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I used a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (Android 4.1.2) and a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 (Android 4.4.2) for a product. I have been searching for ways to disable permanently the Launcher of Samsung's TouchWiz application (leave the rest as it is). I've found only two approaches which do not fit my needs. Both of them are:

  1. Replace the launcher with another launcher one, and
  2. Rooting the device and replacing the stock ROM with a custom ROM.

This is what I'm currently doing, but it's not enough because if my custom launcher (developed myself) crashes, then the selection box will ask again to set the default launcher (mine or TouchWiz's). I want TouchWiz's to get out of the equation (list of available launchers).

Replacing the ROM is not an option because I would have to test again my whole product. So this is not an option.

Is there a way to disable the TouchWiz's launcher component of the TouchWiz app? Maybe through ADB? If anyone knows I would love the help.

My devices are rooted and my custom launcher is a system app.

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  • It's easy. Install Nova launcher (or the like), set it as default, then root uninstall TW launcher. Your problem is your custom app is crashing. Feb 25, 2016 at 19:12
  • @AaronGillion How would I uninstall Touchwiz Launcher without uninstalling the whole Touchwiz?
    – Storo
    Feb 25, 2016 at 19:33
  • You can't uninstall the entire thing. That's why we have custom ROMs. You can find the launcher at /system/priv-app/TouchWizHome.apk. The rest of TouchWiz is contained in SystemUI and framework-res. Feb 25, 2016 at 19:48
  • @AaronGillion There is no TouchWizHome.apk neither in /system/priv-app/ nor in /system/app/. I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (4.1.2) and a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 (4.4.2)
    – Storo
    Feb 26, 2016 at 11:16
  • My S5 uses that location, the S4 uses /system/priv-app/SecLauncher3.apk and the Note 2 uses SecLauncher2.apk Feb 26, 2016 at 11:21

2 Answers 2

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There's no need to uninstall the TouchWiz's launcher or install a new ROM. The solution to this particular scenario is to disable the package associated with the TouchWiz's launcher APK (thanks to @AaronGillion for pointing out its name and location).

To do this, just execute the following command as root in the ADB shell:

pm disable com.sec.android.app.launcher

In both, Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7" WiFi (Android 4.1.2) and Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 7" WiFi (Android 4.4.2), the previous command worked correctly.

Having my custom launcher installed but having selected deliberately the TouchWiz launcher as the default launcher, after disabling its package, my custom launcher was set automatically as the new default launcher.

Just as a side note, notice that I had the same results on both tablets even though I installed the custom launcher as a regular app on Tab 3 and as a system app (/system/priv-app/) on Tab 4.

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Use Titanium Backup to force uninstall it (possibly?) but make a backup in case your launcher doesn't work correctly.

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