Verizon PLEASE stop pushing bloatware on us!
jroal
Contributor - Level 2

Verizon did it again.  Today they pushed an update to Bionic.  However, along with it came more bloatware.  Now it is welded to my phone and I can uninstall it without rooting.  I guess we will all just have to root to clean this off our phones.  It is getting ridiculous.    The new apps they installed:

SlingBox: $9.99/month video service

Mog:  Another $9.99/mo music service.

This in addition to all the other bloatware already there:

CityID, Backup assistant (the worst of all), Vcast stuff, video surf, NFL mobile, etc...

If I wanted these I would have downloaded them.  Forcing them on me makes me irate!  I will NEVER use these EVER now.  I will never do business with the companies that make these bloatware apps.  Are you getting the message Verizon?  Please stop the bloatware.  If you want to preinstall apps, fine.  Just don't lock them so we cant uninstall.  That is all I ask.  You don't have to put them in the system/app directory and lock them down.  Just leave them in the regular app directory where we can uninstall them if we choose.  Forcing them on us drives serous customer dissatisfaction and is entirely ineffective.  Those who want to uninstall them will never use them anyway.  Now they are hogging resources and space for no reason.  Every time I open my apps I have to sort through all this junk.  Just look at the rating of apps you forced as bloatware. 

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Re: Verizon PLEASE stop pushing bloatware on us!
budone
Legend

What is the big deal???? All the bloatware on my device I do not even notice, They are not in an area of memory you would use, they are not using ANY CPU resources. I never have figured it out.

FYI CityID and NFL can be deleted.

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Re: Verizon PLEASE stop pushing bloatware on us!
davegr
Contributor - Level 2

Ehhh, I don't really mind it other than it add programs I have to dig though when I'm looking for one.  That's annoying.   Yes, I agree, let us be able to take them off without rooting.

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Re: Verizon PLEASE stop pushing bloatware on us!
jroal
Contributor - Level 2

This bloatware uses up resources.  Some of it even chews into your data plan.  It diverts app calls too, meaning that when you click an address for instance, it forces you to a list of apps that support it.  Of course you can select a default but it is still annoying.  They hide most the resources it actually uses so you can't see most of it in task managers.  They all get rolled into "Android OS".  The ram they use up makes the whole phone slow down.  The less resources you have, the more you notice it.  Bionic has 1GB so it is far less of an issue.  I rooted and debloated my Droid 3 and nearly doubled the battery life.  I think it was backup assistant chewing up most of it.  Just after I got the phone my battery would not make it from breakfast to lunch.  I thought I had a pocket warmer app because the device was noticeably warm all the time.  I went through 8GB of data that month (I usually use around 1GB).    I reset to factory defaults but a couple months later it did it again.  After the debloat my battery often makes it 16 hours while staying above 70%.  I am using the stock ROM too.  All I did was remove the bloatware.  Nothing else. 

Re: Verizon PLEASE stop pushing bloatware on us!
jroal
Contributor - Level 2

Just check on the Bionics.  CityID and NFL cannot be uninstalled.  Only the updates can be uninstalled.

Re: Verizon PLEASE stop pushing bloatware on us!
budone
Legend

Sorry, but I disagree. I have every bit of bloatware on my phone that came with it and what has been added in updates. My data did not increase, my phone is not a pocket warmer and my CPU speed is what it always has been, and my battery life is the same.

You my friend have added an app(s) that is/are  compromising the device. Whether it is a bad app or an app conflict.

Place the device in safe mode for a couple days and see how the device reacts.

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Re: Verizon PLEASE stop pushing bloatware on us!
jroal
Contributor - Level 2

My device has been fixed by resetting to factory defaults.  I am not saying that all devices will act this way because of the bloatware.  In my case I believe it was Backup assistant.  It did not happen all the time and it has not happened on the Bionics or Droid 2 but it did happen on Droid 3.  It did it when I first got it so I did the factory reset.  It was fine for a month or 2 then started doing it again.  Reset again and then the battery life was reasonable.  After 1/2 day I would be at about 50% or so with moderate use on the Motorola extended battery.  Was like that for a couple months.  Not too bad really but not great either. 

Then I rooted and removed backup assistant and other bloatware.  Kept the stock ROM and all my apps though.  Now the device is more responsive, has more available RAM more often, and the battery will last over 16 hours with moderate use.  It is often above 60% after 16 hours of use now.  I could never get that before.

Of course your data "will not increase" since you had the bloatware from day 1.  It was always higher than needed but the bloatware alone if working properly will not generally be a huge data hog.  However, it can use data depending on how it is configured.  In my case there was a problem with backup assistant.  When I first got the phone I unfortunately enabled it by setting a PIN.  That is when the problems began.  First is messed up my contacts, duplicating many of them and changing the format of others.  After the first factory reset I fixed that by not enabling backup assistant.  After the 2nd reset I now use task manager to auto-kill all the bloatware and that really helped.  After that it was not too bad.  However, after the root and debloat my battery life almost doubled.  I did not remove any apps except the bloatware.

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Re: Verizon PLEASE stop pushing bloatware on us!
jroal
Contributor - Level 2

All I (actually many if you look at the bloatware app reviews on Android Market) ask is to allow us to uninstall the stuff we don't want.  Why can't Verizon do that?  What is the reasoning behind forcing it on us where we can't uninstall it?  If we don't want it we wont use it.  I don't mind preloaded software as long as I can uninstall what I don't want.  That does not seem like too much to ask.

Re: Verizon PLEASE stop pushing bloatware on us!
Dave-in-Decatur
Specialist - Level 2

jroal wrote:

All I (actually many if you look at the bloatware app reviews on Android Market) ask is to allow us to uninstall the stuff we don't want.  Why can't Verizon do that?  What is the reasoning behind forcing it on us where we can't uninstall it?  If we don't want it we wont use it.  I don't mind preloaded software as long as I can uninstall what I don't want.  That does not seem like too much to ask.

I really agree with this, jroal. Of course, undeletable bloatware presumably brings in more money than bloatware that is under user control, and I suppose that's the reason for making it impossible to uninstall.

Evidently there is no equivalent to PC Decrapifier for Android, and rooting is the only way to get rid of the, well, crap. But, though I'm good with computers and don't mind making some adjustments to a system, I don't think I want to do anything that could potentially turn my phone into a paperweight if I mess up. Can anyone point me to an up-to-date, clear explanation of what "rooting" an Android phone involves? Does it void the warranty?

The approach I've taken to the bloatware is to create a folder in Applications called Unused, and just move all the bloat icons there. I never have to see them. I've never signed up for Backup Assistant, so I assume it's not burning up data and battery. (But I do also need to establish a regular backup routine on my own.) And of course I do get asked whether I want to use Maps or VZ Navigator to look up an address. I've had the phone a couple of months now, I like Maps a lot, and so I'm ready to make a permanent default choice for it and hopefully not get asked about VZN again.

Unless rooting turns out to be a far less invasive process than I suspect it is, I'm going to settle for this low-end hide-it-and-pick-free-defaults approach. It's a compromise, and the presence of the bloatware annoys me if I think about it, but I can live with this solution.

Re: Verizon PLEASE stop pushing bloatware on us!
jroal
Contributor - Level 2

I don't see why apps that are not uninstallable would be worth any more to the service provider.  There is no valid case for this.  Do they really think that we will just cave and start using it just because we can't uninstall?  Seriously?  I don't think so.  Those that will use them will use them regardless if they can be uninstalled or not.  Those that won't use them won't ever use them.  Again, I have no problem with preinstalled apps as long as I can uninstall them if I don't plan to use them.  The approach you took for the bloatware only hides them of course.  They still launch background tasks, chew up resources, and receive broadcast intents to perform actions.  For instance, if you want to find an address on the map it will try to launch VZnavigator.  You have to set all your app preferences to instead go to Google.

As for rooting, there are several one click roots available for most devices.  As you point out, it is far from risk free.  Honestly I would prefer not rooting but I feel forced into it because of the issues on this thread.  One of the big downsides is the fact warranty is void.  Support now comes from forums (which is generally better anyway).  If you have a problem, you are on your own (with the help of tons of forums).

As for your regular backup, Google provides this already for free.  Just sign in to your Google account and use their backup services.  Its all there, all free, and actually works very well.  Then you can edit them on your Google website too.  It has far more flexibility that backup assistant. 

It is true that this happens to be one of my many pet peeves.  It does annoy others to the extent it does me but likely not the majority.  For most users they just ignore it and instead complain about poor battery life, laggy apps, and other issues and they have with no idea that this bloatware helps to cause these issues.  They leave unhappy but never realize that bloatware is part of the cause.  I can't blame all of this on bloatware of course.  It is one of many contributors though and there is no excuse for it.  I would argue that Verizon could increase customer satisfaction by allowing us to uninstall the bloatware.  This would result in less returned devices which would save them far more than forcing the bloatware ever gained them (since I would argue this is $0).  They could still preinstall whatever they want.  I am fine with that as long as I can uninstall what I don't want.  That should not impact any kickbacks they get from the bloatware since it has no impact on the number of people who use it.  It would impact the apps ratings on Android Market though.  Just take a look at some of the ratings on these bloatware apps.  Tons of 1 star ratings with all kinds of comments about bloatware.  If we could just uninstall those ratings would not be there and the developers would likely get more users, not less.