For those of you who want to stay "stock" but also want to get rid of the bloatware, I have the solution and will post the process. Obviously this is done at your own risk, so I am not responsible for your breaking anything on your phone. Full disclosure: I am new to this and I am sure some of the more experienced people on the forum can add to this or correct any mistakes I made. Please proceed with caution.
I upgraded to the newest HTC update today (12/17) and wasn't happy about the Nova demo or the fact that Blockbuster kept popping up in my notification area. Amazon MP3 has always pissed me off because of the updates and I always see it running and presumably wasting resources. I was this close to rooting and flashing a custom rom, but I got intimidated by all of the different methods out there and decided against it. All I really wanted to do was get rid of the few apps on my phone that I didn't want. I run Launcher Pro Plus and have all of the customization that I think I need.
Anyway, after doing research and getting some help from the other members, I was able to put this little procedure in place in order to remove those annoying bloat apps one at a time:
Prep
1. Download z4root (not in the market, do a google search)
2. Download Titanium Backup (Market)
3. Do a Google search on which apps you can safely remove, I'll list the ones I did below.
4. Plan to sit around for a while as each app takes a few minutes to get rid of since you have to reboot the phone after each one gets deleted.
5. Backup your apps. Do a NAND backup for everything if you know how, otherwise use Titanium or an alternative method/app. This is very important!
5.a. Read the thread first so you know what to expect and what others have been doing.
Process
6. Open z4root and allow it to temporarily root your Evo. This is the scariest part for me because I still don't quite understand rooting and I don't want to brick my phone or anyone else's! Please do your homework and proceed at your own risk. I am 100% confident in the app personally, for what its worth. Also, it was recommended to me by a big-time forum user.
7. Open Titanium Backup, go to the middle tab "Backup/Restore", long press on the unwanted app, scroll down to the bottom and choose the last available option "Force Remove app". This will reboot your phone (causing the temporary root to go away), and when it restarts the app is gone!
7.b. FREEZING THE APP (as is mentioned in the thread) may be a better option, so consider it instead of un-installing.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for every app you want to get rid of. After your final reboot, you are back to stock minus the stock bloat apps!
I deleted the following and will likely do more in the future.
Amazon Mp3
Nova
Facebook
Nascar
Twitter
I REPEAT: I AM NEW TO THIS AND HAVE NOT TESTED THIS EXTENSIVELY YET. IF ANYONE CAN VOUCH FOR THIS PROCEDURE I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT. PERHAPS ITS ONLY A MINOR HACK, BUT IT IS BY FAR AND AWAY THE "HACKIEST" THING I HAVE DONE ON MY LAUNCH DAY EVO. PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE DOING THIS AND UNDERSTAND THAT THESE TOOLS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE MAJOR ISSUES WITH YOUR PHONE.
Full Disclosure Part Two: I have since fully rooted my phone and love it. I highly recommend it. If you are going to go so far as to use the method described here, in my opinion you might as well just go 100%.
Here is a thread that talks about the apps you can delete
Unwanted apps - Android Forums
Special thanks to igotsanevo4g on this for the tip in the regular Evo forum in this thread.
http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc...ce-announcement-htc-update-factory-reset.html
I upgraded to the newest HTC update today (12/17) and wasn't happy about the Nova demo or the fact that Blockbuster kept popping up in my notification area. Amazon MP3 has always pissed me off because of the updates and I always see it running and presumably wasting resources. I was this close to rooting and flashing a custom rom, but I got intimidated by all of the different methods out there and decided against it. All I really wanted to do was get rid of the few apps on my phone that I didn't want. I run Launcher Pro Plus and have all of the customization that I think I need.
Anyway, after doing research and getting some help from the other members, I was able to put this little procedure in place in order to remove those annoying bloat apps one at a time:
Prep
1. Download z4root (not in the market, do a google search)
2. Download Titanium Backup (Market)
3. Do a Google search on which apps you can safely remove, I'll list the ones I did below.
4. Plan to sit around for a while as each app takes a few minutes to get rid of since you have to reboot the phone after each one gets deleted.
5. Backup your apps. Do a NAND backup for everything if you know how, otherwise use Titanium or an alternative method/app. This is very important!
5.a. Read the thread first so you know what to expect and what others have been doing.
Process
6. Open z4root and allow it to temporarily root your Evo. This is the scariest part for me because I still don't quite understand rooting and I don't want to brick my phone or anyone else's! Please do your homework and proceed at your own risk. I am 100% confident in the app personally, for what its worth. Also, it was recommended to me by a big-time forum user.
7. Open Titanium Backup, go to the middle tab "Backup/Restore", long press on the unwanted app, scroll down to the bottom and choose the last available option "Force Remove app". This will reboot your phone (causing the temporary root to go away), and when it restarts the app is gone!
7.b. FREEZING THE APP (as is mentioned in the thread) may be a better option, so consider it instead of un-installing.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for every app you want to get rid of. After your final reboot, you are back to stock minus the stock bloat apps!
I deleted the following and will likely do more in the future.
Amazon Mp3
Nova
Nascar
I REPEAT: I AM NEW TO THIS AND HAVE NOT TESTED THIS EXTENSIVELY YET. IF ANYONE CAN VOUCH FOR THIS PROCEDURE I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT. PERHAPS ITS ONLY A MINOR HACK, BUT IT IS BY FAR AND AWAY THE "HACKIEST" THING I HAVE DONE ON MY LAUNCH DAY EVO. PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE DOING THIS AND UNDERSTAND THAT THESE TOOLS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE MAJOR ISSUES WITH YOUR PHONE.
Full Disclosure Part Two: I have since fully rooted my phone and love it. I highly recommend it. If you are going to go so far as to use the method described here, in my opinion you might as well just go 100%.
Here is a thread that talks about the apps you can delete
Unwanted apps - Android Forums
Special thanks to igotsanevo4g on this for the tip in the regular Evo forum in this thread.
http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc...ce-announcement-htc-update-factory-reset.html
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