How to remove unwanted MetroPCS apps from the Samsung Admire (SCH-R720)
Like many other carrier-locked devices, the Samsung Admire comes with a lot of bloatware loaded on by MetroPCS that may not be wanted by many MetroPCS users. This How-To will show you how to remove those apps without harming your device or the carrier getting angry about it.
I. Before You Begin
1. Instead of deleting the MetroPCS apps, you might want to save them somewhere else, just in case you need to reinstall them at a later time.
2. As you will need to access system folders to do this, root is required before you proceed with this tutorial. Follow our post on how to root the Admire before you continue on this.
3. There’s no need to back up anything, unless you are going to back up the apps that you will be deleting below.
II. Installing Super aToolbox
For this section, you could use Super aToolbox or any other Android file manager which is capable of giving access to your system files. I recommend Super aToolbox because you won’t just be getting a file manager but a whole suite of apps to maintain your device, so this seems a better option than the other ones available. Root Explorer is another popular option but since it is a paid app, I prefer the Super aToolbox to it. Head over to the Market on your Admire or install the Super aToolbox via the web-based browser.
III. Deleting the Applications
1. Open up Super aToolbox and click on File Manager.
2. Using the File Manager, navigate to the /system/app folder.
3. You will find all the applications you have installed on your Samsung Admire in this folder including the ones MetroPCS bundled with the device. The files you might want to delete are:
Metro411_V1.0.7.1_02042011.apk – Metro411
metroappstore1.5.apk – Metro App Store
MetroBackup_1.70.apk – Metro BackUp
MetroPCS_Visual_Voice_Mail_3_14_04.apk – Visual Voice Mail
MetroSTUDIO_v1.00.30_Build30_03302011.apk – MetroStudio
MyExtras.apk – My Extras
MyMetro.apk (May consider leaving as it allows you to view account info, but can be removed)
Samsung_R720_IMandSocial_V4.0.8_build0203.apk – IM and Social
SamsungR720_MetroNavigator_4.9.1_Build_86_04252011_rel_signed_PROD.apk – MetroNavigator
ThinkFree.apk – ThinkFree Office
z7-android2x.apk – Mail@Metro
4. Press and hold on each of these apk’s to bring up the edit menu, then select delete, or cut if you plan to save any of the files for future use.
5. While the apk versions may differ depending on what update you have installed, most of the base names for the apks will remain the same, so you can go ahead and delete them. For example, you might find metroappstore1.6.apk instead of metroappstore1.5.apk as I have listed above – this just means that the application has been updated but it’s still bloatware that you want to get rid off.
5. Be Warned: Deleting or meddling with anything else in the /system/app could render your device unusable at worst or you might end up deleting an app you had installed at best. So please be extra careful when you are deleting files here.
That’s it. Once you have deleted all of the apks listed above, you should finally be able to get rid of all those unwanted apps you have always wanted to remove from your MetroPCS Admire!!
Thanks to AI for the list of deletable apps!!!
Hi Dax- i followed the steps and everything worked fine until after i started deleting the apps and realized that after i confirmed each of them and rebooted none of them actually were deleted.
First i tried to delete MyExtras.apk – My Extras and confirmed it and still it is there and debug is checked….pls advise
thanks
i am having the same problem as keith^ none of the apps are actually being removed from my phone even though it is “confirming” the deletion. PLEASE HELP!!
It didn’t work fro me either.
Did not work for me either. The applications SEEM like they should be removed, but as others have noted, they are still there even after rebooting.
I’m not sure if Super aToolbox does this automatically or even has a feature, but your system drive is by default mounted as Read Only. You’ll need to mount it as Read/Write, check the settings, look for a button for changing the way it’s mounted. If not, there is in fact a button for it in the top-left corner of RootExplorer if you don’t mind paying.
so i tried this, everything went well up to the actual deleting of apps, so i took Super aToolbox off and downloaded root browser light and it worked way better, now i dont have any of those stupid metro apps on my phone 🙂
update: its a pain in the ass to delete them because after each deletion your phone turns off, i guess its like an auto reboot, but its like super annoying.
Yeah fuck super atool box root browser works greak but the reload does suck after every deletion
Ummmm, yeah so this is not working. Everything went fine until I got to deleting them. I confirmed but they are still there
didn’t work. I tried all three options above. I installed and paid for root browser but the files didn’t go anywhere.
As easy as it sounds, a dozen tries later I still can’t get the bloatware off…
make sure that you grant superuser access to Superuser aToolbox or you won’t have write access to delete MetroPCS apps, which will be considered system files and hence protected
And how do you do that?
if you are sure you are rooted, you should get a pop-up asking to you confirm superuser access to Superuser aToolbox. Just select grant access and you should be able to delete them
I installed Root Checker which asks for permission from SuperUser and says my phone is rooted. I tried several times deleting the apps and it just doesnt work – I dont get an error or anything, just doesnt work. I never got a pop-up asking to confirm either…what should I do?
same thing here. What’s the deal?
Anna, try a different file explorer, something like ES Explorer or Root Explorer, where you are asked to set permission (read/write). Set it to write, delete the apps and then sent it back to read!
Dax said right. You must provide Superuser access to the app else it won’t be able to modify the system files.
According to my phone I am supposedly rooted, however it does not give me the option of granting superuser access to Superuser aToolbox.
i cnt find the systems app in the file manager.. help pls