More apps to remove

[einsteinx2]

I saw the previous issue #54 and I know you don't want to add all possible apps to the default list, but here are some additional ones that I tested can be safely removed and are all Xiaomi bloat:

"Gallery;com.miui.gallery", "WMService;com.miui.wmsvc", "Weather;com.miui.weather2", "NextPay;com.miui.nextpay", "MiSound;com.miui.misound", "MiPlayClient;com.xiaomi.miplay_client", "mi_connect_service;com.xiaomi.mi_connect_service", "XiaomiAccount;com.xiaomi.account"

Gallery is the Xiaomi photo gallery which is useless once you install Google Photos. WMService is some kind of analytics thing. Weather is useless if you remove their default widget and don't use the Weather app. NextPay, MiSound, and MiPlayClient don't seem to have icons in the Global rom and removing them doesn't seem to have had any bad effects. The mi_connect_service I honestly don't know, but removing it hasn't caused any issues. And XiaomiAccount is unnecessary once the phone has been setup, and removing it completely kills the Xiami account section in Settings.

Out of all of these, I think the Gallery is the most useful for most users as it's an extra un-removable useless home screen icon if you're using Google Photos. The others I removed because I want as little Xiaomi tracking and services installed as possible. If you can include these in the default app list that would be great, if not, no worries.

[einsteinx2]

Great work on this app btw, I was doing everything manually via the terminal before, but it's so much nicer to have a GUI for it.

[Szaki]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Last time I checked, removing the Gallery resulted in soft brick but I'll check it again. The Weather app is already part of the default list. Mi Account used to be listed but it's been removed because it prevented users from unlocking the bootloader and phones that were locked using Find my phone couldn't be accessed once the user has removed Mi Account. Removing it is not something that would break the device but it caused so many issues that I decided to remove it.

I'm going to investigate the rest and get back to you.

[einsteinx2]

Removing Gallery hasn't caused any soft brick issues, however I did just discover that without it installed it's impossible to select local wallpapers in Settings. It also prevents wallpapers downloaded from the Themes app to be displayed (they download but when you apply them they do nothing). So it looks like I'll be keeping Gallery installed after all.

Whoops not sure how I missed Weather, it is indeed there.

Regarding the XiaomiAccount package, those are good points. It's probably best if it's not made too easy to disable (anyone can easily add it to the list themselves or do it directly with ADB). Also I noticed it breaks downloading Themes from the Themes app (wallpapers seem to download fine though for whatever reason). I made sure to keep it (and most Xiaomi services and account related stuff) until I was able to successfully unlock my phone and I use Google's find my phone feature, so it wasn't an issue. But then again, I have no issues removing it manually either, so it's probably best to leave it out and let people that want to fully disable Xaomi services remove it themselves.

Regarding the others:

"WMService;com.miui.wmsvc",
"NextPay;com.miui.nextpay",
"MiSound;com.miui.misound",
"MiPlayClient;com.xiaomi.miplay_client",
"mi_connect_service;com.xiaomi.mi_connect_service",

I've had them disabled since I posted this issue and have so far not noticed any negative effects, but I'm only a sample size of one.

The mi_connect_service package is the one that I think probably needs the most research before adding as it may cause issues with Xiaomi account stuff that I just didn't notice because I have XiaomiAccount and basically all related packages removed anyway.

[t2dYuri]

Hi guys, here is my additional list for uninstall:

com.android.stk com.android.cellbroadcastreceiver com.google.android.tts com.google.android.marvin.talkback com.android.bookmarkprovider com.android.dreams.phototable com.android.dreams.basic com.android.wallpaper.livepicker com.android.bips com.android.printspooler com.google.android.printservice.recommendation com.android.emergency com.android.internal.display.cutout.emulation.tall com.android.internal.display.cutout.emulation.corner com.android.internal.display.cutout.emulation.double

• using it without any problems and extra battery drains for a few months :-) P.S.: This is for information only. Thanks to @Saki-EU, it’s not difficult to delete everything using the list import 👍

[Szaki]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I shall check them out in greater detail and add some of them to the default list. @einsteinx2 I agree with your takes on the matter. @t2dYuri I have explained in an older issue that I'm against adding com.android packages unless they have been replaced by Xiaomi, because they tend to provide basic functionality, not extra features Xiaomi added.

The main purpose of the App Manager used to be to uninstall system applications that you do not use, however, this has recently spilled into all sorts of Android services that aren't even actual apps and you would never notice their presence, only their absence (when something isn't available or straight up crashes) so I'm a bit wary to add all these things, the list is already huge.

Since there have been plenty of issues similar to this one, I think it's best for everyone to leave this open and let feedback flow into one post. :blush:

[bebo-dot-dev]

Since we have this open issue around app removal functionality, I'd like to take this opportunity to say great job on the creation of this tool @Saki-EU.

If I could offer anything in the way of a suggested improvement, I'd say that it might be useful if apps that are manually added via the Add Apps menu option are "remembered", perhaps via appending to a local file. If this was the case, these manually added entries could be auto-reloaded the next time the application is launched and it would make it easy to see which (if any) of these apps had been uninstalled / disabled.

No sweat though, this is a minor thing with no urgency. Overall a great tool, thank you.

[Szaki]

Excellent idea, I'll look into it! Thanks for that and the nice words! :blush:

[Szaki]

Since we have this open issue around app removal functionality, I'd like to take this opportunity to say great job on the creation of this tool @Saki-EU.

If I could offer anything in the way of a suggested improvement, I'd say that it might be useful if apps that are manually added via the Add Apps menu option are "remembered", perhaps via appending to a local file. If this was the case, these manually added entries could be auto-reloaded the next time the application is launched and it would make it easy to see which (if any) of these apps had been uninstalled / disabled.

No sweat though, this is a minor thing with no urgency. Overall a great tool, thank you.

Implemented! https://github.com/Saki-EU/XiaomiADBFastbootTools/releases/latest

[justincnn]

hope more and more app can be removed,

[vlakoff]

If I may add a suggestion: com.google.android.apps.wellbeing

It's the Digital Wellbeing app. Pretty useless, especially if you are not a phone addict. I like removing this, as it removes a line from the Settings screen, which is already bloated enough…

[Szaki]

If I may add a suggestion: com.google.android.apps.wellbeing

It's the Digital Wellbeing app. Pretty useless, especially if you are not a phone addict. I like removing this, as it removes a line from the Settings screen, which is already bloated enough…

Added

[xitero]

@Szaki Another suggestion is to include: com.google.android.marvin.talkback as suggested by @t2dYuri You have more information about this app at the following link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.marvin.talkback

It is the Android Accessibility Pack. Pretty useless, especially if you have no reading problems or just don't care about having text to speech.

[vlakoff]

Does someone know what apps cause battery drain when they are uninstalled?

[kennyke16]

@Szaki Another suggestion is to include: com.google.android.marvin.talkback as suggested by @t2dYuri You have more information about this app at the following link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.marvin.talkback

It is the Android Accessibility Pack. Pretty useless, especially if you have no reading problems or just don't care about having text to speech.

Yes, TalkBack is a battery drainer on most phones

[vlakoff]

I meant apps that cause battery drain when they are removed. Android doesn't find something, and enters into some high-frequency loop of "try, fail, try, fail…"

[xitero]

I meant apps that cause battery drain when they are removed. Android doesn't find something, and enters into some high-frequency loop of "try, fail, try, fail…"

Did you remove any apps that weren't on this tool list? If so, this should be your starting point, as I disabled virtually everything recommended by this tool on my Redmi Note 8 Pro and had no problem with the battery.

In fact, instead of uninstalling an app, I prefer to disable it, so if there is a problem I can simply activate it from the phone itself.

[krb2709]

I meant apps that cause battery drain when they are removed. Android doesn't find something, and enters into some high-frequency loop of "try, fail, try, fail…"

Did you remove any apps that weren't on this tool list? If so, this should be your starting point, as I disabled virtually everything recommended by this tool on my Redmi Note 8 Pro and had no problem with the battery.

In fact, instead of uninstalling an app, I prefer to disable it, so if there is a problem I can simply activate it from the phone itself.

Can anyone please explain pro & cons in general between disabling & uninstalling of listed apps in this tool with respect to security, functionality & performance thereafter.

[kennyke16]

Some apps may seem to drain battery initially after uninstalling. Then it feels like it's settled after few days or some reboots and battery lasts longer. I don't know if this is really true but it feels that way with some apps, or even with MIUI updates. Is it just me?

[Szaki]

I meant apps that cause battery drain when they are removed. Android doesn't find something, and enters into some high-frequency loop of "try, fail, try, fail…"

Did you remove any apps that weren't on this tool list? If so, this should be your starting point, as I disabled virtually everything recommended by this tool on my Redmi Note 8 Pro and had no problem with the battery. In fact, instead of uninstalling an app, I prefer to disable it, so if there is a problem I can simply activate it from the phone itself.

Can anyone please explain pro & cons in general between disabling & uninstalling of listed apps in this tool with respect to security, functionality & performance thereafter.

Basically, the OS can re-enable disabled apps by itself whenever it pleases but it cannot do the same with uninstalled apps. Apps you disable may come back anytime because the OS sees them while uninstalled apps will only return if you reinstall them using ADB or factory reset the device. As such, I'd say there's no difference in functionality or performance, but uninstalls are more secure as they cannot be easily undone by the OS.

[Szaki]

@Szaki Another suggestion is to include: com.google.android.marvin.talkback as suggested by @t2dYuri You have more information about this app at the following link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.marvin.talkback It is the Android Accessibility Pack. Pretty useless, especially if you have no reading problems or just don't care about having text to speech.

Yes, TalkBack is a battery drainer on most phones

Added! If you are on the latest version and connected to the internet it will appear in the application right away. :blush:

[krb2709]

can "Themes" com.android.thememanager can be added to list

[Szaki]

can "Themes" com.android.thememanager can be added to list

It can be but it isn't going to be added because without it you cannot set ringtones, wallpaper or do any customisation.

[krb2709]

Thanks, I removed it. Only few default alarm, ringtone, notification & event sounds still available & no wallpapers. This is okay for me....

[kennyke16]

Szaki, great work as always. Thank you! I like how careful you are for removing apps. That helps my phone to stay stable. Having said that, I have a suggestion. For apps like theme or any others that has a minor effect on the system as a whole, you could still add them and warn user for the effect and let users decide to remove or not? Maybe this is against your policy.. I try anyways 😁

[Szaki]

It isn't against my policy, in fact, not all apps are created the same and not every app has the same effect on the system when removed. Right now apps that either brick MIUI or make basic settings/features unusable aren't on the list but maybe some people are fine with losing certain basic features so technically a safe list doesn't have the same meaning to everyone. It would be good to add some flexibility to the evaluation of apps, etc. but that isn't easy to implement as things currently stand so I cannot promise anything, but a reworked, more generalised version of the application (which I'm going to release next year) is going to support that. :smiley:

[ghost]

@Szaki will this tool work on Samsung phones?

[Szaki]

@Szaki will this tool work on Samsung phones?

As per the FAQ section on the front page:

The app is called Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools. Does that mean that it only works with Xiaomi devices?

ADB and Fastboot are universal interfaces on Android but some of the algorithms and methods used in the app are specific to Xiaomi devices, so yes.

[xitero]

@Szaki Another app that I believe is safe to remove: com.google.android.tts

For more information: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.tts

[ghost]

Hi, I wanted to know if it's possible to remove Google Dialer and Google Contact, because I miss Mi Dialer

[Kein]

Any idea about removing ShareMe and Ram Jet? MIUI 11 here.