[GUIDE] Disabling Apps/Bloat on RAZR MAXX HD

PsYcHoNeWb

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[WARN]Android Central or my self do not take any responsibility for what you do to your phone. You follow these steps to disable apps at your own risk. Follow the listing of apps that should be disabled here and you should be fine, deviate from the listing of apps and I cannot say if you will have issues with your phone or not.[/WARN]

[INFO]Now that that's out of the way... Welcome to you new RAZR MAXX HD!

This guide will give you a listing of all the apps that can be disabled via the settings menu running stock ICS. Even without being rooted, there is one way to disable apps with ICS and this is a good thing since ICS gives us the ability to disable the majority of bloatware apps that most people wont use. I say most because there are some people who will use them. This is the list of apps that I personally have disabled... if you have more to add and you have been running stable since then please feel free to post them here and I will update the list as this goes along.[/INFO]

How to Disable Apps:
In order to disable your apps you must go here on your settings... Settings > Apps > All Once you go there you will see a very long list of apps. The majority of them you DO NOT want to touch. Disabling something you shouldn't may cause instability with your phone, force closes etc. All you need to do to disable and app is select the app that you want to disable and click the disable button. If you see "Uninstall Updates" instead, you will need to click that to restore the app back to the factory default version to disable it. Once that is done, you should be able to disable the app but selecting the "Disable" button. If the button is grayed out, then you are unable to disable the app without having root privileges. Anyway... the juicy stuff. Here is the listing of apps that you can disable safely:
  • Amazon Kindle
  • Circles
  • Color
  • Google+
  • Help
  • Home Screen Tips
  • MC3
  • Movie Studio
  • Music
  • My Verizon Mobile
  • NFL Mobile
  • Quickoffice
  • Real Racing 2
  • Setup Wizard
  • Slacker Radio
  • Swype
  • Sync Services
  • V CAST Tones (Verizon Music if updated)
  • Verizon Video
  • VZ Navigator
Right now those are the only apps that can disable safely without having instability or force closes on your device.


Questions:
Why should I disable these apps? That question is one that can only be answered by yourself. I can give you the reasons why I disable them, such as I will never use them so I disable them in order to keep them from running. If you don't plan on using any of those apps listed, you can disable them to stop them from ever running on your phone. It is also very easy to re-enable them so its not like its a permanent delete. Will disabling these apps save battery or make my phone faster? Simple answer, possibly. Disabling apps like these in the past I have seen a slight increase in battery life simply due to the fact that it will be less apps that have the ability to run. As far as speed, I have never seen a bump in performance for every day use. Disabling these apps mostly will give you a VERY slight increase in battery life. Don't expect hours extra, but you could expect something back. If I want to re-enable them what do I do? Same process as disabling an app, but now the "Disable" button will be gone and it will be replaced with an "Enable" button. That easy. There are some apps that I want to disable but I can't. What are my options? This is where root comes in. You can root your device and use apps like Titanium Backup to "freeze" apps which essentially disables them. In order to root your phone follow the instructions here: ROOT for Razr HD - xda-developers


[NOTE]Congrats! You just disable a bunch of bloat apps! Simple wasn't it? That's the beauty of Ice Cream Sandwich. Eventually (hopefully soon) when these phones get Jelly Bean this will be the same process. However, upgrading to Jelly Bean to get the OTA you might need to re-enable these apps. Don't know that for sure yet, but when Verizon announces (or its leaked here) that the update is rolling out might want to re-enable them to be on the safe side to ensure that you will get your update. Until then, enjoy your unbloated phone![/NOTE]
 
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misaacs6516

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I rooted this phone the day it launched and debloated with TB. The disable feature is nice, but it doesn't allow for most vzw apps to be removed. Google how to root the Maxx hd, its a 1 click script. This is a great write up for anyone not wanting to root, its much appreciated.
 

Mordecaidrake

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I rooted this phone the day it launched and debloated with TB. The disable feature is nice, but it doesn't allow for most vzw apps to be removed. Google how to root the Maxx hd, its a 1 click script.

This thread is more for the users who don't want to root and want to get rid of the Verizon bloat. Although I haven't found a need to root mine yet, I have all my other phones. Does this root method wipe your phone?
 

misaacs6516

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Does not wipe the phone, just roots and adds superuser. I only root anymore for debloating, foxfi has my back with tethering. This will be my first phone that will not see a custom rom, once it has JB i'm done...
 

misaacs6516

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Sorry about my comment in the thread, it wasn't meant to disrespect anyone. I was commenting since he said there was no root method and wanted people to know it was out there. I had quickly updated to include a thanks for the write up after I realized I came across wrong.
 

PsYcHoNeWb

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Sorry about my comment in the thread, it wasn't meant to disrespect anyone. I was commenting since he said there was no root method and wanted people to know it was out there. I had quickly updated to include a thanks for the write up after I realized I came across wrong.

My mistake. Was unaware there was a root method for the device. I'll alter the OP. Haven't researched a root method since I haven't found a need for it currently.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Xparent SkyBlue Tapatalk 2
 

HES

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Quick questions:

How do you disable Color? All I see is an option to unistall updates

If you disable Music and Sync Services, how do you listen to music or have your gmail, twitter, and facebook sync?


Here is what I have disabled in addtion to the list above
Google+
My Verizon Mobile
NFL Mobile
Swype
 

Mordecaidrake

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Quick questions:

How do you disable Color? All I see is an option to unistall updates

If you disable Music and Sync Services, how do you listen to music or have your gmail, twitter, and facebook sync?


Here is what I have disabled in addtion to the list above
Google+
My Verizon Mobile
NFL Mobile
Swype

With color you need to uninstall the updates then disable it. As for Sync Services, this is for the Verizon syncing not for the other apps that use syncing.
 

PsYcHoNeWb

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Quick questions:

How do you disable Color? All I see is an option to unistall updates

If you disable Music and Sync Services, how do you listen to music or have your gmail, twitter, and facebook sync?


Here is what I have disabled in addtion to the list above
Google+
My Verizon Mobile
NFL Mobile
Swype

List updated to include those.
 

Cowchip

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If I want to re-enable them what do I do?
Same process as disabling an app, but now the "Disable" button will be gone and it will be replaced with an "Enable" button. That easy.


After disabling an app it is no longer listed. How would one enable it if it is gone?
 

Cowchip

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Ahh. I didn't bother scrolling to the end because I had them in alphabetical order so when I didn't see "Amazon Kindle" (one of the apps that I disabled) near the top I didn't look any further.

Thanks.
 

PsYcHoNeWb

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Sorry I have not be around guys to update the list, been out of cable as a result of Sandy. Finally back online as of 9:10 this morning. Thank god!
 

sicario666

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Sorry I have not be around guys to update the list, been out of cable as a result of Sandy. Finally back online as of 9:10 this morning. Thank god!

Ahhh. That explains why the forums have been a dead zone for quite some time now.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD
 

Bob-B

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I just disabled NFL Mobile. When I go back into all apps, it is not listed at all (even after rebooting), so there is no way to enable it again. In this case I don't care, but I suggest to anyone that you should test this on your phone with an app you don't care about (i.e. you will never enable)
 

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