Please bear with me since I understand this is a noob question, but a google search revealed no such topics... I have dl'd several task managers on my newly installed Android 2.2 (thanks to a wonderful xda developer) and I kill tasks to free memory on my device. However, it seems that if I open an app during any given time use of Android, those processes never fully terminate. This includes Google Voice, Maps, News & Weather, Meebo and Voice Search (which might be a system thread or w/e and I am ok with that) among many other apps. Is there a way to permanently kill these apps? Thank you for your help and patience.
EDIT: Just want to add that I use the back button to exit apps most times cuz I read thats the proper way to do it.
Don't bother, Android is not like a desktop OS where running too many applications runs down the available memory to the point where the OS slows down. Android is clever in that it will take memory claim memory back from running applications if they are not in focus. This is fast and completely transparent to the user.
Killing applications will often slow the OS down. as you have noticed, a lot of them start up again because they are needed by the OS in someway. Killing these applications slows your experience down as Android has to reload them from the flash memory - s.l.o.w
There are times where killing applications is genuinely useful but they really are few and far between.
Oh and to actually answer your question, most of the task managers will kill the task like they are supposed to. If the task starts up again, it is because something is telling it to. Like your sync settings for example.
So i saw many posts on which people have asked as to which task killer should be used !
and then i stumble upon this site which provided me the details,
i just complied info
sources-by Chris Hoffman
http://www.howtogeek.com/127388/htg-explains-why-you-shouldnt-use-a-task-killer-on-android/
Android Doesn’t Manage Processes Like Windows
Most Android users are familiar with Windows. On Windows, many programs running at one time – whether they’re windows on your desktop or applications in your system tray – can decrease your computer’s performance. Closing applications when you’re not using them can help speed up your Windows computer.
However, Android isn’t Windows and doesn’t manage processes like Windows does. Unlike on Windows, where there’s an obvious way to close applications, there’s no obvious way to “close” an Android application. This is by design and isn’t a problem. When you leave an Android app, going back to your home screen or switching to another app, the app stays “running” in the background. In most cases, the app will be paused in the background, taking up no CPU or network resources. Some apps will continue using CPU and network resources in the background, of course – for example, music players, file-downloading programs, or apps that sync in the background.
When you go back to an app you were recently using, Android “unpauses” that app and you resume where you left off. This is fast because the app is still stored in your RAM and ready to be used again.
Why Task Killers Are Bad
Proponents of task killers notice that Android is using a lot of RAM – in fact, Android stores a lot of apps in its memory, filling up the RAM! However, that isn’t a bad thing. Apps stored in your RAM can be quickly switched to without Android having to load them from its slower storage.
In summary, you shouldn’t use a task killer – if you have a misbehaving app wasting resources in the background, you should identify it and uninstall it. But don’t just remove apps from your phone or tablet’s RAM – that doesn’t help speed anything up.
Empty RAM is useless. Full RAM is RAM that is being put to good use for caching apps. If Android needs more memory, it will force-quit an app that you haven’t used in a while – this all happens automatically, without installing any task killers.
Task killers think they know better than Android. They run in the background, automatically quitting apps and removing them from Android’s memory. They may also allow you to force-quit apps on your own, but you shouldn’t have to do this.
Task killers aren’t just useless – they can reduce performance. If a task killer removes an app from your RAM and you open that app again, the app will be slower to load as Android is forced to load it from your device’s storage. This will also use more battery power than if you just left the app in your RAM in the first place. Some apps will automatically restart after the task killer quits them, using more CPU and battery resources.
Whether RAM is empty or full, it takes the same amount of battery power – decreasing the amount of apps stored in RAM won’t improve your battery power or offer more CPU cycles.
hope u understood!
words of wisdom by fellow-mates
go into settings - apps and see how many running apps you have. now go to cached apps and see there, how many apps there are. you see? nearly 50% of those apps discovered by you in the processes are apps that you didn't opened ever but they are still opened and running. why? because that's how linux manages its resources. instead of having free ram for no use (what's the point of having 14gb of ram when you only use 1gb), linux fills all the ram blocks with useful apps or apps that you are running frequently so that when you call that app, it will bring it on the screen almost instantly. this my friend, is called multitasking.
and no, you are wrong. if you use a task killer killing the apps every 10 minutes, the cycles the whole system does - opening again apps and caching them, task killer closing them - results in much more functions done by CPU => more battery spent. even if you say that the battery life its the same, you are wrong. when using a task killer IT MIGHT drain your battery with 0.1% per hour. it's not that much, but IT EXIST.
oh and yeah, one thing: android has its own task killer. that's why you don't need one app to kill your other apps. because android its doing it by itself. if you don't believe me, strip down one kernel, open the init.rc file and find the values for task killer.
I've never used those programs, I like to use what the phones have by default
But is good to know anyways
I agree with that...to an extent
Auto killing apps is plain stupid, but I do believe in killing certain apps. In a perfect world heavy apps would just be uninstalled, but plenty of useful apps without good replacements are fairly heavy, and it helps to kill them. E.g. after exiting a game I will kill it because its hogging up valuable ram by running in the background, while still using he same resources it uses at the forefront.
I understand that android, and Linux should manage ram well, but more often then not some app is just out there slowing my phone down. Even an hour later of not using that app, it'll still be in the background using up a lot of CPU and ram I don't have (more importantly battery). Android is great at managing smaller apps, but in my experience, it sucks at doing the same for larger apps.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda app-developers app
I don't use automatic task killers, those that are constantly running, but i do kill unused tasks and apps with no reason to be still running. Google services is a common example. It will launch at boot and keep running peemanently, even if you never launch a google app, google services is running, why?
A lot of apps, mostly the free ones, get revenue by reporting anonymous usage statistics (not so anonymous in some cases). So they stick a running service even if the app is never launched again (sometimes even if it isn't launched in the first place).
To sum up, killing everything is bad, but leaving everything to run free can also decrease performance. This can be observed on an android device that has been running for a long time, versus an android device that's just been reset.
some unused tasks will repeatedly rerun even if killed.
This will further decrease battery life and affect performance as resources are needed to keep restarting it.
The best way is to ignore if it takes a small portion of resources or to uninstall the app. Rooted users may disable the triggers via certain apps.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Xparent ICS Tapatalk 2
In phones with very low RAM, this becomes a necessity.
Switching programs take up a lot of time to process unless there is a sizable free RAM
Markuzy said:
some unused tasks will repeatedly rerun even if killed.
This will further decrease battery life and affect performance as resources are needed to keep restarting it.
The best way is to ignore if it takes a small portion of resources or to uninstall the app. Rooted users may disable the triggers via certain apps.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Xparent ICS Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
use auto run manager
it is the answer to most of every body's problems
DarthSimian said:
In phones with very low RAM, this becomes a necessity.
Switching programs take up a lot of time to process unless there is a sizable free RAM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if u have low RAM, please manually remove the apps!
dxppxd said:
I don't use automatic task killers, those that are constantly running, but i do kill unused tasks and apps with no reason to be still running. Google services is a common example. It will launch at boot and keep running peemanently, even if you never launch a google app, google services is running, why?
A lot of apps, mostly the free ones, get revenue by reporting anonymous usage statistics (not so anonymous in some cases). So they stick a running service even if the app is never launched again (sometimes even if it isn't launched in the first place).
To sum up, killing everything is bad, but leaving everything to run free can also decrease performance. This can be observed on an android device that has been running for a long time, versus an android device that's just been reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
use autorun manager, keep it simple
dxppxd said:
I don't use automatic task killers, those that are constantly running, but i do kill unused tasks and apps with no reason to be still running. Google services is a common example. It will launch at boot and keep running peemanently, even if you never launch a google app, google services is running, why?
A lot of apps, mostly the free ones, get revenue by reporting anonymous usage statistics (not so anonymous in some cases). So they stick a running service even if the app is never launched again (sometimes even if it isn't launched in the first place).
To sum up, killing everything is bad, but leaving everything to run free can also decrease performance. This can be observed on an android device that has been running for a long time, versus an android device that's just been reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
let me tell you something about google services...
when you installed your rom, you had to check two options from google services - location and another one.
if you are on stock, those options are available in settings also.
the google services are needed (you are running a google os, right?) because without it, the location feature will not work, the play store will give you headaches and not to mention, google now that needs that service like water.
if you kill that process over and over again you will not gain anything because that service will keep restarting it until you will give up. ah, you will loose a massive amount of battery if you do so
another thing, the google service is a system app. system apps have priority in resources so even if you kill now, as i said, it will restart after a few seconds because some apps that you are running are requesting that service.
as someone said here, yes, even I kill games after I stop playing, BUT, I do it from the task manager built in. Settings - Apps - Running apps etc.
1ceb0x said:
let me tell you something about google services...
when you installed your rom, you had to check two options from google services - location and another one.
if you are on stock, those options are available in settings also.
the google services are needed (you are running a google os, right?) because without it, the location feature will not work, the play store will give you headaches and not to mention, google now that needs that service like water.
if you kill that process over and over again you will not gain anything because that service will keep restarting it until you will give up. ah, you will loose a massive amount of battery if you do so
another thing, the google service is a system app. system apps have priority in resources so even if you kill now, as i said, it will restart after a few seconds because some apps that you are running are requesting that service.
as someone said here, yes, even I kill games after I stop playing, BUT, I do it from the task manager built in. Settings - Apps - Running apps etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if u dont want them to restart use, autorun manager
task killer
Well, i think a task killer is useful. It sometimes helps to speed-up the phone a bit.
snelle-eddie said:
Well, i think a task killer is useful. It sometimes helps to speed-up the phone a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No that is wrong.....it consumes more ram it self
Sent from my One V
Normally to kill a process I use the Running Tab in Apps, If any recently opened app which I feel should be closed is open I kill it!Though I leave the google services untouched!
Stopped using Task managers and Battery saving apps long time ago!
Want to really save the juice? Try Under Clocking! and killing the bloatware(saves RAM too!)
I used to have a task killer but the more I killed apps, the slower my phone was, so I eventually ended uninstalling it.
great post. lots of usefull info!!
Instead of using a task killer to keep on eating your battery life, simply either delete the app or disable it in your system if it's a system out (eg: default browser, bloatware, etc).
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zomut.watchdog&feature=search_result
its good, but most android users atleaast ppl like me know which apps are usefull and which are not
cybervibin said:
its good, but most android users atleaast ppl like me know which apps are usefull and which are not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming you are replying to me, your response is a bit ambiguous...
Hiii
I'm having problem with "deasapearing ram" Every 2-3 days i've to restart phone completly becouse when i check in working apps settings i've like 40-80 free ram. in use is about 780-820 mb. it does not add up to 1gb anyway. So when i have so little ram to use apps are force to close, mx player, some ****ty family guy app even chrome is closing down. apps like app killer are not helping tehy free like about 10-60 mb. anyone noticed something like me, any advice?
I think it is the phone, I have the same problem :/
NewTimesTube said:
I think it is the phone, I have the same problem :/
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Click to collapse
yeah, but this **** doesn't happen to all m2. i hope this is software problem not hardware.
im not facing this problem, maybe reflash the stock firmware resolve the problem
batoem said:
im not facing this problem, maybe reflash the stock firmware resolve the problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i did it already through pc companion suite. no help at all.
Maybe root and uninstall bloatware can help you with this situation
this problem probaly because of too many background apps
and one more thing .. linux based OS , ram always been used everytime
you can disable some apps like google maps or integrated apps that u dont use
I have the similar problem with my RAM. As 1st, RAM is always at 70% usage.
How can i disable some applications permanently so they do not run by themselves? I dont want to unninstal them, just disable them, is it possible and if it is can u please tell me how to do it in few short steps.
Second thing, beside other apps i have installed Facebook, WhatsApp and CleanMaster app. Every time i go Settings -> Aplications -> Running Aplications, there are these 3 apps always running. I dont know whats causing them to be opened at all times. I think if i open Facebook (for example) even once, it stays up and running in background even if i remove it from that Dock Menu Tab by sliding it a side.
Is there anything i can do to make this stop, and save some of my RAM free?
Thanks in advance
4.3 is the worst from all versions in terms of memory handling. On top of that it comes very heavy on memory foot-print right after booting up.
After booting up your phone has about 300 - 350 Mb left to work with. Open your Navigation app and your browser, and the memory of your phone is "done". The happy apps reshuffling starts, causing screen lag and app start-up delay.
When a phone app with1 mB in size was considered big, and 5 mB of RAM consumption enormous, than shuffling things around was no prob. Now shuffle a 240 mB Navi app out of the memory, and replace it with that 70 mB home launcher when you are done. Takes the same time and is the same, right? And users have no clue how memory is used, right? And if so many complain about memory handling? But still, Many will tell us "unused RAM is wasted RAM".
What can you do?
- Root your pone and remove all apps you don't need, diligently and consequently
- Greenify user apps, in particular those which you do not need always.
- Rethink if you need to be on Viber, Whatsapp and Skype constanly. If not, greenify.
- Access Facebook from a browser, ditto for other functions and apps where a website is availabe and mostly does the same
- When installing a new app always go for the smaller one that just does what you need to do. Not the one with all the function that you could need, and not the one with more eye candy.
certain apps on android are a no-no. For example, facebook (from what I've heard) and skype use lots of resources and slow down the phone. You should disable or uninstall any app that isn't of use to you. To check the RAM usage of apps and disable them, go to settings -> apps, running will show you current apps, and if you go in all apps you can scroll through them and disable unneeded apps.
LiquidShot said:
snip ...
Second thing, beside other apps i have installed Facebook, WhatsApp and CleanMaster app. Every time i go Settings -> Aplications -> Running Aplications, there are these 3 apps always running. I dont know whats causing them to be opened at all times. I think if i open Facebook (for example) even once, it stays up and running in background even if i remove it from that Dock Menu Tab by sliding it a side.
Is there anything i can do to make this stop, and save some of my RAM free?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Search for an app that lets you manage startup apps on boot. Another way is Greenify, as it unloads apps from memory.
BTW. Cleanmaster is redundant in my eyes.
Thank you very much, this helped a lot.
i've disabled around 15 apps, some sony crap and stuff what i know what it is and i don't use. still the same.