[au_n97_user]

Tonight I received the following email from Nokia Customer Care - we SHOULD be able to delete Boingo (and presumably the other 2 apps):

Dear <myname deleted>

,

This is a follow up based on your recent enquiry.

I have just received an update and please be advised that it is quite unusual to see that you are unable to remove the " Boingo application". Therefore, I recommend that you take your Nokia N97 to a Nokia Care Centre (NCC) to be assessed by our qualified technicians. This is because we are unable to physically assess the phone to determine its issue. Kindly bring along the proof of purchase for warranty verification.

All Nokia phones come with a 12-month Nokia Limited Warranty from the original date of purchase. The issue you are experiencing will be rectified under warranty should your phone meet all the warranty guidelines. Otherwise, services or repairs carried out will incur a minimal charge.

I do understand the inconvenience in doing this Robyn; however, there are different levels of repairs at our NCC and our technicians will certainly do their best to rectify the issue.

Before visiting a NCC, I would definitely recommend for you to backup all data stored on the phone to avoid any loss of data. You can do this by using Nokia PC Suite.

Please visit the website below for more information and to download Nokia PC Suite onto your PC:

www.nokia.com/pcsuite

You may find the location and the contact details of the nearest NCC by visiting the website below. Please ensure that you select the "Country", "Area/City", and click on "Find", for the details:

http://www.nokia-asia.com/carecenters

I sincerely apologise for all the inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience with us.

Thank you for emailing Nokia Careline!

Do you know you can now update your phone software at your own convenience?

Visit www.nokia.com.au/support to check if your phone model is supported and download the "Nokia Software Updater".

[axelj]

now this "go to the nokia care center" issue is going to get really funny

a few things you should prepare to hear there:

a. they have  NEVER heard of this problem before. (sure... read your boards!)

b. there will be a charge for fixing it (of course, a nokia care point is not for free, so they

have to make some money there to equal that bit!)

c. you shouldnt have fiddeled around with it in the first place, because this surely voids your

warranty

i have a solution for this. and they cant tell ANYBODY that they never had this problem before!

FLASHMOBBING!!!

all nokia N97-plagued users please use this board for setting up an appointment to meet exactly

at the same time in the same nokia care center. lets all show up there at the same time.

and if the guy at the counter tells anyone that he has never seen this problem before, lets all take out

our N97 devices and show them, what they have never seen before! and i am quite sure that this strangely

behaving support from nokia will NEVER EVER tell anybody to bring its defective device (which isnt nokias fault anyways! its all your fault and your warranty is removed because you played around with it and there is absolutely no problem with any other N97 on this planet!) to a nokia care center.

please please please, lets flashmob them to stop this kind of stupidity!

Message Edited by axelj on 31-Jul-2009 12:15 PM

[au_n97_user]

We shall see.

Point 1 - I will take the email trail with me, of course, which refers to this thread.

Point 2 - The email clearly states this is under warranty provided I have proof of purchase, so I won't be paying.

Point 3 - Unlike others, I have NOT fiddled with my phone in any way, so I have in no way voided my warranty.

[aledj]

Since Boingo themselves say that the app cannot be removed, it will be interesting to see what the 'care centre' can do! (short of a completely new firmware update, etc.) It seems it can be hidden, but not removed in the current firmware.

As a reminder, here's what Boingo Support themselves said to me:

Thanks for contacting Boingo Wireless.

The application is hardwired into the NOKIA n97 device. It cannot be removed.

The access point refers to HOTSPOTS all hotspot or wifi signals can still

be veiwed or picked up by the device.

The BOINGO app does not interfer with that. It will prefer to use its known providers, BOINGO HOTSPOTS.

Restore  to a master reset (*#7370#) The access point will be gone but the Boingo application will still be there and still refuse to be deleted.

Having Boingo access point at a higher priority (or lower priority) does not make any difference if the user is not using Boingo.

[kurgan]

Dear au n97 user,

I am really looking forward to what will a nokia care center (or whaterver they call it in your country) be able to do for you.  (that is, absolutely nothing short of wasting your time)

I find it ridiculous that the nokia customer care doesn't even know that the said applications are in fact impossible to remove without some firmware reflashing, and that a firmware without those applications does not exist. Or at least it does not exist for us "common customers".

I really appreciate anyway what you are doing, keep us informed.

[mossel]

For removing the Boingo accesspoint:

http://labs.boingo.com/blog/?p=310

http://labs.boingo.com/wp-uploads/2009/08/boingoiapremover-n97-v1-02_signed.sis

[synth_fg]

Good spot,

Let us know if it works

[hanani]

GREAT !!! No more Boingo connection point

Many thanks

Hanani

[joviks]

From the Boingo blog: "Like other native N97 applications (Contacts, Calendar), the Boingo application is pre-installed and cannot be removed."

-------------------------------------------------

It is really a consumer friendly piece of genious work to make a trial version of a 3rd party, commercial piece of totally uninteresting software pre-installed, unremovable and eating valuable phone memory on the tiny 128mb c: drive.

It is a daily struggle to keep some free mb's on the c: drive to keep the phone functioning. I want all the 3rd party trial software on the phone gone, and buy whatever applications I would like to use on my phone instead - and install them on mass memory. 

[au_n97_user]

---

kurgan wrote:

Dear au n97 user,

I am really looking forward to what will a nokia care center (or whaterver they call it in your country) be able to do for you.  (that is, absolutely nothing short of wasting your time)

I find it ridiculous that the nokia customer care doesn't even know that the said applications are in fact impossible to remove without some firmware reflashing, and that a firmware without those applications does not exist. Or at least it does not exist for us "common customers".

I really appreciate anyway what you are doing, keep us informed.

---

My apologies to everyone - I STILL have not found time to go into the Nokia Care Centre due to work priorities.  My plan at this stage is to get there on Monday, so here is hoping.

However, since this link http://labs.boingo.com/blog/?p=310 has been posted in several places, I am doubting the accuracy of the information supplied to me in the email from Nokia I posted above on this page - LOL.  So it will definitely be interesting to see the outcome!

Just wanted to let people know I aven't forgotten, just haven't got there yet!

[raven_g20]

Actually i just read from a Blog that there is a way to remove Boingo from Access Point with a official patch provided by Boingo. Here is the link to tha patch:

Boingo Patch

Just install this on your N97 and after installation it will automatically run and remove Boingo AP. Hope that helps. It sure helped me!  

[wharrior]

I also want to remove Boingo.  Can you advise best way?  Do I download to my PC then do it through PC Suite? or can I download from the N97?

[britzinelul24]

I use boingo patch but it is not remove the aplication from my phone .....

[wharrior]

Sorry - blonde moment!  Hooray!  Boingo app removed - thanks Forum!

[joviks]

Strange that everyone is so happy about being able to remove the Boingo AP. Even before this patch was released the AP could be moved to the bottom of the access points list and should create no problems. It has also been possible to reset the phone to remove the AP. I have had the BOINGO AP there for a long time before I had to do a hard reset for other reasons. The AP has not created any problems.

The app is still there, consuming VERY VALUABLE disk space on c: which could be put to better use and CAN STLL NOT BE REMOVED. 

[mikhail1102]

I can't remove it using boingo patch .

[wright8]

so this only gets rid on the ap and not the app. i never used it so no ap to remove. but would love the c drive space back

[au_n97_user]

Just some terminology clarification for those that may be a little confused.

AP = Access Point

app = application

The patch removes the AP, not the app, as the post above mine confirms.

The AP is created by the app.

Don't ya just love TLAs?

[esoyohoo]

A pet hate of mine is pre-installed apps on devices, especially when they can’t be removed from the paltry storage space provided. In the case of the N97, you may have started up the Boingo application that comes pre-installed, by mistake with no intention of ever using it, only to find out that it adds a new Internet Access Point to your Destinations that cannot be removed! The only solution until now has been to carry out a soft reset of the phone.

Thanks to the observant matt_t at the Nokia Discussion Forums, it seems that Boingo have buckled to the emails from users and provided a way to remove the Boingo access point that is automatically created. Unfortunately, the Boingo app along with Joikuspot and Qik are tied into the ROM and taking up space, but at least it’s a start.

“The Nokia N97 comes pre-loaded with three months of free Boingo Wi-Fi. Like other native N97 applications (Contacts, Calendar), the Boingo application is pre-installed and cannot be removed. The first time you launch Boingo, a Boingo IAP (Internet Access Point) will be created under Internet Destinations. However, if you choose not to activate your free Boingo account, neither the application nor the IAP will interfere with your other connections.

If you wish to remove the Boingo IAP, simply run the “Boingo IAP Remover,” which removes the IAP (if present) from your device.

If at a later time, you wish to activate your free Boingo account, simply re-launch the application, which will re-create the Boingo IAP.”

Boingo Access Point Remover for Nokia N97 from Boingo.com

[froschy]

The crazy thing is that not all of the trial/free apps were included on the ROM (like Spore), so why BOINGO. Does this company realise how much harm that they have done to their reputation by participating in Nokia's poorly thought out method of providing trial apps hardwired into the ROM? Of course it wouldn't have mattered if Nokia hadn't put such a small amount of NAND memory in the N97, also they could have just provided it on the phone (but not in the ROM) as a trial and relied on the featured status in the Ovi Store that this application so often gets.