[HOW TO] Remove bloatware

[qoncept]

Once your Droid X is rooted, you can start to remove some of the crap Verizon and Motorola decided to make a quick buck off of. You'll need to have ADB or a terminal emulator (I suggest Better Terminal) from the market. You should be at least a little familiar from rooting.

Before I go on, I want to note a few things. READ THIS:
1) The method we are using here is RENAMING the files. That way, if you decide you want an app back, you can rename the file back to it's original name.
2) If you're not sure what an app is or what it does, don't touch it! Several people have changed a file they weren't sure about and it affected the phone in some way they didn't realize.
3) Further, understand that removing some apps will break functionality in others. They interact in ways you can't predict. If you have a problem, rename the file back.
4) Don't touch BackupAssistantClient.apk. Apparently it can cause a huge disaster when doing a system recovery. Leave it alone.

The Easy Way
If you don't mind paying (I think it's $1.99) for Root Explorer, get it from the Android Market. Open it.
- Press the Mount r/w button first
- Click the system folder
- Click the app folder
- You should now see /system/app at the top of the screen
- Long press on the app you want to rename, then change .apk to .bak


The Free Way
If you're using ADB (and remember, you're not asking in this thread what that means), with your Droid X plugged in, open a command prompt on your computer and type:
adb shell

Now, in either ADB or terminal, type (Thanks biggestmexi):
su
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system

You're now ready to start removing/moving the apps you don't want. To get a list:
cd /system/app
ls

You'll notice most look more or less like the names you see in the app drawer. Pick out the ones you don't want and use the command below to rename them (we're renaming instead of deleting so you can rename them back if you break something). If you're not sure what something is, I'd recommend NOT renaming it. Renaming the CityID, for example:
mv CityID.apk CityID.bak

CityID.apk is, obviously, the name of the app. After renaming it to .bak, Android won't recognize it as an app. After you're finished, update the list of apps Android sees:
sync


What file should I rename?

You can check with Android Mate by selecting system apps tab, and long press for properties. It'll tell you the file name.

Did you delete something?
You can download all of the apks from /system/app here:
http://www.hawkeye411.com/droidx/systemapp.zip
!

Or here:
Droid X System Dump for those who deleted apps without backing up

[qoncept]

Do NOT remove BackupAssistantClient.apk, HelpCenter.apk or ANY files starting with "Blur"

Here's a list of apps you might want to remove. Remember, these filenames are CASE SENSITIVE.

• CarDock.apk
• CityID.apk
• MyVerizon.apk
• Skype_mobile.live.apk
• Vvm.apk
• WorkContacts.apk
• amazonmp3_1.7.22_signed_zipaligned.apk
• Blockbuster.apk
• Mynet.apk (3G Mobile Hotspot)
• MotoGAL.apk (Corporate Directory)

If you renamed the Backupassistantclient.apk, you can change it back by reversing the filenames above. If you've deleted it, steven.rn was kind enough to upload a copy: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/att...anceclient.zip

[Smackbox.org]

Sweet deal! Thanks. I was just thinking about that!

[nanoera]

Help.
I was able to move some apps from /system/app to another directory /system/app.disable (created myself).
I did not do sync command. After reboot, the /system/app does not give permission (even under root) to chmod, move, or rename anything.
Why?
Thanks.

[qoncept]

You'll have to type su again every time you reboot, maybe every time you open terminal/adb.

[nanoera]

You'll have to type su again every time you reboot, maybe every time you open terminal/adb.

I did. Even on the phone in the terminal.

Permission:
/system: drwxr-xr-x root
/system/app: drwxr-xr-x root
/system/app.disable: drwxrwxrwx root

When:
mv Mynet.apk ../app.disable

It gives error:
failed on 'Mynet.apk' - Read-only file system

mount gives:
rootfs / rootfs ro 0 0
...

Read only...
How to change to rw?

I already have wifi tether and SetCPU running, plus several bloatwares in the app.disable directory, so the X should have been rooted.

Thoughts?

[biggestmexi]

You'll notice most look more or less like the names you see in the app drawer. Pick out the ones you don't want and use the command below to rename them (we're renaming instead of deleting so you can rename them back if you break something). If you're not sure what something is, I'd recommend NOT renaming it. Renaming the CityID, for example:
mv CityID.apk CityID.bak

CityID.apk is, obviously, the name of the app. After renaming it to .bak, Android won't recognize it as an app. After you're finished, update the list of apps Android sees:
sync

That's it!

do you mean "NOT removing it. Rename it"?

That why the app will be there no matter what?

Also.

There is A LOT of blur names here for a "non-blur" phone

[biggestmexi]

mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system

do that to mount system to read write.

[biggestmexi]

a couple of questionable ones.

tell me what you think


megamaid.apk

ToggleWidgets.apk are these the blur ones?

Protips.apk is this the homescreen tips widget?

FriendFeed.apk Is this the social messaging widget?

Mynet.apk This might be the 3g thing.

SocialMessaging.apk NM about th one earlier. will taking this out ruin something?

AsService.apk ?????????

BlurUpdater.apk ?????

Calculator.apk who needs the stock pooey one


oh. where is the darn kindle app?

[nanoera]

mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system

do that to mount system to read write.

Thanks a lot!! This works!
Is there any fstab I need to change to prevent it mounting ro again?