When you finally update your DROID RAZR or RAZR MAXX to Ice Cream Sandwich in the coming days, you will likely be blown away by the number of bloatware apps that Verizon and Motorola have included with it. I actually just counted and came up with 25. I’m not kidding either.
As many of you know, bloatware apps tend to be installed at the system level, making it impossible to simply uninstall them. They are essentially protected apps that Big Red and Moto have signed licensing deals for have decided should never be removed. Thankfully, Google gave us the ability to disable them in Ice Cream Sandwich, so they can at least be somewhat out of your hair.
If you would rather not “hide” them or create your own custom app drawer folder to disguise them, then feel free to follow these instructions to fully disable them.
Instructions:
1. Open your app drawer.
2. Press Menu and then Manage Apps.
3. From your “All” tab, find all of the bloatware apps that you would like disabled.
4. Tap on each one, and then choose “Disable.”
5. If you find one that says “Uninstall updates,” do that first and then disable.
Your disabled apps will then appear in a list at the bottom of your “All” apps column. If you would like to re-enable an app or if disabling one seems to have caused issues on your device, find it in this list, tap on it, and then tap the “Enable” button.
While going through this process, you may notice that a handful of apps such as Blockbuster, Madden, and Let’s Golf can all be uninstalled. Feel free to take advantage of that.
Enjoy ICS!
I HATE IT!! I’m so unhappy with the update ice cream sanwich on my droid razr! I’m having conflicts with the draw something application, my photo’s aren’t uploading to my photobucket album, and the sound controls are screwy and not working right! I get error update messages all day, over and over. This phone is only a few months old. Can I uninstall the update? I will hate to have to go to the verizon store AGAIN so soon :/
Only works on about half the crapware. It sucks that I have to root and rom reload my phone to get it to work as a phone without the junk.
Is there a list of all the bloatware programs and services that we can take off or disable that will not materially impact other programs? I would like to run down the list and put them out of my misery. I’ve gone in to see what is running and it is shocking. I didn’t turn 90% of them on.
Just got ics download in Toledo Ohio!! Yay!!
I just got ics Charlotte nc
I don’t understand the big deal. If you don’t want to run them, don’t run them. They take up minimal space. They don’t take up battery life if you don’t run them. It’s pretty much a no-brainer. Also, you consider VZ Navigator bloatware? It blows everything else I’ve tried out of the water. Great app.
why are there no downs on this post?
You are clearly joking, but I am not hip enough to let everyone else figure it out for themselves.
Personally, I don’t consider most of the preinstalled apps “Bloatware” unless they run in the background consuming resources. These preinstalled apps are just sitting in the system partition using otherwise unused/wasted space, so unless they are running and consuming resources (which is bad), what is the big deal. I rarely even notice them mixed in with my other 600+ installed apps.
what is the list of the 25 apps so I can disable them?
Would have been much nicer if you would have delayed this article until AFTER ICS had been … deployed? Really?!
Im really excited for this. Can finally kill all the apps running in the background that use battery and RAM.
You can always tell great software from awful software: Awful apps are the ones we have to be FORCED to run and can never install, even if we wanted to.
I wonder what would happen if Verizon made the software SO much better than the competition that people would WANT to run it. No forcing needed.
Oh, they didn’t think about that.
It’s only a matter of time. “If we install 25-35 pieces of bloatware… will it forbid them to be disabled.”
After you disable the app is it automatically removed from the app drawer?
Yes.
App drawer yes, but you can still find it under manage your apps in the settings menu. At the very bottom of the list. That way you can re-enable the app if you changed your mind.
I hope ICS comes to the Thunderbolt soon. I could use a way to turn off bloatware.
I’m shocked Verizon didn’t take this option out.
I think it was something Google made mandatory to be able to use ICS at all.
What are the 25 apps?
Is there anyway to move apps to the external SD card a opposed to the internal SD card on the razr?
Thank you – very helpful!!
This does not work for the Backup Assistant + apps. This is not good considering there are 5 apps in there.
Does not seem to work for the “My Motocast” app either. The “disable” button is greyed out of (ironic). For some reason this one offends me the most.
Is no body else concerned with how unacceptable it is that they put 25 BLOATWARE apps on your phone? With the ability to disable (which I assume a majority of average users don’t know how to do), it’s not too bad, but what if Google hadn’t developed that feature, or Verizon somehow took that out (which they were rumored to be doing at one point)? 25 apps is completely rediculous.
Oh please, it’s much more than 25. There’s even more shit you can’t see.
Buy nexus (2 apps) or switch carriers. People have a choice. Agreeing to continue signing up, people give them positive reinforcement …
how do you disable those bloatware apps?
This procedure also works on the Bionic ICS leak. Highly recommended.
So one would assume when ICS finally comes out for the rezound I will have the same options
It works fine on my Rezound. Have almost every Verizon app Froze, plus apps like Blockbuster and the likes.
The only options I’m seeing are “Move to internal storage” (greyed-out if not possible) and “Uninstall updates”. No “Disable” option..
You have to uninstall any updates to disable the apps
uninstall updates, then you will see the Disable option. It’s #5 under the instructions above.
Do step #5 *BEFORE* you do step #4. Not sure why no one at droid-life can correctly number things. Why specifically number something “step #5” only to mark it “oh, do this before step #4”. Ugh.
Not all of them have to have updates uninstalled, that’s why.
Reading between the lines in the article, it appears as though it’s possible you probably might not see this option until you’ve installed the ICS update.
来看看，收啦
Lol @ I just told you!
already did this on my bionic 😀
How do we know what is bloat wear and what is helpful?
…You try them out and decide if you want to keep them. If you don’t like it, consider it bloatware.
None of the Verizon apps are helpful or essential. unless you like helping fill Verizon’s coffers. Disable all of them.
(possible exception: the My Verizon app, especially if you have a limited data plan)
So what is the procedure to uninstall or disable in ICS
I just told you…
http://www.memes.at/pics/didnt%20read%20lol.gif
Kellex… he prefers to read it down here instead of up there. 🙂
Kellex, you can’t fix stupid sometimes :). As a I.T. worker myself I get that way sometimes. From a Gnex user to the Razr community..cheers for your ICS update and Cheers for Google stepping up and making disabling apps possible on this for them. ::flicking up middle finger at Verizon::
As *an* I.T. worker….
Prefacing a comment to make yourself sound intelligent and then screwing up on grammar. Fuck.
Damn retard
Idiot
Peg leg…turn in your razr…i’m not sure if you can handle it…it might be too much phone for you with questions like that