[GUIDE] Ad removal - Debloat - Block OTA: easy TWRP install scripts

emc2cube · Jul 31, 2016

[SIZE=+3]TWRP scripts: Ad removal - Debloat - Block OTA[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+2]Amazon Prime Variant and OEM Variant[/SIZE]
Tested on Prime and OEM variants. Please report back if any issues

[SIZE=+1]This guide only require you to be able to boot TWRP. You can follow this TWRP install guide and perform the installation of these .zip files AFTER step 8) (You must backup your system in case anything goes wrong, you will also need this backup to perform any future OTA, such as the one activating band 12). You can either stop there after installation, or proceed to the following steps if you want to have root access.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+1]All .zip have to be installed using the TWRP "Install" function. You will need to download them on your phone or copy them on a SD card. You do not need to install all these packages at once. These scripts do not install or remove anything on /system, they only rename some files. All scripts can be extracted and opening "update-binary" with your favorite text editor will allow you to see exactly what is done (always a good idea if you are concerned with your device security), and customize it if you wish.
This will only rename the stock apps in your /system. If an update was performed, or if you used the app previously, the app and it's files may still be present on your device /data even after running these scripts but you will be able to uninstall them as any other app. This also means that you can rerun these scripts after a future OTA and they will not erase any app you reinstalled yourself on /data.
A "reset all" script is also provided to restore all apps and unblock OTA.
You can individually restore any app by using a file manager with root access (or TWRP built-in one) and rename any "*.apk_" to "*.apk", app will show up again after the next reboot.
[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+1]Disable ads, block OTA and Amazon PARTIAL debloat "bluR1-AMZ-PARTIALdebloat-blockOTA"[/SIZE]
This package will remove all the ads from your Prime phone and block future OTA. You DO NOT need to reset / wipe your phone after installation.
It will also remove all Amazon apps from your system except for the Amazon Underground app store (recommended).
This option allows automatic background updates from the amazon app store and do not need you allow the installation of packages from unknown sources.

[SIZE=+1]Disable ads, block OTA and Amazon FULL debloat "bluR1-AMZ-FULLdebloat-blockOTA"[/SIZE]
This package will remove all the ads from your Prime phone and block future OTA. You DO NOT need to reset / wipe your phone after installation.
It will also remove all Amazon apps from your system including the Amazon Underground app store.

[SIZE=+1]Google PARTIAL debloat "bluR1-GOOGLE-debloat"[/SIZE]
This package will remove SOME stock Google apps that can be easily downloaded from the google play store and are not required for the system.
This will only remove apps in the /system partition. This means that if you downloaded or reinstalled some of the apps they won't be removed by the script. It also means that if you previously used the phone and some apps were updated they will still be installed in your /data/app, but you will be able to uninstall them manually as any other app.

List of removed apps and their Google Play link for easy reinstall:

It will not disable Google Play store, Play services etc. Some of the apps can be removed by editing the script yourself. See the "update-binary" file. No additional help to do so will be provided, do it at your own risks.

[SIZE=+1]Mediatek and BLU PARTIAL debloat "bluR1-MTK_BLU-debloat"[/SIZE]
This package will remove SOME stock Mediatek and BLU apps.

[SIZE=+1]Restore all apps and OTA "bluR1-RestoreApps-OTA"[/SIZE]
This package will restore all apps and unblock OTAs.

Changelog:
07/30/2016 - Topic creation. Amazon ad removal / debloat / OTA blocking scripts from the original post moved here for a better visibility. Initial release of Google and Mediatek debloat scripts.
08/17/2016 - MTK debloat script updated to fix FileManager removal bug
10/01/2016 - Scripts updated to v2. Now only rename files, restore script provided (V1 downloads: AMZ-PARTIAL 740, AMZ-FULL 828, GOOGLE 747, MTK 536)
05/31/2017 - Some scripts updated to v2 or v3, support V8.4 and V21 changes in folder and apk names. (V2 downloads: AMZ-PARTIAL 774, AMZ-FULL 1208, MTK 544, RESTORE 294)
07/13/2017 - MTK and OTA restore script updated to fix a typo in BLUHelp debloating. (V3 previous downloads: MTK 60, RESTORE 44)

ericpeacock79 · Jul 31, 2016

thanks for this! very nice of you to make all the different options as well.
worked great for me on first try.

rmartinezdl · Jul 31, 2016

Now I'm tempted to buy the 50 version, would this leave your phone as stock?

emc2cube · Jul 31, 2016

rmartinezdl said:
would this leave your phone as stock?

I do not have access to a stock ROM or nandroid backup to compare everything so I can't be 100% sure but as far as I know pretty much yes.

waingro808 · Jul 31, 2016

Scripts worked perfect and didn't delete the Google apps I actually use! Thanks!

Fibrizox · Aug 3, 2016

Problems after Factory Reset

after factory reset got a Error looping, “Unfortunately, Setup Wizard has stopped.”
Method to bypass problem,
1. Boot into TWRP Recovery
2. Mount System ( Mount → check System )
3. Advanced → File Manager
4. Browse to /system/priv-app/Setup-Wizard
5. Delete it

Also, home button and menu button doesn't work
(had to restore from backup)

ariesgodofwar · Aug 3, 2016

Fibrizox said:
after factory reset got a Error looping, “Unfortunately, Setup Wizard has stopped.”
Method to bypass problem,
1. Boot into TWRP Recovery
2. Mount System ( Mount → check System )
3. Advanced → File Manager
4. Browse to /system/priv-app/Setup-Wizard
5. Delete it

Also, home button and menu button doesn't work
(had to restore from backup)

Or in between the pop up error messages you can go to Settings-> Apps->App Permissions and give Setup Wizard the necessary permissions.

Gizmosis350k · Aug 13, 2016

So to clarify I can use the script to also disable ota for a prime that's been converted to OEM? excellent

ulises.rodriguez · Aug 13, 2016

I am a Prime-Member and would like to buy two NEW BLU R1 HD - 16 GB - Black - Prime Exclusive - with Lockscreen Offers & Ads:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H2E0J5M/ref=twister_B01G7TG6SW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

However, since I am buying these two cellphones for my sons, and I don't want that they have access to my amazon account details...

So, I would like to know if these phones will come fully registered to my Amazon account, or if it is possible to block or unregister these phones to my Account ?

So, my Amazon Orders, List and Shopping Cart, can not be seen or used by my sons ?

At first and if not totally necessary, I not want to root or modify nothing on this Blue phone... I just would like to totally block in some simple way, my Amazon account that I will use to purchase these phones, possibly because both will come already registered to the same account.

lordmorphous · Aug 14, 2016

ulises.rodriguez said:
I am a Prime-Member and would like to buy two NEW BLU R1 HD - 16 GB - Black - Prime Exclusive - with Lockscreen Offers & Ads:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H2E0J5M/ref=twister_B01G7TG6SW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

However, since I am buying these two cellphones for my sons, and I don't want that they have access to my amazon account details...

So, I would like to know if these phones will come fully registered to my Amazon account, or if it is possible to block or unregister these phones to my Account ?

So, my Amazon Orders, List and Shopping Cart, can not be seen or used by my sons ?

At first and if not totally necessary, I not want to root or modify nothing on this Blue phone... I just would like to totally block in some simple way, my Amazon account that I will use to purchase these phones, possibly because both will come already registered to the same account.

They do not come registered to your account at all. Signing into an amazon account is an option during setup, but not required.

ulises.rodriguez · Aug 14, 2016

Thanks for letting me know that these BLUE phones, not come pre-registered to an amazon account...

That's just what I wanted to know before ordering my two phones.

oakami · Aug 16, 2016

The scripts worked perfectly except for the MTK one. The ugly file manager is still there.

emc2cube · Aug 16, 2016

oakami said:
The scripts worked perfectly except for the MTK one. The ugly file manager is still there.

This is strange. What phone version do you have? (Prime, normal, Prime converted to normal, etc)

Is the Gallery App gone? If yes try to uninstall the file explorer manually like any other app, else try to run the script again to be sure nothing went wrong.

oakami · Aug 17, 2016

emc2cube said:
This is strange. What phone version do you have? (Prime, normal, Prime converted to normal, etc)

Is the Gallery App gone? If yes try to uninstall the file explorer manually like any other app, else try to run the script again to be sure nothing went wrong.

I have the prime version. I flashed TWRP plus superSU and Xposed. The gallery app is gone. I tried installing the script again but the file manager is still there.

emc2cube · Aug 17, 2016

oakami said:
I have the prime version. I flashed TWRP plus superSU and Xposed. The gallery app is gone. I tried installing the script again but the file manager is still there.

Found the problem. Please redownload the script from the original post, I updated it and it should now remove properly the file manager.
Thank you for your bug report!

CircularApex · Aug 22, 2016

Thanks so much for this.

Also wanted to let people know that I removed Google Play Service and Google Play (store) without any issues so far.

I will update this post if I run into any problems.

Thanks again!

lostman1027 · Aug 25, 2016

Any way to make the Camera app launch Google Photos? It now just gives me an error since I removed the Gallery app...

emc2cube · Aug 25, 2016

lostman1027 said:
Any way to make the Camera app launch Google Photos? It now just gives me an error since I removed the Gallery app...

No, use of the default gallery app is hardcoded in the camera app.
You can only launch Google Photos using the shortcut displayed after taking a new picture.

If you use an alternative camera app (I use Open Camera https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera ) these will correctly launch Google Photos or any other default gallery app.

emc2cube · Sep 6, 2016

For testing purpose (seems to work ok on my phone) here is an update of the scripts.
These ones will not delete the apps in /system but rename them from *.apk to *.apk_ effectively disabling and hiding them.

Two main advantages:
- Each app can easily be individually disabled/reactivated using TWRP builtin file explorer or any file explorer with root access by renaming them back to *.apk.
- Easily revert to an out of the box state to be able to apply an OTA update by simply using "bluR1-RestoreApps-OTA.zip" script. This will "rebloat" your system. If you installed root etc you still have to take care of this yourself.

If you are giving these scripts a try, please report success / failure so I can eventually update the original post.

Edit 09/10/2016: scripts updated to debloat non-prime phones, restore script released.
Edit 10/01/2016: scripts are now available on OP, beta is over. Thanks to the few testers that reported back!

Wadech · Sep 11, 2016

Oops, wrong thread.

[GUIDE] Ad removal - Debloat - Block OTA: easy TWRP install scripts

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