Stock rom free from sony bloatware? - Xperia Z2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello
I find my Z2 pretty much as Samsung S3 heavy bloated with apps i do not want. Some of them cant be uninstalled.
For my S3 there was a custom stock rom with the ability to check what apps i wanted and not.
Or is there any application that can clean my phone from sony,s bloatware?
I find this annoying every time i buy a new phone. Same with computers. Therefore i build my own computers.

Root the phone (use this) and then uninstall the unwanted system apps.

Thewiruz said:
Hello
I find my Z2 pretty much as Samsung S3 heavy bloated with apps i do not want. Some of them cant be uninstalled.
For my S3 there was a custom stock rom with the ability to check what apps i wanted and not.
Or is there any application that can clean my phone from sony,s bloatware?
I find this annoying every time i buy a new phone. Same with computers. Therefore i build my own computers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which customization country version do you have?
There are a few stock country ftf which have least bloatware, such as UK and Canada (I'm using Canada) for instance.

Related

[Q] Safe to remove apps?

Has anyone compiled a list of the safe-to-remove apps for the AT&T GSII along with corresponding .apk filenames, yet? I've already removed a number of them via Root Explorer, using the list of removed apps from Cognition's rom, but there's a couple that still remain and I'm wondering if they're ok to remove or not. A full list would be best, though I'm mainly wondering about:
Kies Air
Featured Apps
Social Hub
AT&T Hot Spots (doesn't show in app list, but still shows as a running app for me)
Don't know...I saw that AT&T Hot Spots wasn't actually in the drawer but it shows up as a running app too. I don't plan on removing Kies Air or the Social Hub (for the moment) but I'd like to remove "Featured Apps" but when I go into Titanium Backup it'll ask me if I'm sure I want to do this since it's part of the framework so I've backed off of it for now...I'd like to know about these 4 apps and if they're safe to remove as well.
I used root explorer and did it manually. I lost count how many I ripped out.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
joeybear23 said:
I would like to keep a running list of AT&T-delivered apps from the stock ROM that are safe to freeze/uninstall without causing any loss of essential functionality.
Amazon Kindle
AP Mobile
AT&T Code Scanner
AT&T Family Map
AT&T Hotspots (if you do not use it)
AT&T Navigator
Buddies Now
City ID
Digital Clock
Dual Clock
Featured Apps
Live TV
Media Hub (not AT&T Bloatware, rather Samsung-delivered)
Mini Diary
Mini Paper
QIK Lite (if you do not use stock video chat)
Yahoo Finance
YP
If you have any apps that you have removed and run problem free for at least 48 hours, please let me know and I will update the list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From this thread.
Honestly I'd recommend installing Titanium Backup and doing a backup before you remove ANY apps. You simply never know if you might need them down the road for something. Sure 99% of the AT&T crap is crap, but there's no reason not to back them up first.
Also, if you're worried about it, buy the PRO version (of TB) and simply freeze ones you don't want to use. This isn't deleting them, it simply disables them.
Kadin said:
Honestly I'd recommend installing Titanium Backup and doing a backup before you remove ANY apps. You simply never know if you might need them down the road for something. Sure 99% of the AT&T crap is crap, but there's no reason not to back them up first.
Also, if you're worried about it, buy the PRO version (of TB) and simply freeze ones you don't want to use. This isn't deleting them, it simply disables them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the PRO version. I know about freezing but I was being lazy and I know there are much more adventurous people than me who've gone ahead and ripped things out. I didn't want to do the freeze app, okay seems safe to remove, repeat per next app deal. Like I said, I'm lazy...
Some of these At&t apps i cant find under root explorer, for example featured apps. what would be the file name for featured apps?
re: bloat/system apps
Smoghog said:
Has anyone compiled a list of the safe-to-remove apps for the AT&T GSII along with corresponding .apk filenames, yet? I've already removed a number of them via Root Explorer, using the list of removed apps from Cognition's rom, but there's a couple that still remain and I'm wondering if they're ok to remove or not. A full list would be best, though I'm mainly wondering about:
Kies Air
Featured Apps
Social Hub
AT&T Hot Spots (doesn't show in app list, but still shows as a running app for me)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to uninstall even more bloatware you need to get the app called
"SystemAppRemover" from the market. (everything will show up with this).
It makes it very easy to uninstall most any system apps.
The app has other functions too.
It's also best to flash a Nandroid backup of your rom before uninstalling
bloatware/system apps.
(use CWM Manager or CWM Recovery and NOT rom manager for backing up).
Good luck!

[Q] How to Remove bloatware and unnecessary services?

I am running android 4.0.3 on a Samsung galaxy s2 from vodafone and will like to have a light firmware. What processes or apps can I remove without affecting the way the phone functions (i.e. google partner setup). Is it possible to create a program to remove all unwanted processes without flashing a new ROM.
I'll also like to increase the connectivity speed to HSPA+.
Addition of new information.
I came across this article on XDA's main page and thought I share it. It is self explanatory and I think it should work on any version. Please any question should be directed to the forum OP. Enjoy
Broadway's thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2058944
Article on XDA: http://www.xda-developers.com/androi...-via-recovery/
red.hat said:
I am running android 4.0.3 on a Samsung galaxy s2 from vodafone and will like to have a light firmware. What processes or apps can I remove without affecting the way the phone functions (i.e. google partner setup). Is it possible to create a program to remove all unwanted processes without flashing a new ROM.
I'll also like to increase the connectivity speed to HSPA+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have found a way. Fyi, flash Sale's, neat rom lite
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
My favorite app is called titanium backup, it lets you remove everything you want and if you make a mistake you can restore what you deleted. The freeze option on the paid version is really good.
Titanium Backup is easily the most useful app for any rooted phone. The paid version is not much better than the free version, other than giving the developer some support and appreciation. It lets you freeze apps so they no longer appear in your app drawer, and even uninstall bloatware that you specifically select. It's a must have and it will definitely save you more than once! Hope this helps
Ryan_28 said:
Titanium Backup is easily the most useful app for any rooted phone. The paid version is not much better than the free version, other than giving the developer some support and appreciation. It lets you freeze apps so they no longer appear in your app drawer, and even uninstall bloatware that you specifically select. It's a must have and it will definitely save you more than once! Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

remove bloatware from the snapdragon s9 plus

Is there anyway to remove any bloatware on the u.s. version Samsung Galaxy s9 plus model without root? Thanks In advance!!!
use package disable pro or Adhell 3 to disable unwanted apps.
Flashing the U1 firmware also could also help get rid of bloatware (carrier and/or otherwise).
Hi
vishnu8058 said:
use package disable pro or Adhell 3 to disable unwanted apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes,
I have used this, great to disable and/or renable samsung apps.
Ken
I like to use adb to get rid of bloat and some system apps. I'm using it while I still can? . I'm guessing it will be going away sometime soon, just like fastboot.
When that happens I most likely will be looking into the latest IOS jailbreak, which I recently learned is not so bad and is more than installing an app as I used to say, lol

LG V30 Stock Debloat!? Help needed!

Hey Folks,
I'm working on Stock right now and have trouble with debloating the Firmware. For example:
Code:
delete_recursive("/system/media/bootanimation.zip");
delete_recursive("/system/media/bootanimation_decrypting.zip");
delete_recursive("/system/media/bootanimation_plus.zip");
delete_recursive("/system/media/bootanimation_prime.zip");
delete_recursive("/system/media/shutdownanimation.zip");
delete_recursive("/product/media/bootanimation.zip");
delete_recursive("/product/media/bootanimation_decrypting.zip");
delete_recursive("/product/media/bootanimation_plus.zip");
delete_recursive("/product/media/bootanimation_prime.zip");
delete_recursive("/product/media/shutdownanimation.zip");
Does not remove the Animations on Startups and Shutdowns (Taken from My Updater Script). I'm also not able to remove some of the System Apps (Most is already removed). Can anyone guide me to the right locations? I'm pretty busy right now with other stuff and that would help alot! Thanks in advance
You can also submit 3rd Party Bloat from Your Firmwares. I remember from My LG G5 there was something like /opt folders and other stuff we don't want on our Devices. Brutal how deeply this firmwares are bloated. Just as bad as Samsung (At least we get Snapdragons World Wide and not this exynos crap)...
Alright, i found out the stuff is in /system/product. Everything is fine now, i'll leave the Info for People who are searching for this...
Miustone said:
Brutal how deeply this firmwares are bloated. Just as bad as Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, totally disagree with you.
1) Maybe our definition of bloatware is different if you think stuff like 0:05 (5 seconds) shutdown animation is "bloatware". Seriously?
"delete_recursive("/system/media/shutdownanimation.zip"
2) Depends on which V30 variant you are using. US998 is not bloated. Yes, the carrier models are, like AT&T H931 or Verizon VS996 have carrier bloatware. But once rooted, easy to freeze that stuff in Titanium Backup. In fact, people often Frankenstein to US998 to quickly debloat the carrier versions.
On US998, the only thing I saw fit to freeze was Twitter. I have an account but don't really use it.
If you don't use Facebook you can freeze that also.
The Anxious V30 Magisk mod replaced the stock YouTube with Vanced YouTube. I think everyone in the world uses YouTube, so not really bloatware.
Sure you can remove the wallpapers and stuff, as I have my own -- but every phone has stock wallpapers. I wouldn't describe that as "brutal".
ChazzMatt said:
Sorry, totally disagree with you.
1) Maybe our definition of bloatware is different if you think stuff like 0:05 (5 seconds) shutdown animation is "bloatware". Seriously?
"delete_recursive("/system/media/shutdownanimation.zip"
2) Depends on which V30 variant you are using. US998 is not bloated. Yes, the carrier models are, like AT&T H931 or Verizon VS996 have carrier bloatware. But once rooted, easy to freeze that stuff in Titanium Backup. In fact, people often Frankenstein to US998 to quickly debloat the carrier versions.
On US998, the only thing I saw fit to freeze was Twitter. I have an account but don't really use it.
If you don't use Facebook you can freeze that also.
The Anxious V30 Magisk mod replaced the stock YouTube with Vanced YouTube. I think everyone in the world uses YouTube, so not really bloatware.
Sure you can remove the wallpapers and stuff, as I have my own -- but every phone has stock wallpapers. I wouldn't describe that as "brutal".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to protect LG. They do just get cash from Facebook, Amazon and Co like Samsung does, i don't see a difference after owning a S9+ recently. And it isn't done with a Freeze of the Facebook App. There are other Services running that You can't stop without Root. I don't get the Reason for You post at all... I was asking for Debloat Tipps and not for Opinions about the "Definition of Bloatware"... I also don't support YouTube Vanced or other Apps that Support AdBlocking on Google Services and such. So YouTube isn't bloat but i'll let the Users decide what they want to use. You can also reach YouTube from Chrome and other Browsers (So no need for such Apps at all). If You ask Me is everything Bloat that isn't essential for the OS to run. You can't replace the Dialer for example but You could replace the Browser with a WebView "Browser", or replace all Apps from Google that You can reach over the Web...
Bloat can also be the definition of OEM Apps since Google does already provide all essential User Apps for Android over the Play Store. So don't get Me wrong but i just wanted to get a list of Locations with Apps, not a Discussion about who uses Facebook or that or that App.
I remember there was Spyware from LG that was unwanted from many Users, i also found a folder called /opt in the past which was loaded with Carrier Apps or such. That's the stuff i'm actually searching for since My Users can choose between any Pie OS which contains from Firmware to Firmware different bloat if I'm not wrong. Looks like i need to wait for feedback....
Miustone said:
You don't need to protect LG. They do just get cash from Facebook, Amazon and Co like Samsung does, i don't see a difference after owning a S9+ recently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S9 doesn't have quad DAC, for one.
I know you weren't asking for definition of bloatware, but you obviously needed one from your code example of classifying a 5 second useful shutdown animation as bloatware.
Miustone said:
If You ask Me is everything Bloat that isn't essential for the OS to run.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true. There are lots of features this phone has which have nothing to do with the OS running, like Qi wireless charging, which is not bloatware and reasons I bought this phone.
Features like Always On Display (AOD) -- not essential for OS to run -- are useful and are not bloatware.
If your bloatware philosophy is that stringent, that's what I find strange.

Micromax C1 Bloatware, Virus Removal Guide + Rooting, custom Rom TWRP less

Hi i have had this Phone Micromax C1 since august 2017 and while its quite awful even at its current price point of 4000 Rs about 60$ once you root it and remove all the bloat virus and do some customizations it becomes much more bearable to the point that my peers can often be fooled into believing that it would cost 10000 to buy.
the phone has 2 major ROMs that are worth talking about both of them are technically stock ROMs of the device however while one of them is mainstream the other one is an actually a developer one to one port of android 7.0. have had both ROMs and i can tell while the developer build is much more pleasant, familiar it is terribly optimized(probably not optimized at all) and is thus slow. the mainstream stock ROM is actually quite awful in my opinion the initiator launcher is bad and the only way around it is to use a 3rd party launcher like the Google Now Launcher that I prefer to use.
Once I learnt about how magisk worked the processes of rooting was almost as simple as finding the stock boot.img since the bootloader can easily be unlocked from the developer options and then flashing can be unlocked via fastboot.
Now about what i really wanted to talk about.
i have started to "HATE" Micromax, while the phone was a gift to me since i never had a smartphone beside an even worse Micromax a102 on which i learnt about rooting and all that stuff. i still hate the C1. the hate was due to how bad everything software-wise is about the phone, not just the hardware. Since i didn't know about magisk and there is no twrp for this phone i somehow managed to find this leaked Developer ROM from a website called needrom.com (they used to give ROMs for free back then now they charge a subscription) i really liked the developer ROM because it was essentially stock android though since it was unoptimized and slow i did later switched back to the mainstream version which had virus in it. however, after finding out about magisk i had my phone rooted i was able to uninstall all the bloat that i could see on the surface level like the many Micromax and qiku apks that are either bloat or likey virus package deliverers. because of that, my experience was not that bad.
my experience was not that bad up until September of this year 2019. around this time i noticed an app that i never installed called xhelper i did some investigating about it and found out that it was a virus i tried to remove it since it was installed as a user app however it would install itself again later. around this time i learnt that cam scanner a popular document scanning app had Malicious code inside while i don't use such apps due to an emergency i had to use it and left it in my system, once i found out about the virus news i immediately uninstalled it i had uninstalled it prior to finding the xhelper app while using Greenify. this led me to believe that the virus was installed by Cam Scanner. Later on, while i did freeze it, it probably somehow manage to install another app called firewey which began to slow down my phone and show ads to me, and while i did freeze both of these apps and restrict their permissions it didn't help (there was also a 3rd virus app that i forgot its name). after this factory reset my phone a couple of times but it seemed that the virus and sunken too deep into the android system. i even used SP Flash tools to flash a fresh stock ROM but it didn't help (because Micromax had embedded the virus into the stock ROM i wast sure then but i am now), i actually reverted to the developer ROM i had mentioned earlier. which as i expected was free of virus.
however, it couldn't keep up with the load that apps in 2019 given even though i have no social media apps to speak off except whats app and Reddit (if you could even call them social media apps like Instagram, facebooks, tweeter etc). so i gave up on the developer ROM was walked back into the mainstream ROM while the first day was a breeze is nothing of note happened it was only at night that all the virus embedded into the ROM began to emerge, now i was sure that it was the ROM that was at fault since the developer and mainstream rom have different partition configurations they cannot be upgraded to and fro it requires flashing at bootloader level. this time when the virus emerged i was prepared to deal with them i had many apps that would help me quartine and locate these malicious apps like Greenify, Island, App Ops, Icebox, Link2SD, ES Explorer( and Malware bytes help find the last source of the malicious apps). Each of these apps while not mandatory with many alternatives available were a big help in the process of Quarantine and Removal.
As of now, i have my phone rooted with magisk cleaned up, in my opinion, all the malware, bloatware and malicious apps and is working well enough that it is still usable.
Apps that i think are Harmfull, have Malicious code in them or are bloatware
xhelper - com.mufc.firechi - confirmed virus
firewey - com.mufc.firewey - confirmed virus
initiator launcher - com.android.launcher3 - requires unreasonable permissions
File Browser - com.qiku.filebrowser - likely entry point of all virus since it requires too many permissions unreasonably
System Clean - com.android.sc - confirmed virus
Instruction - com.sprd.instruction.MainActivity - suspicious package name and app name, permissions
Patch System - com.android.core.patchsystem - likely entry point serves no real purpose
all Micromax and QIKU apps none of the Micromax Apps are required for the proper functioning of the device and while many of QIKU apps have suspiciously large permission requirement(because they likely spread the virus) they have better alternatives available
a note to all people who may have this device,
this had been a good device hardware-wise from its current price point of 4000 Rs. however most of its software is terrible and even harmfull to the user in case someone wants a cleaned ROM of this phone ( the one that i am using) please write bellow about your concerns and experience with this phone. while there is no way for me to extract the ROM in my Phone i can create a system partition flash image that can be flashed using the fastboot functions to allow a clean android experience.
Hi,.. I am feeling bad and worse about this phone when I realized ,... the users of Micromax mobile are having the same problem. I am trying to uninstall and many things many times. all are helpless. I many times get angry and wanted to throw this mobile away. 3 weeks of time,.. I wasted my times to solve the problem ... to kill Xhelper and Firewey. It seems dangerous and insecure device to me. I should never buy this mobile from India.
thanapon.thailand said:
Hi,.. I am feeling bad and worse about this phone when I realized ,... the users of Micromax mobile are having the same problem. I am trying to uninstall and many things many times. all are helpless. I many times get angry and wanted to throw this mobile away. 3 weeks of time,.. I wasted my times to solve the problem ... to kill Xhelper and Firewey. It seems dangerous and insecure device to me. I should never buy this mobile from India.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand how hard can it be to get stuck with such a phone and not be able to do anything about it. it's even worse when its the only phone you have and then you get into a boot loop trying to fix the problems of the said device. one of my worst experiences with this phone is of soft bricking it while i was trying to get rid of the virus, having to wipe all user data then realizing that the 4.12 gb backup of user data is corrupted as well as my google drive backup of whats app. it turns out that my 4.12gb of user data backup that i directly made on phone got corrupted since fat32 systems cant handle more than 4gb file sizes. i concluded this was the issue since the backup was supposed to be of 4.12 GB but it was exact 4.00 GB
mx
jumbofreak said:
Do you know if the mainstream with xhelp/firewey on it still available somewhere for me to download, i have another brand with similar problem i want to check. Could you please provide link . Also, if you know could you tell me where this phone was bought and did you see ad pop ups after installing something or started on its own ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still have the xhelper or firewey titanium apps backups if that is what you were asking for. This phone was bought in Maharastra, India from an authorised dealer. the ad pop-ups started appearing on its own and even after wiping the ROM and installing the stock ROM fresh the help and firewey apks were installed automatically within half a day as long as there was an internet connection available and once the firewey app is installed the pop-ups start as well. though i should also mention that in this particular model there is also a system app called software update that also shows notification ads but is easily uninstallable with no repercussions
manav907 said:
I still have the xhelper or firewey titanium apps backups if that is what you were asking for. This phone was bought in Maharastra, India from an authorised dealer. the ad pop-ups started appearing on its own and even after wiping the ROM and installing the stock ROM fresh the help and firewey apks were installed automatically within half a day as long as there was an internet connection available and once the firewey app is installed the pop-ups start as well. though i should also mention that in this particular model there is also a system app called software update that also shows notification ads but is easily uninstallable with no repercussions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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