Google Play Services v6.5?

[SweetErika]

My android phone (running Jellybean 4.1.2) keeps bugging me to update Google Play Services from my current version 6.1.09 to the newer version 6.5.

My carrier is Virgin Mobile and it's a ZTE Supreme phone that came with some odd configurations and glitches in the first place. Overall, I've been happy with the phone, but it already has storage space issues that we can't seem to fix, even though I'm not an app/photo/music whore by any stretch. I've read that this latest Play Services update contains a lot of bloatware, requires even more permissions, and can cause problems on all sorts of phones. The only thing that it contains that I really use is Google Maps, and I'm not so sure I need an update for that at this point.

So, I'm wondering if I should go ahead and update and hope for the best, or turn off the annoying update notifications and leave my phone alone, at least for now/until the developers fix the issues many of the reviews complain about?

Does anyone know if this update can be uninstalled/downgraded back to the version I currently have successfully? I wouldn't be a happy camper if I installed it and I had to do a factory reset to fix the issues it caused!

 

[ReadyOne]

I detest Google Play. I also have an unlocked Verizon Thunderbolt phone and Titanium Backup.

What Titanium Backup gives me is some control over what Play Store updates, and the ability to recover down level versions.

I've regressed to

• Google Play Services com.google.android.gms 5.0.89
• Maps com.google.android.apps.maps 6.14.1

(I'm not sure, but I think rolling maps back even further 5.5.0 could be good.)

I decline many updates offered because I don't like the new versions (changed look/feel/features), e.g. Traveler Flight Stats, Google Maps, Gas Buddy. After restoring an older version via TB, they are disconnected from autoupdate.

I task kill Google Play Services, and when an app is updated then doesn't run because GPS isn't active, I regress it too.

Warning: Play Store offers an option when updating an app to "automatically update". THIS OPTION IS GLOBAL and affects all apps, including those that TB has set to not automatically update.

Google Play services seems to a framework for more bloat-ware and advertising. I expect Google to start shipping ads through GPS in such a way that the ads can't be intercepted/suppressed other than by an app itself (, i.e. by it's Pro version).

(Today, the apps directly connect to various internet sites, and those internet addresses can be blocked by apps like AdFree.)

The best clue that an app becomes dependent on Google Play services to run, is that it adds the "in-app purchases" permission. While there is no direct connection (that I know of), that point in time is when I observed both the permission and the requirement for GPS appear.

All apps seem to add in-app purchases permission, even when they don't offer anything to buy. I guess the developer just want to "be ready", though some will use it for a "upgrade to Pro Version" automatically.

Finally, I suggest investigating Cyanogenmod to see if it supports your phone. It deals with permissions on a much finer granularity, i.e. you can turn off in-app purchases or network access on an app by app basis.

Tomorrow my Oneplus One phone should arrive, and it ships with Cyanogenmod as it's native Android flavor. I'll see how useable it is without being jail broke (which Oneplus officially permits).

 

[SweetErika]

OK, it sounds like I'll be fine just turning off the update notifications and waiting for now.

Thank you for all the helpful tips and links, ReadyOne! I'll check those out when I have a bit more time, but I did have a look through the site for you new phone, and it sounds amazing!