How to completely uninstall an Android system app?

Question

I am developing an Android system app. For uninstalling it, merely deleting the APK from system/app sometimes does not remove its shared preferences.

So, what is the proper method of completely uninstalling a system app which will ensure that it removes everything associated with this app?

@PankajKumar :Using ES file explorer app,going to system/app,selecting my app and just deleting. — Basher51, Aug 14 '14 at 06:13

score 7 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 18 '18 at 15:31

7

It seems you are doing this on a rooted device. So, the below command will do your task:

adb shell rm /system/app/APK_NAME.apk      // Removes apk file from /system/app/ location
adb shell pm clear com.yourapp.packagename // Removes application data

It may need a root permission, so before running above commands, you should run the below commands to take root privilege:

adb root
adb remount

and then run the above commands.

edited Dec 18 '18 at 15:31

Alexander Abakumov

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answered Aug 14 '14 at 06:15

Pankaj Kumar

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Should this be executed when the device is running,or can I use this in the recovery mode as well? – Basher51 Aug 14 '14 at 06:22
when the device is running. – Pankaj Kumar Aug 14 '14 at 06:31
1

What is the difference between `adb shell rm` + `adb shell pm clear` combo and [`adb uninstall`](https://android.stackexchange.com/a/92130/78385)? – Alexander Abakumov Dec 18 '18 at 15:45

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 05 '18 at 07:42

This is a way to remove/uninstall (not from the phone as it comes back with factory reset) almost ANY app WITHOUT root INCLUDING system apps (hint: the annoying update app that updates your phone line it or not can usually be found by grepping for "ccc")

In order to do this you need to:

have adb installed
have usb debugging turned on

a. in the phone go to settings --> system --> about phone --> tap rapidly 7 times on "Build number"

b. in the phone go to settings --> system --> Developer options

c. under "Debugging" turn on "USB debugging"
have the phone connected to via a USB cable

The following example kills the presidential alert app:

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.cellbroadcastreceiver

It would look like this:

$ adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.cellbroadcastreceiver
Success

To view users run:

adb shell pm list users

you will see something like this:

$ adb shell pm list users                                                
Users:
     UserInfo{0:Owner:13} running

The first number "0" is the user ID number then seperated by ":" next comes the "name" or username of the user ("Owner" is above example) then after another ":" the group number (13). All you need is the user number/UID "0". It is VERY rare to see more than one user. The Android OS can support > 1 user but I have yet to ever see it used. There may be a few apps you might see a response of "Failed" for but 95%+ you should see "Success".

To list all the apps you can run:

$ adb shell pm list packages [-f]

The -f switch is for a "Full" listing which outputs is this format: package://.apk=com.app.name where "package:" is always first followed by the full path to the apk file of the app then followed immediately with "=" then the dotten notated app name - note there are no spaces to the left/right of "=". Below is an example:

package:/system/priv-app/MmsService/MmsService.apk=com.android.mms.service
package:/data/app/aws.apps.netPortDb-1/base.apk=aws.apps.netPortDb
package:/oem/priv-app/Ignite/Ignite.apk=com.LogiaGroup.LogiaDeck

You will notice there are 3 starting directories [/system, /data, /oem] The system apps usually start with /system; apps you install usually start with /data; and apps force installed by who you got the phone through (VZW, ATT, etc) usually start with /oem. While is is not the case 100% of the time is ios very often the way apps are placed.