Updated my Samsung phone and it installed unwanted apps
2y 11mon ago by lemmy.world/u/SaltyEggs in mildlyinfuriating
I hate that. One of the reasons I dislike Samsung phones. Last phone from them was a Note 8 and unless they go back to a pure Android experience, I won’t get another. We know that isn’t happening any time soon.
Honestly I’m super over all our current choices. Im on an iPhone and while I like their privacy stuff slightly better than android, there are lots of things I don’t like.
I also hate how much metadata the big G snorts up. Even just the location data they retain is out of this world.
There just aren’t any options if you want something that doesn’t keep you boxed into a closed ecosystem or track every love you make.
You can get a Google pixel and sideload an operating system such as Grapheneos, and you won't have to deal with any of Google's bs spying. Highly recommend looking into it.
I recently made the switch and it's great. Definitely takes a bit of understanding and research to know what you're getting into, though.
Yeah. That’s what I’ve been looking into. I used to root and do roms and stuff. Back in the day I was pretty involved in the XDA community.
At that point why not just using Samsung phone and sideload the OS? Seems weird to do that on Pixel which has inferior hardware and good software (like its camera apps), and then remove the software
Simple reason being that there's no notoriously good OS for Samsung phones.
Graphene is highly focused on not being annoying while keeping privacy intact. You can, for example, have Google Play Services, within a sandbox. Everything can be denied network access, or any access really, on a per app basis.
It also relies on Google's security chip to keep the chain of trust intact. The boot sequence and your private keys are kept intact that way. Not everyone documents and opens their hardware as well as Google. Samsung is notoriously terrible and full of it when it comes to allowing you to do your own thing.
I recently just bought a pixel 6 and have been interested in Graphene OS, but would I lose features like live translate and the hold for me feature?
live translate
What is that? Google translate listening and translating live? Google lens translating images? Both work.
hold for me feature
No clue about what that is.
In general most things work just the same, and things that do not tend to be listed in the Graphene docs.
I wanted to do that but need to use Google apps for work (specifically google chat won't work).
You can run Google Play services on GrapheneOS it's called Sanboxed Google Play. It allows you to run Play services as a normal app without any special privileges so you can install it without sacrificing all of your phones data to google. Should allow you to use pretty much all Google apps.
This isn't enough for work apps that require Android Device Policy unfortunately. When I researched it in November I found that it would require too many permissions so GrapheneOS isn't planning on supporting it.
What about the fairphones? I was reading up on them and might get one. I like that they come with an android fork and open-source apps so you don't have to deal with Google. Plus being fully repairable and sustainably-made. Does anyone have any experience with them?
The problem is getting one if you're in North America...
But they're in America now? https://murena.com/america/shop/smartphones/brand-new/murena-fairphone-4/
Good to know, thanks. Hopefully they'll come to Canada soon too.
Where are they originally? Would it be easier to get one in Europe?
I have a note 9 and i think its time to replace this piece of shit. It lasted like 2 years without problems and then "magically" is started to fail
They have officially come to the US recently: https://murena.com/america/shop/smartphones/brand-new/murena-fairphone-4/
Apple's biggest success is convincing people they care about your privacy.
wtf do you go with for a quality hardware android reasonably priced? LG got out of the phone game which sucks ass. Pixel can be great but they are all flagship prices. Samsung, while having horrible shit like this, is quality hardware and has lots of models under $200.
It's really frustrating because Samsung is basically the leader in Android phones right now.
I hope we get a bunch of new good options this year because I really need to upgrade and posts like this remind me why I don't by Samsung.
Straight up gambling apps too
Imagine having a gambling addiction, struggling to overcome it, then your phone auto installs gambling apps..
Gotta gamba
Samsung has been a malicious bad actor for a while now. It's not just phones; they also pulled shit like retroactively adding ads to people's smart TVs etc.
(Also, even their "dumb" products, like appliances, are designed to fail just outside warranty. If you don't believe me, take a look at my washer's spider arm, which failed catastrophically due to corrosion even though nothing else in the machine had so much of a speck of corrosion on it. Samsung is clearly capable of specifying corrosion-resistant materials and chose not to on purpose in order to create a failure point.)
Everyone should completely boycott Samsung.
Your corrosion issue is due to dissimilar metals which, when in contact with one another, begin corroding immediately. They chose those materials knowing full well what would happen.
Their appliances are absolute garbage and I've read that many repair places refuse to work on them because they're built so poorly.
Galvanic corrosion is a thing every shipyard on the planet has known about since we invented the propeller, of course they knew what they were doing.
Never owned a Samsung phone but 5 minutes playing with the gf’s S22 was enough to keep me as an Apple fanboy for the foreseeable future
Two of Samsung fridges were busted even with 10-year warranty, with mine coming first before my uncle's. I don't have fridge anymore as my food is stored in my uncle's new Samsung fridge. Also, he has a Samsung Smart TV, Tizen sucks anyway, he should get an Android TV instead.
And also, Samsung is already losing it's mid-range segment to Chinese OEMs.
Being an Apple fanboy is up to you, but I have to say that Apple and Samsung are not the only options. Android has many manufacturers with their own spin on things. Samsung's spin happens to suck
Let's not ignore that they are one of the conglomerates that are making living in Korea so shitty for a lot of people.
So does that washing machine still work, or is that spider arm critical to all useful functionality? Anyways, one part getting way more corrosion than the rest is suspicious design.
The spider arm doesn't do much: it just attaches the washing drum to the drive spindle so that it can spin to wash clothes. If you're using the "let your dirty clothes sit still in a heap while the machine makes loud noises caused by the broken remains of the arm whacking and grinding against each other" setting, you don't need it at all!
That has to be an American-market thing, really.
My Samsung TV has never pulled this shit. It used to have free Internet access, now it's behind a DNS blocker because it wants to do phone home a LOT, but even when I unblocked it to download an app I wanted, it didn't do shit that it shouldn't have.
It's still likely the last Samsung TV I'll ever own - I don't like the app availability on Tizen much - but I just don't see all this adware that everyone keeps talking about. Mine's a 2019 model though, maybe it's only newer ones?
Majorly infuriating.
It's not really your phone if it does things like this. This is Samsung's phone you pay for their permission to carry for a few years.
True ownership means fully possessing something and deciding how it operates including what software it runs, what data that software can access, and when it can access it. I would not be surprised if those apps had some very invasive default permissions.
There's a difference between not having full ownership and not bothering to use it. There's plenty of options from rooting to full custom ROMs, and as far as I know Samsung does nothing to prevent you using those, they just don't do it for you / provide support and updates.
My Canadian S10E has no way to unlock the bootloader.
Yeah, you shouldn't have to root your phone to own it though. This is just straight up asshole design, there are plenty of people out there who aren't technically savvy who don't know how to do this stuff. They shouldn't be forced to circumvent the default software just to remove an app they don't want in the first place.
Last time I bothered researching, Google pixel was the only one that didn't void the warranty when you unlock the bootloader.
I remember Samsung being especially locked down with hardware e-fuses that blew if you ran any software not signed by their key. You could never reset back to stock afterwards.
If one of my relatives showed me this screen appearing on their phone I’d assume they have malware
As mentioned above, these probably are malware depending on your standards. It just came from Samsung or their carrier
This is definetely malware. OP has probably been doing funky stuff with his phone.
No they haven't. This is stuff is commonly installed with updates from the carrier.
Since when did carriers have permission to do this stuff? I don't remember stuff like this happening in 2014...
Ah yeha, sorry, didn't read the Mobile Services Manager. But this is a common malware attack though.
Ah, that's where you're wrong: it's not your phone.
Stab in the dark...your on tmobile.
It does this to me too. You disable the damn thing, then you get a carrier update and it reactivates and downloads stupid games no one wants.
First time it did it to me, I thought I got a virus. Come to find out...nah it's just a thing tmobile forces on you for fun.
Assholes
This is the sorta shit that will likely be in the EUs sights soon. Installing applications nobody asked for because of the carrier? That sounds fucking insanely invasive. It's like Adidas installing a camera in your apartment because you bought a pair of sneakers.
That’s kind of an extreme example lol unless the game is asking for insane permissions. Still I get your point and hopefully the EU acts on it. Especially since they appear to be humanity’s only hope against shit like this
That's probably because the EU generally isn't run by a two party system, where both parties are actually just center-right neoliberals. If you want EU style protections, you have to actually fight for it, like pretty much every European country did.
The two party system isn't the only problem though, there's also:
- Money being a form of speech -- EU MEPs aren't soliciting billionaires for money to spend on TV ads
- The 10th amendment -- prevents any national effort where the federal govt uses a power not explicitly granted to it in the constitution. Obamacare tripped up here for instance, and Obamacare is far from national socialized healthcare. It was a feature when people identified more with their local culture, but in an era when every American identifies as American-first, and engages the political system accordingly by only knowing or caring about national candidates and parties, it becomes a bug.
- States that should have never been states -- the US Senate took a heavy rural turn in the 19th century as vast, sparsely populated territories were given statehood. Nowadays this means to buy two US Senators you only need to gaslight ~600k people with advertising (the population of Wyoming). The founding fathers never really developed a solid plan for how the west would be settled, and it shows.
- Powerful and unaccountable Court -- the Supreme Court is given authority over both other branches, serving life terms, with few guidelines or restrictions. A party with the Presidency and Senate at the right time can gain a majority of the court and undo (or manufacture) precedent at the snap of a finger. The resulting system makes it far easier to capture the court than to pass a constitutional amendment. Think abortion should be legal? Here's a roundabout legal justification for that. Oh the new majority thinks it shouldn't be? Okay now it's gone. It's a chaotic way to handle bedrock rights like access to healthcare and privacy (neither of which are mentioned anywhere in the US constitution). The constitution should be malleable enough that the court is strictly tasked with interpreting the letter of the law. The US shouldn't be relying on legal gymnastics to legalize abortion and gay marriage. It's unstable and undemocratic.
- Electoral College -- the leader of the country, not just the Executive but the Head of State, is elected in a way that respects statehood more than personhood. It is more concerned with making sure Wyoming gets a fair vote than making sure John Doe in Queens does.
- First past the post voting -- this is another oversight by the founding fathers that many European republics were able to avoid, and it's the root cause of the two party system. But it also makes gerrymandering possible, which completely breaks both state-level politics and the US House. It makes so many seats into "safe seats" that the "money is speech" briberies become much easier to allocate.
- Racism -- almost every dumb thing about American politics can be traced back in some form to slavery, segregation, or racism. Why is every state given 2 senators? Slavery. Why were some of those rural states admitted? Also slavery. Why did White Americans support progressive policies in the 30s, 40s, and 50s? Segregation. Why did the entire Deep South flip from Democrat to Republican in the late 60s? Also segregation. It's America's original sin and it's still playing a role.
Every one of those things plays a role in the US not adopting stricter privacy standards, or leading the way in anything except military might. It's why American politics is so broken that even a majority of voters wanting to fix it isn't enough.
The European Left needs strong support.
If the EU is the only hope we are beyond fucked
Well yeah, no one has ever used the term “only hope” optimistically lol
This is the sorta shit that will likely be in the EUs sights soon.
You mean the same regulator that unconditionally approved the buyout of Activision-Blizzard by convicted monopolist Microsoft? Yeah, no. Nothing is to be expected by EU regulators.
Yeah, I would like clarification if this came from the carrier or Samsung.
I keep my Galaxy S21 up to date, and these have not been installed for me. But I haven't had an update in the last few days, so it's possible it's an upcoming update I haven't seen yet.
But I bought my phone off Amazon; they're usually cheaper that way, and it's unlocked already. I don't get them via my carrier (AT&T for what it's worth).
Verizon does stuff like this too. It downloaded TikTok and other garbage every update. Once I couldn't take it anymore I got rid of the app downloading it using ADB
It's carrier based. I've had Samsung phones almost exclusively and as long as I buy unlocked I never get unwanted apps.
There is still a lot of stuff preinstalled which could be considered unwanted by a lot of people (TikTok, Netflix, Spofify, multiple MS apps, Disney+, Facebook, Meta Services, ...)
Pre-installed, yes mine had pre-installed. I don't know anything that doesn't have pre-installed bloatware. What the OP was complaining about was their phone randomly installing unwanted apps after they bought it. Mine has never installed an app without me telling it to. For the bloatware I just disabled it until I'm comfortable using ABD on a new phone.
I have a S21 FE unlocked on AT&T in the USA by the way. #___
Personally I wouldn't mind a few preinstalled apps, if they can actually be uninstalled, not just disabled which seems to be the case for some.
But the "Meta Services" thing seems shady af, its not showing up in the app drawer because its just a background service most people don't even know it exists. Its also not needed, because all of the Meta apps work just fine without it. So realistically Meta just pays Samsung a lot of money for something that only has the purpose to collect a lot of user data (it can also access more data than regular apps because it's installed as an system app)
Nah. My $2000 CAD unlocked directly from Samsung device had ads and bullshit pre-installed apps before I even inserted my SIM into it.
I returned that phone so fast. Never seen anything like that on my Pixel.
Jeez. Who spends $2000 on a phone?
That's how much Samsung S22 Ultra sells for. Or I guess did, before the S23 Ultra came out.
We all will be in 5 years.
Really? I just got my phone for free from Visible.
It's not free, the cost is built into your monthly payment. This is how all carrier supplied phones are funded. If they allowed you to bring your own unlocked device they could charge you less. They wouldn't, but they could because they wouldn't need to recoup the hardware expense.
Err, you're wrong.
I only pay $25/month for unlimited data. My bill didn't go up, either.
Whether they supplied me with a phone or not, I'd still be paying the same price.
In fact, I was using my own phone initially but they offered me an upgrade for free.
Then that means the cost of the devices has already been factored into the base price of your contract. Nothing is free, companies don't make money by giving away phones that they paid for. You're just paying a higher base fee regardless of whether or not you get the hardware from them. By not taking the phone from them you're increasing the profit margin they make on your monthly contract.
Lol, ok bud.
Have a nice day.
iPhones come with a few apple-specific apps most people don’t want/need (think GarageBand, Apple Home, etc) but they’re all removable and don’t re-install themselves.
The fact that one of those is some sort of a gambling app promotes that to very infuriating! 😡
guess its carrier stuff?
I wish manufacturers didn't allow carriers to install junk on their phone.
On the other hand, this is how carriers can give you a good deal on a phone... They have to subsidise it by making deals with the companies that make apps like these.
If they have to trick you by installing unwanted apps on your phone, where you don't even know it's them doing it, then it sounds more like a scam than a great deal.
I agree. That's unfortunately how it is today though - either you pay full price for an unlocked phone (which some people can't afford), or you get junk apps on it. You can usually disable the junk apps at least.
Yeah I have a Samsung phone and have never had this problem so I'm guessing it's carrier stuff and op is unkowongly placing blame on the wrong company here
At this point I only buy Smartphones with Android One label (Stock Android without anything changed). Samsung especially is full of bloat.
One of the many reasons I will only ever buy Pixel phones. No bloatware.
Thinking about making the jump to grapheneos, the only thing holding me back is my addiction to Android Auto
GrapheneOS is pretty damn great. But yes... Android Auto is something I do miss :(
Can you get away with MirrorLink? Truthfully I've never tried it, and I'm pretty sure it's dead if not dying, but it was always going to be my fallback if I found a way to leave Google (or potentially Android entirely).
I agree. This is my work phone so I had no choice. My personal phone is the Pixel 5a.
This is the main reason I've stuck with Nexus/Pixel. I've tried Samsung but everything on it is unwanted bloat. Amazing hardware screwed by bloat and duplicated apps. Shame.
I'm on a Pixel 4a right now running CalyxOS. I relly want to get a FairPhone next tho. Repairability is awesome
Just uninstalled this after seeing this thread. If you're on AT&T like I am the package name for Mobile Services Manager is com.dti.att and it has nothing to do with your actual mobile services. All it does is push and update bloatware. I also nuked every AT&T app that I could. I recommend everyone who has Android Studio do this to their phone its easy.
I wouldn't be able to handle this. Been running GrapheneOS since last year, and I don't think I could go back to anything else.
Actually started working on a GrapheneOS installation service called SwapMyOS that I think could be helpful to those who wanna install GrapheneOS but don't how.
I kick a percentage back to GrapheneOS itself to keep the project funded and running (which is the primary motive behind the project).
Same lol, maybe a Linux phone one day so I don't have to buy another Google phone but unless it runs all the same apps it's unlikely
The only app I need to work on a linux phone is google maps. Although I haven't checked how good openstreet map is now. Everything else has a linux alternative
Seems to work on my SailfishOS phone.
I use public transport a lot and google maps is very helpful so unfortunately can't live without it, last time I tried openstreet map it was useless for buses etc. As for alternative apps, I'm assuming I'd have trouble with, for example, banking apps, or obscure/niche apps such as my country's one for booking public transport etc.? Just nice using something that can install all Android apps OOTB
Try SailfishOS! Currently replying to you using it.
Sailfish OS does look interesting to be fair, I'll for sure check it out when I need to get a new phone (hopefully not for a long time lol)
Do you know if it works with an S22?
GrapheneOS only runs on Pixel devices (including the Pixel tablet) because they're the only ones that meet the strict security standards.
I know LineageOS supports some Samsung devices, but I didn't see the S22 being supported.
Thanks.
It's only for Pixel phones
Bummer. I guess I should start looking for a new phone.
What phone, if I may ask?
GrapheneOS only works on the Pixel line as of this writing.
In the case of pixel or apple they don't care because they get 30% of all app purchases anyways
I'm looking for a new phone and was eyeing off the pixel, is there no bloatware at all on it??
As long as you buy it unlocked, yes, I'm not sure about buying it from a carrier
Yeah sweet I always get unlocked. I guess pixel it is
Pixels run stock Android. If you want a truly minimalist phone that's not just secure, but private (de-Googled), look into GrapheneOS.
As long as you buy unlocked straight from Google it's pure android with no bloat. Easy as can be to unlock the bootloader and root. I don't see myself going back after have a pixel for my last four phones. I wish the custom rom scene was as popular as it used to be. But even still with pure android and AdAway and maybe a couple other magisk plugins I'm very happy.
I have had several pixels now and they are amazing, no bloat at all if you buy unlocked.
I bought one unlocked, and unless you consider Google apps bloat, there is nothing on there. Its so clean.
Samsung is pretty much notorious for this, especially in developing countries where they bundle in every third-party service, PayLater app, shitty mobile game, etc alongside a new device. The only reason they are seen as preferable is that other companies are doing worse (see: Xiaomi).
I don't know. Samsung seems like a very good company.
And I'm not saying that as they have an army and access to my location.
Blink twice if you're in danger
Correction: a good hardware company. That is of course if we disregard them turning some phones into bombs. But they also make screens, RAM and so on. I just always hated all their software. It's utter garbage.
The OneUI is actually rather nice.
Always seems like the Pixel phones are better tho
At least Xiaomi is telling their customers upfront that the reason they can sell their mid and low end android phones on the cheap ( by famously announcing to cap their hardware profit margin at 5% ) is due to advertising. IIRC their high end models do not have ads. Other manufacturers mocked xiaomi for this move, just like they mocked apple for removing headphone jack, then quietly follow the move anyway without telling their customers, which I think is an even bigger dick move.
Remember when Apple put a U2 song on everyone's iPhone and people went nuts about it? How dare they do that! That was just a song.
Now companies just install whatever apps they want. And people just accept it.
This has been a thing since before smartphones and the U2 stunt though. The PC manufacturers started doing it back in the early 2000s.
Didn't Windows put a Weezer video on there or am I remembering something wrong?
There were some videos on some of the installation CDs...that's all I remember. I don't think they were automatically installed on your hard drive, but I could be wrong.
Yeah the video for Buddy Holly was on the Windows 95 install disc.
I seem to recall one from a woman, too... Ah, yes, I just looked it up - Edie Brickell's Good Times.
Yeah Android manufacturers been doing this since its inception. I remember having to remove the Blockbuster app from my Droid X lol
Now companies just install whatever apps they want. And people just accept it.
That's because the provider subsidizes the phone and people rather have that than to pay >1000 dollars at retail for an unbranded phone.
I would suggest this has absolutely nothing to do with a Samsung update and more than likely some form of malware.
or carrier bloatware. Samsung has it's thingy like that (only on A series) but it installs TikTok during the setup, nothing else.
Fold 3 here. It tries to do a device cleanup periodically and will try to sneak tiktok and other shit on here.
I only had to tell my A model on first startup that I wanted none of what it was serving and it has kept its word ever since.
Perhaps but the applications displayed by OP would certainly not be installed by a carrier or Samsung. I've seen Facebook come pre-installed and other main stream garbage but the above is something completely different.
Look at the title "Mobile Services Manager"...I suppose if you are signed up with some 3rd rate carrier and you hooked up via esim but very sketchy.
US carriers do regularly do shit like this.
This kind of bullshit always comes pre installed on Samsung phones, even the ones from Google that are usually otherwise pretty stock android experiences. If they came in on an update then the responsibility is squarely on the carrier (they manage the OS updates, tailoring them to each device). On the Samsung phone's I've had on Verizon this kind of bullshit has been the worst. I do consider it malware because it installs without user consent, but it's officially authorized malware. I guess I should just be grateful I can still uninstall them after the updates, but it's a recurring problem I know I'll need to address after each update and one day I'm sure they'll decide you can't remove those junk apps.
My Galaxy S9 had facebook installed with no way to delete it. You could “disable” it. Super annoying.
Is this a regional thing? None of my Samsung phones (Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S23) ever installed apps like these automatically. They did come with Microsoft apps bundled in, and I believe Facebook too, but after deactivating them they never came back. Never games though.
yes specifically a us or canadian carrier thing
Ah... So not a Samsung thing, but a carrier thing. I should have guessed, carriers are disgusting. Nowadays it's rare where I live, but not so long ago they even got in the middle of Android updates and replaced the bootlogo with their own branding, I even know of some devices stuck on old Android versions because while the official release is available the carrier never bothered shipping the update.
I also dislike how SIM cards run independent from the main CPU and can spawn their little Java applets whenever they want, my carrier used to randomly display ads as full prompts that got in front of any other app with highest priority using the "SIM toolkit" feature of Android, which you can't disable. Only stopped after I gave them a call claiming if I see another one of those I'd report them to the consumer rights watchdog from my region.
Holy shit. The only time I'd be ok with my carrier doing that would be if I didn't have to pay them a single fucking dime. You don't get to double dip, carriers. You're already over charging for data use.
I’d argue that it is a Samsung thing. They let carriers do this. Just like they host ads in the notification shade and first party apps in some markets.
To Samsung. One of the largest companies in the world. Samsung chooses to allow this because they get money for it from the carriers.
Exactly. Apple doesn't allow it.
Let's also not forget Samsung are the ones who give you the privilege of getting built-in ads on your expensive new TV. Ads and bloatware absolutely are part of Samsung's business model.
I'm pretty sure it's a Samsung thing. I'm located in Sweden and they've done this on my unlocked (not locked to a specific operator) Samsung phones ( S5, S8, S20 and S20FE 5G).
Not a thing in Sweden.
I ordered mine directly from the manufacturer and it doesn't install stuff. However, I also declined to agree to any of the Samsung ecosystem helper apps like the Store or Bixby.
I also have a S20 FE and can attest to the bloatware they install with each software update.
Australian here. Never happened... yet
My wife's phone does this as well (Japan)
Ooh, it had to be them
It is probably what they are allowed to do according to the law.
Same thing here with s21 ultra on tmobile. Just went looking and have a bunch of samsung/tmobile/microsoft stuff built in but that's about it. Have been asked I think once or twice with certain app store updates if I wanted to install game apps but declined them and haven't seen any since.
edit- am US based
It's illegal where I'm from and I imagine many other places. I assume OP is from the US where the voters tolerate this sort of stuff more.
The phone legislation we actually need isn’t about batteries, it’s about software.
https://social.network.europa.eu/@EU_Commission/110696020928017739
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/STATEMENT_23_3674
Sounds like we'll see the effects in March next year. Fingers crossed.
Might be your carrier. T-Mobile had some app like that that I had to fight a few times to get rid of.
This is why I don't buy devices on contract with the carriers anymore. They're always loading extra crapware that we don't need.
Yea... Flashing grapheneOS has been the best I could ever do for my phone
Never seen or installed this nonsense on my Samsung phone. This looks to be some sort of adware or malware.
Looking at what was installed it doesn't look like the normal samsung bloatware. They're both apps by Playtika, who seem to have nothing to do with Samsung. Malware would be my thought too.
And the "Mobile Services Manager" app seems to come pre-installed on carrier Android devices from Samsung and Motorola (i.e. bloatware), at least when bought from carriers in 'Murica. That "Mobile Services Manager" bloatware is meant to auto-install and update even more bloatware that carriers want to see installed on their carrier Android phones.
I'm assuming you are new to Samsung? They are the kings of junk software.
I have an unlocked s23 and don't have any bloatware. Is yours unlocked? Which region?
T-mobile absolutely pushed crap on my phone - it's why I went unlocked at my next chance.
What smartphone brand is safe to buy nowadays? It feels like every single one is terrible and anti-user.
Ever since the "you can't disable the fully charged notification" update that hit the same week as 5 unremovable apps with full phone permissions, I am done with Samsung. Such a scumbag way to remind you it's not your phone.
No idea what this is but just a thought, can't you just create a Routine that limits charging to 95% (or 99%) so that a notification is never shown?
As for unremovable apps, just disable them? I used to get irritated by unremovable apps but they hardly take up any memory on a 128gb phone.
I read comments saying google never adds bloat ...yet i tend to remove/disable more google shite than anything else!
Limit charging to 85% is a built in feature.
whats wrong with a fully charged notification?
I just got a Galaxy S23 about 2 weeks ago. It came with Facebook and Swiftkey as well as a bunch of Microsoft Apps. But no Tiktok, Games or other crap. Even after updating the OS nothing like that had been installed.
My guess is that a lot of people do not read anything and just rush through the initial setup process, thereby confirming things like wanting recommended apps to be installed.
Also there are some mentions of rooting here. I suggest to first give adb a try. It lets you uninstall any app without rooting (including Facebook and Swiftkey in my case).
There are a lot of negative things that I will say about Apple and iOS, but this would NEVER EVER fly on an iPhone. The fact that we just kind of accept it on Android is infuriating.
Apple once put a U2 album onto everyone's phone so they certainly aren't squeaky clean
Or the App store or iTunes or iCloud...
Apple fans typically enjoy being locked down and having apps forced on them.
iTunes hasn't been a thing for a while, but both its' successors, Podcasts and Music, can easily be removed. iCloud is considered a core part of the OS so that is sorta forced on you, yes (not that you have to use it at all, you just can't remove the support for this functionality).
Removing the App Store would kinda brick your phone and most Androids don't allow you to delete that or other Google services either (despite the fact that those phones CAN still install new apps even if you remove the play store).
It's only first party apps on iOS, and most are removable. Ya know what I didn't get with my iPhone but have gotten with many Androids? Facebook, YouTube. I hear Samsung preinstalls TikTok as an essential app now on some models? All ad delivery platforms. The apps Apple preinstalls on your phone are all first-party apps that add value, much like the apps that you get on base Android before the manufacturer adds their bloat. Yes, Music and TV require a subscription, but they don't show you weird ads. Other than that, everything is free and ad-free.
Android itself is a great thing, and bloatware is not inherently a part of it. SAMSUNG, who makes Android phones is a whole different story, though.
But just way too many conflate Samsung with Android. Android is like the Linux of the phone world. Everyone can have their own distro, tailored to their needs. Samsung just happens to tailor the more AIDS type Android system.
I have only ever tried that and (the also Android based) MIUI on Xiaomi phones, but the latter is just as much of a cancer as Samsung ones, in terms of bloatware.
You can't even uninstall some of those, like the Emoji keyboard, for example. You can use something else but you can't remove it (without rooting your phone, at least). So then you get this notification about the update for the Emoji keyboard. Then you don't tap it, because you don't want to install it. So you swipe the notification away.
Then, a day later you wake up to the notification that it has been installed successfully. Without even asking you. So yeah, I'm not saying Samsung is the only one. But try a Pixel phone. Or so they say.
It's a consequence of retail. Because carriers in the US determine which phones most of us can access, with the exit of LG from the market the Android landscape in the US was effectively reduced to Samsung. Other manufacturers may as well not exist for all the average shopper is led to believe -- the brick and mortar store where you pick out your phone gives you two options: iPhone or Samsung.
This is weird. I would get that, but even in England people often refer to Android phones as a Samsung, or - which makes me even more mad - to micro USB cables ( OR Type C!) as Samsung cables. I'm fuming just from simply typing this.
Not everyone on Android just accepts this. I use a Pixel precisely for this reason. It might install some system apps, etc., but it will never install some bullshit games like this.
Which is why the first thing I do when I get a new Android phone is to install LineageOS.
Oh no, no one accepts this at all. In fact, it was much worse just a few years ago.
For the exact same reason, I've only been using Pixel devices for years now. Before that, Nexus devices.
Every now and then, I get interested in what Samsung has to offer, and their top end devices are without a don't often among the very best out there.
But it's shit like pre-installed apps, Samsung's tooth-and-nail fight against unlocking the bootloader, bloatware that re-enables or installs itself with system updates, and generally Samsung's attempts to pull users into it's ecosystem and sell them more Samsung stuff that makes me keep it at arms length.
The reason Samsung does crap like this is because it's like 20% of the GDP of South Korea, they practically own that country. If Companies had Egos I don't know where Samsung would be in the list of biggest but I know it would be high up.
That's deep.
This is mostly true however there are sometimes discounts on phones without all this shit. I just got my son a Pixel 7 yesterday (my wife and I already have one). T-Mobile took $400 off the phone and waved the activation fee. It came out to $4 a month.
This is mostly for cheap phones. People don't accept it on Android.
Pixels are essentially the default android phone, and they're mostly a great software experience, little bloat ware and no strange ads like this.
It's likely this is the carrier anyway.
Not quite true. I have a cheapo Doogee and there is 0 bloat. Super happy with the little brick.
Depends on company. I know from experience Samsung and Xiaomi are obnoxious with ads and unwanted software so I just avoid their stuff.
I recently got a cheap Doogee X97 as a backup phone. It was pretty much AOSP except for the launcher and 2 extra apps. I was impressed by the value of the $60 phone. 16 GB flash was too little for me though. I handed it to a friend and got the sturdier, waterproof S51.
No holes in my screen, 5 days of daily use battery and 4GB/64GB + dual SIM + NFC + microSD + headphone jack for $100 is pretty sweet. Also OEM unlock is possible from the dev menu without extra steps. Firmware is available as a zip from their forums.
It's not comparable to a flagship phone. But considering the price I am still quite satisfied.
Only thing missing is the gyro for accurate tracking in AR stuff. I think the Doogee Pro versions with the fingerprint scanner have one. But they cost about twice as much.
I highly recommend lineageOS, or better yet lineageOS with microg.
Running a completely degoogled android phone right now, and it feels smooth as butter. Microg has gotten so good, the vast majority of playstore apps work completely fine even without Google services, including things like my banking apps.
Feels liberating as fuck, not gonna lie.
Only apps that don't work for me are ones that require IaP's. About 30% of those I can crack with LuckyPatcher. I can also crack other paid apps with license protection.
Mostly I havent needed to do any of that though, because I've found that there are so many great open source apps that do the things I need.
What model + what country + did you get your phone subsidized by a carrier? Literally never had this happen on any of my multiple samsung phones.
I just barely had to go get a new phone because my Note20 broke. Was hoping they'd have another in stock but of course not. That's waaaaaay to outdated 🙄 so I got the s23 or whatever. We moved all my data from my old phone to my new one. Once it updated everything I had 12 "new" apps and games installed. Wtf. Deleted most, but some are so damn hidden and protected. Samsung truly makes you know you don't own your own device.
Wow. Such thing never happened to me on my Samsung phone. What's your model?
Is it weird that I'm partially relieved seeing this post? I found all these weird apps on my phone the other day and thought I had been hacked or something. whew...?
Might be the wireless carrier bundling it in with the firmware on an update to the android OS?
It isn't a universal bundling across all devices.
Samsung will load shit on devices made by them if they feel regulators won't care. This is why I will no longer by Samsung. I wish LG still sold phones, but the Pixel isn't horrible.
On the same page, last android device I had was a Samsung. Great hardware but really shitty software. It had two office suite (MS and Samsungs), Facebook and what not. All those I couldn’t uninstall only disable. Why the fuck I need to have Facebook installed on my phone?
I got really tired of that shit, so I got a Google Pixel when it was time for my upgrade. By far the best phone I've had since my Samsung Intensity.
Disable "Mobile services manager". Samsung phones are lousy with crapware these days so I would avoid them like the plague. An eldery relative asked me why he kept seeing ad popups and his device had something called "Samsung Free" that cannot be disabled or completely turned off which pushes news articles, ads and other shit at him. I just turned off as many "interests" as I could and attempted to opt out of the software but it's still there and swiping left on the home page re-enables it. Samsung phones are absolute dogshit these days. I wouldn't go near one unless they could be rooted and flashed out of the box.
I swore off Samsung for this reason after I had the S3. I thought the bloatware situation had gotten better over the years…
Had a few devices with stock Android that I really liked (such as the Nexus 5 and Moto X) over the years, but even then it’s difficult to escape some of the built-in bullshit.
Kind of gave up on that and switched to iPhone a few years back… You still get the mandatory vendor apps, but at least now I also get the ecosystem benefits.
Samsung makes nice phones that I don’t buy for this reason. Apple doesn’t allow this. Pixel is another option if you don’t wanna go through the hassle of changing ecosystems.
This is why I install LineageOS on every new Android phone I buy. Currently rocking an S8. With the original software it's really hard to use since the RAM is filling up fast. With LineageOS it's still an awesome phone.
Samsung made two different variants of the Galaxy S8 line - one with their own Exynos processors (the good one) and one with Qualcomm processors (the shitty ones).
Only Exynos devices have LineageOS. I guess that's why they're not listed as officially supported.
I currently run LOS 18.1 (based on Android 11) on my S8, it's available here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/rom-signature-spoofing-microg-support-ota-updates-lineageos-18-1-for-s8-s8-note8.4332029/
The same developer also made newer releases already. It's rock-solid and everything works.
For good camera support I recommend using IDans Gcam mod (Mod8.3b_IDan_v4.7_test2.apk). You can enable HDR and three different modes (Day, Night and Dark) as an overlay over the camera's live view and the photo quality is mostly as good as stock, if not even better. It's a bit buggy when trying to view the photos inside the camera app so I have to use the Gallery a lot, but that's just a minor nuisance.
Ah glad to see the jumping to conclusions and overreacting has made it's way over from reddit.
As if a manufacturer hasn't changed in around a decade and this user not sharing other facts like carrier, unlocked, country, phone model, etc.
That's why I quit Samsung, too much bloat.
I love my Pixels. Just solid, clean Androids.
Same. Granted, that was years ago. But it was pretty bad.
I think I'm going to switch back. The rooting process for Samsung phones seems super annoying.
First you have to unlock the bootllader. For US (Canada too maybe?) models its straight up impossible. And for models which can be unlocked, Knox gets tripped which leads to a whole host of other problems. Even then, you still don't have custom ROMs to flash. This makes Samsung phones straight up unviable for me. Kind of sad to see when I had a really nice custom ROM experience with my first Samsung in 2014.
you can disable the app manager thing and it should stop these.
or just buy an S series phone, they don't come with any non-samsung bloatware. A series are partially bloatware-funded.
edit: this looks like carrier bloat to me
Sheesh, even my S-series phone comes with a few extra things that I cannot easily get rid of or uninstall...
ah that must be it.
This should be illegal!
Proprietary software moment...
T Mobile keeps trying to have me install their crappy suggested apps every time they do a software update. And I cant make the pop up go away till I go through their shit and uncheck everything.
Was wondering if I'd see this comment. Had the same thing with my phone. Fuck no I don't want T-Mobile to automatically install bullshit recommend apps! The audacity.
And its been doing it every update, lately!
That is why i rooted my phone as a tech noobie, and it gives me security warning everytime i restart it. As if their shitty apps are not security breach, lol.
A rooted phone is definitely a bigger security risk if you don't know what you're doing, as anything with root access is unbounded by the usual android permission system, and can completely demolish your OS. Additionally it can serve as a big warning if someone else has tampered with your device.
Indeed, though I have yet to meet somebody that “doesn’t know what he’s doing” in matters of rooting. Basically, the phones that are still the easiest to bootload unlock are usually only appealing to tech geeks, while the most mainstream phones have a much more complex and hacky (if at all possible) process to unlock. So that in itself filters a lot of tech non-savvy users from getting into the subject…
I’m not sure I agree though with "as anything with root access is unbounded by the usual android permission system, and can completely demolish your OS”. Android’s permission system is imho garbage. It may on paper tick the “provides user with permission management” but since apps that are ill-intended will usually 1) drown the layperson in a multitude of permission requests to do anything,, it will usually translate to the user blanket accepting everything defying fine permission management as a whole 2) finer ID / privacy related data acces permissions don’t even get prompted for access, and only rely on the completely broken dev declarative scheme on the play store. IMHO, the finer permission management solutions that the Android community came up with ages ago (well before Android/Apple even thought fo implementing any permission management) did a much better job.
Rooting comes with a root manager (magisk, superUser…) that modal-prompts the user for either permanent or one-time allow / deny access when an app requests root that can be secured by fingerprint/password. I’d argue Root managers are more user-stupidity-proof thant Android’s own permission manager.
As for malicious apps requesting rooting, well, in the end, if the user is 1) stupid enough to download such apps (I’m guessing shady warez / cheat enabled games for the masses) 2) even stupider to accept a root access request from such an app… let natural selection do its job.
A lot of people definitely don't realize what rooting actually means. If a user blindly accepts all permissions, there's no way it can be framed as an OS problem, that's definitely a user problem. If an app requests permission I think it shouldn't have, I deny it. If the app doesn't work afterwards, I don't need the app.
Totally true, yet this thread app access requestments are more scary to me. I would like to limit those kind of apps. I root to install some ROMs and have fun, by "noobie" i meant that i can't follow the steps without a guide. I didn't mean that i run havok with root accesses left and right.
Thanks for the warnings, yet i still think a literal gambling app is much more risky. I don't use my mobile phone on sensitive password saving apps or banking apps as i think those are risky on rooted phone too. I am just having fun as a careful newbie.
A lot of banking apps in europa don't work on rooted phones, so that is not an option.
No problem with Magisk, been using banking apps on rooted phones for years
Fortunately you can use magisk to hide the rooted status from most apps. At least in Finland, I have had no problems with Nordea or Danske Bank. I remember that some app was troublesome, but I think I figured that one out also eventually.
Magisk (latest release) + Universel SafetyNet Fix v2.4.0-MOD_1.2 (kdrag0n github) + add the apps to the zygist deny list + rename magisk manager. → does the job for me.
Rightfully so. I don't think rooting a phone is a save option for banking purposes. I use my PC for that
When you dont know what you're doing it feels that way. I completely understand🙂
Condescending much?
🙃
Just my 2 cents I am on an unlocked S20 and don't have these apps getting installed
Great. As an appliance salesman I’ve been saying about Samsung that “well at least they make great phones and TVs” but now I can’t even say that.
It's been happening lately on my S22 Ultra. Very annoying. If I didn't think I'd brick my phone, I would root it. Well first I would figure out what rooting is... :\
I had been using Samsung for the longest time before my current device and lemme tell ya, even with their flagships they pull this shit, I'm always having to go in and delete whatever shit they download, like, no, I have no desire to play fucking ROYAL MATCH please stop asking me
I have had the recent S series Samsung phones and no bloatware was uninstalled via updates like this, that's still disappointing to see
When will the Lemmy phone launch? I'm ready to cancel anything now
In the meantime, if you have or can find a compatible device, there is LineageOS.
That's how I have a Xiaomi phone without any of the MIUI bullshit.
+1 to this. Next time I'll be buying a new phone, I'll have a look at what phones are supported by LOS
Right now I'm on a Xiaomi CC9 with LOS. It felt a whole new phone after I got rid of MIUI (which didn't receive any updates in about one year and half)
The problem is getting a brand new model compatible with LOS.
Last year I specifically got a Redmi Note 9 Pro (brand new unit), which at the time was a 2 year old model, because it was one of the few models that matched the specifications I was looking for AND it was officially LOS supported.
I mean, I'm pretty happy with it, this thing is a beast and I'm not one of those guys who need the last model of everything, but I paid the around same of what the new Redmi Note 11s costed at the time. No regrets; anything to have a Xiaomi without that MIUI cancer.
So...stupid question, how do you have service? Like, you would still have to contact one of them (t-mobile, at&t, verizon) to make the "cell" part work, right?
You still use the carrier sim card for a connection. That doesn't depend on what OS you're using.
Nope... it just works, really, like with a stock rom. I'm Europe, but I don't think that matters.
AFAIK, smartphones just get those settings automatically from the service provider. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
GrapheneOS is fantastic. I've also heard a lot of good things about LineageOS, lately. Both are pretty much what you're asking for, I suspect.
I've had a Galaxy Note 10+ for 3 years and I've now had an S23 Ultra since around February. Not once have I had random apps installed.
I'm with Rogers Wireless in Canada.
Ah yes the Samsung and their bloatware.
On S23 is almost 60GB https://www.neowin.net/news/heres-the-apparent-truth-behind-the-60gb-android-os-on-galaxy-s23/
That's why when a look for a phone, always research if there's custom ROMs for it, AOSP based.
I control what's on the phone, not otherwise
It's bad but not 60GB, as per the linked article:
"In other words, the lost storage in the case of a 512GB S23 would be around 35GB after subtracting 477 (the actual available capacity) from 512 (the total advertised), while the actual One UI installation size of S23 Ultra comes out to around 22GB when we deduct this 35GB from the 57GB reported in the original article."
Still not great at 22GB though
That's why I only ever bought one Samsung phone (a galaxy 6 I think) . They do have a tendency to install shit on phones that you will never use but can't delete.
There were a few ways of deleting those apps from Samsung on the web but I focus on buying clean phones with no shite loading (like OnePlus and Pixel). Although my first Pixel send to be bullying me to put my everything on their cloud servers - where all your datas are belong to them 🤣😂 via EULA.
I love my Pixel with Niagara launcher for the love translation. Wtf Google with that locked-down home screen. I'll live with the removed call record even though it's legal in the free world.
https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/18/samsung_bluray_mass_dieoff_explained/shoutouts to the time Samsung bricked my blu ray player
My family all have Samsung phones, I guess because we like to stick with what we know. That said, this has never happened to us. I suspect it is a carrier thing, we purchase our phones outright from Samsung or an electronics store, not from the phone carrier on a plan. We are also in Australia, which may have an effect.
Mobile Services Manager, that my friend is what we call Carrier Bloat.
None of my Samsung since Galaxy S6 has that, given they were all were retail bought.
You scared the crap outta me man. For a second I thought connect for lemmy sold out! Haha
Wow. Such thing never happened to me on my Samsung phone. What's your model?
Of course it did. What phone is it?
I would certainly recommend giving rooting it a shot, then you won't have this problem anymore.
Yeah, Windows does the same!
This is why I don't buy an Android device if it won't allow me to unlock the bootloader and sideload a ROM of my choice. Android OEM operating systems suck nowadays (at least the ones I've been subjected to recently: Samsung's and Xiaomi's).
Samsung phones just sucks.
Switched to fairphone and could root it without installing twrp, there was only one extra app and I could just disable the google apps and switch to foss ones.
This is not a Samsung issue. Your carrier is doing this because you have a carrier locked phone. To prevent it, buy a carrier unlocked phone and it won't happen.
Source: Me who always buys carrier unlocked
As long as the difference is $2000 for an unbranded phone vs $20 for a carrier version, I'll keep putting up with the bullshit (or rather installing a custom ROM). But you are absolutely right. This is mostly a carrier thing. Though of the two times I got an unbranded phone, one of them was the Galaxy 4, and it still had bullshit I couldn't get rid of or didn't want. It also was one of the hardest to install custom firmware to. I would never buy a Samsung phone carrier branded or not.
I have a Samsung phone atm (never been loyal to a brand before...I'm always hopping around), and it doesn't have anything too weird on it.
One minor annoyance is Samsung's insistence on having their own version of an app for everything...so I have two messaging apps, two file browser apps, two photo gallery apps. At least you can simply disable or hide apps you don't use.
I will say every phone brand has their own flavor of custom apps they decide to pre-load the phone with. Some just have more than others. I don't know if any phone brands nowadays have truly and completely stock android on them. Google used to AFAIK, but I think even they have their own custom shit too nowadays.
Ironic that I'm tired of this post about unwanted apps popping up in every feed of mine every time I refresh to see new ones 😂🤦
God damnit. I though Samsung got better.
They do this even with their A7X series phones, which is priced in the upper mid range / lower flagship category. Not only do they use a lower end chip than their competitors in the same price segment, they have the audacity to give software updates disguised as ads. No amount of money will satisfy these greedy companies.
Yah this happens with my work phone on a Verizon network but not my personal on t-mobile.*
*totally not sponsored by t-mobile
So this is where this came from I didn't even realize how these had shown up on my phone. This is so stupid.
Can you nuke Mobile Services Manager, or is that “critical to the functionality of the system” according to Samsung?
Happened with me too few times. Irritating!
Not cool, Samsung.
Wish it was easier to just install stock Android on a new phone.
Soooooo you don't want to play solitaire Grand harvest?
Bought a Xiaomi phone, rooted it, loving it, so cheap and still private enough. I'll just can't get my head around in spending almost a grand for a freaking phone.
Why I don't even consider Samsung phones.
Never seen this on my s21 ultra.
Also never seen on my Z Fold4
I think it's mainly on budget and midrange phones. Still unacceptable
Fellow z fold 4 owner, they do it at all price points and I'm patiently waiting for a good Linux phone as the fold will probably be my last Android.
Samsung will install bloat on an $80k TV too....
Certain markets too, perhaps. I'm in the US with an A32 because I've just flat-out stopped paying for flagships, and I haven't seen any junk in the most recent update.
When people ask why I switched to and stuck with an iphone, I always go back to "Google doesn't know how to do text messages", but I forgot about this lovely issue. You can't truly own an Android that isn't a Pixel and expect software OS updates on a regular basis without bloatware. Additionally, the update does not need to go through your carrier, something that is the largest red flag for me to stop buying non-unlocked Android phones (at least the last time I looked this was a thing).
Imagine if you went to a dealership, and go to buy a brand new car, but the dealer says they have to do some "improvements" to it before you can drive it off the lot. Only, you don't know what they did or why, and the car manufacturer doesn't know either. It's fucked up.
Happened to me too every time I update my Samsung J6
Happened with me too few times. Irritating!
I think there is an app called app install. Disable that shit
Samsung has been known for this for 12+ years.
When you buy a Samsung, you're specifically choosing this.
It's the CARRIER, not Samsung. When you use an iPhone, you specifically choose not to understand things.