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Removing CityID adware on the Droid Incredible

I recently switched to Verizon and picked up a Droid Incredible. It's a great phone except for one tiny little issue: it comes with pre-installed unremovable adware.

I'm talking about the "CityID" app that Verizon so graciously included in the ROM on the phone. I'm fine with including "value-add" things like this - if someone is silly enough to pay $2 a month for this, then they're welcome to. What I take issue with are these things:

There's no way to remove or disable the app if you don't want the "feature"
A monthly subscription? Really? Every Sprint phone does this, for free, and has for almost 10 years.
The adware nag screens are incredibly cheesy (see what I did there?) and vastly cheapen the Verizon brand. I'd expect this kind of garbage from Sprint; I wouldn't expect it from VZ, given that I'm now paying the most expensive wireless prices of any carrier.

Adware on a phone that I have paid for and that wasn't given away to me for free is completely and utterly unconscionable. I cannot fathom the mind that said "Sure,this is a good idea, let's put adware in a device that will sell to our most tech-savvy and highest-revenue customers. I'm sure it won't upset them in any way."

Adware? Yes, adware. About every 5-10 calls, instead of being put back in the app you were in, at the end of the call, you'll get a nag screen from CityID that says:

"City ID displays the City & State of an incoming call. You are receiving a free 15-day trial of this Enhanced Caller ID feature. Would you like City ID for $1.99 per month?"

No, I would not. What I would like is to go back to what I was doing and not to have my phone attempting to extort $2 a month from me if I push the wrong button. What I would like is for this application to be taken off of my phone. What I would like is for this to have never been loaded on in the first place; if I really needed to know what phone number an area code corresponded to, I'm quite certain I could download this app from the Verizon module of the Android Market.

I want this app off my phone, or at an absolute minimum, to completely disable it and to no longer be deluged with popup boxes. If it does this while I'm still in my 'free trial', I can only imagine how annoying it's going to be when I choose not to 'subscribe' at the end!

(Edited post title and censored word)

Comments

kenyu73

I know you get the option to stop being nagged after the trial =/

gergles

I know you do on every other phone; I hope the Incredible is the same way.

jramz

It wouldn't be as big of an annoying program if it let you use the trial and simply went away with the option of not subscribing. The problem I have with it is that, every time I have a call or send/receive a message, the CityID program launches and I find it running in the background, even though I haven't ever launched it. If it had the option to prevent it from starting itself and running in the background, I wouldn't mind so much having it sit unused on my phone.

tomk

i have been considering getting the Incredible, but this is a deal breaker. hey Verizon, i'm not going to buy a phone that spams me. please tell me you realize how disrespectful this is to your customers and will stop it....tom

MrSpontaneous

I agree with the OP. Is there any way I can uninstall this? I'd like to remove the application to free up space, cpu cycles and nagging banner ads.

The normal uninstallation avenues are blocked.

Developer

It will go away after the two week trial is over. At one point, it will ask you if you want to buy it half way through the two weeks and then at two weeks, give or take, it will ask if you want to buy or unistall. Annoying, yes, but tolerable. It's one of those services that they're pushing on all of their phones now so if that is a deal breaker, looks like it's another carrier, unfortunately.

Zeta88

Settings --> Applications --> Manage Applications --> City ID --> FORCE STOP

Solved ... all except being able to uninstall it...

gergles

It will just start running again the next time you make or receive a call. I have a feeling that the 'service' will continue to run forever, as nobody has had the phone for 2 weeks yet to know what happens after the 'trial' expires.

infinitempg

Force stop is fine for it running at that particular moment, but I did this and as soon as I got a message or anything it was showing up as running again. Until they find a way to root or disable this, we need an app that will detect that CityID is running and automatically kill it.

HEY CITY-I.D. PEOPLE, BECAUSE OF THIS CR@P EVEN IF IT WAS THE ABSOLUTE GREATEST APP IN THE WORLD, I WOULD ***NEVER*** BUY IT OR INSTALL IT. And when i get done with this message I'm going to look up the authors and i\f they write any other apps I'm going to boycott them, too.

npovey

force stop is grey'd out, sorry

glocker

Is CityID the only bloat ware that Verizon put on the Incredible?

w40d1n1

And then there is this today: http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/09/30/1640223/Many-More-Android-Apps-Leaking-User-Data

tj28

I had the same problem on a Verizon Cosmos phone. Found that I could go to the download area and select City ID and then choose REMOVE from the options. Hope this works for you...it is very annoying to get that popup all of the time.

budone

tj28 wrote:
I had the same problem on a Verizon Cosmos phone. Found that I could go to the download area and select City ID and then choose REMOVE from the options. Hope this works for you...it is very annoying to get that popup all of the time.

This does not work on the Droids.

r110810

Maybe we should start charging Verizon back for the data they are allowing City ID, Amazon MP3 and Skype to collect and send back via our data plans. Better yet, call your Congressman and complain to them and get them to call call Verizon on your behalf. Most are running scared now that they know that voters will vote them out.

mikecrogan

we should consider a class action

budone

mikecrogan wrote:
we should consider a class action

Yeah, let me know how that works out for y'all. Let's see, ATT, check, Sprint, check, T-Mobile, check, Alltel, check..... yep they all have preinstalled apps that subs do not want.

Ann154

You can probably add US Cellular and Cellular South to that list. I think. :smileyhappy:

gerio

Ann154 wrote:
You can probably add US Cellular and Cellular South to that list. I think. :smileyhappy:

Cellular South, for certain.

Not exactly a short list, is it? That would make for a BIG class.... :smileyvery-happy: :smileymad:

Geri O

budone

Yeah a big class with a very small return if approved (after lawyer fees) and most likely with the agreement the pre installed apps can remain.

The thing is the companies are already covered. The Customer agreements state the company can have, add, or deleted any options at any time. Everyone agreed to that when signing on the dotted line to have the phone.

And no this does not result in the customer being allowed out of their contract without an ETF.The reason??? There is no monetary harm done to the consumers by having these apps on the devices.

phonehome

Only one tiny issue with the Incredible?, I think there are several issues....had I known or had any idea prior to purchase and locking in that 2 yr contract, I would of not have...but how do you know what phone you want or in my case upgrade to and then find out after, as you cannot site and read every little issue/complaint online in one place before hand.

And why when you pay for a phone quite expensive, using a service as Verizon, you have not really much of a control over the phone you select are you forced to receive Ads by Google

Or you cannot Kill Apps not needed ever or remove them period....the Advanced Task Killer, be it Free or not, does not stop Apps from loading, only for an instant, as soon as you Go Back a screen or Home and return, more Apps have loaded. So why Check Apps to Kill, when they return over and over?

I do not want Skype Mobile to continuously reload, and it says at the top of the Kill Selected Apps page, Auto-Kill: On however, there is Skype Mobile checked again waiting. Along with the stupid ads at the bottom.

And I do not want all of the stupid 56 Apps listed under All Apps, that you have to scroll paste to find something useful/needed.

I spend more time opting out, killing, removing crude, than actual use and toss in the sucky battery too....Good luck..Doc

Ann154

Ummm...to the poster above me.
You might want to change your userID to something other than a phone number. The entire world can see it now.

phonehome

Hi Ann154 thank you

Sorry, I did not use/intend to use a phone number, I logged into Verizon and then found this forum and created a user account, so I have no idea what happened.

As for the world to see, I do not see a phone number only

phonehome

Contributor

Darn I should of used my wife's number.

My phone has not even rang/rung...thanks for the heads up...anyway I am not liking the Droid Incredible and all the apps restarting, even using Advance Apps Killer with it saying Auto-Kill: On apps still launch, especially Skype and a few others which you cannot remove, uninstall or any option to never start

I use to live in Gothenbeurg/Cozad area...trade So. Cal. for Utah weather, currently 18F

I just found this, however no answer on how to change my User ID from the number to the UserID I think I used this time

If you have the same email address listed in both My Verizon Wireless account and your Community Only User ID, the first time you try to access the new Wireless community we will attempt to merge your Community Only User ID profile into your My Verizon Wireless ID.

You’ll be prompted with this opportunity in two ways:

when signed in to your My Verizon Wireless Account and navigate to the Verizon Wireless Community,

or if you sign directly into the Verizon Wireless Community using your My Verizon Wireless ID.

We should recognize that you have both a Community Only User ID and a My Verizon Wireless User ID and offer you an option to have your existing profile migrated to your My Verizon Wireless User ID.

Please note, you will only be given one opportunity to do this.

Appreciate your replying, Doc

budone

I suspect the MODS deleted the phone number for you.

As for the apps and the apps killer. WIth FROYO you do not need nor should you want an app killer. What happens the app killer will kill the apps, but because the operating system is Linux based, the apps will reopen as info in those apps are used by others but those apps are not in use nor are they using resources.

Unlike Windows programs where all the info needed for a program is entirely held in the program, (and the same info will be in MANY programs) Linux does not keep replicated info in each app. Linux will look for info needed for a particular app in another if it is needed and will access the app to get the info. The app that gets accessed is just there. Again, they are not using any resources.

AZSALUKI

are we really still discussing this? lol....yes, we don't like...and yes, we all signed and agreed to it. it's really that simple. live and learn and if it's that bad....don't get a smartphone (although, city id trial was loaded on my env too....so i guess no phone is safe?), or do tings to the phone that can't be discussed here and you can remove whatever you want.

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