Disable Apps (Bloatware) to speed-up and stabilize! - Asus Transformer TF700

I have the Infinity - US version but running in Italy.
After experiencing some stuttering in audio playback and apps freezing - Launcher, News 360 and YouTube - I checked out the Asus Taskmanager Widget and found a few Apps running that I considered unnecessary, the key ones being [email protected] and PixWe. These two kept re-launching themselves even when I killed the task. They didn't start immediately but something triggered them!
Using the feature in ICS which allows you to disable apps, even those built into the ROM, I was able to get my Infinity to perform as it should. There were some apps which had been updated so all that was required for these was to uninstall the updates and restore them to the Factory version.
The procedure then, is as follows:
1. In the Settings, choose Apps and then ALL
2. Select the app you want to disable and clear the cache and any data it may have stored.
3. Force Stop the app and then tap the Disable button. You will probably get a message that doing so may cause problems with other apps, blah, blah, blah. Just click OK and then proceed to the next app.
The Apps I Disabled:
Amazon Kindle
ASUS E-mail
Asus Facebook Poster
ASUS MyZine
ASUS Sync
[email protected]
Black Hole
Chrome
com.asus.pcsynclauncher
Google+
MEar
My Uploads
MyCloud
MyNet
PixWe
PressReader
Splashtop Remote
Tags
Talk
TalkBack
TegraZone Games
WebStorage
Zinio
I would suggest rebooting the tablet after you have disabled the apps just to make sure that unwanted apps are disabled and any associated task killed. You should find that what you have disabled remains so even after a reboot.
Of course some of the apps I disabled may be useful to you so you may not want to disable them. I would suggest disabling what you don't need or, if someone has more patience than I, try each app until they find the culprit causing the system to halt, stutter, etc.
I did this yesterday and up until now I can say that things are running extremely well. I hope that this proves helpful to someone and maybe even gives some of the devs a list of problem causing bloatware.

Thanks for this, there are a few interesting posts here and there on this too, so we could probably merge them into a nice list here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1091442
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1807454
http://www.transformerforums.com/forum/applications/20011-asus-bloatware-crapware-can-disabled.html
And personally I'd add CMClient to that list:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1833442

d14b0ll0s said:
Thanks for this, there are a few interesting posts here and there on this too, so we could probably merge them into a nice list here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1091442
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1807454
http://www.transformerforums.com/forum/applications/20011-asus-bloatware-crapware-can-disabled.html
And personally I'd add CMClient to that list:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1833442
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first two links relate to rooted and unlocked devices. This would be the path to take if were not worried about losing your warranty!
I thought that what I offered would cater to those who didn't want to root or unlock. For now it's a shortcut but personally I am waiting for further development of custom ROMS and especially JellyBean, assuming of course Asus doesn't offer an OTA for JellyBean first!

Sure, good point. But to add some info for rooted users: you can just go to /system/app/ and do sth like mkdir backups and then mv AppName.* backup/ for all you want to (temporarily) get rid of. It's better if it stays on the system partition, so it has the same permissions. Of course you could also change the permissions to sth like 600 and change the file name to sth like (apk|odex).bak, in case something will be looking for the filename in different paths.
These can be done in managers like Root Explorer, not necessarily the shell, of course.
(damn, ran out of thanks again, they could set a higher limit really ;>)

Why did you disable Chrome? It isn't installed by default so you would have installed it via the Play Store.

almostinsane said:
Why did you disable Chrome? It isn't installed by default so you would have installed it via the Play Store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure how I got it, now that you ask. I'll try to enable it and then try to uninstall. Thanks for picking that up.
Looks like it is a default app. I'm only able to disable it. It does not give the option to uninstall!

This is good advice. I had to recently factory reset because the background apps were killing my battery and my tablet's performance (Apex would literally crash every 5 minutes). Now my battery life is much better and performance is more buttery smooth. Really wish that there was a nice App that could just optimize my tablet and do all this in one touch.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app

E = Excellent!
I tried this!
Very good tip..
The boat browser is smoother I'm noticing.
Thank you

almostinsane said:
Why did you disable Chrome? It isn't installed by default so you would have installed it via the Play Store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, Chrome is installed by default...
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2

I have to say, i couldn't disable all the bloatware, but the ones i could disable like the Asus sync stuff,...it really helped speed up my tablet. If recommend doing this

jrkart99 said:
I have to say, i couldn't disable all the bloatware, but the ones i could disable like the Asus sync stuff,...it really helped speed up my tablet. If recommend doing this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't disable any unwanted app, i took a screenshot to show you guys. What gives?
http://www.imgur.com/IsQyg.jpeg

Vo01985 I think you need to uninstall the updates and then the option to disable will appear. Try it.

Yes that seems to be it, thanks.

Glad I could finally help someone. Have fun with the Infinity a lot better then the Prime

Wow, disabling the bloatware really does help... I followed your list and disabled most of the same apps, except a few that I do use (ie. Kindle). It's much snappier now, and I haven't had a lockup yet.
Thanks!!

Hi,
I have also clean my, tablet but now i have lost the Asus widget that was displaying the date of current day. Does somebody know what app i have to reactivate ?
Thanks in advance
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app

Ghorin look at the bottom of the column that lists all apps and should see the ones you disabled. From there you can re-enable them. Hope this helps

littlejohn07 said:
Ghorin look at the bottom of the column that lists all apps and should see the ones you disabled. From there you can re-enable them. Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks littlejohn07 i have activated the date Asus clock and my widget is back
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app

Mine started to lag quite a bit when I used Go Launcher EX. As soon as I uninstalled it and deleted the cached in Chrome browser, which for some reason accumulated 110mbs of memory and did a cold boot everything is so fast and smooth again I've always used Go Launchers on all my android devices. It must not be optimized yet...
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app

Even after disabling the apps listed in my original post I was still experiencing lag and the occasional lockup. I thought it my have been "News 360" but this turned out to be victim rather than cause of the problem. I thought it was maybe the "YouTube" app because of the problems I had read that others were having but this too turned out to be a victim as well. Basically browser video playback was causing the tablet to lock up, the launcher to FC and even forcing reboots.
The problem app was in fact Adobe Flash! I unistalled it last night to test my theory and sure enough EVERYTHING is now fine. Of course it is no longer available as a download on the Play Store and I am wary of trying to reinstall / sideload it from another source. The version that I had installed was 11.1.1 . If anyone knows of the existence of a more recent version could they post a link?
In the end it's not an essential app for me but it does make some of the older sites a bit more usable until they fully update to HTML5.

Related

Auto killer

Does anybody know of a good autokiller app (non-rooted)?
Preferably one that lists the apps, then I can just select the apps I want it to autokill and prevent from automatically restarting in the background. I know there's a few out there, but they're rather advanced for me, requiring you to set the data that each type of startup can use (I think that's how they work, anyways).
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
benb70 said:
Does anybody know of a good autokiller app (non-rooted)?
Preferably one that lists the apps, then I can just select the apps I want it to autokill and prevent from automatically restarting in the background. I know there's a few out there, but they're rather advanced for me, requiring you to set the data that each type of startup can use (I think that's how they work, anyways).
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is recommended not to use auto killers on Android. Android is very well capable to manage memory itself. You can find information about this here on XDA, or google the internet for articles.
Sent from my Eee Pad Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App.
wanahave said:
It is recommended not to use auto killers on Android. Android is very well capable to manage memory itself. You can find information about this here on XDA, or google the internet for articles.
Sent from my Eee Pad Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that may be so but i myself would still prefer to hav the option to auto kill 3rd party apps.
i dont want to interfere with Andoird system apps or the OS itself but i would love to have the option to auto kill any 3rd party apps that i myself initiated or downloaded.
sometimes there are other apps and games where i started, they are in memory and still running beause ihit home instead of back button or exit and sometimes that adds up and its a pain to have to reopen them one by one and clsoe or exit them.
a 3rd party app killer that only read the apps in the 3rd party app list in Android and avoided any system or core apps would be lovely. also if it had the option of setting up custom lists where you could ignore specific 3rd party apps as well.
The transformer is my first Android device. I don't like the fact that there isn't an easy to just close an app you are done with. I don't care how efficient Android is at managing memory, thats no the point. If I am done playing a movie or Angry Birds then just give me the option to close the app. Yes you can go into setting & do a force closure but it shouldn't have to be that way.
jadesse said:
The transformer is my first Android device. I don't like the fact that there isn't an easy to just close an app you are done with. I don't care how efficient Android is at managing memory, thats no the point. If I am done playing a movie or Angry Birds then just give me the option to close the app. Yes you can go into setting & do a force closure but it shouldn't have to be that way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you hit back until it goes all the way back to the home screen then the app/game is fully closed.
If you hit home, it's going to be running in the background.

Missing Market Apps

Hi all, I have read a lot about missing apps in the market, but it seams to me that there is an unusually high number missing from my rooted Kindle....
Could someone please confirm if the following apps are also missing from their market?
Be Weather
Weather Bug
Go Launcher EX
Dolphin Browser HD
Weight Watchers Mobile (the official app)
I see themes for a lot of these, but not the main apps.
Also, I tried the fix.apk file that I have used on my phone, but it didn't get me what I was hoping for. Thanks
Don't have a fire yet, but can confirm from a few other places that these were removed from the Amazon marketplace for the Fire. You can still sideload them though. Seems this was done a few days ago once everyone started posting that this was a way to get rid of the carousel.
I noticed that, too. There's obviously some sort of filtering going on.
//Tapatalk.KindleFire//
dspcap said:
Hi all, I have read a lot about missing apps in the market, but it seams to me that there is an unusually high number missing from my rooted Kindle....
Could someone please confirm if the following apps are also missing from their market?
Be Weather
Weather Bug
Go Launcher EX
Dolphin Browser HD
Weight Watchers Mobile (the official app)
I see themes for a lot of these, but not the main apps.
Also, I tried the fix.apk file that I have used on my phone, but it didn't get me what I was hoping for. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not on mine either. Perhaps since the Fire isn't one the "compatible" list they are not even available to download.
MichaelVash7886 said:
Don't have a fire yet, but can confirm from a few other places that these were removed from the Amazon marketplace for the Fire. You can still sideload them though. Seems this was done a few days ago once everyone started posting that this was a way to get rid of the carousel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have side loaded done apps, but note all work. Thanks
Sent from my ADR6300 using xda premium
Thanks everyone sounds like the market is also very limited.
Sent from my ADR6300 using xda premium
i have go launcher ex and dolphin hd running right now. I did sideload them, i just did it when i was sideloading all the google apps and such. You might do some apk searches on the web. Otherwise it may take a couple weeks for them to be available for the fire (widgetlocker has already updated for the fire, for example).
The Android Market does not contain all of the available apps. It only contains apps that are compatible for your device. So if you have a Kindle Fire it will only show you apps they are compatible with the KFire. That does not mean that you cannot sideload those apps from the Internet.
But, not all sideloaded apps work though.
Sent from my Kindle Fire using xda premium
When I first got my Kindle, I was able to download Go Launcher Ex from the App Store, then when I had a friend get it, it was gone. Ended up sideloading it, but yes, there appears to be a filter.
It really would be quite awesome if there was a way to override this filtering in the android market for those that are rooted. I would love to take my chances.
Google Voice App Receives, but no way to send texts
I read through all FOUR pages of the Kindle Fire forum but did not see anything about this.
I have successfully installed (side loaded) Google Market and Maps on a rooted Fire. I also installed Google Voice (all apk's from my EVO).
GV runs and displays incoming texts, but there is no way to write or send a text. When you click on a text conversation, it opens but there is no text box to write in.
Clicking menu does not give a "compose" option.
Since GV sends texts over the Internet, I am puzzled why this does not work.
I downloaded another texting app and that one does work, but it gives you yet another "phone" number, which just confuses my contacts (they dont know who is texting them).
Anyone got GV working?

How to detach an app from the Play Store

Right, I'm a PowerAMP pro user, but with a pretty old phone. The latest app is working but it's slow and sometimes lags. The poweramp site also offers the old 1.4 version which works right for me. Now, all is fine and dandy but I;m a bit annoyed by the app always showing up there to be updated. So I searched for a method to detach the app from the market and learnt that the bug has been solved long ago and apps can't be detached. So I tried changing the app's signature, of course with no luck, my android dev skills being close to absolute zero.
So I ask you, is there any way to do this? I am not pirating the app, so don't worry
I'm also trying to convince the developer to make an unsigned version of the app specifically for old timers like me, but with no success until now..
Just use LBE Privacy guard and freeze internet connection permission for this particular app..
So it will not connect to net and not telling you that new version is available..
we all should be polite enough to press thanks for anyone who helped US.
andrei1015 said:
Right, I'm a PowerAMP pro user, but with a pretty old phone. The latest app is working but it's slow and sometimes lags. The poweramp site also offers the old 1.4 version which works right for me. Now, all is fine and dandy but I;m a bit annoyed by the app always showing up there to be updated. So I searched for a method to detach the app from the market and learnt that the bug has been solved long ago and apps can't be detached. So I tried changing the app's signature, of course with no luck, my android dev skills being close to absolute zero.
So I ask you, is there any way to do this? I am not pirating the app, so don't worry
I'm also trying to convince the developer to make an unsigned version of the app specifically for old timers like me, but with no success until now..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it doesnt need to connect to the internet for anything else you could use droidwall to block it from accessing the playstore
If your rooted you could use blackmart to download the app and never have to update it
Or see the updates notifications saying there's an update
Sent from my MB865 using XDA Premium HD app
andrei1015 said:
Right, I'm a PowerAMP pro user, but with a pretty old phone. The latest app is working but it's slow and sometimes lags. The poweramp site also offers the old 1.4 version which works right for me. Now, all is fine and dandy but I;m a bit annoyed by the app always showing up there to be updated. So I searched for a method to detach the app from the market and learnt that the bug has been solved long ago and apps can't be detached. So I tried changing the app's signature, of course with no luck, my android dev skills being close to absolute zero.
So I ask you, is there any way to do this? I am not pirating the app, so don't worry
I'm also trying to convince the developer to make an unsigned version of the app specifically for old timers like me, but with no success until now..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know Titanium Backup can detach apps, though I am not sure if it is available in the free version. However, I do recommend the paid version of Titanium Backup anyway.
universeman said:
I know Titanium Backup can detach apps, though I am not sure if it is available in the free version. However, I do recommend the paid version of Titanium Backup anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never been able to make that function actually work and I've tried with several apps that I don't want updates for.
Sent from my M886 using Tapatalk 2
On a related note, is there a way to remove apps from the "My Apps"list? It is really annoying to have to scroll through a list of apps containing tons of apps that you may have tried for a while and then uninstalled when you need to reinstall something. And why is the "My Apps" list in random order and not alphabetical?
"Dark is the night, I'm just a lonesome ol' shootin' star."
Sent from my Paranoid Android JB'd Infuse 4G using Tapatalk 2
lunarlandr said:
On a related note, is there a way to remove apps from the "My Apps"list? It is really annoying to have to scroll through a list of apps containing tons of apps that you may have tried for a while and then uninstalled when you need to reinstall something. And why is the "My Apps" list in random order and not alphabetical?
"Dark is the night, I'm just a lonesome ol' shootin' star."
Sent from my Paranoid Android JB'd Infuse 4G using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know (and after some quick Googling), there is no way to remove any apps from the giant "My Apps" list. However, I use the Appbrain android market replacement, and it lets you customize your lists and sort them better. You can remove devices from view though.
universeman said:
As far as I know (and after some quick Googling), there is no way to remove any apps from the giant "My Apps" list. However, I use the Appbrain android market replacement, and it lets you customize your lists and sort them better. You can remove devices from view though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I will definitely look into that and continue to research the issue as well. If I find any other solutions, I won't hesitate to post an update.
"Dark is the night, I'm just a lonesome ol' shootin' star."
Sent from my Paranoid Android JB'd Infuse 4G using Tapatalk 2

Apps launch and then quit. Pulling my hair out. *SOLVED!*

Bing, News, Amazon Kindle are a few apps which launch for one second and then quit. Even mail and people tiles do not update any longer and live tiles stop working. I have uninstalled these apps and reinstalled them where they begin to work again for a bit and then start playing up again. I have refreshed pc and still same problems. Also in Notifications tab in PC Settings, where it says Show notifications from these apps, there is nothing listed. They were listed after a refresh and no longer there.
I have all the latest updates installed and I think that is where the problem is. I bet one update is causing the problems. I feel like refreshing again and not installing any kb updates or firmware updates. Really really frustrated.
Any ideas? Solutions? Magic words?
Sounds awful. Do you have a stable WiFi connection? I have noticed that the Surface wants good connection or she gets weird. Surfing the web ok? Don't have to tap links multiple times to go anyware?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
wardh said:
Sounds awful. Do you have a stable WiFi connection? I have noticed that the Surface wants good connection or she gets weird. Surfing the web ok? Don't have to tap links multiple times to go anyware?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WiFi is good.
Did you recently change your mSD card ?
tboy2000 said:
Bing, News, Amazon Kindle are a few apps which launch for one second and then quit. Even mail and people tiles do not update any longer and live tiles stop working. I have uninstalled these apps and reinstalled them where they begin to work again for a bit and then start playing up again. I have refreshed pc and still same problems. Also in Notifications tab in PC Settings, where it says Show notifications from these apps, there is nothing listed. They were listed after a refresh and no longer there.
I have all the latest updates installed and I think that is where the problem is. I bet one update is causing the problems. I feel like refreshing again and not installing any kb updates or firmware updates. Really really frustrated.
Any ideas? Solutions? Magic words?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you contacted Microsoft or Amazon about those apps? Maybe it's the HW and you need to exchange? Unless you want to wipe everything as a last resort use alternative apps until that's sorted or the web browser. For news I would use this aggregator called news republic instead of the default app because it's faster at loading up, playing videos, and opening up articles. I don't use Bing, people, mail, or amazon kindle. Don't think there's anything that gets you live tiles n does everything those programs do. So it seems nothing you can really do.
Their is a Microsoft fixit for windows store apps not launching, a simple search will find it. If it tells you that it found corrupted files then a complete reset is in order. Also if you have done any of the tweaks, some of them can cause instability. If you have then retroactively undo the tweaks until you find the cause.
Ok I solved the problem. A simple refresh of the pc was not enough as it does not delete your apps or databases. I there chose to remove everything and reinstall the os which DOES delete the apps and data. This solved the crashing apps and non syncing mail/dead live tiles. I guess due to some corrupt data for the apps.

Google Search = Super Lag

Has anyone noticed that when actually using the Google app, it is horrendously slow and laggy? Scrolling is especially bad if you look up an actor or musician...It's really the only app I have noticed this with, and unfortunately its one of the most important.
I've tried this with stock, BitOBSessiOn's kernels, ect, and haven't seen a difference. I'm ready to ask Nvidia what the deal is...
Is this just me, or is anyone else running into this? I might try a screen capture later
Google app/search bar? Hell no!!
This is the first thing I deactivate on all my devices.
Google app is essentially a spy app. Everything you do is monitored.. thus it slows down the performance of your device.
If you need to search use Chrome, another browser or a file explorer like normal people.
Niii4 said:
Google app/search bar? Hell no!!
This is the first thing I deactivate on all my devices.
Google app is essentially a spy app. Everything you do is monitored.. thus it slows down the performance of your device.
If you need to search use Chrome, another browser or a file explorer like normal people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the input. Putting the whole spyware / free services / ect argument aside, I like using Google's services, they can spy on me if they want, they'll be bored - I just want it to work correctly.
"work correctly". How? when the app is monitoring and slowing down everything else?

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