How do I delete this non existing app?

[Android Central Question]

Okay so... I have a Note 8 and I also have an SD card in it. I installed some apps into it. Hours ago my phone restarted abnormally (as in it abruptly turned off and then turned back on as quickly as it turned off, no Samsung intro or Verizon splash screen) that's when I noticed that one app wasn't found as if the SD card wasn't in my phone, but somehow all my other apps were fine (they ended up moving out of the SD card by itself somehow). Found out the SD card was corrupted, so I reformatted it so now that's fine, but now I have an app that wont allow me to start or delete it because it cant find the original app file and the app store wont let me reinstall it. It just keeps saying "App Not Found" what do I do?

TLR My SD card corrupted, and made an app absolutely useless and I cant discard or reinstall it because "App not found" Help!

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Does that app still show up in the Settings>Apps​ menu?

 

[CannedBread]

Not at all it acts as if the app doesn't exist. The only traces of the app I've found are in the app drawer and in the data files.

 

[B. Diddy]

Try wiping the cache partition: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-36229

 

[CannedBread]

No,its still there. Btw, the app is a game called Organ Trail if that helps.

 

[Javier P]

Welcome to the forums. You could install SD Maid and run the 'Corpse Finder' feature. See if this process deletes the remaining files.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.thedarken.sdm

 

[CannedBread]

No sadly, it's still there.

 

[Javier P]

No sadly, it's still there.

What happens if you try to uninstall it from the app drawer? Do you get the uninstall option after a long press?

 

[B. Diddy]

Also, if you long-press the icon in the App Drawer, do you get an App Info option?

 

[CannedBread]

If I try to uninstall it'll say it's not found in the list of installed apps. And I dont know if it's the google OS or Samsung OS, but holding down on the app doesn't have the option to go to app settings. You only get the choices of "Select items" "Add to home" or "Uninstall"

 

[B. Diddy]

Very weird. You could try clearing the data from the launcher, but this will reset your homescreens, and you'll have to set them up again from scratch. Go to Settings>Apps, tap Menu>Show System, and look for the Samsung launcher (I'm not sure what it's called these days -- it used to be TouchWiz Home). Select it, tap Storage, then Clear Cache/Clear Data.

Alternatively, you could try installing a 3rd party launcher (like Nova) and see if the game still shows up there when you open the App Drawer.

 

[CannedBread]

Yeah, it's called "Samsung Experience Home" now and clearing the data actually worked and its finally gone. But now my only problem is I want to reinstall it and in the play store I'm getting the message: "You cannot install this app because another user has already installed an incompatible version on this device" despite the fact I can find no trace of it. I do have 2 accounts linked to the play store but i get the same message via secondary account as well. I have a tablet that downloaded the app just fine so it has something to do with the device itself.
PS; This was a problem alongside with the other problem I had so clearing the data of the home screen was not a catalyst for this to happen and I'm not sure if I included this in the OG post or not. Just to clear things up.

 

[B. Diddy]

Wow, this gets weirder and weirder. Ok, what if you clear the cache/data from the Play Store app?

 

[CannedBread]

No it still wont let me after that

 

[Rukbat]

I think you're going to have to back up everything, then do a factory reset, then restore everything except that app, then install the app. And don't move any apps to the SD card - that's one of the problems doing it causes (there are others).

 

[CannedBread]

Yeah I was hoping it wouldn't come to that and was looking for alternate solutions, but if I can't find anyway to fix it, I'll just live without it. Its definitely not worth the factory reset. Thanks tho

 

[VickyUK]

Just wanted to say thanks to both B.Diddy and Canned Bread - your advice has enabled me to remove a 'ghost' app (it said it wasn't there - but I could clearly see it on my phone screen!)

The combination of Samsung Experience Home and then clearing the cache & data did the trick...
Thanks!

 

[planetjohn16]

Re: How do I delete this non existing app? (Sorry for being so late)

Okay I know this is a few years late but better late than never right so for any one else having this issue this might be a solution for you. Okay my problem was a little different I have an LG G6 running android 8.1 and my sim tray broke and It can't read the SD or SIM Card. So now I couldn't see my app at all on my home screen(I don't have an app tray the way I set it up) but when I swipe down to search the app it shows the app name with a 3 by 3 grid as the icon. So somehow it thinks it exists. The app I was having an issue was snapchat.

Solution:
1.) So what I did was find an APK on line and brute forced installed it with ADB.
2.)Looked at the phone to make sure it was installed. (it was)
3.)Uninstalled it from the phone.
4.)Go to google play store and reinstalled it.
5.)Opened the app and was as good as new.

 

[Shahyan Abbas]

Could you please explain that in some detail, how do I do the first part..

Okay so... I have a Note 8 and I also have an SD card in it. I installed some apps into it. Hours ago my phone restarted abnormally (as in it abruptly turned off and then turned back on as quickly as it turned off, no Samsung intro or Verizon splash screen) that's when I noticed that one app wasn't found as if the SD card wasn't in my phone, but somehow all my other apps were fine (they ended up moving out of the SD card by itself somehow). Found out the SD card was corrupted, so I reformatted it so now that's fine, but now I have an app that wont allow me to start or delete it because it cant find the original app file and the app store wont let me reinstall it. It just keeps saying "App Not Found" what do I do?

TLR My SD card corrupted, and made an app absolutely useless and I cant discard or reinstall it because "App not found" Help!

I have the exact same problem...