this app just slows you down if you want to use regular VM)
VZ Navigator
VZW Package Installer 1.0
VZW SMS Filter Service 1.2
Walking counter 1.0
Wiper App 2.2.1

Removed many of them last night......no ill effects so far.
Will report back if any occur.

Am getting Quadrant scores that vary from low 1000's to 1280, with most at about 1100 or so.
I also run Touchdown for my Exchange support.....these scores are with all my normal stuff running as I would use the phone everyday.
 
Aha I reread your post about making a voicemail contact. When I first read it I thought the two comma's in "*86,," were a typo or something. I now inserted them and now it works as you stated. Must be my Noob mistake. lol

So far I have not deleted anything... but I have converted them to user apps. Then moved them to sd card. Then froze them all using Titainium Backup and it works great.

I have converted/sd'd/froze all these apps as well minus the ones with *** Just to help others confirm no problems on those.

Adventure Training
Backup Assistant***
Bing
Books
Calendar
Calendar Storage
Calendar Sync Adapter
City ID (It's a pay service)
com.nec.android.ncmc.gzgear.shortcut***
Compass
Earth Compass
Gmail*** I got rid of email instead
Guided tours
GzGear 1.0
InnopathAvtiveCare (you will not get updates without this)***
Memo 2.2.1
Mobile IM
Moonrise Moonset
My Verizon Mobile (Never worked anyway, see note below)
NFL Mobile
Pedometer
Rainy Day Popup
Skype Mobile
Slacker
Social Beat
Star Gazer
Sun / Moon
Sync Service
Thermometer
Tides 1.0
Tides 1.0 (Yes, there are two different apps)
Trip Memory
VCast Apps
VCast Music
VCast Tones
VCast Videos
Virtual Trek 1.0
Voice Control VSuite (see note below)***
VoiceMemo 1.0
Voicemail 1.0 (I didnt want to pay for VVM, and this app just slows you down if you want to use regular VM)
VZ Navigator
VZW Package Installer 1.0***
VZW SMS Filter Service 1.2***
Walking counter 1.0
Wiper App 2.2.1***

I have also froze all the widgets and moving backgrounds (minus flashlight and power control just because I use them).
 
With all those apps now frozen my phone is tremendously faster and my Verizon Wireless logo barely flashs at start. I know I dont need to move any thing else but when looking on my app2sd app it says that the apps below are phone only. I know I can force them to sd using TiB but does anybody know if will it effect their use. Maybe someones moved them on any other device??

Google Maps***
Market
GO Launcher EX
Google Voice Search***
My Verizon Mobile***
YouTube***
Gingerbread Keyboard (This is the one I use)
Google Maps Street View***
Titanium Backup PRO (I have Titainum backup free on my sd)

Thank you in advance if you know. I may just force move them and see whats up but worth a chance to ask.

edited a little later... i have force moved the *** ones to sd as well now
still worried about the other 4 because I dont have my stuff backed up on a separate sd card
 
Did some tinkering last night.

Removal of the following seems to have improved my battery life:
DRM Protected Storage
PVMtpServiceStart 1.0
PVWmdrmService 1.0

I did some searching and found a few people who suggested these were DRM connected to movie services like Blockbuster...and that they ate power.

Am I sure I won't need them? No, but so far no problems.
The great thing about Titanium is you can put them back in a second.
Nothing wrong with tinkering. :)

Also......found the .mp3 boot-audio file and the files that contain the obnoxious snap-out/in menu sound. I plan to replace the boot-audio with a short no-sound file when I have time. If I ever go back to the stock launcher I will have to figure out a method of editing those files.....they were .ppm or something like that.
 
WOW you really got a lot more off your device than I do now. That's great I wish I had a back up sd card like you to be safe. Thank you for really pushing the limit. I'll be waiting to see if you run into any problems and if not i'll be removing those as well!!

The boot file you are refering to is that the one during start up that says G'zOne??

How long does it take for your phone to turn on now that your have all that off of it?? Mine takes 36 seconds from the time i feel the vibrate to the time the unlock screen appears. But I don't see the verizon wireless logo anymore that used to take like 15 seconds when I got the phone. If you dont care to time it thats cool too, I was just wondering if the extra stuff you took off makes a difference.
 
From the vibration......I see the unlock screen in 33 seconds.

From an "off" state, I made contact with the power button at exactly zero seconds on my clock. The unlock screen appears at 35 seconds.

Not much different from yours.

Battery life!!!!!
The last three things I removed have made a HUGE difference in power usage.
My battery is normally down to 30 percent or less when I arrive home after a full work day(7:30AM to about 5:30PM).....without charging it since I grabbed the phone off the cradle in the morning. It is often less than 20 percent.

I pulled it off the cradle at 7:30AM and it is now a bit after 10PM.
The battery is at 52 percent. This is a huge improvement.
No other changes have made a noticeable difference until now.
I used the phone normally all day, and ran quite a few benchmarks throughout the day. Played a few rounds of Solitaire....as usual.

I also noticed that "Android System" now accounts for a smaller percentage of power consumed since unplugged in the "Battery Use" tool in the "About phone" menu.

Removal of the following seems to have improved my battery life:
DRM Protected Storage
PVMtpServiceStart 1.0
PVWmdrmService 1.0
 
The boot file I was referring to is the audio file that is played when the GzOne action video is playing during boot.
 
cool on the battery life. My battery last me just fine right now but i think i'll get rid of that stuff too. I will just move to sd and freeze first to be sure. Just incase they are related to slacker radio which I really like. I removed the original slacker radio from my phone because i couldnt get rid of the widget. Then re downloaded it from market.

Ya if you find a way to get rid of the G'zOne video and sound that would be cool. It just wastes time. Sounds hard but sounds like you know your stuff with phones. Let us know man and keep up the good work!!
 
I renamed the .mp3 sound file and the phone still booted....but it took forever.
I assume it spent much of the time looking for the file.

FYI, this file is located in /system/media/audio/boot/ and is called "wakeup.mp3".

It should be a simple thing to replace it with an mp3 file containing 1-second of silence. Will try this when I get time. Of course, this only silences the boot sequence, it doe not change the video.

As to the video animation, I am reluctant to rename it as it looks like an executable file. That could brick the phone.

Anyone know what type of file this is?
It is located in /system/bin/ and is called "bootanimation".
 
I replaced the wakeup.mp3 file with a 1 second file of silence and the boot audio is now gone. Boots just fine.

I realize this is a crude method of removing it, but it was also damn easy.
Boot time is unchanged.

Here is the file:http://members.cox.net/friesen2/Commando/wakeup.mp3
Right click the link from your browser and "Save Target as" on your PC. Then you can move it to SD and use a file manager to replace the existing file. I renamed the old file as "wakeup.3pm".
 
That's cool now if we can just get that damn video to stop too. lol I just uninstalled the last three things you said. Wont know until tomorrow if they effect my battery life, but

today I took my girlfriend to the rose gardens and beach and we took 194 photos on it and played words with friends for about 45 min and were using slacker radio for the 40 min drive to there and got home 8 hours later with 61%... WOW is all I have to say I thought it would be dead long before that.

Sorry for the extreme Run-on sentence above but my battery test today really kicked some ass.
 
Got a few programs I was wondering if they can be removed:

Live Wallpaper Picker
Setup Wizard 1.0
Setup Wizard 1.3
Talk 1.3
and Xt9 Text Inpu 2.0.0.0 because I use the free Gingerbread keyboard

That all seems like junk I don't need. Plus I've frozen LWP and Xt9 with no problems so far.
 
Oh and my voicemail contact works now but how do you set it to be able to long press a number as a shortcut like you mentioned earlier. Been looking forever!! lol
 
Oregon2 said:
Got a few programs I was wondering if they can be removed:

Live Wallpaper Picker
Setup Wizard 1.0
Setup Wizard 1.3
Talk 1.3
and Xt9 Text Inpu 2.0.0.0 because I use the free Gingerbread keyboard

That all seems like junk I don't need. Plus I've frozen LWP and Xt9 with no problems so far.
Click to expand...

You should be okay with removing the wallpaper stuff, I did that on my original Droid.

Removing the Setup wizard will likely be a mistake.....this is what you use to initialize the phone and perform other setup tasks.

Removing Talk can cause some problems with Google accounts if I recall correctly.

Removing XT9? Not sure. I defeated most of the XT9 functions and use the keyboard as ajust a normal keyboard. If you delete XT9 you will no longer have a keyboard. If you have loaded a keyboard app, it may or may not be fine with removing XT9. You can always remove it and replace it if it causes problems. Thats how I found out I still need it. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom