I got new Captivate two weeks ago and I didnt had any knowledge of Android before that. So as every noob does, I also got worried about my aweful battery and installed task killers. But I noticed that my phone started to lag. So after reading many articles and comments, I came to conclusion that I don't really need Task killer and Android is designed to stop all unwanted Apps itself (correct me if I am wrong here please)
So I thought to test something. I opened camera and then clicked back (not home key but back). The running apps in settings showed its not running, but in System Panel (as suggested by the author of one of the article) it shows Camera is still open but inactive.
So my question is, do these inactive but open apps consume bettery or affect performance?
My question may sound stupid, but I am really concerned about my battery not lasting more than 10 hrs.
If they use a lot of data and have constant updates then yes, they will consume a significant amount of battery. A moderatly simple app that is open but doesnt require data nor act frequently wont use a lot of battery at all. I still use a task killer, as android doesnt automatically "kill" on its own. You can avoid a lot of trouble by just turning off your mobile network when youre not using it; thats a great battery saver in general... good luck
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hilerc said:
You can avoid a lot of trouble by just turning off your mobile network when youre not using it; thats a great battery saver in general... good luck
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Thanks for replying...
I have tweek to trun off my 3g and its never on. But at work I use Wifi to listen to online radio on my phone. So do I have to kill apps like TweetDeck, Facebook and Gmail, with Task killer? Even though I have disabled auto sync for these accounts.
SuperPower (I got it on AppBrain) is an advanced power management app. It does cool stuff like allow you to schedule your phone to shut off data when the screen is off WHILE scheduling the data to come on for a couple minutes every hour to sync your email AND leave data on if your screen is off but you're downloading something. It didn't seem to play too nice with setcpu but has literally doubled my battery life without a noticeable change in performance. There's a thread on xda about it somewhere, but this is currently an unsupported beta so use at your own risk.
austontatious said:
SuperPower (I got it on AppBrain) is an advanced power management app. It does cool stuff like allow you to schedule your phone to shut off data when the screen is off WHILE scheduling the data to come on for a couple minutes every hour to sync your email AND leave data on if your screen is off but you're downloading something. It didn't seem to play too nice with setcpu but has literally doubled my battery life without a noticeable change in performance. There's a thread on xda about it somewhere, but this is currently an unsupported beta so use at your own risk.
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of course it did it shut data off. any app that does that will extend batt life
So basically it is Juice Defender?
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dsEVOlve said:
So basically it is Juice Defender?
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sounds like.
Ya, it's a similar concept to JuiceDefender. Less about task management and power profiles, though - isntead of setting up profiles you basically just enable levels of control over your phone for the app. And yes, 94tbird, I am aware that "of course it did it shut data off. any app that does that will extend batt life " but the impressive thing is that it didn't just turn data off, but it managed it so that I didn't notice it was off. If I wanted a phone with no data connection and great battery life, I'm sure I have an old nokia around here somewhere. The point was that it is a smart enough app to turn data off when I don't need it and on when I do, while still keeping my email box synced and all without me noticing a difference (besides the battery life). You could accomplish the same thing with the stock widget to turn your data connection on and off, but you would actually have to turn it on and off. This app does it for you, and seamlessly enough that you don't notice it working. But hey - do as you like. I don't have any connection to the developer(s) of this app, I just dl'd it and it worked really well, thought I would share.
Who here uses a taskiller you shouldnt use it here watch this!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
I use taskpanel for freeing up memory and then the built in task manager to kill specific apps and stuff.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
I use Tasker to kill apps when I'm turning off the screen
effin taskiller pro it suddenly broke my speaker, no sound.. then uninstalled & clean wipe my device. then after like 12hrs phone buzzes so loud like radio's on, can't turn it off but to turn off the phone manualy. then phone is ok again.
geekfor.me/faq/you-shouldnt-be-using-a-task-killer-with-android/
i've read that android is designed to not need a task killer. it actually doesn't save your battery, but uses more from what i understand.
thank you
starting with froyo ( android 2.2 ) it's really not necessary and potentially harmful to use task killers.
i am useing but i dont know is it right
Does Advanced Task Killer drain my battery even if I'm not using autokill or killing any tasks at all? Like if I just leave it there, will it still drain.
And one important question as well, if a AOL's notification icon appears in the status bar, but I don't see it on the running services list, is the app still running in the background?
Does anyone have bad battery by using WidgetLocker or Weatherbug? I can't tell what is usingy battery
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NekoNyapii said:
Does Advanced Task Killer drain my battery even if I'm not using autokill or killing any tasks at all? Like if I just leave it there, will it still drain.
And one important question as well, if a AOL's notification icon appears in the status bar, but I don't see it on the running services list, is the app still running in the background?
Does anyone have bad battery by using WidgetLocker or Weatherbug? I can't tell what is usingy battery
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
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ok first, throw out ATK. the only reason you should use it is to kill a rogue app that has a bad memory leak, or is stuck in a race condition. and you can do this through the settings in any rom, so there is no need for an app.
Second, do you use an AOL app? if so then if it has an icon on the status bar then yes it is running and it has the ability to drain your battery. if its not showing up in the running services, then its not really running. its a neat trick where the app puts a notification in the bar then closes. and when you click it it reopens to where it was.
As for widgetlocker, i used it for a long time and if its setup right it shouldnt drain battery. it all depends on the widgets you have on both your lockscreen and your homescreen. widgets that use alot of battery will do so, while well written ones will not.
anyway, before i get too far off track. if you think a certian app is sucking your battery dry, use an application to freeze it, or just uninstall it and run the phone for a full charge cycle to see if it improves or stays the same. if it gets better, and you used the phone the same way, than that app is the culprit.
Klathmon said:
ok first, throw out ATK. the only reason you should use it is to kill a rogue app that has a bad memory leak, or is stuck in a race condition. and you can do this through the settings in any rom, so there is no need for an app.
Second, do you use an AOL app? if so then if it has an icon on the status bar then yes it is running and it has the ability to drain your battery. if its not showing up in the running services, then its not really running. its a neat trick where the app puts a notification in the bar then closes. and when you click it it reopens to where it was.
As for widgetlocker, i used it for a long time and if its setup right it shouldnt drain battery. it all depends on the widgets you have on both your lockscreen and your homescreen. widgets that use alot of battery will do so, while well written ones will not.
anyway, before i get too far off track. if you think a certian app is sucking your battery dry, use an application to freeze it, or just uninstall it and run the phone for a full charge cycle to see if it improves or stays the same. if it gets better, and you used the phone the same way, than that app is the culprit.
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Oh sorry I didn't mean AOL app I meant like any app that has a notification icon on status bar. And do you know any good apps to monitor what is using the CPU or causing the battery drain?
And I know ATK is not really needed, but does it still drain battery if you don't use autokill or kill any tasks?
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NekoNyapii said:
Oh sorry I didn't mean AOL app I meant like any app that has a notification icon on status bar. And do you know any good apps to monitor what is using the CPU or causing the battery drain?
And I know ATK is not really needed, but does it still drain battery if you don't use autokill or kill any tasks?
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i couldnt tell you if it does or not, but if it does not have a service or process running then its not hurting anything.
as for monitoring cpu or battery drain. i use a program called "System Tuner Pro" it costs money, but it tells you what apps are using how much cpu time in seconds. Any app like that will help, but its not a perfect system, it just helps point you in the right direction.
Last Note, the developer of "System Tuner Pro" is a good friend of mine, so i might be bias in using it
Klathmon said:
i couldnt tell you if it does or not, but if it does not have a service or process running then its not hurting anything.
as for monitoring cpu or battery drain. i use a program called "System Tuner Pro" it costs money, but it tells you what apps are using how much cpu time in seconds. Any app like that will help, but its not a perfect system, it just helps point you in the right direction.
Last Note, the developer of "System Tuner Pro" is a good friend of mine, so i might be bias in using it
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I just downloaded System Tuner Pro, its awesome. I have it on recording right now, hopefully it doesnt drain too much battery.
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While recording it will, buy it also will show you EVERYTHING that is happening on your phone
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Klathmon said:
While recording it will, buy it also will show you EVERYTHING that is happening on your phone
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Yeah I paid for the app. Do you know if the Maps app eats a lot of battery as well? Its always in the running services.
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There is a reason Maps is always running. When an app wants to get location data, it can call on GPS. GPS will return the distance from 3 (or more) satellites, various times, and latitude and longitude. This information is useless to the majority of apps that use it, so they will have to convert it to something useful (like nearby address or a city name).
Now, Google knew this, and instead of making each app that needs a city or address figure it out on its own (which would most likely be a slow, resource hungry process) Google made its Maps program open source. So now these apps can just make a call to the always running maps process and it returns an address, city name, nearby supermarkets, ect...
This app is also responsible for your phone being able to get a rough position without having GPS turned on, it gets WIFI data, Cell tower names, and various other things to figure out roughly where you are in the world. This lets apps like WeatherBug to get your city without ever using GPS.
So thats why its always running, and there is no need to try and kill it ever. Maps is a very well written program, and your better off just letting it do its thing. (if you try to fight it, it's probably going to win )
I do believe I have an answer to this. I found today that, after I finally sat down and finished rooting and flashing and installing and rebooting and updating and all the rest of the happy stuff that equals a much happier user, that ATK did infact drain my battery in an exponencial amount. Prior to that, it was ok. After running CM7, in about 2 hours it drained my battery almost to dead. Now, i work in radio shack, so I've had my phone on the charger and my battery was still dying. So in all haste, remove ATK!!!
jaywillsoul said:
I do believe I have an answer to this. I found today that, after I finally sat down and finished rooting and flashing and installing and rebooting and updating and all the rest of the happy stuff that equals a much happier user, that ATK did infact drain my battery in an exponencial amount. Prior to that, it was ok. After running CM7, in about 2 hours it drained my battery almost to dead. Now, i work in radio shack, so I've had my phone on the charger and my battery was still dying. So in all haste, remove ATK!!!
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Also go here and read.
http://geekfor.me/faq/you-shouldnt-be-using-a-task-killer-with-android/
Klathmon said:
There is a reason Maps is always running. When an app wants to get location data, it can call on GPS. GPS will return the distance from 3 (or more) satellites, various times, and latitude and longitude. This information is useless to the majority of apps that use it, so they will have to convert it to something useful (like nearby address or a city name).
Now, Google knew this, and instead of making each app that needs a city or address figure it out on its own (which would most likely be a slow, resource hungry process) Google made its Maps program open source. So now these apps can just make a call to the always running maps process and it returns an address, city name, nearby supermarkets, ect...
This app is also responsible for your phone being able to get a rough position without having GPS turned on, it gets WIFI data, Cell tower names, and various other things to figure out roughly where you are in the world. This lets apps like WeatherBug to get your city without ever using GPS.
So thats why its always running, and there is no need to try and kill it ever. Maps is a very well written program, and your better off just letting it do its thing. (if you try to fight it, it's probably going to win )
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I used system tuner to prevent maps from starting up and it doesnt show up in running services anymore. It seems like my battery is a lot better this way.
The only time I really use maps is for gps. I use gps, maps turns on and then when I turn gps off, maps doesnt run in the background anymore. That's the only reason why im keeping system tuner I have no other need for location service.
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And plus I don't see why Maps always needs to be running. When I need it for location services, then it could just start up then, no need to always keep it running, I really do believe it drains a lot of my battery.
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sou i bought my desire s for 6 months and i used it and daly use it vas ok calls messages games wi fi and when i go to sleep i put it on charger vith 15-20% of battery now for feiw days my battery drain is masive i just use it for feiw calls and messages i dont turn on wi fi or play games or something i set everithing on poversave but the problem is there and my phone is losing signal what sould i do???? im completly stock
sorry for my bad english
No no no. I already requested for your thread to be moved here. You should have just waited instead of opening up a new one again!
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Install better battery starts and check your wakelocks. Seeing is keeping your phone awake.
In the mean while post a screenshot of your battery usage
Sent from a Desire S waiting for Kernel 3 sources. WAKE UP HTC!!!!
if you're using 3g and your phone is losing signal then thats why. low signal strength will kill your battery as it constantly tries to find a new stronger cell and has to keep disconnecting switching to 2g then back to 3g etc. turn your wifi back on it uses less power than 3g
Try es task manager to stop stuff loading on boot as well. Used it on my ds and on the wife's sensation xe. Wife was getting big battery drain, would last a day after ics update, now it lasts 2
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA
Task Killer Misconceptions
So we’ve explained how android works, what it means by “running” apps, and how it automatically manages its own memory so you can stick to enjoying your phone, lets move onto dispelling some common misconceptions about android and the use of task killers:
“Task killers make my battery last longer” – FALSE!
Task killers actually do the opposite, they make your battery life shorter! Lets look at what exactly you are doing when you kill a task. You are completely removing it from memory. Ok, so compared to leaving it in memory you are expecting to save battery? No, whether or not that bit of memory is used by an app or is free, the same amount of battery is going to be used. You are actually reducing battery life because when you next go to use that app, you have to fully reopen it, this uses more memory than simply bringing it out of memory.
“Task killers make my phone run faster” – FALSE
Task killers cause your phone to become unstable and jerky. Killing processes is bad because a process may be shared between applications. When you kill it, you are causing disruption within the OS, forcing apps to reopen, to reopen a shared process.
“There is no exit button, thats why i use a task killer” – FALSE
There is no exit button because android was designed to never have the need for a user to close apps. If an app needs closing, android will do this itself.
or http://droid-den.com/android-guides/android-guide-should-i-use-a-task-killer/
@up you're right. But PCrepair was talking about a task manager to prevent some apps from starting at device boot. That's something different. Your really long quoted post was a little bit unnecessary..
Sent by my fingers to your head.
I don't agree with you. I am a fan of ES apps but Es Task Manager mainly purpouse is to kill tasks.
I don't know what's causing the OP's problem but i am 99% sure that a task manager/killer is not the solution.
And please try not to comment my posts context/quallity i don't want to start a flame but i am sure you are not proude of more than 30% of your posts.
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@uq the reason for the es app is to stop none essential apps starting on boot. I agree that task killers will drain battery quicker.
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