Imagine carrying around a wallet filled with credit cards and spending ages at the checkout trying to find the right one. That’s where contactless payment comes in. It’s convenient and practical. Samsung Wallet is one of the well-known options in the Android ecosystem. Although it used to be a standalone solution, it’s been integrated into the Samsung Wallet app, which can store your passwords, digital car keys, and more.
The now deprecated Samsung Wallet typically came bundled with some of the best Samsung Galaxy phones. And as you’d expect from preinstalled apps, some could be useful to you, while others are anything but helpful. It also doesn’t help that many smartphone companies like making them hard to remove.
If you’re not a big fan of Samsung’s digital wallet, read on to find out how you can ditch it for Google Wallet or another platform of your choice or get rid of it from your Galaxy device.
How to disable Samsung Wallet’s quick launch gestures
If you use Samsung Wallet to make payments regularly, the quick launch gestures can be helpful. They enable you to quickly bring up the app from your phone’s homescreen, lock screen, or when the display is off by swiping from the bottom. However, the gesture can become annoying if you don’t use the service much, especially with inadvertent popups from the homescreen and lock screen.
To disable those gestures without completely disabling the Samsung Wallet app, follow these steps:
-
Launch
Samsung Wallet
. -
Select the
Menu
tab in the lower-right corner of the screen. -
Tap
Settings
(the gear icon in the upper-right corner). -
Select
Quick access
. -
Select
Access locations and default card
. -
Turn off the toggles beside
Lock screen
,
Home screen
, and
Screen off
. You can leave any of the options on or disable all three.
How to uninstall Samsung Wallet from your phone
The older Samsung Pay app is is integrated into Samsung Wallet, so the previous setup only disables the quick payment gestures but keeps the Wallet app running on your phone. You can still access it from your app drawer to use its other built-in services like Samsung Pass and Digital keys.
However, if you hardly use any of the extra services, you can ditch the Samsung Wallet app. Here are the steps:
-
Open your phone’s
Settings app
. -
Select
Apps
. -
Navigate to
Samsung Wallet
. -
Select
Uninstall
from the options at the bottom of the screen. -
Tap
OK
to confirm your selection.
Alternatively, you can go the shorter route:
-
Navigate your phone’s
app drawer
and locate the
Samsung Wallet
app. - Long press on the app until an action box appears.
-
Select
Uninstall
from the options. -
Tap
OK
to confirm your selection.
If you change your mind and start using Samsung Wallet again, it’s available for download from the Google Play Store and Galaxy store.
What if you have an older Galaxy phone with a preinstalled app?
Newer Samsung phones, up to the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, do not come with Samsung Wallet preinstalled. But the same can’t be said of older devices like the Galaxy S6, for example, which launched with the now deprecated 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, then navigate to your device’s Settings to disable Samsung Pay permanently. Rooting is required, as the disable option won’t appear without it. Disabling an app only decommissions it and prevents it from using resources. It remains on your smartphone, though. 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 rooting your phone, as a failure might brick it.
Whether you disable the app or uninstall it using Titanium Backup, you can always revert the process by enabling or re-downloading Samsung Pay from the Play Store if you wish 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
>
Apps
(older devices may require you to tap
Application Manager
). -
Locate
Samsung Pay (
or
Samsung Wallet
if you received the update). -
Select
Force Stop
(it’s either at the top or the bottom of the page). -
Return to the Application Manager, and find and force stop
Samsung Pay Stub
(it may be absent). - Revoke all the permissions for Samsung Pay and Samsung Pay Stub.
-
Locate the Samsung Pay app on the Google Play Store and untick
Enable auto-update
. - Return to the apps in the Application Manager and clear the data and cache.
This is not a permanent fix. The app may revert 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. The displays are crisp and bright, the build quality is sturdy, and these are some of the few smartwatches with Wear OS 3 support.
However, one aspect that’s a bit of a letdown (even in other Samsung products) is the services 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 disable it, either. You can’t even remap the physical toggle, so long pressing always launches Samsung Pay. You can install Google Wallet and map the home button to it via the double-click shortcut. But for now, you can only ignore Samsung Pay on Galaxy Watches.
Replace Samsung Wallet with an alternative
Newer Galaxy devices don’t come with the Samsung Wallet app preinstalled. Instead, the device prompts you to download it alongside other apps during the initial setup. If Samsung Wallet isn’t available in your region, or you don’t see the need for it, don’t install the app while configuring your new Galaxy phone. However, if you installed it or have an older phone, follow the above steps to disable Samsung Pay’s quick gestures or uninstall the Samsung Wallet app.
If you’re more into Google Wallet, we have a few guides on adding and removing credit cards and sending money internationally. And if you’re looking to be more mindful of your spending, take a look at our favorite budgeting apps.
