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Hi all,
One habit I've developed with the Captivate is using Advanced Task Killer to kill apps that otherwise would just be hanging out in memory. I do this probably because I'm anal retentive like that, but also with the thought that it save me battery life if I do.
This has led to two questions of mine (excuse the noobiness to Android if these have been discussed):
1.) Why do so many applications start automatically when the phone boots up? (browser, gallery, etc etc). Is there a startup ini somewhere I can edit to prevent this or do all the apps just wake up? It's easy enough to kill, but I find some of the apps that start up very odd.
2.) Over the course of the day, even with Autokill on and security set to "Low", eventually my memory is consumed and it only gets back to its full state until the phone is rebooted. After all obvious apps have been killed the memory usage will will go from ~170mb (after a reboot) to as low as ~130mb (at the end of the day). Does anyone know why that happens and if there is a better way to manage memory/apps?
Thanks.
I used to use task killers, but I have uninstalled them and just let android do its thing. The only reason I'll end a program is if the program has an exit function or has froze, which is rare. With this method I don't have any slowdowns and great battery life. On the flipside I don't install poorly developed apps. Thats just me though.
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I'm attempting to try to increase my battery life so it lasts longer than 12 hours (~13 seems to be my limit). (I'll admit I'm a bit jealous of those who can run the phone 24+ hours) Though it's somewhat painful, I'm shutting down most the programs I have running in the background. However there seems to be a number that like to restart even after I think I've disabled their startup, widgets, notifications, etc.
Is there a way to make sure programs that you install don't run? Or at least don't launch during start up? Perhaps something like msconfig in windows?
Thanks.
Raleran said:
I'm attempting to try to increase my battery life so it lasts longer than 12 hours (~13 seems to be my limit). (I'll admit I'm a bit jealous of those who can run the phone 24+ hours) Though it's somewhat painful, I'm shutting down most the programs I have running in the background. However there seems to be a number that like to restart even after I think I've disabled their startup, widgets, notifications, etc.
Is there a way to make sure programs that you install don't run? Or at least don't launch during start up? Perhaps something like msconfig in windows?
Thanks.
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Click to collapse
Killing background tasks will only decrease your battery life. When an application goes to the background, it sits in memory but does NOT consume any CPU power. since the memory is in solid state, it requires no power to stay in that state. By constantly killing background applications, it will need to start up, reinitialize, and consume more power then if you had just left it alone. Also, long term performance will be negatively affected, even if you do expereince a small short term performance gain. the Android OS is designed at the core level to have applications behave this way, and modifying that behavior will make for a worse experience.
asrrin29 said:
Killing background tasks will only decrease your battery life. When an application goes to the background, it sits in memory but does NOT consume any CPU power. since the memory is in solid state, it requires no power to stay in that state. By constantly killing background applications, it will need to start up, reinitialize, and consume more power then if you had just left it alone. Also, long term performance will be negatively affected, even if you do expereince a small short term performance gain. the Android OS is designed at the core level to have applications behave this way, and modifying that behavior will make for a worse experience.
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Eh, this is the first I've heard this. I don't remember reading this in the various battery optimization guides.
Still is there a was to stop things short of uninstalling? For example, I want to stop using the Yahoo Mail app but don't want to install yet. I went through all the options I could to disable checking/notifications, etc but it still pops back into memory constantly.
I assume youve tried the obvious, turn off WiFi (3G) and screen when not actively using it?! Those are the big batt.-eaters
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asrrin29 said:
Killing background tasks will only decrease your battery life. When an application goes to the background, it sits in memory but does NOT consume any CPU power. since the memory is in solid state, it requires no power to stay in that state. By constantly killing background applications, it will need to start up, reinitialize, and consume more power then if you had just left it alone. Also, long term performance will be negatively affected, even if you do expereince a small short term performance gain. the Android OS is designed at the core level to have applications behave this way, and modifying that behavior will make for a worse experience.
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Documentation? As far as I have read an application does not go into any type of dehydrated state when running in the background / minimized. It can do anything it wants including using CPU cycles.
I do agree that most applications do not need to be killed with a task killer but leaving 3D games (for example) running in the background could hurt your battery. Also not all applications are progammed with ther same fore thought and skill level.
I get about 33% more runtime out of my battery using a task killer to kill specific applications that I know I do not want running in the background.
Streaker said:
I assume youve tried the obvious, turn off WiFi (3G) and screen when not actively using it?! Those are the big batt.-eaters
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I leave wifi on since I'm usually in range. It's more efficient than 3g right? I alway sleep the device when I'm done. I still have huge percentages on the screen when looking at the battery usage. I'm trying a completely black screen now.
Mainly your widgets and icons and stuff still cover large portions of it, so: a black screen will help, not but alot.
Also, to keep items in RAM, to the second poster... What do you think is keeping those items in RAM?
Ummm... It's the CPU.
Task Killers won't help you on RAM usage at all (Because Android will automatically shuffle them out if it has to, or so I've read... I've yet to hit max memory). Task Killers DO help you as far as battery use goes, though... Keeping the browser killed if you aren't using it, etc.
Bjd223 said:
Documentation? As far as I have read an application does not go into any type of dehydrated state when running in the background / minimized. It can do anything it wants including using CPU cycles.
I do agree that most applications do not need to be killed with a task killer but leaving 3D games (for example) running in the background could hurt your battery. Also not all applications are progammed with ther same fore thought and skill level.
I get about 33% more runtime out of my battery using a task killer to kill specific applications that I know I do not want running in the background.
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Click to collapse
I should clarify. I guess the term I meant to use is "suspended." If a program is actively "running" in the background, it will use CPU cycles. But if you simply stopped using a program, say for example the xda app, and returned to your homescreen, the application stays "suspended" in the background and consumes no CPU cycles until you go back to it. Now services that are updating, such as email or SMS, will use CPU cycles in the background because they are still actively running. But if you want to conserve battery life you can simply disable the notifications from most of these programs.
asrrin29 said:
I should clarify. I guess the term I meant to use is "suspended." If a program is actively "running" in the background, it will use CPU cycles. But if you simply stopped using a program, say for example the xda app, and returned to your homescreen, the application stays "suspended" in the background and consumes no CPU cycles until you go back to it. Now services that are updating, such as email or SMS, will use CPU cycles in the background because they are still actively running. But if you want to conserve battery life you can simply disable the notifications from most of these programs.
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The app itself at that point may not be but the Android OS still does to maintain that suspended state.
I have some applications I rarely use or even some that I've never used but may want to in the future. I see absolutely no benefit in keeping these applications in the background. Further more, I've noticed a signficant drain on the battery when extra applications are running in the background. I'm sure it's not all of them, but I've yet to discover who exactly the culpit is. Right now I suspect it's the NPR app, perhaps due to data use?
The point is, there are perfectly good reasons to keep some apps in the background, and perfectly good reasons to kill others - or perferrably not have them start up at all unless I do it myself. Could be due to data usage (especially if you do not have unlimited data), could be due to concerns about excessive cpu usage. There really should be a clear method in which you can stop applications from opening on their own.
You can use the program "Autostarts" to keep applications from starting at startup. With it you can also prevent things from launching under a number of other situations. That might be what you are looking for. Just do a google search for the APK as I don't think it is in the market.
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Shuggins said:
You can use the program "Autostarts" to keep applications from starting at startup. With it you can also prevent things from launching under a number of other situations. That might be what you are looking for. Just do a google search for the APK as I don't think it is in the market.
Wouldn't tasker also help?
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To me, it's not a matter of "task killer or not", but rather when and where to use one. And I think it's simple: Don't bother, unless you suspect a specific app is doing something you don't want it to do in the background. Then, just kill that specific app and leave everything else alone. A Task manager that shows CPU% for each process can be handy for this as well.
I generally try to avoid killing tasks, but one night I had 50% battery on my phone and after about 2 hours or so I took it out of my pocket to make a phone call, and it was very hot and had about 12% of batter left -- something was running wild that shouldn't have been (I think it was Pandora, even though it was not currently playing any music!) So, background apps do occasionally run out of control, and you do need to occasionally kill them, but do it on an "as needed" basis.
Raleran said:
I'm attempting to try to increase my battery life so it lasts longer than 12 hours (~13 seems to be my limit). (I'll admit I'm a bit jealous of those who can run the phone 24+ hours) Though it's somewhat painful, I'm shutting down most the programs I have running in the background.
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Unless the background process is syncing data, it won't eat your battery. So instead of wasting your time, you should focus on other energy hogs. Things like screen brightness, bluetooth, wifi, and gps.
Shuggins said:
You can use the program "Autostarts" to keep applications from starting at startup. With it you can also prevent things from launching under a number of other situations. That might be what you are looking for. Just do a google search for the APK as I don't think it is in the market.
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I installed Advanced Task Killer from the Market. It lets you kill all running applications including itself.
durrence
jsmith8858 said:
To me, it's not a matter of "task killer or not", but rather when and where to use one. And I think it's simple: Don't bother, unless you suspect a specific app is doing something you don't want it to do in the background. Then, just kill that specific app and leave everything else alone. A Task manager that shows CPU% for each process can be handy for this as well.
I generally try to avoid killing tasks, but one night I had 50% battery on my phone and after about 2 hours or so I took it out of my pocket to make a phone call, and it was very hot and had about 12% of batter left -- something was running wild that shouldn't have been (I think it was Pandora, even though it was not currently playing any music!) So, background apps do occasionally run out of control, and you do need to occasionally kill them, but do it on an "as needed" basis.
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Click to collapse
Or an auto-killer would've killed it before it killed your battery by 38% lol
Task Killings are bad, mmmkay...
Slightly off topic:
To help conserve battery power,
Use an all black desktop background since the black areas dont use battery power.
Hmm, people in this thread have said a few things that I haven't heard or seen much before. Specifically that killing apps could decrease battery life. When I first downloaded advanced task killer I tended to kill most things. I slowly backed off and now I've been watching what launches and what tends to come back and not kill those (mail apps, widgets, performance watchers, etc). The second is that not having a black background doesn't necessarily improve battery life. Makes sense considering I have icons everywhere on my screen.
@Shuggins - Thank you! That's exactly what I was looking for. I've downloaded it but now I have to, er charge my battery a bit before I can take a close look at it.
@jsmith8858 - Are you running setCPU? A couple days ago I noticed my battery running pretty hot. I stopped using setCPU and the battery cooled down a lot. I've used setCPU since them without the heat issue so I'm not sure what was going on.
Well during todays iteration I ran for about 12 hours (typical). I had a couple short phone calls, 2 email accounts syncing as well as other bg syncing processes. I did eat up 30% in an hour messing with a game. I'd probably have 13-14 hours if I didn't play anything (but if I didn't what's the point of the phone . Still, as much as I love it the screen is killing me. Guess there's nothing to do about it though (usually brightness is all the way down, turn it off when I'm not using it, using a darker background). I didn't kill any of my background processes today. I'm going to set up that Autostarts program and start auto-killing various programs tomorrow.
You can try using autokiller and art it to extreme, but I don't recommend this
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I've noticed that when I close an app (exit it) it usually stays open in the background. An example for this would be Facebook or Google Goggles.
I don't want to have those apps drain my battery when I don't use them and I don't want to have to close them manually every time I exit them. What can I do?
Please help
Im doing the same thing too i would like to know if possible. I tried a taskmanager program but that just halts an app from coming back up again.
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When any Activity is no longer the frontmost Activity (on screen), it's shut down by the OS. Any "background" Activities are simply stored in memory in case you want to go back to them. What you're seeing is essentially the history of the app; when you "open" it again it'll just reload the last saved state. At that point, the application is allowed to execute again.
The only applications that should continue running in the background are services.
The only drain you'll see are, as above, services running and the power necessary to keep the background Activities in memory; they're not actually executing.
Of course, there are ways to get around that, but most good citizens will respect Android's wishes when it comes to saving state and exiting when they're no longer frontmost.
NickWarner said:
When any Activity is no longer the frontmost Activity (on screen), it's shut down by the OS. Any "background" Activities are simply stored in memory in case you want to go back to them. What you're seeing is essentially the history of the app; when you "open" it again it'll just reload the last saved state. At that point, the application is allowed to execute again.
The only applications that should continue running in the background are services.
The only drain you'll see are, as above, services running and the power necessary to keep the background Activities in memory; they're not actually executing.
Of course, there are ways to get around that, but most good citizens will respect Android's wishes when it comes to saving state and exiting when they're no longer frontmost.
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So when I click the "Force Stop" in the task manager on one of those applications that I've closed, what does it do? I don't think it erases them from the memory.
For instance, Facebook, when I click "Force Close" I'll still get notifications.
I'm seeing some of these applications in the Battery Usage.
Furthermore, Android will completely shut down apps in the background in order to recover the memory they're using, if it's needed elsewhere. That's really the only time that app management is necessary.
If you're simply seeing a lot of "background apps", rest assured they're not draining your battery.
If you are seeing an inordinate battery drain while you're on the home screen, you might have a service running behind the scenes that's consuming your CPU cycles.
Look for System Panel Lite in the Market; it will let you see the amount of CPU being devoted to each process. I'd bet that most of your background stuff is only eating RAM and not CPU. If there is something eating up a lot of CPU, you can investigate that particular app instead of simply force-killing everything in the background.
matanc1 said:
So when I click the "Force Stop" in the task manager on one of those applications that I've closed, what does it do? I don't think it erases them from the memory.
For instance, Facebook, when I click "Force Close" I'll still get notifications.
I'm seeing some of these applications in the Battery Usage.
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Click to collapse
There are two components to the Facebook app: the application itself and a service. When you "Force Close" the application, you're just stopping what you see onscreen. The service is still running, and a totally different animal than the application stuff we were discussing.
Edit: To clarify: You're seeing the package under Battery Usage, which combines the application ("Activity") and service usage to form an aggregate for "Facebook", not just one component.
Edit: (again) You're right above when you say that it removes them from memory. That, in fact, is ALL it's doing. It's removing the history/background Activities from memory. Unless that Activity is actually the frontmost Activity at that time you click "Force Close", it's not saving you any CPU time/battery usage.
Okay.
So you're saying there is no reason for me to "Force Close" every app after I've closed it?
And btw, when you say that they are in the background what does that mean?
I mean, the Active Applications widget is supposed to show me those that are running in the background right? So how come when I go to the home screen (using the back button) from an app like Facebook it won't show in the Active Applications widget but it will show Google Goggles?
matanc1 said:
Okay.
So you're saying there is no reason for me to "Force Close" every app after I've closed it?
And btw, when you say that they are in the background what does that mean?
I mean, the Active Applications widget is supposed to show me those that are running in the background right? So how come when I go to the home screen (using the back button) from an app like Facebook it won't show in the Active Applications widget but it will show Google Goggles?
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To your first point, yes, that's exactly it. Android does this for you if it needs the memory. Otherwise, it leaves the history hanging around to make it appear the app is loading quickly the next time you open it (and it puts you right back where you left off). Note that we're ONLY talking about the user interface you see onscreen here, not any services.
Your second point requires a bit more explanation. My apologies if this gets either too basic or too in-depth; I'm not sure what your skill level is with Android. Each "window" or "screen" you see is actually a separate Activity, and is essentially self-contained. As you navigate through screens, the previous one saves what you were doing in memory and then exits. When you hit the Back button, Android simply grabs the last screen in memory and loads it back up. At that point, the application is running again. My references to "background" applications above is exactly this: screens you've left behind that are waiting for you to hit Back.
It's ultimately more complicated than that, but I think this will work for our needs.
matanc1 said:
Okay.
So you're saying there is no reason for me to "Force Close" every app after I've closed it?
And btw, when you say that they are in the background what does that mean?
I mean, the Active Applications widget is supposed to show me those that are running in the background right? So how come when I go to the home screen (using the back button) from an app like Facebook it won't show in the Active Applications widget but it will show Google Goggles?
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To continue: Services are the real sticking point here. A service is an application that doesn't have a user interface (or screen). It's running all the time and not subject to the history/back button behavior we've been discussing. These guys are the ones you really need to be worried about, if anything. These are the ones that will run behind the scenes, consuming CPU and data (and, by extension, battery). Facebook is an excellent example: It's always checking to see if you have new messages, posts, etc. so that it can pop them up on the screen. GMail and SMS (and phone calls, even) all do the same thing using services. If the service is badly-written, it can be a real drain even when you're not using it.
You mentioned Google Goggles specifically above, and unfortunately, I'm not very familiar with how that particular app works. I suspect it's not subscribing to the good citizen philosophy and shutting down when you're done with it. It imagine it has to do with needing to perform searches or image comparisons in the background while you're off doing something else. This is technically allowed by Android, but it's frowned upon and suggested that you only do it when absolutely necessary.
Whew. All of that to say this:
Apps, as a general rule, don't consume resources when they're not on screen. They'll consume RAM, which does consume battery power, but it's really insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Some apps will continue running after you "exit" to the home screen, but they should only do that as long as they have actual work to do. Once they're done, they should also shut down as above.
Services will consume resources all the time; they're constantly used for things like checking Facebook, Twitter, email, voicemail, etc.
okay, so again, just to summarize:
Force Closing an app just removes it from the System Memory (which makes them load faster when I open them). These apps use no additional battery life?
So I can feel free to not Force Close apps such as Camera (which I can do that to for some reason which I can't think of)?
Edit: And thank you very much Nick for the help and great responses.
matanc1 said:
okay, so again, just to summarize:
Force Closing an app just removes it from the System Memory (which makes them load faster when I open them). These apps use no additional battery life?
So I can feel free to not Force Close apps such as Camera (which I can do that to for some reason which I can't think of)?
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Click to collapse
You're correct. As a general rule, you don't have to force close any applications in Android. They will use some RAM and zero CPU and data, which equates to effectively zero battery.
Leaving the app in the background (in memory) loads the app faster the next time you open it, assuming Android hasn't closed it to reclaim that memory on its own. I've found that within a few minutes of heavy use (browsing the Internet, etc.), Android has shut down several of the apps in the background for me; it needed that memory to let me continue doing what I was doing.
You don't need to force close apps in the normal course of business. The only time you should force close an application is if it's behaving badly while on the screen (it's not responding to button presses or it's stuck in a tight loop or somesuch). Force closing it while it's in the background doesn't really gain you anything.
Okay, so just one last thing:
Do you have any suggestion to try and improve the battery life?
matanc1 said:
Okay, so just one last thing:
Do you have any suggestion to try and improve the battery life?
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Click to collapse
I have some general suggestions:
Don't sync accounts that you don't use. For example, if you don't use Facebook very often, don't have it set to sync up every hour.
Turn off WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS unless you're actively using them. (A caveat: Google Maps uses WiFi in conjunction with GPS, so turn them both on while using Maps, even if you're not connected to WiFi.) Personally, I don't do this. I leave WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS on all the time, but I know people who swear by this.
Keep your screen brightness as low as you can stand it. Again, I don't do this. I generally leave it on Auto-brightness.
Ultimately, though, you need to find that balance between usability and battery life. If you're always on Facebook and Twitter, sending SMS and surfing, well, there's not much you can do but keep an extra battery or charger nearby. If you're an office-worker that only uses their phone on break and at night, some of the above will probably help.
If you can give me an idea of a normal day's usage of your phone (and make/model/ROM version), I might be able to be a little more specific, or at least point you in the direction of your device's Q&A forum.
Well, I'm new to android and I've got a Samsung Galaxy S 2.
I don't really use the data connection (which is why it's always disabled unless I decide otherwise) and I turn on the Wifi only when I need it (which is often relative to 3G).
Normally I just use my phone for calls, SMSing and a bit of surfing.
About the google maps, I've noticed that it uses A LOT of battery and that it starts itself after I force close it, so I've closed the Maps service which seemed to fix the problem.
That's more or less it.
Not much syncing as well, I usually sync only when I need it.
Edit: I must say that I don't really understand what Backround Data is.
Is it that the Background Data lets the apps use data (like use facebook via wifi?) while the Auto Sync syncs automatically when I get a new email / notification? Does the background data have to do only with the my monthly data package and not with wifi ( i think that is the case ).
First off, you'll probably be better served to ask the guys in the Samsung Galaxy S2 Q&A Forum. They'll have a better idea of what the device's baseline is and what specific features you can turn off. Sometimes, as with the Samsung Fascinate, there are specific features that cause problems on the stock ROM, like Maps issuing bad WakeLocks. I know on my Fascinate before the first update, I had to toggle airplane mode every time I booted or Maps would eat the battery up in hours. Those guys in the device-specific forums will have a better handle on it, if there's anything of concern.
In general, though, it sounds like you're doing a pretty good job of keeping the device doing just what you want it to do. Android's sync framework is going to try to sync up all of your accounts essentially simultaneously whenever you turn on data, since it's probably been turned off for longer than their individual refresh intervals. You might want to turn off automatic sync on the service that you do use, so you can control those a little better when you turn on data to do something else.
Maps is a heavy data user and it makes use of GPS, which is going to consume quite a bit of power. The startup cost you're noticing is it trying to get a fix via the cell tower, GPS, and WiFi all at the same time, since the services have been off. If you use Maps often, you might be better served to leave data on (but, say, Edge only if you're GSM or 3G only if you're LTE/WiMax). This way, Maps can get a rough fix on your location at all times and not have to beat up the hardware to get a fix from scratch when you turn all the services on.
The Maps service is probably, to be anthropomorphic, freaking out all the time because it's trying to get some sort of fix while all the data services are off. Truth be told, I don't believe it was designed for that. Shutting down the service is a good way to go if you don't use it often.
You could try an application like Autorun Manager to control which services start up on boot. To make the most use of it, you need to be rooted, but in non-rooted form it will give you more control over what starts up automatically.
matanc1 said:
I must say that I don't really understand what Backround Data is.
Is it that the Background Data lets the apps use data (like use facebook via wifi?) while the Auto Sync syncs automatically when I get a new email / notification? Does the background data have to do only with the my monthly data package and not with wifi ( i think that is the case ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Background Data is what services use behind the scenes (like syncing and such), but I believe it's an aggregate of all data, not just data on the cellular network. I'm looking through the docs right now to see if I can find a definite answer.
Edit: According to the docs, Background Data is data that is sent or retrieved when the application is not onscreen. This can be either in a service (as is usually the case) or when the app has to do some cleanup after you've moved to a different screen.
Thank you very much
I've noticed that I've got a few widgets that are using memory etc, ones that I don't use and never intend to.
They were preinstalled with the phone and I can't seem to uninstall them. Is there a way that I could without rooting my phone?
And on another subject, if I root my phone, is there a way to "unroot" it in case I'll need to send it to Samsung if there is a problem with it (since i've got a warranty and rooting voids it?)
matanc1 said:
Thank you very much
I've noticed that I've got a few widgets that are using memory etc, ones that I don't use and never intend to.
They were preinstalled with the phone and I can't seem to uninstall them. Is there a way that I could without rooting my phone?
And on another subject, if I root my phone, is there a way to "unroot" it in case I'll need to send it to Samsung if there is a problem with it (since i've got a warranty and rooting voids it?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In theory, widgets don't consume resources unless they're on your home page. If they have services that collect their data, that's a different story. If you don't want them, you can just long-press on them and drag them to the trash can.
In conjunction with Autorun Manager above, you can remove the widget from your home page and stop the service from starting at boot. For example, I don't use Facebook (I know, lame), so I removed the widget and stopped the service. True, it's burning up a couple of megabytes of disk space, but that's insignificant next to the power of the Force, as it were.
Regarding uinstalling them, generally the answer is no. If you root your phone, you can manually remove them from the device, but that's sometimes overkill. Generally, they take up little enough room on disk that you won't be hurting for space.
In most cases, "unrooting" is as simple as flashing the stock ROM (usually available at the top of your device's development forum). Rooting your device generally doesn't make any changes to the device itself that can't be undone by flashing a stock ROM.
I've heard that rooting still leaves traces on the device though and that if they catch that it's been rooted I'm screwed. So you're saying that's not true?
Its frustrating as well as annoying whenever i turn on task killer to see Skype, Picasa tool and Gmail running in the background. I have disabled autosync and i even kill the services to stop them, but they return from the grave after ~10 minutes or so....
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Thats part of android. It has applications in the background that were called on once, and it keeps them in the RAM. Once android recognizes that the process is no longer needed, it terminates it and frees up ram
ADR6300
Get Autostarts from the market. Similar to msconfig for Windows, it prevents apps from launching in the background and hogging memory & battery. It's only $1 and well worth it.
You can also "freeze" unused apps with Titanium Backup. Freezing an app hides it from android, effectively removing it. This is better than deleting the app, because if you freeze an app and your phone starts acting weird, just "unfreeze" that app and the phone will return to normal.
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Those apps are not running in the background, they're only cached in RAM. As long as you don't launch them they'll stay asleep. They don't eat your battery, and they don't take RAM away from running apps that need it.
If your phone runs out of memory those dormant apps will be kicked out of RAM.
In Android empty RAM is wasted RAM. Task killers are a real waste of RAM and battery.
i also seem to have fring always in the background, is there any way i can stop this?
Is there any tasks killer app that really kills some annoying apps running on my device? I'm using 2.3.3, and the battery is drying like crazy
task killers are bad for you phone. they're not necessary, and they kill battery life. just saying
NoctMonster said:
i also seem to have fring always in the background, is there any way i can stop this?
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You can tell fring not to autostart. The option is somewhere in the settings menu.
Android will still cache it in memory, especially if you use fring often. But if it is only cached it doesn't go online and it doesn't eat any battery power.
Same thing for almost all other apps. Just because Android loads them into RAM doesn't mean they're running.
I just noticed that if I repeatedly press to kill apps, it always frees some space - there is never 0bytes freed, even if I press it twice within the same second. I don't know much about android's architecture, but in software programs that indicates a memory leak somewhere. Is this the same?
im not an expert either but from what i've read, i believe its because when you kill apps with the app killer, some apps are restarted (such as necessary ones that the phone needs to run) and that causes some memory to be used again.
dont worry too much about killing apps in android, if apps aren't being used and are in the background, it is suspended and doesn't use the cpu. memory is cleared when needed automatically
Yea some apps just restart. Thats why if you close out all your apps and go back in a few seconds later, some are open again.
No big deal. I also use Go Launcher with its app killer tab in the program menu.
Alright, cool. Just wanted to know.