Hi,
In my understand, the pre-installed apps are placed on path /system/app, and the /system partition should be read-only partition without rooted, right?
So how the pre-installed apps can be upgraded?
For example, the pre-installed Google Maps app can be updated from Android Market. How it can replace the old Google Maps app with a new one on /system/app? What is the process?
Can someone help me to understand it?
They're installed normally to /data/app, then system uses them instead of files from /system/app. You could have checked this out by yourself.
what is the details about Google maps upgrade?
Hi, Brut
Thank you.
But could you please explain more details? I'm using Motorola ME600, no built-in Google Maps and Android Market. I can't check it by myself.
If the updated apps are installed in /data/app, how can they do that? I mean they should not be installed successfully if the updated apps used the same package name as the olds. It should fail due to the old one still exist. And how about the signature of updated app? Should it same as the old one?
Even the update apps can be installed, how does the system use them to replace the built-ins? I think we should find 2 icons in the Lanucher if they have same main entry. But in fact, there is only one icon. Why?
PS: Sorry, I have no way to find the details by myself. Please give me a hand. Thanks in advance.
I think Android OS treats system apps differently. It knows these apps can't be overwritten directly, so it uses above technique for updating them. It permits to have these apps installed twice and then it ignores system ones. Of course both files have to be signed by the same key.
If you have root, then you could check this by yourself without Market or Maps.
Remount /system .
If you have 0 free space on this partition, then remove something to have at least 100KB.
Create empty app, build it and sign.
"adb push YourApp.apk /system/app/" - Android OS should detect this and install your app. You could see this in the logcat.
"adb install -r YourApp.apk" - Android will install it to /data and use it instead of version installed to /system .
Maybe Android not always prefers /data app, but one with greater versionCode. I don't know, didn't test this.
Thanks, Brut
I followed your suggestion and tried. Yes, system replace the /system one with /data one.
Thank you help me to know this behavior of Android system.
When we download an application from Google Play Store, it downloads and then magically installs on the Android device.
But supposing we do a Factory Reset, or that we upload a new firmware or simply suppose we have another Android device at home and we would like the same application to be installed there too.
Is it possible to somehow maintain the installation files and be able to copy these files off the Android device and then use them on another device?
Yes. An app comes as an 'apk' installer file that can be transferred to another device and installed or re-installed on the same device. But to get the apks of apps installed via Playstore, you will need an app like "App Backup and Restore".
P.S. Sharing apks of paid apps is illegal and not recommended. :good:
immortalneo said:
Yes. An app comes as an 'apk' installer file that can be transferred to another device and installed or re-installed on the same device. But to get the apks of apps installed via Playstore, you will need an app like "App Backup and Restore".
P.S. Sharing apks of paid apps is illegal and not recommended. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this "App Backup" but I am trying to understand the mechanism a bit more.
The apk file is not the end of the story. Try the game "Yesterday". It is a 1GB download, however the .apk is only a few MBs and the rest is the actual game. However this 1GB file comes straight from the app store, so there is a mechanism that App Backup does not cover.
I managed to restore this game by saving the data myself, but every application is different.
HOW TO REMOVE BLOATWARE
Step 1. Root your phone using one of the two methods listed here
ROOT YOUR LG G3
Step 2. Download and install Root Explorer
Play Store
Step 3. Create the following file structure on your internal or external SD CARD
Main Folder: RemovedApps
Sub Folders in RemovedApps:
APP
PRIV-APP
VENDOR
Sub Folder in RemovedApps/Vendor
APP
This step will give you the following folder structure
RemovedApps/APP
RemovedApps/PRIV-APP
RemovedApps/VENDOR/APP
Step 4: Open Root Explorer and use the firs tab to navigate to root/system/ (NOTE: Root Explorer will ask for SuperSU permissions - make sure to give it permission) and the second tab in Root Explorer to Navigate to your newly created RemovedApps Folder
Step 5. use the following list to cut and paste the listed files from your system folder to the RemovedApps Folder NOTE: remember to copy files to corresponding folders IE system/app to RemovedApps/APP and System/vendor/app to RemovedApps/Vendor/APP NOTE: once you try to cut the system files, Root Explorer will ask if you are sure you want to modify system files - say yes
System/app
ATT_Skyfire_Observer.apk
Book.apk - Google Book Store
Books.odex
ChromeWithBrowser.apk - Chrome Browser
ChromeWithBrowser.odex
ELTTest.Apk - Diagnostic Test
ELTTest.odex
Facebook.apk - Facebook
GnssAirTest.apk - GLONASS Airwave Test
GnssAirTest.odex
GnnsPosTest.apk - GLONASS Positioning Test
GnssPosTest.odex
GnssTest.apk - GLONASS Test
GnssTest.odex
GoogleDrive.apk - Google Drive
GoogleDrive.odex
GoogleTTS.apk - Google Text to Speach
GoogleTTS.odex
Hangouts.apk - Google Hangouts
Hangouts.odex
LADDM.apk - Carrier IQ
LGLIA.apk - LG Intelligent Agent
LGLIA.odex
LGPartnerBookmarkProvider.apk
LGPartnerBookmarkProvider.odex
LGWernickeManager.apk
LGWernickeManager.odex
LIAInformant.apk - LG Intelligent Agent Widget
LIAInfromant.odex
Magazines.apk - Google News Stand
Magazines.odex
Maps.apk - Google Maps
Maps.odex
Music2.apk - Google Play Music
Music2.odex
PlusOne.apk - Google+
PlusOne.odex
QuicksetSDK.apk - IR Sensor
Street.apk - Street View
Street.odex
Twitter.apk
Videos.apk - Google Videos
Videos.odex
WVTest.apk - Diagnostic Test
WVTest.odex
youtube.apk
youtube.odex
System/PRIV-APP
AAB.apk
AAB.odex
ATT_DriveMode.apk - AT&T Driver Mode
ATT_Games.apk
ATT_Home.apk
ATT_Locker.apk
ATT_Lookout.apk
ATT_MobileLocate.apk
ATT_RemoteSupport.apk
ATT_SmartWifi.apk
ATT-Caller-NameID.apk
com.mobitv.client.tv.apk - AT&T TV
ISIS_Wallet.apk
LGBackup.apk - Back up fiels to LG
LGBackup.odex
LGBrowser.apk - Stock Browser
LGBrowser.odex
LGConciergeBoard.apk - LG Assistant
LGConciergeBoard.odex
LGConnectionWizard.apk
LGEasyHome.apk - Easy Launcher
LGEasyHome.odex
LGEmail.apk - Stock Email
LGEmail.odex
LGFavoriteContactsWidget.apk
LGFavoriteContactsWidget.odex
LGFileManager.apk
LGFileManager.odex
LGMessage.apk
LGMessage.odex
LGMusic.apk
LGMuisc.odex
LGMusicWidget.apk
LGMusicWidget.odex
LGPCSuite.apk - Share files with PC
LGPCSuite.odex
LGQVoicePlus.apk - Voice command - better to use Google Now
LGQVoicePlus.odex
LGSmartWorld.apk
LGSmartWorld.odex
LGThinkFreeViewer.apk - File viewer
LGThinkFreeViewer.odex
Ready2Go.1.7.apk - AT&T Ready2Go
VVM_ATT.apk - AT&T Visual Voicemail
VVM_ATT.odex
system/vendor/app
AmazonKindle.apk
ATT_FamilyMap.apk
ATT_HotSpots.apk
ATT_Keeper.apk
ATT_MHSLauncher.apk
ATT_Navigator.apk
ATT_Skyfire_Toolbar.apk
ATT_UBER.apk
BeatsMusic.apk
DeviceHelp.apk
myATT.apk
YPMobile.apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Step 6: To be safe, copy your RemovedApps folder to your computer for backup
Step 7: Reboot phone
WARNINGS & DISCLAIMERS
Proceed with caution and at your own risk - I am not responsible if your phone self destructs, gets bricked, or melts.
Please keep in mind that both these methods will yield ROOT only - as of know there is no way to unlock bootloader on AT&T
Rooting and any other modifications to your phone will void your warranty - do not root if you do not know what you are doing.
Rooted devices will not be able to receive OTA updates. You may have to unroot and restore stock in order to accept updates.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ:
Q. Why do I need to be rooted to do this?
A. Because you will need access to the root and system folders.
Q. Why De-bloat my phone?
A. The manufacturer and the carrier install a bunch of branded apps that take up space and resources. By uninstalling these apps, you have less background activity, less space used and more resources to use for the apps you do want.
Q. Can I use Titanium Backup to Freeze these apps?
A. Freezing these apps will work, however freezing these apps does not free the space used by these apps.
Backup of Removed Files
Backup zip of Removed Files
Did you not follow the directions in the OP?
Did you just decide to delete everything instead of backing it up?
Are you trying to find the .apk for one of the apps you deleted?
Well you are lucky! Here is a zip of everything I told you to backup and remove!
RemovedApps.zip
HOW TO REMOVE CARRIER IQ
No odex for isis wallet?
mrhaley30705 said:
No odex for isis wallet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't have an odex file for ISIS wallet but as a general rule... If you remove the apk, you can remove the odex file as well
Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk
This is great. Thank you very much for the list. One question through. Would you be able to add descriptions to some of these apk names? I would prefer to know what I am removing. Like Gnss or LADDM, etc..
Thanks
abalakersky said:
This is great. Thank you very much for the list. One question through. Would you be able to add descriptions to some of these apk names? I would prefer to know what I am removing. Like Gnss or LADDM, etc..
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I remember correctly, LADDM is something to do with CarrierIQ. I think you shouldn't touch it on any LG AT&T ROM.
Raymonf said:
If I remember correctly, LADDM is something to do with CarrierIQ. I think you shouldn't touch it on any LG AT&T ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've renamed LADDM after also stopping the related CarrierIQ services within Android System. I've seen no adverse effects.
Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2819450
abalakersky said:
This is great. Thank you very much for the list. One question through. Would you be able to add descriptions to some of these apk names? I would prefer to know what I am removing. Like Gnss or LADDM, etc..
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will work on it
Raymonf said:
If I remember correctly, LADDM is something to do with CarrierIQ. I think you shouldn't touch it on any LG AT&T ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no issues with removing LADDM.apk - it is CarrierIQ. It will not allow CarrierIQ to work - if you'd like you can also follow the removing CarrierIQ instructions and remove the lib files and disable everything in android tuner to completly get rid of everything. Either way - no adverse reaction to removing it... in fact its better to have one less thing stalking and tracking everything you do with your phone.
neverends said:
There is no issues with removing LADDM.apk - it is CarrierIQ. It will not allow CarrierIQ to work - if you'd like you can also follow the removing CarrierIQ instructions and remove the lib files and disable everything in android tuner to completly get rid of everything. Either way - no adverse reaction to removing it... in fact its better to have one less thing stalking and tracking everything you do with your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, okay. I was just worried because it's AT&T!
can I use titanium backup's freeze feature instead?
sprhwk said:
can I use titanium backup's freeze feature instead?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can however you would not be freeing up the memory (storage space) that these apps take up
Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk
I keep getting a message when I try to move the files that says it is a read only. How do I change this. I installed supersu after I rooted the phone for other apps but can't perform any removal of bloatware.
idashx said:
I keep getting a message when I try to move the files that says it is a read only. How do I change this. I installed supersu after I rooted the phone for other apps but can't perform any removal of bloatware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what file browser are you using?
Root explorer
neverends said:
what file browser are you using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
root explorer
idashx said:
root explorer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try clicking on Mount R/W and it should ask for root permission.... Give permission and proceed... Also check to make sure you have SuperSU installed... If not installed then download from playstore, run, and reboot... Then try again
Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk
Thanks for putting up this how-to. I went ahead and followed the instructions to the "T", and then rebooted. I am a little confused as to why some apps still showed up in my app draw even though they were properly cut and moved to the new folder? I went ahead a tried clearing data for "home" to see if they would show when reloaded, however they still appeared. There were about 5-6 apps including twitter, ISIS, Lookout, and a few more than I forgot the names. I went ahead and manually removed them from the app draw, however I was wondering why they didn't disappear like the others did??
Thanks for your help!
bradm23 said:
Thanks for putting up this how-to. I went ahead and followed the instructions to the "T", and then rebooted. I am a little confused as to why some apps still showed up in my app draw even though they were properly cut and moved to the new folder? I went ahead a tried clearing data for "home" to see if they would show when reloaded, however they still appeared. There were about 5-6 apps including twitter, ISIS, Lookout, and a few more than I forgot the names. I went ahead and manually removed them from the app draw, however I was wondering why they didn't disappear like the others did??
Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its probably because you had already updated these apps through the playstore... Just go to playstore and you should be able to uninstall them like any other app.
Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk
Hello I had a question about replacing the download manager on the stock samsung rom with the one from cyanogenmod in an effort to use stock apps. I am indeed rooted, and I have copied both files from priv-app and app directories to their designated locations and also set their permissions to rw-r-r. However, unlike other apps i've installed just fine using this method such as lockclock and gallery, these apps dont appear to be installed after doing this. Are their other dependencies I might be missing that are preventing this from working?
I am on the 4.4.2 stock samsung rom and I am trying to use apps from the m7 cm 11 build based on 4.4.2 as well.
bumping my own thread, if its a simple no you cant no biggie XD
I have setup multiple users on my device (even though I am the only one using my device) and things are not working perfectly, or the way I want it to.
The issue is primarily with side-loading apps on secondary users.
Even though the multi-user environment appears to be completely isolated, that is not completely true. An app can be installed on the device only once. When installing the same app for different users, app installation happens only the 1st time. What happens during subsequent installations is simply creation of a separate data folder for each user. That is why one can't install different versions of the same app for different users. Installation would always fail if such a thing is attempted, unless the newer installation is an update to the app version already installed on the device (in which case all users with the app installed will see the same updated version).
When side-loading, some apps just fail to install in secondary users. Does anyone have an idea as to what could be possibly wrong? These are free apps (often downloaded from Google Play Store), so there is no license verification issues. This can happen irrespective of whether the particular app is already installed for another user or not.
Is this a bug with the whole multi-user feature or is there something that needs to be done to get this working?
I have tried this on three different devices (rooted as well as non-rooted), running on Android 8, 9 and 11. They all seem to have similar problems. Some apps install, and some don't. Is this an Android problem or an app-related one?
Please note that apps that fail to install in secondary users, install and run perfectly fine on the main/ primary user. So this isn't an Android version compatibility issue, but one related to the multi-user feature of Android.
Thanks.
Look inside here:
Building Multiuser-Aware Apps | Android Open Source Project
source.android.com
jwoegerbauer said:
Look inside here:
Building Multiuser-Aware Apps | Android Open Source Project
source.android.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link. I was almost tempted to believe that the problem could be with the apps not supporting multi-users. So I did this to test:
I created 2 secondary user accounts.
On one, I signed in with my Google account and installed some apps from the Play Store. I copied their APKs.
On the other user, I did NOT sign in with any Google account. So I can't access Play Store. I tried sideloading these APKs. Some got installed, and some didn't.
Are these apps (that failed to install) somehow dependent on Google Play Store for installation? The fact that they installed on the user who signed in with a Google account means that they support multi-users. So we can rule that out.
I tried MiXplorer and it successfully installed on both users.
jwoegerbauer said:
Look inside here:
Building Multiuser-Aware Apps | Android Open Source Project
source.android.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I have figured out the problem.
Apps that refused to install were actually Split APKs, and I was trying to install the base apk file extracted using a file manager.
Backing up the App Bundles for such apps using SAI and installing them worked perfectly.