Help with LG Optimus Slider VM701 - reset to factory to lose that frickin Facebook app?

[yellowsportster]

Hello All, appreciate some advice.

Have a Virgin Mobile LG Optimus Slider with Android 2.3.4. Installed Facebook app 2 mos ago and regretted it ever since. Need to get rid of it. Everyone knows uninstall does not work for it. Only way really is to root and get some app to uninstall it. How about going thru a hard reset by holding down (vol down, home, and power) buttons to get to the recovery menu to reset it to factory condition? Will this work to rid Facebook app? I know I won't be able to get rid of the other bloatware that came with the phone at purchase but ridding Facebook would be great. I already backed up everything and has had no success rooting this phone with Android 2.3.4. Any ways to avoid rooting to get the job done? Reset through the settings menu didn't work and Facebook reappeared at reboot. Any ideas and recommendations would be great, thank you.

Brandon

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Did your phone come preinstalled with Facebook? If so, you're correct, you can't uninstall it unless you root. But if it didn't come preinstalled, you should be able to uninstall it, either by going to Google Play and tapping Uninstall on the page for Facebook, or going to Settings/Apps/Downloaded, selecting Facebook, and tapping Uninstall. Does that not work for you?

 

[yellowsportster]

Nope, Facebook did not come pre-installed and I was stupid enough to install it myself. Tried all the ways you named to uninstall it but no uninstall option available when I went to Google Play, page for Facebook, etc.

 

[B. Diddy]

Ok, do you remember how you initially installed it? Did you use the Google Play Store app on your phone, or some other app store like Amazon Appstore? Did you install it directly from the web?

If Facebook didn't come preinstalled, you really should be able to uninstall it. Tell us what you see if you go to System Settings, then Apps, and look under the All list. Scroll down until you find Facebook, and tap it. Do you see an "Uninstall" button? Then tap it. After it's done uninstalling, look for it again under the Settings/Apps/All list. If you still see it there, that means it was a preinstalled app, and you only uninstalled any updates it might have gotten.

Also keep in mind that some phones come with a proprietary Facebook app that is different from the full app you install from Google Play. These proprietary apps are often part of some social media hub app that phone manufacturers or wireless providers add in to try to make things more convenient for you, but it sure isn't convenient when you don't want them in the first place! If you look at the reviews on Amazon for your phone, and search for "Facebook," you'll find some comments about a "built-in" Facebook app, so that might be what's going on: Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: LG Optimus Slider Prepaid Android Phone (Virgin Mobile) VMM701LGKIT156

 

[yellowsportster]

Really appreciate your help so far, when I go to Facebook under Apps in Settings menu, the only 2 buttons available are Force Stop and Clear Data. Cancel, Move to SD Card, and Cancel are all grayed out.

I think I might have installed it through Google Play.

Thanks.

- - - Updated - - -

There is no Uninstall button.

 

[B. Diddy]

Ok, so what I think happened is that your phone came with Facebook preinstalled. You subsequently updated it using Google Play. When you tried to uninstall it, all you could do was uninstall the updates, not the whole app. This is the drawback of preinstalled "bloatware." With Gingerbread, the only way to get rid of bloatware is to root the phone and then delete the app. Ice Cream Sandwich and above gives the ability to disable bloatware to prevent it from opening, but you still can't outright remove it unless rooted.

 

[webusera]

facebook is preinstalled. you might have updated it and subsequently "uninstall" which revert it back to the preinstalled version. I have the slider and never use facebook app or updated it. not even sure why this app would be a problem as it never runs in the background if you never open it.