Turns out all the "unremovable" Samsung apps from the android Galaxy A14 can be uninstalled after all. It's convoluted, but worth it: far snappier – far more responsive, less memory usage.
Enable developer options.
Under developer options, enable USB debugging.
connect to a laptop via USB.
Install "adb" (Android Debug Bridge) in the laptop, a command like tool. In Ubuntu 22.04, do "sudo apt install adb". There are packages online for other operating systems.
Discover which apps to remove. Not trivial, but there are various lists of Samsung "bloatware" online.
Then, use adb to discover which packages to remove. For example:
If no apps match the search, then use the "App List" (installable via F-Droid store) to list all user apps or system apps (from a toggle on the top-right menu), which lists all apps by name and with the package name under it.
An app that I removed that indeed drops some possibly valuable services but which greatly improve UI responsiveness:
Samsung forces repair shops to sign a TERRIBLE contract, that requires technicians to destroy your phone if they find non-Samsung parts in your device! iFixit is dropping their partnership with Samsung.
It should be no surprise that Samsung would sabotage the trust and goodwill of its customers.
Samsung requires shops to report unknowing customers coming in for repair while pushing a narrative that it is committed to your right to tinker with a device you own.
#Samsung#RightToRepair#DataProtection: "In exchange for selling them repair parts, Samsung requires independent repair shops to give Samsung the name, contact information, phone identifier, and customer complaint details of everyone who gets their phone repaired at these shops, according to a contract obtained by 404 Media. Stunningly, it also requires these nominally independent shops to “immediately disassemble” any phones that customers have brought them that have been previously repaired with aftermarket or third-party parts and to “immediately notify” Samsung that the customer has used third-party parts.
"Company shall immediately disassemble all products that are created or assembled out of, comprised of, or that contain any Service Parts not purchased from Samsung,” a section of the agreement reads. “And shall immediately notify Samsung in writing of the details and circumstances of any unauthorized use or misappropriation of any Service Part for any purpose other than pursuant to this Agreement. Samsung may terminate this Agreement if these terms are violated.""
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"Samsung requires independent repair shops to give Samsung the name, contact information, phone identifier, and customer complaint details of everyone who gets their phone repaired at these shops"
And:
"it also requires these nominally independent shops to “immediately disassemble” any phones that customers have brought them that have been previously repaired with aftermarket or third-party parts"
We want a future of repairable gadgets and less ewaste.
5-7 years of software support doesn't mean anything if we can't keep the hardware running well for 7 years.
Glad to see iFixit didn't go quiet on this one.
I've been trying to highlight Samsung's scummy business practices for a couple years now, but when they can't even make a support contract work with iFixit, it's a REAL bad look.
«...for every repair, an independent repair shop must send #Samsung your name, address, telephone number, your phone’s unique serial number and IMEI, your “customer complaint,” and all the details of your repair. »
@blogdiva Which is probably directly contradicting European data protection laws.
Personal data (and name or IMEI is exactly that) cannot be transferred at all by the mere wish of some Korean entity. European repair shops that follow this contractual obligation are in violation of law.
Even an EULA might not make this legal, because one can clearly repair a device without transmitting such data. And for personal data one has to show that the data transfer is actually necessary.
AI Laptop REACTIONS! https://somegadgetguy.com/b/45Q
Checking out all the announcements today from Dell, HP, Microsoft, Samsung, Acer, Asus, and Lenovo! I did a live recording of my reactions.
Windows on ARM is getting REALLY exciting! Here are some things to look out for while shopping a new "AI" laptop!
@SomeGadgetGuy No worries, I understand your point. Arm is not a good idea for the future. They are and they were limited from the very beginning, even back then at the designing table. As same thing as with the x86 or x86_64 architecture is. At one point in time they will reach those borders and it will be end of story. But the completely different thing is with the RISC-V. This one is not limited in any way. I think this architecture should be developed very much. That's the future for us all.
@MartinBe
Yeah but ARM isn't really "limited" anymore. Software support has improved radically, and there is no approaching that performance per watt with RISC. See also, every phone and MacBook currently being sold.
My points before, of course we want RISC and an open architecture some day, but we also need to make it through the day with a computer today.
When I can buy a RISC machine that can accomplish the tasks I need to accomplish, I'll happily do so. There is no RISC ecosystem that approaches the robust ecosystem of ARM. Along the way, I can't keep recommending to consumers "just keep waiting for a machine that won't exist for YEARS now, until massive corporations decide to make one". That's not how a consumer tech cycle works.
So as a tech reviewer, I'm in a position where I need to make recommendations for the needs people have now, while also educating on the kind of purchasing that might help enable the resources we need in the future.
I'm looking for a way to add a Korean calendar to my #samsung calendar ( without using Google calendar )
On the samsung smartphone I'm able to add the lunar #korean#calendar but that's not enough to show me 추석 and others fest .
Any tips?
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Samsung TV Plus is free and has a TON of content, both live and on demand.
You will have to sign up for an account, but Apple's "Hide My Email" works just fine. The signup process is VERY buggy, but press on, you'll get there.
Currently watching "Jobs" on my Mac. Thought that was apropos.
@davemark VPN operators see all your DNS queries, every web site you visit, ever connection you make. They know when you’re using Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, iMessage, whatever. Without the VPN your ISP sees all this. Choose your monetizing snoop wisely.
To my original point, free from Samsung makes the user the product. What data about you will they pilfer? Just your watching habits? That’s never enough for the other snoops. Device fingerprints, apps installed, mouse tracking? Touch tracking? Keystroke tracking? Will they poke through your file system? Stick you with more cookies to track elsewhere? Do they turn on microphones or cameras? Listen via your accelerometers? And so forth.
We're currently looking for a new refrigerator because we're renovating our kitchen. The existing built in fridge has been there for the 16 years that we've lived here, and who knows how long before. It's awful: The internal temperature fluctuates between freezing and 8 C and it guzzles electricity - measurement suggests ~500 kWh per year.
For some reason all new built in fridges still have high energy usage, so we're only looking at free-standing models.
Most fridge/freezer combi models are absurdly large. It's a stretch to reach the top shelf inside.
All the A-rated refrigerators are huge and have apps. Linking appliances to the internet is IMO stupid and in any case white goods ought to last longer than mobile phones.
Some of the B rated models are only just behind the 'A's in energy usage but they usually have apps as well.
Then there's the problem of avoiding boycotted brands (#siemens linked to Israel and Russia, #liebherr and #samsung to Russia, #Beko to Turkey).
Wlasnie za pomoca paru prostych ustawien odblokowalem w swoim #Garmin#Venu3 aplikacje #EKG - na #Samsung.u to wymagalo instalowania jakiejs odblokowanej wersji firmware, a finalnie i tak sie w koncu nie udalo 😅