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reducing memory usage in Android

I'd like to share tips and get help on how to reduce memory usage in Android. Maybe we can start a wiki page somewhere for this.
I've found that getting more free memory on my Android phone (G1) makes the phone much faster, especially when switching between apps.
I'd tried CompCache, but found it made little difference. I tried a swap partition, but found it made my phone unstable.
So here's my process for identifying memory hogs under CyanogenMod: connect the phone via USB, run 'adb shell', and then 'top -m 15 -s rss -d 10'. I then use the phone for a while, switching between some large apps like the browser and Google Maps, and observe which processes are staying in memory. Note that the USB debugger itself uses some memory.
I was able to get rid of some apps that were staying in memory for no apparent reason: Callbook.
I was able to get rid of some apps that were staying in memory and I didn't really need: 3G Watchdog, NetCounter
I was able to change settings in some apps so that they wouldn't stay in memory all the time: disable notifications in CyanogenMod Updater; disable 'start service on power on' in Quick Calendar
I was able to find some alternative apps that don't stay in memory all the time: now using Mode Scheduler and Timeriffic instead of Sound Manager
I'm still experimenting with different calendar widgets to see which one uses the least memory.
I noticed that the Calendar app was staying in memory. I'm not sure, but I think that disabling gmail/contacts/calendar sync fixed that. Disabling sync makes the phone faster anyway, though I then want some alternative mechanism to make sure that the phone syncs at least once a day. I've been using WiSyncPlus, set to turn on WiFi on charging, and force sync on WiFi connection. That works, though WiSyncPlus uses 15 MB or so itself. If Timeriffic or some other timer-based program that doesn't stay in memory had the ability to do a force sync, I'd prefer that.
After all that, things were greatly improved: I could keep a couple of large apps like eBuddy and the Browser in memory at the same time.
Since then I've wiped my phone and upgraded from CyanogenMod 4.2.13 to 4.2.15.1, and replicated my apps and settings as best I could remember.
I still have some large apps that seem to stay in memory:
* system_server
* android.process.acore
* com.android.phone
* com.android.inputmethod.latin
* zygote
* com.google.process.gapps
I don't recall if all of these apps were staying in memory under 4.2.13. No doubt at least some of these are necessary. (acore)
Are there any settings I can change or apps I can uninstall to stop these processes from staying in memory all the time? I don't use my phone as a phone very much; I'd be happy to get the phone app out of memory. What does gapps do? I don't need my gmail, contacts, and calendar to sync constantly. I've tried disabled the wireless network location service, but that doesn't seem to have made any difference.
Under which process does the memory usage for a widget go? I'm not seeing a separate process for some of my widgets.

balazer said:
I'd like to share tips and get help on how to reduce memory usage in Android. Maybe we can start a wiki page somewhere for this.
I've found that getting more free memory on my Android phone (G1) makes the phone much faster, especially when switching between apps.
I'd tried CompCache, but found it made little difference. I tried a swap partition, but found it made my phone unstable.
So here's my process for identifying memory hogs under CyanogenMod: connect the phone via USB, run 'adb shell', and then 'top -m 15 -s rss -d 10'. I then use the phone for a while, switching between some large apps like the browser and Google Maps, and observe which processes are staying in memory. Note that the USB debugger itself uses some memory.
I was able to get rid of some apps that were staying in memory for no apparent reason: Callbook.
I was able to get rid of some apps that were staying in memory and I didn't really need: 3G Watchdog, NetCounter
I was able to change settings in some apps so that they wouldn't stay in memory all the time: disable notifications in CyanogenMod Updater; disable 'start service on power on' in Quick Calendar
I was able to find some alternative apps that don't stay in memory all the time: now using Mode Scheduler and Timeriffic instead of Sound Manager
I'm still experimenting with different calendar widgets to see which one uses the least memory.
I noticed that the Calendar app was staying in memory. I'm not sure, but I think that disabling gmail/contacts/calendar sync fixed that. Disabling sync makes the phone faster anyway, though I then want some alternative mechanism to make sure that the phone syncs at least once a day. I've been using WiSyncPlus, set to turn on WiFi on charging, and force sync on WiFi connection. That works, though WiSyncPlus uses 15 MB or so itself. If Timeriffic or some other timer-based program that doesn't stay in memory had the ability to do a force sync, I'd prefer that.
After all that, things were greatly improved: I could keep a couple of large apps like eBuddy and the Browser in memory at the same time.
Since then I've wiped my phone and upgraded from CyanogenMod 4.2.13 to 4.2.15.1, and replicated my apps and settings as best I could remember.
I still have some large apps that seem to stay in memory:
* system_server
* android.process.acore
* com.android.phone
* com.android.inputmethod.latin
* zygote
* com.google.process.gapps
I don't recall if all of these apps were staying in memory under 4.2.13. No doubt at least some of these are necessary. (acore)
Are there any settings I can change or apps I can uninstall to stop these processes from staying in memory all the time? I don't use my phone as a phone very much; I'd be happy to get the phone app out of memory. What does gapps do? I don't need my gmail, contacts, and calendar to sync constantly. I've tried disabled the wireless network location service, but that doesn't seem to have made any difference.
Under which process does the memory usage for a widget go? I'm not seeing a separate process for some of my widgets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I realize this is a little late to the party, but thank you for using and suggesting Timeriffic. We work hard on it and it's nice to know that people use it and love it.

Constant Data usesage from bloatware (Daily briefing)

I recently changed to launcher pro, and got rid of most of my apps. I am on the 200mb a month plan, so I have to watch my data usage. Lately I've noticed that my 3g/g/edge icon is pretty steadily on and showing up and downstreams active.
So when I launch task killer, I notice that certain apps that I never use (nor do I have it on as a widget) such as samsungs "daily briefing" widget are always running. This didn't use to happen, but today alone i've used 8mb, despite making sure I didn't once actually use any data on purpose.
anyone have any ideas?

I actually use Daily Briefing for the weather updates, but it only updates when I hit the refresh button. Not sure why yours would be running all the time, especially without the widget.
To get rid of it entirely, you could uninstall the bloatware using Titanium Backup. That's what I did for most of the AT&T stuff on my phone.
The other possibility is to use a program like Autostarts (it costs money, but it's worth it IMO) to disable apps that run in response to events, like phone startup. You can deny just about any process or app you want.

yeah, it's really strange. I can't figure it out.
I keep thinking about removing it with titanium (I've already done that with a lot of the rest of the bloatware), but I'm afraid of making further changes to the stock as I'd like to install the official 2.2 update when it comes out without problems. Although I guess if I've already done it to a lot of the bloatware, at this point it doesn't matter.
I know I could just use odin, but I'm a bit scared due to all the problems people have had.

Just a general thing to check, is Background data and Auto-sync turned off under Settings > Accounts and sync?
I personally use a widget called GTWidget Data to toggle off data altogether when I'm not using it to make sure nothing running in the background uses data.

[Q] How can I fix a G2 stuck in "Upload Mode"?

I have a non-rooted, stock G2 (on T-Mobile) running Android 2.2.
Every day, as many as twenty or thirty times per day, the phone gets stuck in "upload" mode. The data icon shows that data is uploading (or trying to) and I am unable to use any data-related services (whether tethered or on the phone itself). When it happens it can last anywhere from 10 seconds to 5 minutes. The only way I can forcibly stop it is to completely shut down the radio by toggling airplane mode off then on, forcing the phone to reacquire a data signal.
I've tried resetting the phone to factory defaults, deleting every app, reinserting the SIM card, and even formatting the SD card. Stopping running processes doesn't affect the issue, nor does implementing a task killer to kill extant apps. I also don't have any reliable way of tracking how much data *might* be getting sent (where ever it might be going). I've toggled off background data, syncing, GPS, network location, etc. Anything user settable that could potentially impact data has been switched off, to no avail. But, even with those settings on, I've never (in the past) had them completely usurp my data usage by locking the mobile data into an upload state.
My three main concerns are that 1) I can't reliably download apps, check mail, send pics/videos, or other data-related processes. 2) I'm concerned that if something IS uploading, it may be uploading a LOT and adding to my 5GB per month throttle-cap on T-Mobile. 3) I don't know WHAT is being sent, or WHERE. For all I know it could be sending my private data and contact info to an unknown third party.
I've ended every endable process and killed or uninstalled every app possible. I can't seem to remove bloatware without rooting, which I'm not yet eager to do as this phone is less than 60 days old, and I'm otherwise very happy with it as is.
Any suggestions or recent information as to why this is occurring? I have seen a similar thread for a different phone (Incredible), but it was from over a year ago and there were no solutions (other than flashing a new ROM). I'd like to stay stock, at least for a while, but if there is no other option and the Gingerbread OTA doesn't resolve this issue, then I may very well go to CyanogenMod (which I was happily running on my previous phone, the G1).
-Mark

Extra data usage : Android OS

Recently, I have noticed that Android OS has extra data usage [1.34 GB].
It was a big problem for me, because mobile data cost a lot in my country. So that i spent hours searching for the reasons.
Now I understand why that happened with me and i like to share you how i fix that problem.
First : Backup and reset
It's contains an option to backup all apps data , wifi passwords, calendar events,... etc to gmail account.
I was setting this option so that Android OS data usage was higher than it was.
Second :
Gmail accounts Also has options to backup your data. And that will increase android os data usage.
Third :
Apps that upload a backup of your photos and videos can make auto backup (that's don't effect on Android OS data usage).
That it all check this video it's about how to fix this problem .
https://youtu.be/KfX3ptiadUE

If you tether to a computer or other devices, sometimes the data will be attributed to Android OS (sometimes both Android OS as well as the tethering app, giving you incorrect totals).

How do I delete past data usage?

No, this is not going to be as easy as one would think from reading the title.
Running an unofficial LineageOS (13.0 - equivalent to android 6.0.1) on a no-name Chinese phone.
I would describe myself as one of those people who really don't like to see much information about my activities on my phone recorded, and (for this question) that specifically includes data usage per app. To ramp this up to the paranoid level, I have never used (or even turned on) mobile data - I stick exclusively with wifi, and never access the internet with this device without going through a VPN.
The data usage history currently goes back several months. I know that the data resides in two files (datausage.db and datausage.db-journal) in
/data/data/org.cyanogenmod.providers.datausage/databases/
First of all (this seems out of order, but humor me), I have tried removing those files, zapping (wiping) those files, and creating files of the same sizes containing nothing but 0x00. The original files appear again after a reboot (yes, I have killed the data usage provider before doing this, and no, I have no idea where the system stores the copies). I have invested (so far wasted) several hours in trying to remove this data, and have made absolutely no progress.
If you have read up to this point, you probably have thought "why don't you just go into "Settings / Data Usage" and select "Reset Data Statistics"? A reasonable question, and actually what I attempted first, but doing that has a very unfortunate side effect - it completely destroys (disables) Wi-Fi background data (something that took me several more hours to figure out) for every app. Even restoring the backup for the "Data Usage Provider" app won't fix it. The only way to re-enable background data is to restore an image backup.
Time for some questions.
First, can anyone suggest a way to delete the data usage history (without making the phone unusable, of course)?
Second (mostly for my curiosity), where does the system store the backup of the data usage history database?
Third (approaching it from using the "Reset Data Statistics" function), does some way exist to restore Wi-Fi background data for all apps. I wouldn't even mind going through the apps one at a time in settings to re-enable this. To clarify, if I select an app in "Settings / Apps / Someapp" and then go into "Data Usage", I typically have "Only over Wi-Fi" selected (which has worked fine since I have had the device - a few years). After "Reset Data Statistics", no app will communicate in the background with this setting. If I change to "Over cellular data & Wi-Fi" (keep in mind I have never turned cellular data on for this device), then the app will then use Wi-Fi in the background.
Something (well beyond my ken) seems very broken.