Droid X2: Apps That Are Safe To Remove Once Rooted

[Cory Streater]

Please read carefully and proceed with caution​

If you are only looking for the lists, feel free to scroll down to them. That said, there is some very important info before the lists I would strongly encourage you read.

This list is based on the Droid 3 and Bionic procedure and is based on my prior experiences with a variety of devices. I am very confident that the Verizon Bloatware, Live Wallpapers, and Widgets listed below can be safely renamed/moved. That said, this is a new device with an updated version of Motoblur. If you do not want to be a test case, you should wait for others to confirm these apps are safe to remove. Do not throw stones at me if something goes wrong. Please post in this thread if you have removed other apps and have a high level of confidence that they do not break things (e.g., force close loops or a significant number of crashes). I know there are other sites reporting success with other apps, but I will not add them until I am totally convinced they are okay. In particular several of the Motoblur apps.

Before you begin:

• Before you start making changes, I would strongly recommend backing up your device with a program like Titanium Backup (also in the market).
• All of the files below are in /system/app.
• The most popular file explorer for accessing and moving these files is called Root Explorer.
• Do not delete files. Either:
  1. Rename them from <filename.apk> to <filename.apk.old>
  2. Read post #2 to learn how to move them. Historically, on other phones, OTA updates have failed if apps don't exist. The system folder had to be exactly the way it was when the phone shipped.
• Before you rename or move an app in the /system/app folder, check the list below. If it is not listed, or you are unsure if it is safe to modify, please ask first. To be safe, I would only remove the apps listed below, until it is updated.
• If an APK file also has an associated ODEX file, the ODEX can be renamed/moved also.
• Do not remove any file starting with VzWBA (related to Verizon Backup Manager). Your Droid X2 may possibly croak. It has happened in the past, so until I get further verification that removal does not cause issues, I am not placing it in the safe to remove category.

The following is a must read if you need to put an app back!

When you move an app (and ODEX if applicable) file, from /system/app to the SD card, the permissions change from rw-r--r-- (to) --rwxr-x. The owner/group changes from root/root to system/sdcard_rw. The app disappears from the app drawer and all is good.

Now, lets say you move them back for some reason:

• When you move them back, the permissions remain what they were on the SD card.
• The apps (e.g., VZ Nav) will not show up in the app drawer - even after a reboot.
• You need to put the permissions back to rw-r--r-- and then reboot before they will show up in the app drawer again.
• The owner/group of these files will remain system/sdcard_rw, but that doesn't seem to have any negative impact.

The best way to change the permissions - is to use Root Explorer.

1. Move your apps from the SD card to your /system/app folder.
2. If it isn't already, mount the folder as R/W
3. Press down on the file you want to change the permissions on then select permissions from the popup. If you get an error that it isn't read/write, then you didn't mount the folder.
4. Next, you should get a popup that allows you to change permissions. Change them as follows:

Required file permissions if you need to move something back:

[table=head;width=50em]Group|Read|Write|Execute

User|Checked|Checked|Not Checked

Group|Checked|Not Checked|Not Checked

Others|Checked|Not Checked|Not Checked
[/table]


Now for the The List(s):

Do Not Remove:

[table=head;width=100em]

Application​

|

Description​

|

Size (MB)​

VzWBAService.apk|VZ Backup Application|

NA​

VzWBAClient.apk|VZ Backup Application|

NA​

VzWBAClient.odex|VZ Backup Application|

NA​

|Total|

0​

[/table]

Verizon Applications:

[table=head;width=100em]

Application​

|

Icon Name​

|

Size (MB)​

VCASTMusic.apk|VCAST Music|

8.70 MB​

Quickoffice.apk|Document Edit/View|

5.60 MB​

NFLMobile.apk|NFL Games|

4.90 MB​

SkypeBourbon.apk|Skype|

4.70 MB​

Kindle.apk|Amazon Kindle|

3.60 MB​

vzw_vnav_[fill in blank].apk|VZ Navigator|

3.40 MB​

CitrixReceiver.apk|GoToMeeting Client|

2.70 MB​

CityID.apk|City ID City/State match incoming call|

2.67 MB​

VCASTVideo.apk|VCAST Video'sBand|

2.40 MB​

ZumoCast_1.0.17.apk|Streaming Media|

2.10 MB​

Swype.apk|Swype Keyboard|

2.00 MB​

VZWIM.apk|VZW Instant Messaging|

3.53 MB​

SlackerRadio.apk|Slacker Internet Radio|

1.30 MB​

Vvm.apk|VZW Visual Voicemail|

1.1 MB​

Blockbuster.apk|Blockbuster|

308 KB​

VCAST_TONES_4_5_7.apk|V Cast Ringtones|

912 KB​

VCast.apk|VCast Apps|

912 KB​

FileManager.apk|File management app (no root file access)|

460 KB KB​

gotomeeting-stub-1.0.74.apk|Goes with Citrix app above|

298 KB​

IMPresence.apk|IM Client|

145 KB​

[/table]

Motoblur Widgets:

[table=head;width=100em]

Application​

|

Icon Name​

|

Size (MB)​

WeatherWidget.apk|Weather|

3.70 MB​

BookmarksWidget.apk|Web Bookmarks|

106 KB​

ClockWidget.apk|Clock|

96 KB​

MessagesWidget.apk|Unified Messaging Widget|

284 KB​

NewsWidget.apk|News|

310 KB​

StatusWidget.apk|Status|

362 KB​

StickyNoteWidget.apk|Sticky Notes|

110 KB​

ToggleWidgets.apk|Toggle Power|

77 KB​

WorldClockWidget.apk|World Clocks|

574 KB​

[/table]

Wallpapers:

[table=head;width=100em]

Application​

|

Icon Name​

|

Size (MB)​

LiveWallpapers.apk|Live Wallpapers|

1.83 MB​

LiveWallpapersPicker.apk|Live Wallpapers Picker|

39 KB​

MagicSmokeWallpapers.apk|Psychedelic Magic Smoke|

229 KB​

VisualizationWallpapers.apk|VZ Navigator|

129 KB​

ForestWallpaper.apk|Forrest Wallpaper|

632 KB​

[/table]

Other:

[table=head;width=100em]

Application​

|

Icon Name​

|

Size (MB)​

VoiceSearch.apk|Voice Search|

2.2 MB​

Street.apk|Google Street View|

296 KB​

calculator.apk|Calculator|

128 KB​

GoogleQuickSearchBox.apk|Google Search|

632 KB​

HTMLViewer.apk|HTML Viewer|

12 KB​

[/table]

Notes:

• If you install another web browser (e.g., Dolphin) you can also move Browser.apk.
• There will be others, I'm sure, but I won't be the first to try.
• If there are additional apps that you have successfully renamed or moved, please post them in this thread.

Suggested alternatives for removed apps:

• Instead of the built in browser use Dolphin HD.
• Use Google Maps with Navigation instead of VZ Navigator.
• Buy apps through the Amazon MP3 store instead of the VCast music app.
• Convert movies using DVD Catalyst 3, then transfer to your SD card instead of using the VCast video app.
• For file browsing try using Root Explorer.
• Search the market for a free caller ID - instead of the subscription based CityID app.
• Instead of the Verizon IM client search the Market for an IM client app and/or stick to the built in Gtalk application.

 

[Cory Streater]

Re: Droid 3: Apps That Are Safe To Remove Once Rooted

Below is a procedure for moving that pesky bloatware. It was written for the Thunderbolt but the steps are the same for the Droid 3. I use a file explorer called "Root Explorer" in this post because it's the most popular app when it comes to folder mounting and file manipulation. It's a paid app and will cost you a double tall latte.

Post #3 will walk you through the process of using a free app called Super Manager.

Steps 1 & 2: Download, install, and open Root Explorer:

Steps 3 - 5: Use Root Explorer to get to the bloatware:

Steps 6 - 8: Select the bloatware you want to move and click move (don't forget to read this first!):

Steps 9 - 11: Navigate to the sdcard -- where the bloatware will be moved to:

Steps 12 - 14: Create a new folder on your SD card -- to park those files -- and then paste/move them in there:

The Bloatware has been moved. Depending on which apps you moved over - you might get a few force closes:

 

[Cory Streater]

Re: Droid 3: Apps That Are Safe To Remove Once Rooted

File management using Super Manager. It's hard to argue with free, but I still love Root Explorer in the post above.

Steps 1 thru 3: Download, install, run, and setup Super Manager:

Steps 4 - 6: Enable and allow root:

Steps 7 - 9: By default, Super Manager opens the SD Card directory. You need to go up a few levels to the "Root" folder:

Steps 10 - 12: Now you're going to navigate to the /system/app folder and choose which apps to move (don't forget to read this first!):

Steps 13 - 15: Once you've finished selecting apps, you're going to navigate to the sdcard -- where the bloatware will be moved to:

Create a new folder on your SD card to move the files to:

Next you're going to paste/move the files:

 

[Cory Streater]

Reserved.

 

[Sallev1]

This information on removing bloat is greatly appreciated. There was an app I had used in the past which "froze"apps in Market but it seems no longer available. In any case, I was easily able to follow your instructions and it worked beautifully.

 

[anonymous-x#AC]

Thanks for your help Cory Streater. Kudo's.

 

[thedevilisgood]

Am I missing something? The lists are blank...