How to uninstall bloatware on Android?

[GhostRoadieBL]

There's so many default installed apps I don't want anywhere near my device, but can't uninstall or even just disable. Noone can tell me these are core functions of the device which would prevent the OS from operating.

short list:

Amazon Shopping app

AR apps, AR Doodle, AR Emoji, AR Zone

Bixby Service, Bixby vision, Bixby Voice, Voice Wake Up

Deco Pic? Duo, Facebook, Hancom Office Editor?!, One Drive?

 

how do these apps prevent the device from functioning and why can't I uninstall them? Is there a way to uninstall them? also, why are they all separated? surely a single app can handle everything Bixby does or AR apps surely includes the AR apps which follow it.

[RONOTHAN##]

4 minutes ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

Is there a way to uninstall them?

Without rooting, not likely. 

 

4 minutes ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

how do these apps prevent the device from functioning

They don't

 

5 minutes ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

why can't I uninstall them?

They're baked into the actual OS image that was installed on your device from the factory. The actual OS image itself on an Android device is read only, so while the app might not contribute to the base functionality of the device, it's installed in the read only partition and therefore cannot be removed. That's why with rooting, you would be able to remove them, since rooting is basically giving you permission to write to that partition and thus delete those applications.

[OhioYJ]

Depends on the device. Sometimes you can find debloat lists for your particular device (XDA typically has dedicated threads for this).  If you can disable and them and nothing bad happens, then generally you can remove them safely. 

 

If you can't disable them you will likely need to root. If you don't want to root you can see if a debloated ROM is available for your device.  Also keep in mind rooting doesn't have to be permanent, you can unroot your device as well if you are concerned about security. However beware that some devices you can trip say Knox (Samsung) by doing so. 

 

Titanium Backup, an app that used to be an excellent app, but has slowly become less effective as it hasn't been updated in years (and requires root) can be helpful in this stuff as well. As it allows you to "freeze" and "thaw" even system apps to see if stuff breaks before uninstalling stuff. 

 

Generally though if you wanted a debloated device, you want to go with a custom ROM. This allows you to only install what you need. However just my opinion. 

[RONOTHAN##]

6 minutes ago, OhioYJ said:

 

Generally though if you wanted a debloated device, you want to go with a custom ROM. This allows you to only install what you need. However just my opinion. 

Problem with that is that most devices that come with this amount of bloatware preinstalled are usually the carrier specific models, and as far as I'm aware all of them have locked bootloaders that cannot be unlocked, meaning this is not possible. 

[Lord Bloobus]

Root it or don't buy phones with bloatware.

[Levent]

You can actually disable them without root. As long as you are able to get ADB access to the device. XDA has a pretty good writeup.

[GhostRoadieBL]

1 hour ago, RONOTHAN## said:

 are usually the carrier specific models, and as far as I'm aware all of them have locked bootloaders that cannot be unlocked, meaning this is not possible. 

It's pre-CRTC forced unlocked devices so I suspect that's the main problem I'm running into

 

1 hour ago, RONOTHAN## said:

They're baked into the actual OS image that was installed on your device from the factory.

I guess I'm waiting for the CRTC to catch up to the common practices, rooting isn't an option as they are all business owned phones we are trying to clean up.

[OhioYJ]

2 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Problem with that is that most devices that come with this amount of bloatware preinstalled are usually the carrier specific models, and as far as I'm aware all of them have locked bootloaders that cannot be unlocked, meaning this is not possible. 

 

Lots of people unlock bootloaders on carrier specific devices. Custom ROMs are not specifically for unlocked devices.

 

Don't get me wrong, I wish people would stop buying phones through carriers, it makes lots of things easier. I'm currently trying to explain to my mom right now why she needs to buy a new phone to switch carriers.

[RONOTHAN##]

3 minutes ago, OhioYJ said:

 

Lots of people unlock bootloaders on carrier specific devices. Custom ROMs are not specifically for unlocked devices.

 

Don't get me wrong, I wish people would stop buying phones through carriers, it makes lots of things easier. I'm currently trying to explain to my mom right now why she needs to buy a new phone to switch carriers.

Samsung devices in particular are very notorious for having locked down bootloaders, especially on their carrier specific models. If you try to unlock them it just says "Sorry, that's unavailable" and you can't get the necessary keys to unlock your phones.

 

Yeah the custom ROMs aren't made specifically for the unlocked devices, but they're usually the only ones you can install them on. 

[xAcid9]

On 4/29/2022 at 1:19 AM, GhostRoadieBL said:

There's so many default installed apps I don't want anywhere near my device, but can't uninstall or even just disable. Noone can tell me these are core functions of the device which would prevent the OS from operating.

short list:

Amazon Shopping app

AR apps, AR Doodle, AR Emoji, AR Zone

Bixby Service, Bixby vision, Bixby Voice, Voice Wake Up

Deco Pic? Duo, Facebook, Hancom Office Editor?!, One Drive?

 

how do these apps prevent the device from functioning and why can't I uninstall them? Is there a way to uninstall them? also, why are they all separated? surely a single app can handle everything Bixby does or AR apps surely includes the AR apps which follow it.

you can use adb + command.

 

Or you can use https://github.com/0x192/Universal-Android-Debloater

You need to setup adb with systemwide access first for it to work. 

 

No need to root your device, just need USB Debugging enabled.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

On 4/28/2022 at 10:46 AM, Lord Bloobus said:

Root it or don't buy phones with bloatware.

When you release Android has basically become the Windows of the mobile phone world. Hard to optimize and typically full of bloat from the factory.

 

That just popped into my head...

[Xiee]

Sadly, a lot of the bloatware that companies (like Samsung) include in their phones can't be uninstalled. You can disable some of them at best, but if you really want to run stock android, root the phone and go the extra mile and use a custom firmware.

[IPD]

And this is why I steer clear of Google and Samsung phones if I can help it.  Sony never gave me grief.  I can literally disable every app--if I can't delete them outright.