is there an app to block other apps from loading?

[Notes_Norton]

Like most of us, I have a phone that came with bloatware that I don't need.

There are titles like Rhapsody, Sportacular, and others that I have no intention of ever using. They of course boot up with the phone, and although I can kill them with a Task Killer program, they just instantly resurrect themselves.

So now they want me to constantly update them - Sportacular wants a couple of updates per week (and I have absolutely no interest in sports). A minor but slightly irritating PITA.

Of course, they load and help drain the battery as well. I can set my Task Killer to kill them every 5 minutes, but that drains the battery as well.

I've searched the Play Store to no avail. So I'm asking.

Is there an app that will keep the other apps from booting (perhaps like an AV quarantine) so that I don't have to root the phone to get rid of them?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[nicka3200]

If you are rooted Titanium Backup will freeze apps.

 

[w_bovine]

Like most of us, I have a phone that came with bloatware that I don't need.

There are titles like Rhapsody, Sportacular, and others that I have no intention of ever using. They of course boot up with the phone, and although I can kill them with a Task Killer program, they just instantly resurrect themselves.

So now they want me to constantly update them - Sportacular wants a couple of updates per week (and I have absolutely no interest in sports). A minor but slightly irritating PITA.

Of course, they load and help drain the battery as well. I can set my Task Killer to kill them every 5 minutes, but that drains the battery as well.

I've searched the Play Store to no avail. So I'm asking.

Is there an app that will keep the other apps from booting (perhaps like an AV quarantine) so that I don't have to root the phone to get rid of them?

Thanks,
Bob

The short answer...no.

Without root you simply can't manipulate these things. The bloatware apps are installed in the /system directory and it's read-only.

Rooting is generally quick and painless and causes no ill effects, save for some apps (games mainly it seems) that actually check for root and will not run if it is found. Malicious apps can take advantage of the situation, but it really isn't all that hard to avoid them.

If you're not willing to root for whatever reason, you're stuck with those apps.

 

[Notes_Norton]

It's not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for the info.

The phone is new, and rooting will void the warranty. I suppose I'll have to live with the battery-eating bloatware until the warranty is over.

I've never actually run out of juice, but at the end of the day it's pretty low.

Notes

 

[UrsusVIIILXXXVII]

One other thing to consider is that you can unroot just as easily as root your phone in case you do need to send it back for warranty. I agree that it is asinine to pack in bloatware and leaving your only option to remove it by voiding the warranty.

Have you maybe looked into extended batteries for your device? That's always another option.

 

[lunatic59]

As others have said, if the apps are in the system folder (installed by the carrier or phone manufacturer) the only way to get rid of them is to root it. Who's your carrier? Many have different policies on rooting and warranties.

As for the task killer, get rid of it. It's not going to do what you think it's doing. All it will do is eat battery.

Why You Don't Need a Task Killer.

Get an app like Watchdog Lite and see if those apps are actually eating CPU cycles. If not, then there will be no drain on your battery and you can ignore them.

 

[bberryhill0]

^^^^ That. Apps sitting in RAM but not using the CPU don't use battery. When Android needs the memory to run an app you are using the bloat will be taken out.

 

[Notes_Norton]

As others have said, if the apps are in the system folder (installed by the carrier or phone manufacturer) the only way to get rid of them is to root it. Who's your carrier? Many have different policies on rooting and warranties.<...>

I'm using MetroPCS.

I run a business, businesses cannot be on the 'do not call' list, my phone number is in the yellow pages, and MetroPCS offers an "all-you-can-eat" flat rate. So I don't have to pay minutes on the countless robocalls and sales calls that I get from people wanting to sell me something. If I used ATT or Verizon it could easily cost me a few hundred dollars per month in minutes used by others to advertise things to me.

The phone is an "LG Connect 4G" - pretty nice phone but the battery life isn't great

I've never actually killed the battery, but at the end of a 12 hour day without much phone use it is sometimes down about 30%.

My last LG had much better battery life, but I like this phone a lot better and it runs a newer version of android.

---------

UrsusVIIILXXXVII, please tell me about battery extenders.

---------

Thanks,
Bob