On a unit like this HD2, how do apps run in background? Do all apps use power just being there? Like Album app. Does it use up more power? Or like Google map. Does it use power? Or does it keep my GPS on if I have that feature enabled in it, while in background?
I'm trying to figure out how much apps I should be really closing to save battery.
more processing power used, more battery used
Ok, that I knew. What I'm wondering is if a app is in background, does that automaticly mean it's running? Example: Google Map. If it's in bacgound, is it still tracking where I am? Or will it only update when I have it on my main screen? Or lets say it uses my GPS. When in bacgound, is my GPS on or does it turn it off, and only turn it back on once I move it to my main screen?
kivine said:
more processing power used, more battery used
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All apps, whether in the background or not, only use power when they "do" something. This is normally in the event of user interaction. Obviously, if you're watching a video or listening to music then the app is doing stuff without you interacting, but most apps have buttons and textboxes and lists etc. that require you to touch the screen in order to interact with them. In the case of applications like that, they literally sit there and do nearly nothing. They only react.
Of course an application in memory causes the device to utilise more memory and therefore more battery, but it's such an insignificant amount that you may as well say it's not using any. Try running 10 different apps that require input - notes, the remote desktop login screen, internet explorer on the blank page etc. - and see how much battery gets used. I doubt you'll see a significant increase.
Also bear in mind that there are apps that poll for information. There are apps that sit in memory and keep checking on the state of various things so that they can react to them. (Apps that do stuff when you rotate the phone - that kind of thing.) These are obviously active when they check things, so they can use more battery.
In your particular examples, it would be down to the software. Does the google maps app recognise that it's not in the foreground and stop polling gps information? That's purely down to the application and only Google (or the developers) could answer that specific question.
I think that's about it. Hope this helps
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.
Sent from my Arc using XDA premium App
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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)?
Click to expand...
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?
Click to expand...
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?
Sony xperia Z3 Dual D6633 Android 5.0.2 Build 23.1.1.E.0.1
Hi there,
Upgraded my Z3 to lollipop last week and, despite the fact that the upgrade itself was flawless, I think I went from a device that used to work like a charm to one full of annoyances.
On day #1, noticed the batt drain skyrocket. 3h after disconnecting it, it was at 68%, half way through the morning. WTF? was my first thought. On a typical day on kitkat, I was able to end the day at 40% at least.
The second thing I´ve noticed was the phone app. It starts giving me errors, saying that the "network could not be reached" when I try to dial a number. If I insist for 4, 5 more times, it crashes. Dialing is only possible again if I reset the phone.
The third thing is the lock screen. It seems that lollipop has a drop down menu that makes it possible to enable/disable lots of things, like communications and even setting the phone in airplane mode. Imho that´s a huge liability / security risk and it appears that there is no way around that.
Still about the lock screen, it seems to have a bug: if you have any activesync account setup, not notifications will show up, no matter how you configure it (to show all or hide sensitive content).
So, I had only one thing to do, after reading forums etc... factory reseting it.
Surprise! All problems are still there.
Does any1 have any tips on those?
Thanks in advance.
There will be a widget on one of the screens which keeps refreshing itself and I found that to be the battery killer on my 6603.
Did you use any specific app to pinpoint the culprit?
1. It is possible that the battery levels are calibrating and will be imprecise for a while after the update, using the device normally for a couple of days will fix it, or at least this is what I observed in many phones I owned.
2. This is very weird and I can't help you with. If not even factory reset did help you may have some corrupted data on one of your contacts maybe? Try to make a thread about this issue on the Sony forum.
3. I noticed that as well, but even on pervious versions you could turn off the phone so I don't think it changes anything. Make sure to disable the multi user options that would allowanyone to add a new user from the lock screen.
4. Another weird thing, I use exchange accounts on my phone and I don't have any problem on mine. See point 2.
Under
settings>sound and notifications>when device is locked
Set to hide sensitive notification content or don't show notification content at all.
This should fix lock screen displaying email notifications from your exchange account.
Also, unlock phone, pull down notifications, pull down again to reveal quick settings, hit the edit button (pencil) and remove icons but clicking and holding and drawing them to the top. Unfortunately this removes them even when phone is unlocked but of your worried about unauthorised toggling of things on off its the best you can do I think.
As for battery drain, check the battery usage in
Settings>power management
Make sure stamina mode is on, toggle it off then on to make sure.
Select battery usage and check to see if any apps are using more than they should. Make sure brightness is set low but enable adaptive brightness under display settings.
ozzy lion said:
Under
settings>sound and notifications>when device is locked
Set to hide sensitive notification content or don't show notification content at all.
This should fix lock screen displaying email notifications from your exchange account.
Also, unlock phone, pull down notifications, pull down again to reveal quick settings, hit the edit button (pencil) and remove icons but clicking and holding and drawing them to the top. Unfortunately this removes them even when phone is unlocked but of your worried about unauthorised toggling of things on off its the best you can do I think.
As for battery drain, check the battery usage in
Settings>power management
Make sure stamina mode is on, toggle it off then on to make sure.
Select battery usage and check to see if any apps are using more than they should. Make sure brightness is set low but enable adaptive brightness under display settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not a smartphone anymore, with all functions shut down and brightness low.
This phone has the best screen, use it at least 50% brightness.
I have no issues with the brightness down. It bumps up nicely in brighter conditions and will even max out in daylight. If I ever need it brighter then it's easy to boost temporarily. It's a small price to pay for nearly 24 hours of battery with 5 hours screen on time.
I never mentioned shutting down functions. The only thing I mentioned removing was the toggles that concerned the op on the quick settings. Removing mobile data and aeroplane mode from quick settings hardly cripples the device, I never use these anyway.
I don't think it very useful that there's not more customisation available here such as a complete set of separate lockscreen settings. But if all you can do is comprise then what else can you suggest?
I don't think unlocking the bootloader and installing a custom ROM is something the op wants to do.
ozzy lion said:
I have no issues with the brightness down. It bumps up nicely in brighter conditions and will even max out in daylight. If I ever need it brighter then it's easy to boost temporarily. It's a small price to pay for nearly 24 hours of battery with 5 hours screen on time.
I never mentioned shutting down functions. The only thing I mentioned removing was the toggles that concerned the op on the quick settings. Removing mobile data and aeroplane mode from quick settings hardly cripples the device, I never use these anyway.
I don't think it very useful that there's not more customisation available here such as a complete set of separate lockscreen settings. But if all you can do is comprise then what else can you suggest?
I don't think unlocking the bootloader and installing a custom ROM is something the op wants to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You said stamina.
Stamina means already some functions off.
Update:
1. Batt drain
Remains without an explanation. My daily use profile is basically the same as before the update. 3PM and I am at 28%, with stamina on. I can´t recall a day, running kitkat, that I would hit the charger at night with 28% of batt remaining (and I still have 4h to go). It was always on 40% ish. GSAM is reporting that 47% of the batt drain is caused by apps and, from that, 30% is represented by android core apps + android system + kernel. I might be wrong, but I think it is related to reindexing, contact + agenda sync etc and it will probably get lower eventually (I hope!)
2. Phone App giving errors
I think I have isolated the problem. It seems to be caused by TrueCaller.
3. Lock screen
Regarding the drop down menu, It is clear now that what I think is a problem is, in fact, by design and there is no way around it without rooting. But regarding the notifications, I just removed both activesync accounts and I started getting notifications in the lock screen again. So, my guess is that there is a policy of some sort that is being interpreted by the phone as it should hide all notifications from the lock screen.
In fact, there are lots of things that got blocked / disabled because of those policies. Here is a list of things that were disabled and now appear to be working again, after the removal of the activesync accounts:
. notifications are showing again in the lock screen;
. smart lock;
. screen lock options (none, swipe, pattern);
note: I thought that I would be able to enable services in Accessibility, like LastPass or App Advisor by Norton, but it still does not work (I try to enable any of them, but pressing "ok" on the warning dialog does nothing and the only option working is "cancel").
Thinking about resetting it again...
Hi, if problems are persistant you can always downgrad software at KitKat by using FlashTool and wait Lollipop 5.1 (5.1 will probably solve many problems).
StealthNet said:
Update:
1. Batt drain
Remains without an explanation. My daily use profile is basically the same as before the update. 3PM and I am at 28%, with stamina on. I can´t recall a day, running kitkat, that I would hit the charger at night with 28% of batt remaining (and I still have 4h to go). It was always on 40% ish. GSAM is reporting that 47% of the batt drain is caused by apps and, from that, 30% is represented by android core apps + android system + kernel. I might be wrong, but I think it is related to reindexing, contact + agenda sync etc and it will probably get lower eventually (I hope!)
2. Phone App giving errors
I think I have isolated the problem. It seems to be caused by TrueCaller.
3. Lock screen
Regarding the drop down menu, It is clear now that what I think is a problem is, in fact, by design and there is no way around it without rooting. But regarding the notifications, I just removed both activesync accounts and I started getting notifications in the lock screen again. So, my guess is that there is a policy of some sort that is being interpreted by the phone as it should hide all notifications from the lock screen.
In fact, there are lots of things that got blocked / disabled because of those policies. Here is a list of things that were disabled and now appear to be working again, after the removal of the activesync accounts:
. notifications are showing again in the lock screen;
. smart lock;
. screen lock options (none, swipe, pattern);
note: I thought that I would be able to enable services in Accessibility, like LastPass or App Advisor by Norton, but it still does not work (I try to enable any of them, but pressing "ok" on the warning dialog does nothing and the only option working is "cancel").
Thinking about resetting it again...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A new firmware version has dropped for the Z3 which I think fixes your issues with notifications.
I received it OTA yesterday, I'm running the Balkans customisation.
Thank you for the tip! I hope it does! Will keep it posted here just for the reference. I am starting to feel other "symptoms" as well, like bluetooth instability (you pair a device and it stops working, have to pair again).
.
Just hit another weird thing.
I am not being able to create a new vpn connection. I am trying to use the PureVPN and IPVanish client software, but when I try to setup the conection, I receive a disclaimer, saying that my traffic might be monitored, with a "CANCEL" and "OK" options. The OK doesn´t work, only "CANCEL".
My device is encrypted and I have also noticed that I am not able to decrypt it.
Also, If I go to Accessibility and try to enable a service, the same thing happens: a disclaimer appears, saying that the service might observe my actions, with a "CANCEL" and "OK" options. The OK doesn´t work, only "CANCEL".
Any ideas?
Ok, just a quick fup: the ability to create VPNs from apps is disabled if you encrypt the phone. It seems that if you create if before encrypting, it won´t be disabled; but you wont be able to create a new vpn from an app downloaded, after encryption.
Regarding the Accessibility > Services, after a *lot* of research, I have found that Twilight was the culprit. For the reference:
https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=79637