Database Info

Killing services

This is a pretty general question, but I couldn't find much on google about this. According to the task killers on the market, an app won't be able to stop a service like exchange or maps automatically (it can only kill the UI app). However, the exchange and map services have lots of alarms associated which increase my battery drain by at least a full %/hour. If I kill the services manually every time I use one of these apps then everything is fine. Does anyone have insight into whether an app or script called from tasker can accomplish this automatically?
FYI: I'm using the CM9 unofficial ROM.

You do not need to kill tasks. The system automatically purges non system apps. Just leave them be and always exit an app using the back button

"App killers" aren't recommended past Froyo and can even harm performance.
Under ICS, you can "Disable" many apps using the Manage apps off the main-screen menu. Titanium Backup can also "freeze" apps.
Many of the Google services get pretty "greedy" depending on your settings. That would be a good place to start for "core" services like those.
If that doesn't work, there is the sledgehammer approach of removing the apk from /system/app -- If you do that, watch your logcat to provide some confidence that you haven't disabled something that you need for another app to work.

th3controller said:
You do not need to kill tasks. The system automatically purges non system apps. Just leave them be and always exit an app using the back button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Le sigh.. didn't even read my post. Also I'm pretty sure the back button thing is a myth.
jeffsf said:
"App killers" aren't recommended past Froyo and can even harm performance.
Under ICS, you can "Disable" many apps using the Manage apps off the main-screen menu. Titanium Backup can also "freeze" apps.
Many of the Google services get pretty "greedy" depending on your settings. That would be a good place to start for "core" services like those.
If that doesn't work, there is the sledgehammer approach of removing the apk from /system/app -- If you do that, watch your logcat to provide some confidence that you haven't disabled something that you need for another app to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyway I'm not trying to kill the "apps" themselves. They can sit paused in memory. I want to end their back-end services without uninstalling the app. The exchange service, like I said, will drain the battery with its unnecessary alarms even if I disable sync and turn the sync frequency to "never" and uncheck all the boxes when deciding what to sync. Google screwed up majorly with exchange, but when I kill the service manually using the method you describe then everything is fine and I can still boot up the app like normal to check my email manually. I just want to automate killing the service.

lexman098 said:
Le sigh.. didn't even read my post. Also I'm pretty sure the back button thing is a myth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unrelated to your OP but related to your post - on CM9 based ROM's - if you go into Settings > Developer Options - scroll to the bottom and select kill app back button. It works well.

lexman098 said:
Le sigh.. didn't even read my post. Also I'm pretty sure the back button thing is a myth.
Anyway I'm not trying to kill the "apps" themselves. They can sit paused in memory. I want to end their back-end services without uninstalling the app. The exchange service, like I said, will drain the battery with its unnecessary alarms even if I disable sync and turn the sync frequency to "never" and uncheck all the boxes when deciding what to sync. Google screwed up majorly with exchange, but when I kill the service manually using the method you describe then everything is fine and I can still boot up the app like normal to check my email manually. I just want to automate killing the service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am also interested in a solution to this. I was hoping to find a widget that displays services, daemons or whatever you wanna call them, in plain text on my home screen, similar to rainmeter for windows. Then you just tap it to manage them. There has to be something similar around.
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Is greenify acting up again?

I was wondering if anyone else was having issues with greenify lately? I have noticed that apps that are supposed to be hibernating are not hibernating or waking back up on their own.
For example, I will greenify all apps with the hibernate widget button (not to mention that many apps that i'm trying to hibernate are already added to the hibernate list in hibernate to begin with). the widget will pop up and say XXX apps have been hibernated. then i press the widget again and it says nothing to be hibernated good, I put the device to sleep and leave it alone.
several min later I wake it back up, press the hibernate button again and the same apps that I hibernated just a few min prior are now saying they are hibernating again.
Since i have not woke the device or used it since my last hibernation, why are those apps back awake again?
just weird and not working like its supposed to.
Im trying to nail down this battery drain issue after switching to tmobile and this is something unrelated that I noticed.
many thanks in advance for any help or advice.

nextelbuddy said:
I was wondering if anyone else was having issues with greenify lately? I have noticed that apps that are supposed to be hibernating are not hibernating or waking back up on their own.
For example, I will greenify all apps with the hibernate widget button (not to mention that many apps that i'm trying to hibernate are already added to the hibernate list in hibernate to begin with). the widget will pop up and say XXX apps have been hibernated. then i press the widget again and it says nothing to be hibernated good, I put the device to sleep and leave it alone.
several min later I wake it back up, press the hibernate button again and the same apps that I hibernated just a few min prior are now saying they are hibernating again.
Since i have not woke the device or used it since my last hibernation, why are those apps back awake again?
just weird and not working like its supposed to.
Im trying to nail down this battery drain issue after switching to tmobile and this is something unrelated that I noticed.
many thanks in advance for any help or advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats just how android works. certain conditiins will call up apps(like signal change, location change, etc). greenify cant stop those. theres an app called autostarts where you can disable those conditions where certain apps are called upon.

simms22 said:
thats just how android works. certain conditiins will call up apps(like signal change, location change, etc). greenify cant stop those. theres an app called autostarts where you can disable those conditions where certain apps are called upon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd almost agree with you except for the fact that when you greenfy apps like Facebook, and in facebook you have it set to no notifications, no chat etc nothing.. and you greenify it.. it should stay OFF until you open it again especially if i have not used the phone and its idle and no apps have been opened to call it. thats the whole point of greenify... hibernate apps until YOU open or call them. i wouldn't use it if it was just to "snooze" apps until they wake up when ever they want. thats just plain useless and it never happened before with my device. I loved greenify because apps remained OFF until i opened them.

You're not alone, i think it happens to everyone. I get this with shazam and some other apps, they just find a way to "wake up" i guess.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

nextelbuddy said:
I'd almost agree with you except for the fact that when you greenfy apps like Facebook, and in facebook you have it set to no notifications, no chat etc nothing.. and you greenify it.. it should stay OFF until you open it again especially if i have not used the phone and its idle and no apps have been opened to call it. thats the whole point of greenify... hibernate apps until YOU open or call them. i wouldn't use it if it was just to "snooze" apps until they wake up when ever they want. thats just plain useless and it never happened before with my device. I loved greenify because apps remained OFF until i opened them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for example, here are just some of the conditions apps get called up, no matter what you have set in settings. and an example of some apps that i have installed that get called up when connectivity changes. notice i disabled a lot..
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There are many causes that wake an app even we disabled autostart, disable based on event (network change, app install/uninstall, phone call, sms, time, location, triggred from another app, etc), greenify etc. It always has a "hidden" wakeup call. Donate version of greenify does has 'reveal hidden sync' feature. So it will better handles hibernation.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

No mines great
Ten min cutoff app.

[GUIDE][PSA] Google Play Services battery drain fix

If you're running a recent CM based or aosp ROM you've most likely encountered some pretty severe battery drain from Google Play Services (or Android OS as it sometimes shows up as). Below is a procedure that will halt the battery drain, but will not affect the running of your device.
Enter Privacy Guard through Settings/Security or Settings/Privacy, then click Advanced or Show Built-In Apps (depending on which ROM you're running). From here you can select Google Play Services and deny the Wake Up, Keep Awake, and Auto-Start options. This should drastically reduce the amount of battery that Google Play Services and Android OS consume.
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Please note: I've removed the second part of this guide as it seems to be causing problems for some users, it was unnecessary 99% of the time anyway.
Donate To Me

Did steps one a two a week or two ago and the difference was night and day. Google Play Services had horrible wake locks prior to this.
Nice job writing up the process!

Anyone know how to do this on PA? There's an App Privacy menu but it doesn't show system apps, and theres no advanced option that I can find.

ThisWasATriumph said:
Anyone know how to do this on PA? There's an App Privacy menu but it doesn't show system apps, and theres no advanced option that I can find.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no option to show built-in apps?
Sent from a crappy Samsung because my Evita died

timmaaa said:
There's no option to show built-in apps?
Sent from a crappy Samsung because my Evita died
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope hitting menu doesn't do anything. But I'm running 4.42 maybe they changed it it 4.43.

@timmaaa - parting gift before you walk off into the sunset eh
Quick question - are the Android Tuner and System Tuner settings necessary at all ? did you try this (both on the One X and the OPO) with just the Privacy Guard settings change ?

sandys1 said:
@timmaaa - parting gift before you walk off into the sunset eh
Quick question - are the Android Tuner and System Tuner settings necessary at all ? did you try this (both on the One X and the OPO) with just the Privacy Guard settings change ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have my OPO yet, I've tried just the Privacy Guard component but it didn't yield enough of a result, so I believe the Android Tuner and System Tuner components are necessary to properly reduce the battery drain.
Sent from a crappy Samsung because my Evita died

When I only used the built in privacy settings it didn't do much, but oddly once I set system tuner and Uninstalled the app, I don't see Play Services under battery at all.

if I uninstall the apps, then I lose the settings that the apps have set. @timmaaa - can you confirm that we cant install android tuner and system tuner, AFTER we have done your changes.
Secondly, I'm getting a few Play Store force-closes after I did these changes. Can you let us know *exactly* which things did you change ?

sandys1 said:
if I uninstall the apps, then I lose the settings that the apps have set. @timmaaa - can you confirm that we cant install android tuner and system tuner, AFTER we have done your changes.
Secondly, I'm getting a few Play Store force-closes after I did these changes. Can you let us know *exactly* which things did you change ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't uninstall the apps, they're the only thing that's reining in Google Play Services. I've had zero issues with any Google services after making the changes. This method disallows Google location reporting, it disallows Play Services waking the device and keeping it awake, and it also disallows Google from gathering information for targeted advertising.
Sent from a crappy Samsung because my Evita died

@timmaaa - one suggested improvement. You dont need to install "System Tuner".
Android Tuner -> Sidebar Menu -> Apps Manager -> Application Startups gets you to the same options as System Tuner.

Thanks @sandys1, changes finally made to OP.
Sent via Bacon

Hey guys, can you tell me what will happen if I do this ? Will I loose any services / things i can do with my phone ? Thanks.

Your phone will operate as normal, no services will be lost.
Transmitted via Bacon

ThisWasATriumph said:
Anyone know how to do this on PA? There's an App Privacy menu but it doesn't show system apps, and theres no advanced option that I can find.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mate,
I had tonnes of wake locks on viper xl. Since installing pa 4.4 with their gapps I haven't had a problem. May be worth a shot if you're liking pa.

nitens said:
Mate,
I had tonnes of wake locks on viper xl. Since installing pa 4.4 with their gapps I haven't had a problem. May be worth a shot if you're liking pa.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always use PA gapps and still had issues with Google Play Services. I don't use this device much anymore anyway since it won't stay powered on unless it's connected to a charger. It's gonna act as a WiFi router from now on I think. I have the OnePlus One as my main device now anyhow.
Transmitted via Bacon

can you please repost , or PM me the 2nd part , i bookmarked this for later use and testing when i came back it's gone

@timmaaa , don't with problems users are having but for me :
1-re-browse your old tutorial from webcache
2-after following your recommendation unchecking permissions in 3C toolbox
3- google play services never went to sleep , kept wake locking the phone
if that the bug every one is having , the fix is just by re-check the folllowing
com.Google.android.location.reporting.preferencese
regards

Thank you for your useful post! The changes with App Ops have noticeable positive impact on battery life. I only had 2-3 crashes of Google Play Services after those changes. If those crashes happen again, I will switch options one by one to default to check what crashes Google Play Services.
___
EDIT: Google Play Services crashed because Auto Start was disabled. I enabled it again and now it's OK. Additional impact had switching off of "Location reporting" in Settings -> Location. That provides Google with continuous updates on your location, which triggers an *alarm* that wakes up the device even if Google Play Services is denied of accessing your location. Crucial impact had switching off "Wake up" and "Stay awake" for Facebook in App Ops and then greenifying it (I know it's not related to Google Play Services, but whoever is interested in preserving the battery with App Ops would make use of noting this, but be advised - you lose notification updates from Facebook).

I'm using an AOSO-ish KitKat ROM, and installed AppOps through Xposed framework. I only show the "keep awake" setting and not "auto start" or "wake up." Are these older versions you're talking about and what is does PA mean in the above posts? Thanks in advance.
Tapatapped it.

[APP][4.4+][Root]ToolWiz Privacy

We are thinking of separating APP Freeze and Privacy Freeze and make two different Apps.
With ToolWiz Privacy you can still protect your personal info against big data tracking of APPs. In addition, we will add album locker to protect your photos from spying eyes and small tools to clear your browser history.
APP Freeze will be an independent APP aiming at extending battery life and avoiding big data roaming bills. We help you better manage your smartphone by killing background service of APPs and preventing them from auto-start.
What do you think of the idea? Your opinion is more than welcome.
---
Hey,
We are a small team focusing on android security and we developed a tool called ToolWiz Privacy. This APP aims to protect android phone users against data collecting and ads pushing APPs. Moreover, we want to help users extend battery life of their smartphones.
Now we have our beta test version(1.01) and we would like to invite you to join us and make it better.
ToolWiz Privacy has two main functions—APP Freeze and Privacy Freeze.
You can freeze your APPs so that they are completely locked and banned from being active or running in the background. The frozen APPs can only be opened from ToolWiz Privacy.
You can freeze your privacy so that APPs can only get access to your fake personal information. You can edit fake privacy info (fake phone number, location, IMEI…) yourself and block unwanted actions of APPs(sending and receiving text message, making and receiving phone calls…) in settings.
It’s the first APP in the world to help you to get rid of big data tracking and it makes your Android phone keep running for more than 20 hours without charging.
Check if you are able to use ToolWiz Privacy:
Android Version 4.4+
Rooted Phone
Restart after update
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CHANGE LOG:
version: 1.0.3
View attachment app-btows-release-1.0.3.apk
Added shortcut to homescreen to open frozen APPs
Added options to create shortcut to homescreen in settings
Fixed small UI bugs
version: 1.0.1
View attachment app-btows-release-1.0.1.apk
Fixed minor bugs on the UI
Fixed the bug causing slowness during update
Added the function to disable auto-start for APPS
Version 0.105 : View attachment app-btows-release-0.106.apk
If you have any questions and comments:
Please be free to replay below or contact us via [email protected]
Hope you enjoy it!

We need your suggestions to improve our tool.Any replies are welcome!

ToolWiz Privacy said:
We need your suggestions to improve our tool.Any replies are welcome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the privacy freeze allow me to prevent an app from sending notifications? Some apps send notification spam.

famewolf said:
Does the privacy freeze allow me to prevent an app from sending notifications? Some apps send notification spam.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of cause, you can go to app settings and check on the 'Block Notification Bar' item. And add the app into Privacy Freeze.Just try it!

ToolWiz Privacy said:
Of cause, you can go to app settings and check on the 'Block Notification Bar' item. And add the app into Privacy Freeze.Just try
it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried your app and unless I misunderstood you have 1 set of "fake data" used by all the apps....this is not going to work out well as you might want SOME apps to be able to get your real location but still be unable to send or receive text messages....or stop one app from sending notifications but allow everything else....ideally you need to be able to specify what needs to be faked per app. I also found various spots where the english text had "shadow" chinese characters behind it.
Finally autostart and background running should be considered seperate when "freezing"....I might have music apps I want to allow to run in background but NOT autostart on bootup......and vice versa I might have an app I want to run on bootup such as changelog droid that grabs the list of changes to apps that have been updated since last boot but NOT allow it to run in background. It looked like app freeze was an all or nothing thing.
Good luck with the app.

famewolf said:
Tried your app and unless I misunderstood you have 1 set of "fake data" used by all the apps....this is not going to work out well as you might want SOME apps to be able to get your real location but still be unable to send or receive text messages....or stop one app from sending notifications but allow everything else....ideally you need to be able to specify what needs to be faked per app. I also found various spots where the english text had "shadow" chinese characters behind it.
Finally autostart and background running should be considered seperate when "freezing"....I might have music apps I want to allow to run in background but NOT autostart on bootup......and vice versa I might have an app I want to run on bootup such as changelog droid that grabs the list of changes to apps that have been updated since last boot but NOT allow it to run in background. It looked like app freeze was an all or nothing thing.
Good luck with the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your suggestions, we've updated a new version apk file in this post. And our developers are heading to solve the problem you've mentioned, configure different 'fake data' for every single app.Maybe you can see that in next version.
Actually when an app is frozen by our tools, autostart and background services can be configured separately.Just click the app you added, and you can see that autostart and services are list separately, moreover every background services can be configured as you want.

If you want some apps not running in background, just try it! And we'll do better!

This app has a lot of potential, so far so good.. I would like to also privacy freeze system apps tho , and also choose fake info specifically for each app, Like this app.. ???

Raidel™ said:
This app has a lot of potential, so far so good.. I would like to also privacy freeze system apps tho , and also choose fake info specifically for each app, Like this app..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot, freezing system apps and editing fake data for each app are already on our TODO list.
Maybe you can meet with them a few days later.:laugh:

This is a promising application, but is there a way to ignore certain apps? It's annoying to see the red when I know the app that's in the red to be safe.

Question How can I stop battery drain on "screen off"?

I'm happy with the battery performance, but only when the screen is on. When I use the phone mostly with the screen on, I get good SOT(6-9 hours), but with the screen off, the battery consumption is terrible. How can I pull this down?

Probably a cloud app; try temporarily disabling Google play Services, Google backup is a dependency as is Playstore, Gmail. Some apps also need it to run. I enable it once or twice a day. Disabled saves 1+%@hr.
Trashware social media apps like fb, WhatsApp etc shouldn't be installed. It all adds up.
6 hours SOT with a 5002 mAh battery isn't good, 9 hrs is fair to poor. That said all Samsung's should be optimized for best performance.

Thanks for your opininon. Are you saying we shouldn't use Whatsapp? Is it real solution?

Unfortunately, because of SD 8 gen 1 limitations (probably worse on Exynos variant), about 6-7 hours SOT is best you're going to get on the S22 ultra.
Try the following guide here & see if it helps your battery life.

I have the Exynos version. My phone has a SOT of about 10 to 12 hours. Rooted and bebloated. I do have the brightness very low though.
Android 13.
OneUI 5.
Latest.
Lightly debloated.

That's interesting. I guess depends on what apps the phone is using during SOT.......
Mind sharing your battery usage breakdown screenshot?

TheKaptan23 said:
Thanks for your opininon. Are you saying we shouldn't use Whatsapp? Is it real solution?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Real as it gets. All social media apps should never be installed. Many should even be logged on to. WhatsApp track record is stunningly bad.
Lots of users means its got a huge bullseye on it even if they try to secure it, it will hacked again like the sun rises in the morning... for sure. Meanwhile phishing scams run under the radar and count on you screwing up. And many do.
You got to ask yourself one question,
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You feel lucky today?

TheKaptan23 said:
Thanks for your opininon. Are you saying we shouldn't use Whatsapp? Is it real solution?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No really. The problem is that all the apps developed by Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp) are power hogs. Meta does not care if it chews up battery. The primary reason is that Meta is shoving ads in your face. Even when your screen is off, those apps are running in the background. Meta is not the only offender. There are plenty of other app developers that do the same thing.
Also, there are different "flavors" of Android. Each OEM implements it differently (even within the OEMs). This makes it less cost effective to customize their apps for each OEM. There is only one flavor of iOS and iPadOS, so it is much easier to tweak it for iPhones and iPads than it is for Android devices.

I understand. Thanks. I have another question. You said you turned off google play services. When I turn it off, notifications do not work and many applications do not work. How do you overcome this situation?

TheKaptan23 said:
I understand. Thanks. I have another question. You said you turned off google play services. When I turn it off, notifications do not work and many applications do not work. How do you overcome this situation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't effect any notifications for me that I use except Gmail. Most my apps run without it. I tend to shun those that do.
Some of the Samsung apps take the place of Google apps, no need to run both.
If killing Google play Services helps at night it's likely Google backup Transport running.

Hello, I have something to ask about. I need to know if there is any ability to store a system application variables usin adb. Imagine that I want to open my settings app and do something mabye a confirmation dialog will be shown in order to say something such as alert for something supposed that I did click on OK, i the normal case this alert will never be shown even if you clear the settings app data or clear the cash, is there any way to use adb to store the settings app data before opening it the if anything as the previous senario happened I can restore the settings app to the moment before clicking on the OK button or even before this alert has shown

TheKaptan23 said:
I understand. Thanks. I have another question. You said you turned off google play services. When I turn it off, notifications do not work and many applications do not work. How do you overcome this situation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many apps that "need" Google play Services are Playstore pay apps. This can be circumvented by first allowing the app to activate, then firewall blocking their internet connection. Firewall block Playstore as well although it should be disabled except when needed.
If an app doesn't need internet access to function it should be firewall blocked anyway.