It's great if your phone comes with pre-installed applications that you actually use, however most phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch come with bloatware. These are applications pre-installed on your device but which you don't actually (or frequently) use and which you cannot uninstall. The only way around it is through root access.
You can opt not to remove such unnecessary applications, however they tend to slow down the performance of your device and consume significant storage and RAM. There is now a way to get rid of them–Calkulin's Bare ROM Converter, an application developed by XDA Developers member Calkulin.
The Bare ROM Converter is meant to bust most of the bloatware on your phone. Removing such pesky apps can help you save some precious memory and your phone's performance will most likely improve.
According to the developer, the Bare ROM Converter moves apps into a folder on the phone's SD card, where they will stay unable to bog down your system any longer. The following apps are moved to /sdcard/Removed_Apps as of version 2.0 of the Bare ROM Converter:
- AnalogClock.apk/odex
- BluetoothTestMode.apk/odex
- Books.apk/odex
- BooksPhone.apk/odex
- BuddiesNow.apk/odex
- CCR.apk/odex
- DefaultHomeSelector.apk/odex
- DigitalClock.apk/odex
- DownloadProviderUi.apk/odex
- DrmProvider.apk/odex
- DrmUA.apk/odex
- DualClock.apk/odex
- FactoryTest.apk/odex
- GOLauncherEX.apk/odex
- GOLauncherEXNotification.apk/odex
- GoogleFeedback.apk/odex
- Keytracer.apk/odex
- Kies.apk/odex
- KiesAir.apk/odex
- kieswifi.apk/odex
- lcdtest.apk/odex
- MediaHub.apk/odex
- MinimalHome.apk/odex
- MobilePrint.apk/odex
- MobileTrackerEngineTwo.apk/odex
- NovaLauncher.apk/odex
- PanningTryActually.apk/odex
- PhoneCrashNotifier.apk/odex
- PhoneErrService.apk/odex
- PlusOne.apk/odex
- PolarisOffice.apk/odex
- PreloadInstaller.apk/odex
- PressReader.apk/odex
- Protips.apk/odex
- SamsungAppsUNAService.apk/odex
- SamsungWidget_News.apk/odex
- SamsungWidget_ProgramMonitor.apk/odex
- SamsungWidget_StockClock.apk/odex
- SamsungWidget_WeatherClock.apk/odex
- SecDownloadProviderUi.apk/odex
- SecretWallpaper1.apk/odex
- SecretWallpaper2.apk/odex
- SelfTestMode.apk/odex
- SisoDrmProvider.apk/odex
- SmartDeviceManager.apk/odex
- SlateTest.apk/odex
- SnsAccountFb.apk/odex
- SnsAccountLi.apk/odex
- SnsAccountMs.apk/odex
- SnsAccountTw.apk/odex
- SnsDisclaimer.apk/odex
- SnsImageCache.apk/odex
- SnsProvider.apk/odex
- SocialHub.apk/odex
- Sprint_Installer.apk/odex
- SprintID.apk/odex
- SprintMobileWallet.apk/odex
- SprintZone.apk/odex
- Term.apk/odex
- vlingo.apk/odex
- Voice.apk/odex
- VoiceToGo.apk/odex
- WiMAX_NETEST.apk/odex
- WiMAXLineTest.apk/odex
- WlanTest.apk/odex/odex
Quite a long list, huh? If you want to strip down your Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch to the bare essentials, go ahead and give Calkulin's Bare ROM Converter a try.
Requirements
- Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch SPH-D710 — must be rooted and must have custom recovery (e.g., ClockworkMod Recovery). See our guide for rooting the Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch.
- Backup of your important phone data and files–just in case.
- Latest version (currently, version 2.0) of the flashable ZIP package of Calkulin's Bare ROM Converter — Get it from here (Calkulin's_Bare_ROM_Converter_for_E4GT_v2.0.zip, 145 kB)
Instructions
Note: Use this guide at your own risk. We will not be held liable for any damage on your device as a result of following this guide.
Here's how to flash Calkulin's Bare ROM Converter on your Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch SPH-D710:
- Copy Calkulin's_Bare_ROM_Converter_for_E4GT_v2.0.zip to your phone's SD card.
- Turn off your phone.
- Reboot the phone into recovery mode, as follows: hold down the Volume Up and Power buttons. Release the buttons when you see the recovery screen.
- From the main recovery menu, select “Install zip from SD card” and select Calkulin's_Bare_ROM_Converter_for_E4GT_v2.0.zip. Confirm that you want to flash the package.
- Return to the main recovery menu.
- Reboot your phone.
Congratulations! You've disabled most of the inessential bloatware on your Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch by flashing Calkulin's Bare ROM Converter.
