New phone, no apps but still ads!

[cronie]

I have a new android phone. I just did a factory reset, complete wipe. I have not installed any apps but I am still getting ads!

Examples:
https://i.imgur.com/MhC4BYo.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/AEt3mJd.jpg

I don't use my phone for anything but phonecalls, so where is this stuff coming from and how do I get rid of it permanently?

 

[brickette]

I have the Adware problem also, the phone is fairly new, I didn't notice the ads until I installed a few apps from Google Play but I have a feeling the ads were already on the phone but set to not activate immediately so that unsuspecting customers would think it was their own fault. One thing I noticed about the ads on my phone is that at the top of the ad window, it says "theme.translucent". I don't know enough about the android system to know if that means the "theme.translucent" is causing the problem or if the adware is merely using that theme, but I'm going to see what happens if I disable notifications for "theme.translucent".

 

[brickette]

Disabling notifications for "theme.translucent" didn't get rid of the ads, so then I tried disabling some other unneeded apps completely and disabling notifications for several other apps, but the ads kept showing up. I was still noticing the top bar on the ads said "theme.translucent" so I decided to just throw caution to the wind and delete that "app" whatever it was. It's been a few hours now and I haven't seen any ads yet! I haven't noticed any problems with my theme changing either.

 

[brickette]

The ads were gone for several days after uninstalling "theme.translucent", but some different looking ads and notifications started showing up yesterday. One of the ads showed the app name "BackgroundServices", so I looked in my list of apps and found it in there, I know it wasn't there the last time I checked so I uninstalled it. I also found another new suspicious app called "EngMode" so I uninstalled that also. One of the new ads showed the app name "FeaturedContent" but I couldn't find that in the list of apps, there is the V8 app called "Featured Apps" but it can't be uninstalled, I had already disabled it though so it shouldn't be causing the ads. I usually use Instagram on a different device but yesterday I used it on the ANS phone and think I noticed an app being installed while using Instagram. On the ANS phone, Instagram came installed and it's not possible to uninstall it, so I deleted it's cache and data so hopefully that will help. I'm not going to disable it until I see what happens.

 

[brickette]

I had no ads for several days after my last round of suspicious app deletions but this morning I had a new type of ad, it said "sweet" on the top bar, so I looked in my apps and found "sweet" and deleted it.

 

[brickette]

I haven't had any ads on the phone since deleting the "sweet" app 4 days ago. At that time I also deleted some apps I had installed from Google Play just to be on the safe side. Another ad issue with this phone I was having since I first got it involved Chrome. Every time I launched Chrome, there was an ad on the first page that opened, so I deleted all Chrome history, cache AND data. Then I installed Firefox, which I will be using instead of Chrome.

 

[brickette]

The steps I posted previously each only seemed to help give rid of the adware for a short while, if at all. I finally gave up and just did a factory reset a few minutes ago. I'm skeptical that will help though since there are so many complaints about the adware coming preinstalled on the phone.

 

[brickette]

I reset the phone, then ran Malwarebytes which actually seemed to cause more ads and apps to install by themselves. Malwarebytes found malware installed in the android system which could not be removed. I called Assurance Wireless and they did a hard reset which caused me to lose use of my phone until I could find another phone to call them back from. After the phone started working again it then seemed free of ads, but I was afraid to install Malwarebytes to check for the hidden malware, I just wanted to not install any apps other than what came installed to see how long the phone would be free of ads. I was careful not to use any public networks or install any apps. Well... it worked for 10 days with no ads or annoying apps but now less than 2 weeks later, the ads are starting again. Every time I launch Chrome, the first page is first an IP address which then launches gamebox.zbkon.com. I suspect this is just the beginning of having a totally infected phone again.

 

[Kewrock]

Hi Guys. First Post. Pleased to meet you.
I'm reading this thread, considering what to do. I was on Medicaid briefly last year, and got an "Obama Phone" pushed on me from some guy set up at the DMV. I didn't need it, or even want it. But the guy was persistent. So I figured I'd take it and give it to my friend, who was really poor, and never owned a cellphone in his life(Pain in the as@. Had to call his parents landline to get him). Well, he died, and I got the phone back. He never even took it out of the box. So I called Assurance Wireless to see if it can be unlocked. I'd either keep it as a spare, or dump it on Ebay. The operator was very nice. She said the phone was eligible for unlock Nov.14th (tomorrow). At which I can call her back, and she would unlock it for any other SIM card. It didn't matter that the Government paid for it. Apparently, they don't want it back.
So, to the point. I've never even looked at this phone til last month. I can't believe the amount of advertising on this phone. You can't even look at this phone without some full screen ad popping up. Even when the internet browser is closed out. It's not your typical smartphone ads, like AdSense, that only show up at the bottom of internet pages. Or the little ads that attach themselves at the bottom of open apps. These are full page splashes that pop up as soon as you pick up the phone or touch the screen. The best way to describe them, are the invasive, relentless pop-ups when visiting questionable sites on a desktop PC. The ones AdBlockers don't work on. I want to use the calculator for example, I touch the screen, I get a huge ad that has to be closed to see the screen. Sometimes the ads ping with the phone just sitting on the table. It's absolutely consumer abuse.
Virgin Mobile, which owns the Government contractor Assurance Wireless, is getting paid, probably very well, from the government agencies running the Lifeline Program. No doubt they are getting paid from all these ads on the phone also. They're making a fortune on both ends, monetizing the poor.
I'm just wondering if I connect to T-Mobile if the ads will stop. I'd like to get rid of the Assurance/Virgin welcome page too. Nothing says welfare like an Assurance Wireless welcome page.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Unfortunately, this is pretty common with these Lifeline phones. I imagine it helps subsidize the cost of the phones. Unfortunately, I think most of that stuff is preinstalled bloatware that wouldn't go away if you connect to a different network. You'd have to root the phone to remove the bloatware, but not all phones have a root exploit. You could try look in the forums at XDA-Developers.com, which is a good resource for that kind of thing.

 

[belodion]

Welcome @Kewrock.

What you describe sounds horrible - horrible. If it’s as you say, something needs to be done.

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

I find it shocking but not unexpected. The poor are also the most vulnerable and the worst thing is they are the least likely to be able to afford the rubbish being flogged in these phones. What a con!!

 

[VidJunky]

You know I never really considered how it was possible to offer totally free plans. It seems senseless in a way, and I feel this way about all advertising, people either want your product or not and showing ad after ad doesn't really change or make up their minds. I don't even see how it affects their opinion other than making them hate the ad? Especially in a case like this. You have a couple of million ad machines out there popping up ads every minute or so at $.0002 per viewing so what, the ads are being shown to people who probably don't want the product or service or can't afford the product or service. I may be quick to judge but I wonder what the ads are for, I mean what products and services? If they were ads for things like, take this class and get your CDL or become (fill in blank) or move your savings to this online bank and earn .1% more on your savings than a traditional bank, where the ads had some value added to this target group of people who obviously could use some help that would be one thing. Advertising Tide's new laundry pods, that are 3 times the price of powder detergent, or where to get financing for your next "new" car, is just stupid. If they could afford those things they wouldn't have been eligible or in need of a government phone. So yeah, what are the ads for?