S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

[dpham00]

So you got this awesome new Galaxy S8 or S8+, but hate Bixby…perhaps you have accidental presses of the Bixby button. You hate it with a passion…the solution is simple! Disable it! Oh but wait, Samsung doesn’t let you disable the Bixby app from the app manager. Ugh!

Still no problem! Simply go to the Google Play store and download “Package Disabler Pro”

Once installed, activate as Device Administrator and let it activate the license.

It will take you to the Samsung disclaimer page. Accept it to take you to the main page.

From there, search for “Bixby” (or “bix”) and the Bixby apps come up. Select all the Bixby apps to disable them. The Bixby button will now be disabled and swiping to the right to the Bixby screen when on the home screen will show you an error message.

Alternatively, for those who haven't taken the update (or perhaps on certain carriers), you can remap the Bixby button if desired:
https://www.xda-developers.com/sams...to-remap-the-bixby-button-on-the-galaxy-s8s8/

 

[dpham00]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

For those the don't want to pay for the app, you can use the debloater tool to disable the Bixby apps as well. No root required, but you will need a computer.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software/debloater-remove-carrier-bloat-t2998294

 

[anon(123856)]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

Does this app still work as advertised? I know some of the work arounds stopped working after an update. I have an unlocked S8 and just want to KO Bixby.

 

[TylerLV76]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

Does this app still work as advertised? I know some of the work arounds stopped working after an update. I have an unlocked S8 and just want to KO Bixby.

Package Disabler Pro and BK Package Disabler both still work.

 

[JeBe4]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

is it safe giving some app admin permission just seems highly invasive for an app

 

[anon(123856)]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

Package Disabler Pro and BK Package Disabler both still work.

Thanks. I was hoping that was still the case.

 

[anon(123856)]

is it safe giving some app admin permission just seems highly invasive for an app

Yeah I would like to know this as well. Package Disabler does seem to have a good reputation.

 

[anon(5719825)]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

Nice thread. Found everything I needed to know to disable Bixby. I never set it up but pressing the button accidentally always prompted me to set it up.

 

[anon(123856)]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

Nice thread. Found everything I needed to know to disable Bixby. I never set it up but pressing the button accidentally always prompted me to set it up.

So which approach did you take and did you disable anything else besides Bixby? I'm trying to figure out how to kill the Cloud backup as well.

 

[JeBe4]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

So which approach did you take and did you disable anything else besides Bixby? I'm trying to figure out how to kill the Cloud backup as well.

As much as I wanna continue being delusional - I have to speak with my $ - I don't mind Samsung trying to be different - but its the restriction- at the end of the day you wanted to make a sell and you did - let me customize my software/hardware experience as I see fit. Thats it. Selling my N5, and S8 - will miss Samsung Pay though but oh well - done making excuses and dealing with apps I will never use on a device priced way too high - faux pas

 

[donm527]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

Samsung has a legitimate reason to block Bixby button remapping, whether we like it or not

https://www.sammobile.com/2017/07/1...y-button-remapping-whether-we-like-it-or-not/

 

[anon(123856)]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

As much as I wanna continue being delusional - I have to speak with my $ - I don't mind Samsung trying to be different - but its the restriction- at the end of the day you wanted to make a sell and you did - let me customize my software/hardware experience as I see fit. Thats it. Selling my N5, and S8 - will miss Samsung Pay though but oh well - done making excuses and dealing with apps I will never use on a device priced way too high - faux pas

I agree the restriction is a bit frustrating. I don't really care to use Bixby or Google now for that matter, but to each, their own. But it would be nice to turn off what you don't want/need. I'm having a bigger struggle with Samsung Cloud at the moment. No matter what I do all the options are greyed out and therefore unusable.

 

[eric002]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

Haha yup! That's exactly what I did within a few hours on my S8. I couldn't stand that Bixby button at all! Sure, I accidentally press it all of the time, but at least now NOTHING happens at all! Makes the S8 experience overall MUCH better!

 

[TylerLV76]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

So which approach did you take and did you disable anything else besides Bixby? I'm trying to figure out how to kill the Cloud backup as well.

I killed that by going to:
Settings>Clouds and Accounts>Accounts>Samsung Account>My username>Backup Settings> Toggle Auto Backup Off

 

[TylerLV76]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

Samsung has a legitimate reason to block Bixby button remapping, whether we like it or not

https://www.sammobile.com/2017/07/1...y-button-remapping-whether-we-like-it-or-not/

They probably should have polled users to see if Bixby was something they wanted or needed. I bet the results would have saved them tons of money.

Samsung botched Bixby from the get go. They promoted the phone with this feature at the reveal and we are almost 3 months into the device with very few people having access to it. They built a button before finishing the software that button was for. They created the need to remap the button and only have themselves to blame for its failure.

 

[anon(123856)]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

I killed that by going to:
Settings>Clouds and Accounts>Accounts>Samsung Account>My username>Backup Settings> Toggle Auto Backup Off

That's what I was trying to do but everything was greyed out. I finally got it though. I just needed to wait it out and let it calculate the backup.

Thanks though.

 

[anon(5719825)]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

So which approach did you take and did you disable anything else besides Bixby? I'm trying to figure out how to kill the Cloud backup as well.

No, all I did was disable Bixby.

 

[Zendroid1]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

Do you have to enable everything again when an Android Update becomes available? This would be very annoying.

 

[anon(123856)]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

No, all I did was disable Bixby.

Thanks!

 

[ThrottleJohnny]

Re: S8 & S8+: Disabling the Bixby app and physical button

Samsung has a legitimate reason to block Bixby button remapping, whether we like it or not

https://www.sammobile.com/2017/07/1...y-button-remapping-whether-we-like-it-or-not/

The problem is, you can't force people to use something they have no interest in, no matter how much you want them to. There should ALWAYS be choice involved.

Personally, I like Bixby and can't wait to use the service daily once it's ready. If I like it, many others will too.

There's no harm in giving the other folks another useful way to use the button. That's why we choose Android, to not feel locked in.