Knowledge Base

Device Administrator & Uninstalling Webroot for Android

  • 11 December 2012
  • 4 replies
  • 348 views
Device Administrator & Uninstalling Webroot for Android
Userlevel 7
  • Retired Webrooter
  • 1581 replies

Question

I cannot uninstall Webroot.  It says Webroot is a device admin, and I don't know how to disable the device admin setting.  How do I disable device admin?

Answer

When you install Webroot on an Android device, it is recommended to allow Webroot to be a device admin.  A primary purpose of this in both the Premier and Complete versions of the app is so that the uninstallation process is password-protected by using a feature that is exclusive to the paid versions of the app.  This means that if a thief steals your device, he will not be able to uninstall Webroot without using a password, which allows you to use the Locate, Scream, Lock, or Wipe functions without fear of Webroot having already been uninstalled.  If device admin was not enabled, the thief could just remove Webroot, and you wouldn't be able to use those commands.
 
As a result, if you ever want to uninstall Webroot, you'll need to enter your password, and uninstalling via Google Play may seem a bit more confusing than for a standard app.  Luckily, there are other, easier ways to uninstall Webroot.
 
There are two ways to go about this. The first (and easiest way) is to uninstall directly from the app itself. To do this, open the Webroot app, tap your Android menu button (varies device to device), and then tap the "Uninstall" icon. The app will then prompt you to enter your "My Webroot" account password. Enter it and tap "OK". If the aforementioned method isn't working for whatever reason, the second way to do this is to deactivate the Device Administrator setting manually and then uninstall from Settings. To do this:
1. Go to your device's "Settings,"
2. Tap "Security" or "Location & Security" (varies device-to-device)
3. Tap "Device Administrators"
4. Uncheck the box
5. Tap "Deactivate"
6. Tap "OK" when it asks if you're sure you want to disable it. Afterwards, you can open Google Play, go to the SecureAnywhere app and tap "Uninstall" as you would with an app not using Device Administrator.  Alternatively, you can uninstall by going to Settings > Applications > Manage Applications (varies between Android OS versions) tap the Webroot app, and tap "Uninstall."

This topic has been closed for comments

4 replies

<p>I wanted to uninstall the paid mobile app due to the lock was bothersome as it will lock every time the screen goes off, (very often) and had to unlock and unlock it and unlock it in the middle of every use. I could not find the way to disable the unlock feature, and decided to uninstall, to later reinstall without the lock screen feature.</p><p>I followed your instrucions  up to the last paragraph but chose the alternativeto  uninstall from Settings, instead of uninstalling from Goggle Play. I am new to Android and did not know if I could reinstall later if doing that.</p><p>The app icon is now gone from my screen as well as from the application manager.</p><p>The problrem I encounter now, is that the screen is still locked. i powered off the phone and turned back on but still locked, and have to enter the webroot pasword to unlock. Please help.</p>
Userlevel 7
<p>Hello unequalled and welcome to the Webroot Community!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>It sounds like you have it uninstalled, but the Webroot password over-rides your normal one? &nbsp;If I am not mistaken, you can correct that by going into your phone settings and resetting the phone lock screen password/settings. &nbsp;(My old device does not currently support the Webroot Mobile, so I cannot verify this on my own device)</p>
<p>Hi, and thanks! I do not know if I had a normal one, as I just got the phone a few days ago, and new to android. The people at the verizon store probably set it, as they asked me for the verizon pin, when they were installing my account in my phone. One thing I know for sure is that before installing webroot, I was just swiping. When instaled Webroot, to lock the screen  I used the same pin as Verizon's,  anyway, I went to settings, little afraid though, but  i was able to reset. I am swiping again. Thanks, so0000 much,</p>
Userlevel 7
<p>You are very welcome, I am glad it worked! &nbsp;Stick around with us, a lot of good people here and it's a great place to learn more :)</p>