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:
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)
I know you get the option to stop being nagged after the trial =/
I know you do on every other phone; I hope the Incredible is the same way.
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.
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
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.
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.
Settings --> Applications --> Manage Applications --> City ID --> FORCE STOP
Solved ... all except being able to uninstall it...
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.
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.
Give the City ID folks a piece of your mind if you want :
The problem is not CityID's fault..is it??? I think it's Verizon's responsibility because it's Verizon who directs the software programmers to code these egregious features! I don't like being spammed, and I especially don't like paying incredibly high prices to be spammed.
Time for VZ to get a clue. I won't buy a phone or any data plan from any vendor that promotes such tactics. Neither should anyone else. Boycott the service and hit them where it counts...the wallet! Only then will their policies change.
I saw the City ID subscribe or use free trial message only once. Never since the first call I made with my phone.
It only comes up for calls you receive.
I sent Cequint an email requesting un-install direction because I did not see a $2 a month benefit with this app
...below is their response
note: got an automated thank you for your email for requesting support within an hour and full response within 12...not bad)
Hello :
Thank you for your message. Because City ID is one of the preinstalled applications on the HTC Incredible, there are no install or uninstall options (as with all preinstalled applications on the Android OS).
At the end of the free trial (15 days after your 5th incoming call), a City ID screen will appear to inform you the trial has expired. This expiration screen will ask if you would like to subscribe to City ID with the options “Yes,” “No,” or “Remind Me Later.” Selecting “No” will disable City ID, the city and state of calls will no longer be displayed and no further City ID notifications will appear. (Note: When selecting “Remind Me Later,” or pressing the Back or End key, the trial expired message will appear after each incoming call (up to 10 times) until you select the “No” button. Be sure to select "No" to immediately disable City ID; otherwise, City ID will automatically disable itself after the 10th and final reminder.)
We hope City ID provides some benefit to you during the free trial even if you choose not to subscribe.
Best Regards,
The Cequint Team
Cequint Incorporated
1011 Western Avenue | Suite 800
Seattle | WA | 98104
p: 206.264.1909
f: 206.299.9127
The only choice I get is "Subscribe Now" or "Continue Free Trail". I have gotten this three times now. The ap runs everytime I get a phone call or make a phone call.
I called Verizon Tech support about removing CityID. After several attempts to remove it the tech finally said this is an embedded ap and cannot be removed.
Hey Verizon, how about removing this ap on your next update.
Although still on the phone I have not seen a tag line in forever. I know it will come up for 15 days or so.
I still have a tough time paying extra for the phone to tell me the location of the call when every other phone I have had has shown it without an additional charge.
force stop is grey'd out, sorry
Is CityID the only bloat ware that Verizon put on the Incredible?
UGH
I got the message to install yes or no and I selected NO.
I stlll get city ID's on incoming calls and the application still runs (obviously).
I've not been billed for it yet, but I live month to month waiting for the surprise.
Anyone out there that can explain in simple terms when the application will stop running? Seems like I did all the right things, but I don't understand why it still is running on my phone?
Anyone?
you can't get rid of it and you wont be charged for it. it stops running after a couple weeks if you just keep declining the service. but the app will always be on your phone.
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