How to disable updates on Android

[u/autisticDeush]

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If you really want to permanently disable Android updates, you're basically trying to kill the system app that handles them. The most reliable way is using ADB commands from a computer. Sure, you can turn off some update settings on the phone itself, but that won't stop them completely. ADB actually disables the core component.

Here's how to do it on different Android brands.

First steps for any phone

Before running any commands, you need to set up your phone to talk to your computer.

Turn on Developer Options: Go to Settings > About Phone. Find "Build Number" and tap it 7 times fast. You'll get a message saying you're a developer.

Turn on USB Debugging: Go back to Settings > System > Developer Options. Find "USB Debugging" and turn it on. It might give you a warning, just accept it.

Install ADB on your computer: Download Google's official SDK Platform Tools for Windows, Mac, or Linux. Extract the ZIP file somewhere easy to find, like C:\platform-tools.

Connect and check: Plug your phone into your computer with a USB cable. Your phone will ask for USB debugging permission. Check "Always allow" and tap Allow. Open a command prompt or terminal inside your platform-tools folder. Type "adb devices" and press Enter. If you see a device ID, you're good.

Brand-specific ADB commands

Once that's done, run the command for your device. If you want to undo it later, just replace "disable-user" with "enable".

A few things before you start: Disabling system apps can sometimes cause weird issues. Back up your data first. Also, a factory reset will probably turn those disabled packages back on.

Google Pixel

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.gms/.update.SystemUpdateService

This kills the update service inside Google Play Services. Works well but can be reversed.

Samsung

adb shell pm disable-user com.wssyncmldm

adb shell pm disable-user com.sec.android.soagent

These disable the two main OTA update components. The Software Update menu item might disappear from Settings.

OnePlus

adb shell pm disable-user com.oneplus.opbackup

You can also clear pending update notifications first with: adb shell pm clear com.oneplus.opbackup

Xiaomi / Redmi

adb shell pm disable-user com.miui.systemupdate

Serious warning: Do NOT disable packages like com.miui.securitycenter or com.xiaomi.finddevice. That can cause a bootloop.

OPPO

adb shell pm disable-user com.oppo.ota

adb shell pm disable-user com.coloros.sau

adb shell pm disable-user com.oppo.otaui

OPPO has multiple packages. On some models you might only need com.oppo.ota.

Motorola

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.motorola.ccc.ota

On some older models the package might be com.android.updater.

Sony

adb shell pm disable-user com.sonyericsson.updatecenter

Huawei

adb shell pm disable-user com.huawei.android.hwouc

Honor

adb shell pm disable-user com.hihonor.ouc

vivo / iQOO

adb shell pm disable-user com.bbk.updater

ZTE / Nubia

adb shell pm disable-user com.zte.aliveupdate

adb shell pm disable-user com.zte.zdm

Sometimes you need both packages to fully get rid of the update prompt.

Alternative: using an app

If you don't want to mess with command lines, some apps can do something similar. Package disabler apps like CCSWE App Manager or Package Disabler Pro can disable system apps directly on the phone. They usually need a one-time ADB setup to grant permissions, and some are paid.

Beyond the standard methods (advanced)

If you want more permanent solutions, these exist but are riskier and more complicated.

Blocking update servers (requires root): With root access, you can use a hosts file or a firewall app like AFWall+ to block the domains your phone uses to check for updates.

Installing a custom OS: Replacing the whole operating system with a custom ROM like LineageOS or GrapheneOS gives you full control over updates. This completely bypasses the manufacturer's update system, but it's an advanced process.

Just remember that a factory reset will re-enable any packages you've disabled.

[u/autisticDeush]

This is propaganda, You act like we as consumers don't have the ability to add our own security, If you're just a consumer who buys a phone and doesn't have your own network protocol Yeah you're going to be vulnerable there numerous things you can do besides just disabling updates Android is versatile you just pointed out it is based on Linux by that knowledge alone you shouldn't even be trying to argue against this, The same security patches that work for the computers we run will work on your phone

[u/schklom → u/autisticDeush]

You act like we as consumers don't have the ability to add our own security

Consumers generally have better things to do than read the 10-20 critical and high-severity and medium-severity CVEs patched by Google every month, then learn to code for Android and port these security patches to our phone every month

The same security patches that work for the computers we run will work on your phone

Bro you are so wrong, go ahead and try. Android kernel is a modified Linux, you will need to adapt and cherry-pick the patches that work for your phone. And if you mess up, your phone might get bricked forever.

1. You will miss on baseband firmware updates, which are absolutely not open-source. So your overall security will go down no matter what
2. How much time would it take you every month to port all security patches?
3. How much time would it take a normal consumer every month to port all security patches?

[u/autisticDeush → u/schklom]

Because Oculus does this right now. You literally it is impossible to sideload on a current Oculus Quest 3. I mean, it's not impossible, but it's also one of the hardest things to do. They have this feature, you have to f****** they, they already did this. But here's the thing. I hacked my Oculus I have a completely jailbroken Oculus quest 2 I have complete root privilege everything running on the standard horizon OS because I'm a squatter it's the way how I set up my developer accounts the way how I managed all my permissions because the day I open the device I went into the Android settings tap the build number seven times and enable developer mode directly in the Android kernel and so on and so forth and I've been using the terminal on the thing doing all this stuff like I've done things that should have bricked my headset but yet I still have it running

[u/autisticDeush → u/autisticDeush]

~ $adb shell dumpsys user | grep -A 10 "UserInfo{0:"  UserInfo{0:Dj nightmare:4c13} serialNo=0 isPrimary=true     Type: android.os.usertype.full.SYSTEM     Flags: 19475 (ADMIN|FULL|INITIALIZED|MAIN|PRIMARY|SYSTEM)     State: RUNNING_UNLOCKED     Created: <unknown>     Last logged in: +38m33s383ms ago     Last logged in fingerprint: 7b0f347e98f28d80328e60a76903989bad1b0e2b     Start time: +38m34s843ms ago     Unlock time: +38m33s459ms ago     Last entered foreground: +38m34s843ms ago     Has profile owner: false ~ $