Where did my calendar, with all the appointments, go?

[Emerogork]

I had numerous appointments and reminders set. Now it looks as if that calendar and reminders deleted, has been replaced with some evil google calendar that requires me to perform updates.

(Why is the font here set to vary faint blue on white?)

I want NOTHING to do with google.
I want a NORMAL phone.....

If this phone is now googlized, what other operating system can I use and how do I make the transition?

 

[B. Diddy]

What phone do you have? You should be able to go to Settings>Apps>All, select Google Calendar, and Disable it. There are a lot of 3rd party calendar apps available on Google Play Store or Amazon Appstore.

If you want nothing to do with Google, you may want to look into a different platform. Android devices are pretty much tightly integrated with Google services these days. Sure, you can root it and strip out the Google services, but is that worth the hassle, and the likely glitches that would occur?

 

[Golfdriver97]

Depending on the phone, you can flash Ubuntu touch, but the last I knew it was not very stable, and support for it is limited. I am not sure if this is a viable option for a daily driver....more like tinkering around on a device that isn't used much anymore.

 

[Emerogork]

I am afraid I may have to live with it save writing my own operating system. (Not very likely).
What bugs me is that google is about as arrogant as Microsoft is.

MotoG, Android 5.1

I wonder what would happen if I were to find all instances of googleAnything and turn off or delete them.
Right now, I use a phone for sending/receiving calls, storing numbers, using the clock for weekly reminders, a camera, and a calendar for long term reminders. (No games, no Internet.)

Does any of this actually have to go through google? I turn off my Wifi, Bluetooth and the option that seems to use the cell signal if Wifi is switched off. Don't they get it? Wifi is OFF for a reason... Wifi gets turned back when I wonder if there are any updates.

Unfortunately, now Google is right there suggesting that I check for updates. Is there anything that I am using that actually needs google??
I have developed a Microsoft vocabulary that erupts enough to make my cat run out of the room. Now I am building a google vocabulary that seems to be strikingly the similar.

.

.

 

[B. Diddy]

You can Disable a lot of Google apps in Settings>Apps>All.

If wi-fi keeps turning on, go to Settings>Wi-fi, tap Menu>Advanced, and make sure the "Always Allow Scanning" or "Keep Scanning On" option is turned off. This setting allows the system to turn on wi-fi to scan for nearby networks, in order to improve your location service.

Also, if you have wi-fi calling, try turning that off.

If that's really all you use your phone for, and if all major platforms annoy you, then maybe it's time to go retro and get a dumbphone or feature phone. The camera may not be as good, but you can always pick up a good point-and-shoot, which are really cheap now since no ones buys them any more.

 

[dpham00]

You can use the debloater tool to remove just about anything but keep in mind that removing critical files can cause the system to have problems. Pretty much you can remove anything Google if you don't want it. Because Android open source project (aosp) is what is required for android do work. Google additions are not necessary for core android functions, only for Google services.


But also keep in mind that using a system not connected to Google or other cloud would mean that the items are on your phone only, and doing a factory data reset or moving to another phone would require manually backing up the data and some apps might not even support backup outside of the cloud.

http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?p=4514313

 

[dpham00]

With regards to the calendar, on my note 5, I have an option to use it on device only, or google, or through my Samsung account. Samsung is a good option if you don't want to use Google because some of their apps can sync with Samsung. Of course you can also use third party apps, probably through Amazon app store since you don't want to have anything to deal with Google.

Also with the note 5, you can easily disable apps with package disabler. I am not sure of its availability from other app stores though .




Also since you don't like ms or google, I would suggest going with apple, which doesn't have any Google Apps built in.

 

[Emerogork]

I can not really say that all major platforms "annoy" me and I don't know all of them. I am not really sure how many there are.
WIFI does not keep turning on. Once off, it stays off.
I thought of going retro but this is what I have at the moment.

It would be nice to know what is lost if I switch off all google. My only real grief is that Google is constantly reminding me to update. It is probably doing this because I do have WIFI off and it is just pouting like an obnoxious child. Is it the Google form of Clippy?

If an option was there to "Stop asking" maybe I would have a better opinion. Also, many options are being offered yet there is no help screen for them. When they do explain, the description is so vague that I wonder why they could not even use some of the space still blank on the screen for a better explanation.

"You can Disable a lot of Google apps in Settings>Apps>All."
I am doing this one at a time and watching for the results in case I switch off something I could have wanted.

Being from the Land of Steady Habits, I have a problem of having to relearn all the operations with every "update". I am not all that concerned if I don't have the latest "Features" with options that I don't use but an explanation or notification of major overhauls with a walk-through would be nice. (Yea, right as if that is going to happen,...)

I think I ramble.....

 

[Emerogork]

I did find all my appointments in the new image of the calendar. I don't understand how I was able to see a naked list at first but now it is working.
Is it really going to be fight and figure-out with every new version like I had with Win10?

 

[B. Diddy]

My only real grief is that Google is constantly reminding me to update.

Is this for app updates or system updates? If you don't want to get notified about app updates, open Google Play Store, swipe in from the left, tap Settings, then uncheck "App updates available" under Notifications.

 

[Emerogork]

Easy way to stop all the updates and verifications: I turned off the WIFI and enable it once in a while for updates.
I doubt anything is so important that it cannot wait until I feel like accepting them all at once.