Imagine carrying a wallet full of credit cards and spending ages at the checkout trying to find the right one. This is where contactless payment comes into play. It’s convenient and practical. Samsung Wallet is one of the most well-known options in the Android ecosystem. Although it used to be a standalone solution, it has been integrated with the Samsung Wallet app, which can store your passwords, digital car keys, and more.
The now-obsolete Samsung Wallet used to come bundled with some of the best Samsung Galaxy phones. And as you would expect from preinstalled apps, some might be useful to you while others are far from helpful. It also doesn’t help that many smartphone companies like to make them hard to remove.
If you’re not a big fan of Samsung’s digital wallet, read on to find out how to put it on or remove it from your Galaxy device for Google Wallet or any other platform of your choice.
How to disable Samsung Wallet quick launch gestures
If you regularly use Samsung Wallet to make payments, the quick launch gestures can come in handy. They allow you to quickly access the app from your phone’s home screen, lock screen, or when the display is off by swiping from below. However, the gesture can get annoying if you don’t use the service much, especially with accidental pop-ups from the home screen and lock screen.
To disable these gestures without completely disabling the Samsung Wallet app, follow the steps below:
-
begin
Samsung wallet
. -
Choose
Menu
tab in the lower right corner of the screen. -
Beat
settings
(the gear icon in the top right corner).
-
Choose
Fast access
. -
Choose
Access locations and default map
.
-
Disable the switches next to it
lock screen
,
home screen
and
fade out
. You can leave any of the options enabled or disable all three.
How to uninstall Samsung Wallet from your phone
The legacy Samsung Pay app is integrated with Samsung Wallet, so the previous setup only disables the quick pay gestures, but still keeps the wallet app running on your phone. You can still access it from your app drawer to use the other built-in services like Samsung Pass and Digital Keys.
However, if you hardly ever use any of the additional services, you may ditch the Samsung Wallet app. Here are the steps:
-
Open your phone
Settings app
. -
Choose
applications
. -
Navigate to
Samsung wallet
.
-
Choose
Uninstall
from the options at the bottom of the screen. -
Beat
OK
to confirm your choice.
Alternatively, you can also take the shorter route:
-
Navigate through your phone
app drawer
and locate them
Samsung wallet
apartment -
Long press on the app until an action box appears.
-
Choose
Uninstall
from the options. -
Beat
OK
to confirm your choice.
If you change your mind and start using Samsung Wallet again, it’s available for download on the Google Play Store and Galaxy Store.
What if you have an older Galaxy phone with an app preinstalled?
Newer Samsung phones up to the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra do not come with the Samsung Wallet preinstalled. However, the same cannot be said for older devices such as the Galaxy S6, which launched with the now-obsolete Samsung Pay app. If you have a device with Samsung Pay preinstalled, there’s still a way to get it out, but it’s complicated.
One option is to root the phone and then navigate to your device’s settings to permanently disable Samsung Pay. Rooting is required as the disable option will not appear without it. Disabling an app only decommissions it and prevents it from using resources. However, it remains on your smartphone. If you want to uninstall Samsung Pay on your older Galaxy phone, use the Titanium Backup app on the Google Play Store – it also requires root access.
Be careful when rooting your phone as a mistake could lock it up.
Whether you disable the app or uninstall it using Titanium Backup, you can always undo the process by enabling Samsung Pay or downloading it again from the Play Store if you want to use it again.
If you’d rather avoid the hassle of rooting your phone, you can reduce Samsung Pay’s activity by revoking its permissions. Here’s how:
-
Go to
settings
>
applications
(You may have to type on older devices
application manager
). -
Locate
Samsung Pay (
or
Samsung wallet
when you have received the update). -
Choose
force stop
(it’s either at the top or bottom of the page). -
Return to the application manager and find and force the stop
Samsung PayStub
(it may be missing). -
Revoke all permissions for Samsung Pay and Samsung Pay Stub.
-
Find the Samsung Pay app in the Google Play Store and disable it
Enable automatic updating
. -
Return to the apps in the application manager and clear the data and cache.
This is not a permanent solution. The app may reset after a few days.
Bonus Point: Can You Disable Samsung Wallet on Your Galaxy Watch?
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and the newly launched Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 are two of the best Android wearables. Displays are sharp and bright, build quality is sturdy, and these are some of the few smartwatches with Wear OS 3 support.
However, one aspect that is a bit disappointing (even with other Samsung products) is the services that the company adds to its products. Bixby and Samsung Pay are good examples. While you can replace Bixby with Google Assistant, your options are limited with Samsung Pay.
For starters, uninstalling the app is not an option. You can’t turn it off either. You can’t even remap the physical switch, so a long press will always launch Samsung Pay. You can install Google Wallet and associate it with the home button via the double-click shortcut. But for now, you can only ignore Samsung Pay on Galaxy Watches.
Replace Samsung Wallet with an alternative
The Samsung Wallet app is not pre-installed on newer Galaxy devices. Instead, the device will prompt you to download it along with other apps during the initial setup. If Samsung Wallet is not available in your region or you see no need for it, do not install the app while configuring your new Galaxy phone. However, if you have it installed or have an older phone, follow the steps above to disable Samsung Pay quick gestures or uninstall the Samsung Wallet app.
If you’re more interested in Google Wallet, we have some guides on adding and removing credit cards and sending money internationally. And if you want to keep a better eye on your expenses, take a look at our most popular budgeting apps.
