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Autokill Mem Optimizer Goes Crazy... Even kills self

Hey everyone...
I'm running a cappy with CM nightly #104. I upgraded 2 days ago and everything was running well.
I installed Autokill memory optimizer to help keep things running smoothly. I set it to the aggressive preset and it worked fine for a day.
Today - out of the blue - nearly everything on my phone started 'force closing' email, gapps, apps when opeend, etc. Even autokill force closed after only being open for a second or two.
I uninstalled autokill and things seem to have returned to normal.
Did I miss something? I found a website that's a kind of guide for autokill. I like the program and think it should make things run more smoothly... but this was very strange.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

UPDATE: It started again with a few apps constantly closing (gapps, email). This time I uninstalled autorun manager and things went back to normal.
We'll see how it goes since I don't know of anything specific I did that would make that sort of thing happen.
Again, any advice greatly appreciated!

theyurtingyeti said:
Again, any advice greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The advice is NOT to use any task kill/auto kill app. They do more harm than useful, especially in newer Android OS.

Thanks... That's kind of annoying, but makes sense.
Is there a better way to optimize memory usage? I have apps that seem to lag more on the newer OS after a min or so of usage. (EX: words with friends)

I would suggest the supercharger v6 script in android general section. Worked wonders for me. Dlev5, talon.
Sent from my cell phone. DUH.

Thanks, I'll check it out!

Android keeps things in ram on purpose - to optimize switching between apps. The apps are not actually running; they do not actually use any cpu cycles, they're simply memory resident so the OS doesn't have to retrieve them off the flashrom chip each time you want to load something. The alternative (removing an app from ram each time you close it) will actually force Android to retrieve it from storage each time you want to run it, meaning it'll use more cpu cycles, increase loading times, and needlessly waste battery power.
Android also keeps a pool of minimum ram free that it needs to provide a smooth desktop environment. It'll automatically kill apps and services in a set order if it needs more ram for itself or a foreground app. Those task-killer apps have been hurting Android's performance since 1.6.

foxbat121 said:
The advice is NOT to use any task kill/auto kill app. They do more harm than useful, especially in newer Android OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This.
theyurtingyeti said:
This time I uninstalled autorun manager and things went back to normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Autorun manager is something I can't live without. You do have to be careful with it though.
Only use advanced mode. Basic mode is essentially a task killer.

Anti depressant perhaps?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

EarnyBaller said:
Anti depressant perhaps?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha.... it feels like that sometimes.
Thanks to everyone for the responses. I've got some ideas of stuff to learn more about and at least I know how to reverse any damage I do

I like autostarts. Just be careful and you need to root first.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

[Q] Could someone please explain the JB multitasking?

Can anyone explain to me why the JellyBean multitasking is so damn weird? Whenever im using my phone and i open the task manager, i ALWAYS see a random app open which i never opened after rebooting. For example, rebooted my phone this morning and the only apps i opened were the phone app, messaging, mail. However, the task manager lists the following apps as open: "Android core apps, Tasks, Picasa Uploader, Social Manager, Notes".
So my questions is, Why are all these random apps open and eating up battery and memory? I guess android core apps must be system required to run in background at all times but what about the other ones? Is there a way to fix this?
I have used ICS and GB on htc inpire and sensation and both software versions would not show these "random" apps open, it would only show what ive opened and let run in the background.
Thanks for all the help.

mominn8266 said:
Can anyone explain to me why the JellyBean multitasking is so damn weird? Whenever im using my phone and i open the task manager, i ALWAYS see a random app open which i never opened after rebooting. For example, rebooted my phone this morning and the only apps i opened were the phone app, messaging, mail. However, the task manager lists the following apps as open: "Android core apps, Tasks, Picasa Uploader, Social Manager, Notes".
So my questions is, Why are all these random apps open and eating up battery and memory? I guess android core apps must be system required to run in background at all times but what about the other ones? Is there a way to fix this?
I have used ICS and GB on htc inpire and sensation and both software versions would not show these "random" apps open, it would only show what ive opened and let run in the background.
Thanks for all the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use an app called greenify in play store to keep apps from opening.
Here's the link to the apps XDA page http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2155737
Sent from my Elemental Venomized S-off HTC One XL

majortaylor said:
Use an app called greenify in play store to keep apps from opening.
Here's the link to the apps XDA page http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2155737
Sent from my Elemental Venomized S-off HTC One XL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks ill try that app. This multitasking system really makes me mad. Why would anyone come up with a system like this that wastes battery and performance...

Unfortunately greenify only helps with non system apps. So notes, tasks, weather, social manager and etc will still have a mind of their own and open whenever they want.

mominn8266 said:
Thanks ill try that app. This multitasking system really makes me mad. Why would anyone come up with a system like this that wastes battery and performance...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You obviously have no idea how the Android OS works.
Unless you have actual evidence that these apps are hurting your battery and performance, you should really stop worrying about it. I'm pretty sure the people who designed the OS have a pretty good idea of how to optimize its performance.

thebobmannh said:
You obviously have no idea how the Android OS works.
Unless you have actual evidence that these apps are hurting your battery and performance, you should really stop worrying about it. I'm pretty sure the people who designed the OS have a pretty good idea of how to optimize its performance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you could help me understand how it works then? My only question / concern is why are apps that have never been opened running in the background?

mominn8266 said:
Maybe you could help me understand how it works then? My only question / concern is why are apps that have never been opened running in the background?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, didn't mean to be a douche (or, I did mean to, but shouldn't have been).
If you say you've "never opened" them, why do you even bother having them installed? You've been given a solution to this "problem," (Greenify), but honestly any benefit you see will more than likely be placebo. The OS is generally smart enough to know what to run and what not to run. Apps that are loaded into memory aren't necessarily "running" in the traditional sense, they're just in memory. It doesn't take any extra battery to have something in memory (memory is either powered on or not).

thebobmannh said:
Sorry, didn't mean to be a douche (or, I did mean to, but shouldn't have been).
If you say you've "never opened" them, why do you even bother having them installed? You've been given a solution to this "problem," (Greenify), but honestly any benefit you see will more than likely be placebo. The OS is generally smart enough to know what to run and what not to run. Apps that are loaded into memory aren't necessarily "running" in the traditional sense, they're just in memory. It doesn't take any extra battery to have something in memory (memory is either powered on or not).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unless causing wakelocks or syncing/updating when you don't want them too, I tend to just turn my Radios on and off as I need them.

thebobmannh said:
Sorry, didn't mean to be a douche (or, I did mean to, but shouldn't have been).
If you say you've "never opened" them, why do you even bother having them installed? You've been given a solution to this "problem," (Greenify), but honestly any benefit you see will more than likely be placebo. The OS is generally smart enough to know what to run and what not to run. Apps that are loaded into memory aren't necessarily "running" in the traditional sense, they're just in memory. It doesn't take any extra battery to have something in memory (memory is either powered on or not).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont be sorry, never took it offensively lol
I cant really uninstall system apps such as notes, tasks, social manager (even though i dont even have facebook or twitter installed). Trust me ive disabled all the apps in greenify and uninstalled all the apps i could that i didnt want.
I also have another question, When i open the "recent" app interface, does swiping to the right mean the app is closed or just taken off the list? is there a way to "kill" an app using the recent app menu?

mominn8266 said:
Dont be sorry, never took it offensively lol
I cant really uninstall system apps such as notes, tasks, social manager (even though i dont even have facebook or twitter installed). Trust me ive disabled all the apps in greenify and uninstalled all the apps i could that i didnt want.
I also have another question, When i open the "recent" app interface, does swiping to the right mean the app is closed or just taken off the list? is there a way to "kill" an app using the recent app menu?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not sure but there's an easy way to find out.
swipe it away then check in settings, apps, running. If it's still there then no, if it isn't then, yes.
If that doesn't work then no there isn't a way to kill in recent, if it does, then yes there is and you discovered how.

[Q] Getting Adds with ALL apps closed!

I am being driven crazy by random pop-adds even when no apps are open.
I contacted Samsung support and they told me apps can pop up add even when apps are closed, maybe their right but I have my doubts. They advised me to put my phone in "Safe Mode", but why should I be forced to do that?
I can't figure out why on a phone I paid close to $1k for and a service (Verizon) I pay almost $100 a month for that I keep being interrupted by pop up adds. I truly boggle my mind and they pop up when I'm trying to answer my phone, manage my calendar, text messages, etc.
There are adds for games, software, apps, services, you name it I get pop adds for it.
I can't even figure out who's generating them!
Is this happening to others?

What are the ads advertising?
Not happening on either of our Samsungs. Nope.
I'd boot to safe mode, and if you get a no show from there, at least you boot-up system is clean. Doubtful it will be in the startup. Then I'd go into my setup/applications, and go after shutting down any apps running, one by one. It's a PITA, but you will come across it. Wish I knew a more direct method/easier way.
Hopefully someone will come along with a more elegant, and simple method.

mikeacox said:
I am being driven crazy by random pop-adds even when no apps are open.
I contacted Samsung support and they told me apps can pop up add even when apps are closed, maybe their right but I have my doubts. They advised me to put my phone in "Safe Mode", but why should I be forced to do that?
I can't figure out why on a phone I paid close to $1k for and a service (Verizon) I pay almost $100 a month for that I keep being interrupted by pop up adds. I truly boggle my mind and they pop up when I'm trying to answer my phone, manage my calendar, text messages, etc.
There are adds for games, software, apps, services, you name it I get pop adds for it.
I can't even figure out who's generating them!
Is this happening to others?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes your not the only one.
Generally speaking most of the third party apps that you download and install from playstore have adds in them ( free versions ).reading the app description usually down the bottom somewhere will tell you if it has adds. Paying for the apps usually gives some extra features and no adds. Web browsers are another issue to with adds showing up. It could be possible that your provider maybe feeding you adds(not sure about that though).
While safe mode will start your phone without the 3rd party apps it won't tell you which app is causing the the issue and you can't use those apps.
Closing apps may not help as they still tend to run in the background.
Being offline from the internet will help as well unless the apps have adds in the app itself.
Uninstalling apps and reinstalling one by one to find which one(s) have adds can be done but is rather time consuming.
About the only thing you can do to try and stop adds is to install an adblocker app it works for me.
Have a read of this thread for more info on adblocker apps hope it may help you out.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/guide-ad-blocking-t3218167

JeffDC said:
What are the ads advertising?
I'd boot to safe mode, and if you get a no show from there, at least you boot-up system is clean. Doubtful it will be in the startup. Then I'd go into my setup/applications, and go after shutting down any apps running, one by one. It's a PITA, but you will come across it. Wish I knew a more direct method/easier way. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for responding.
As I said in my post the adds are a mixed bag. I'll give your suggestions a try.
Thanks again..

spawnlives said:
Yes your not the only one.
Generally speaking most of the third party apps that you download and install from playstore have adds in them ( free versions ).reading the app description usually down the bottom somewhere will tell you if it has adds.Paying for the apps usually gives some extra features and no adds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'm familiar with the way the adds work and I often pay, since it's usually only a few dollars, to be rid of them, and it supports the developer. The odd thing is that this has only recently become a problem. It never happened with my S6, or with any of the phones I had before that.
Web browsers are another issue to with adds showing up. It could be possible that your provider maybe feeding you adds(not sure about that though).]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought about that too and considered calling my provider, but, like you, I'm "not sure about that"
While safe mode will start your phone without the 3rd party apps it won't tell you which app is causing the issue and you can't use those apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I didn't like Samsung Support's solution! But it will reduce the variables to almost zero, so I'll give a try. If I get no adds I'll know it's an app
Closing apps may not help as they still tend to run in the background.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I guess they were right.
Being offline from the internet will help as well unless the apps have adds in the app itself.[/QUOTE
Hmm, hadn't thought of that option.
Uninstalling apps and reinstalling one by one to find which one(s) have adds can be done but is rather time consuming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree! What about running "Force Stop" on them? Never was quite sure what that did though.
About the only thing you can do to try and stop adds is to install an adblocker app it works for me.
Have a read of this thread for more info on adblocker apps hope it may help you out.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/guide-ad-blocking-t3218167
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, thanks. I'll check then out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

mikeacox said:
What about running "Force Stop" on them? Never was quite sure what that did though.
Force stop will stop or for want of a better term kill the app so it won't keep running in background until you restart the app again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

spawnlives said:
mikeacox said:
What about running "Force Stop" on them? Never was quite sure what that did though.
Force stop will stop or for want of a better term kill the app so it won't keep running in background until you restart the app again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that is good to know. Seems like I could Forced Stop apps that I suspect then just start them later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Do apps install slow in Android or Samsung only

I was an iPhone user for years before I switched to note 20 ultra couple of months back.
One thing I can't understand is how slow apps install on note 20 ultra. While updating, first of all it only does lands one app at a time. Whereas iPhone could download three apps at a time. Once downloaded, it takes forever to install new app or update.
It feels slower than my iPhone 7 which I used the last.
Any settings that I need to check? Or is this a known thing in android?

enjoylife1788 said:
I was an iPhone user for years before I switched to note 20 ultra couple of months back.
One thing I can't understand is how slow apps install on note 20 ultra. While updating, first of all it only does lands one app at a time. Whereas iPhone could download three apps at a time. Once downloaded, it takes forever to install new app or update.
It feels slower than my iPhone 7 which I used the last.
Any settings that I need to check? Or is this a known thing in android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had mi 10 pro before note 20 ultra
Installing apps way so fast
It is so slow with Samsung and both has same cpu

What do you think could be the reason for this? I don't see many results when tried searching for it. Its terribly slow.

rowihel2012 said:
I had mi 10 pro before note 20 ultra
Installing apps way so fast
It is so slow with Samsung and both has same cpu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same OS on both?
A small apk should install lightning fast.

Try installing the same app on both iOS and android. iOS will install very quickly where as note 20 ultra is painfully slow.
So I read a few posts and it has been like this since 3-4 years. As per the posts, it happens only with samsung devices. No clue why.

enjoylife1788 said:
Try installing the same app on both iOS and android. iOS will install very quickly where as note 20 ultra is painfully slow.
So I read a few posts and it has been like this since 3-4 years. As per the posts, it happens only with samsung devices. No clue why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thanks. It helped me.

I store apks with ApkExport; no internet or Playstore delay when this pathway is used. I use it for reloads.
Almost all apks install very fast... as they should.

Enable enhance processing.

eddyo1993 said:
Enable enhance processing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With that everything works super fast except for installing apps. Doesn't solve the purpose. Thanks for the suggestion.

enjoylife1788 said:
With that everything works super fast except for installing apps. Doesn't solve the purpose. Thanks for the suggestion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to Adroid, the Dark Side of mobile handsets:laugh:
When you say slow, how slow?
Normally a small apk loads in a second or two.
See what happens if you do a direct install of an apk from the phone, you know for scientific purposes.
Since I'm running on Pie, there's no scope storage.
Could this be a factor?
I would think it wouldn't slow install just usage of some apps like office ones but maybe there's something I'm missing.

enjoylife1788 said:
With that everything works super fast except for installing apps. Doesn't solve the purpose. Thanks for the suggestion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I don't have the same issue you do yet I have the same phone.

eddyo1993 said:
Enable enhance processing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry but where do you find that setting to be activating?
Thanks

Nastrahl said:
Sorry but where do you find that setting to be activating?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
High performance battery mode on some Samsung phones or enhanced processing on others

Nastrahl said:
Sorry but where do you find that setting to be activating?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may find it under your notification panel. May drain your battery faster.

It sounds more like there's an issue with a apk used during installs rather than hardware performance issue. These devices are fast unless in their maximum battery saving mode.
Make sure no antivirus anything is running... or 3rd party power management, apk killers etc (destroyer of worlds).
Find those apks used during installs and their dependencies, clear data.
Clear the system cache.
Most small 1-10 mb apps should install in 1 or 2 seconds.
If they're all taking 20+ seconds to install some critical apk is disabled, corrupted, or needs updated.
Or perhaps a update to a system apk screwed things up; go back to the factory load.
And last the firmware load could be potentially corrupted.

blackhawk said:
Welcome to Adroid, the Dark Side of mobile handsets:laugh:
When you say slow, how slow?
Normally a small apk loads in a second or two.
See what happens if you do a direct install of an apk from the phone, you know for scientific purposes.
Since I'm running on Pie, there's no scope storage.
Could this be a factor?
I would think it wouldn't slow install just usage of some apps like office ones but maybe there's something I'm missing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Slow as in it downloads in a zippy and then it sits on installing app for a while. So an app around 80-90 mb would take 20-30 seconds to install.
And when I try to update my apps, few of them together, then it takes a very long time to install them.

blackhawk said:
It sounds more like there's an issue with a apk used during installs rather than hardware performance issue. These devices are fast unless in their maximum battery saving mode.
Make sure no antivirus anything is running... or 3rd party power management, apk killers etc (destroyer of worlds).
Find those apks used during installs and their dependencies, clear data.
Clear the system cache.
Most small 1-10 mb apps should install in 1 or 2 seconds.
If they're all taking 20+ seconds to install some critical apk is disabled, corrupted, or needs updated.
Or perhaps a update to a system apk screwed things up; go back to the factory load.
And last the firmware load could be potentially corrupted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had this issue with all the apps. May be we try one app which installs really fast on your phone and I give it a shot and see how long it takes.

enjoylife1788 said:
I have had this issue with all the apps. May be we try one app which installs really fast on your phone and I give it a shot and see how long it takes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isolate the cause by installing the apk directly from a saved copy of a small apk.
If it installs fast than it's a Playstore and/or connectivity issue, lol, imagine that:laugh:
Large apps like an Office app can sometimes take longer, this is normal. A poorly written one may hang for a bit but still load.
For me to load all my 3rd party apps and system updates(few) from the SD card during a reload takes under 20 minutes maybe less. Never timed it but most didn't try my patience... and I hate waiting.

On my side i noticed that's as longer as i install more and more apps.

Nastrahl said:
On my side i noticed that's as longer as i install more and more apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never have seen that type behavior for direct installs.
Playstore on the otherhand does have bandwidth issues sometimes even for one app but that's during download.
Was it doing this after a reload with a fresh OS?

Dual SIM consumes 20% of your battery

Having multiple phones allows me to observe their battery life under different scenarios.
This is what I have seen:
If you have no sim installed, you get best battery life.
If you have only one sim installed, you get around 20% more battery life than when you have two SIMs installed. This is even if you're using WiFi throughout.
While this is largely dependent on your mobile network provider and the network reception where you live, work, etc., this is something that would affect most users.
I'm seeing roughly 45 minutes to an hour of extra SOT on average after I moved my 2nd sim to another phone on my S22U.

What about screen off time?

blackhawk said:
What about screen off time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have given the details here.

TheMystic said:
I have given the details here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Specifically how much battery % per hour when sleeping with phone/internet service active?
My N10+ gets:
AOD always on, about 1%@hr (good battery)
Tap on AOD, >.5%@hr (good battery)
Right now with a degraded battery of about 3200 mAh I'm getting about 9 hr SOT. With a new battery it's over 12 hours.
Heavily optimized stock still running on Pie.
Not optimized those figures are halved and it's a hot running battery hog out of the box. All Samsung's should be hand optimized.

blackhawk said:
Specifically how much battery % per hour when sleeping with phone/internet service active?
My N10+ gets:
AOD always on, about 1%@hr (good battery)
Tap on AOD, >.5%@hr (good battery)
Right now with a degraded battery of about 3200 mAh I'm getting about 9 hr SOT. With a new battery it's over 12 hours.
Heavily optimized stock still running on Pie.
Not optimized those figures are halved and it's a hot running battery hog out of the box. All Samsung's should be hand optimized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
9 hours SOT is just unbelievably good. I don't know how many apps you have installed and what apps you use and when. I see that of I'm only watching videos at night (low brightness) on YouTube, the battery life is excellent during that period. But that isn't typical usage which involves browsing, chatting, video calls, a bit of camera, etc.
My phone is turning 1 year tomorrow, and here are the battery stats for now:
Everything ON: 1.5% per hour (AOD OFF)
Everything OFF: 05.% per hour (Power Saving ON)
By everything, I mean WiFi, Mobile Data, Bluetooth and Location.
More details here.
You'll notice from my stats there that WiFi consumes about 0.5% per hour on standby, and the SIM card consumes another 0.5% per hour on standby, even though no mobile data is being used.

I have a very unusual setup too. VPN running on the Main Profile, Work Profile and the Secure Folder. I'm sure that consumes additional battery.

TheMystic said:
9 hours SOT is just unbelievably good. I don't know how many apps you have installed and what apps you use and when. I see that of I'm only watching videos at night (low brightness) on YouTube, the battery life is excellent during that period. But that isn't typical usage which involves browsing, chatting, video calls, a bit of camera, etc.
My phone is turning 1 year tomorrow, and here are the battery stats for now:
Everything ON: 1.5% per hour (AOD OFF)
Everything OFF: 05.% per hour (Power Saving ON)
By everything, I mean WiFi, Mobile Data, Bluetooth and Location.
More details here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One of the reasons I love this model.
With a fresh battery browsing Brave uses about 6%@hr. Online vids about 9%, offline vids about 6%. Not optimized this phone was a mess, a night and day difference.
I always have wifi disabled as it's a security risk and not needed. Bluetooth standby on or off doesn't impact the battery much for me.
Power is always set on optimized.
All global power management is off.
Brightness, manual generally between 30-40%
AOD always tap on.
Location always off unless needed.
No bixby ever, NFC payment disabled
Google play Services temporarily disabled unless needed, Playstore disabled, Google backup Transport disabled, OTA updates disabled, all feedback disabled.
About 70 packages are always disabled with Package Disabler, mostly bloatware.
Your screen off usage suggests something(s) is running in the background.
Cloud apps are prime offenders.

TheMystic said:
I have a very unusual setup too. VPN running on the Main Profile, Work Profile and the Secure Folder. I'm sure that consumes additional battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using Karma Firewall* (VNP based) which uses almost nothing and NextDNS to lock it down.
*only fully functional on Pie or lower

blackhawk said:
Not optimized this phone was a mess, a night and day difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Paying a subscription to some unknown company and giving them access to my device is something I'm not comfortable with. I would rather charge my phone twice everyday.
blackhawk said:
I always have wifi disabled as it's a security risk and not needed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you elaborate this in detail?
blackhawk said:
Google play Services temporarily disabled unless needed, Playstore disabled, Google backup Transport disabled,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is something I can't do. I'm heavily invested in the Google Ecosystem.
blackhawk said:
Your screen off usage suggests something(s) is running in the background.
Cloud apps are prime offenders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have plenty of accounts on my device (mail, cloud, etc.) and over 500 apps. At one point, I had crossed 1k apps.
These WILL consume battery, irrespective of whether they are in deep sleep or not.
blackhawk said:
I'm using Karma Firewall* (VNP based) which uses almost nothing and NextDNS to lock it down.
*only fully functional on Pie or lower
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Karma doesn't work reliably on Android 11+ as you pointed out.

Would be worse if you have data turned on both SIMs.

TheMystic said:
Paying a subscription to some unknown company and giving them access to my device is something I'm not comfortable with. I would rather charge my phone twice everyday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I firewall block it, it runs fine. If you don't use something like this or adb edits then there a lot of resources being squandered. This not only impacts SOT but performance.
TheMystic said:
Can you elaborate this in detail?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm running Pie, wifi is a known weak point. I have no need for it anyway. My unlimited data plan is cheap and grandfathered with excellent signal.
TheMystic said:
This is something I can't do. I'm heavily invested in the Google Ecosystem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ouch. Gmail and occasionally Gmaps are the only ones I use aside from system apps but at least 10 of those are disabled. I use some of their Samsung counterparts instead like Calendar and and contacts.
TheMystic said:
I have plenty of accounts on my device (mail, cloud, etc.) and over 500 apps. At one point, I had crossed 1k apps.
These WILL consume battery, irrespective of whether they are in deep sleep or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My total app count including system, bloatware is 474 with 138 blocked, apps I installed are 138 (about 10 of those are on the block list).
TheMystic said:
Karma doesn't work reliably on Android 11+ as you pointed out.
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It will still block but you loss it's valuable logging features. I simply use my N10+ running on Pie as the template for the one running on Q.

blackhawk said:
This not only impacts SOT but performance.
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That's true. But I'm always concerned about whether unknown entities/ mods/ ROMs etc. do more than what they claim. I find it safer to deal with the known devil than take help from the unknown angel.
blackhawk said:
I use some of their Samsung counterparts instead like Calendar and and contacts.
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I use multiple platforms (Android, iOS, Windows, macOS) and Google products allow me to access my content on all of them. Quite indispensable.
blackhawk said:
My total app count including system, bloatware is 474 with 138 blocked, apps I installed are 138 (about 10 of those are on the block list).
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Where did you get this number from? I see that the number is different under system settings, Google Play Store and 3rd party apps. Not sure which one is giving the correct figures.

TheMystic said:
That's true. But I'm always concerned about whether unknown entities/ mods/ ROMs etc. do more than what they claim. I find it safer to deal with the known devil than take help from the unknown angel.
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Stock with locked bootloader only. Package Disabler runs well and keeps the demons stfu.
TheMystic said:
Where did you get this number from? I see that the number is different under system settings, Google Play Store and 3rd party apps. Not sure which one is giving the correct figures.
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SD Maid Pro, a very useful app.

blackhawk said:
Stock with locked bootloader only. Package Disabler runs well and keeps the demons stfu.
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If you search the internet, you'll see bad actors can simply install a service on your phone (locked bootloader) that you won't see anywhere and they'll be able to see everything you do, and more. As an unsuspecting user, it will make no difference to you unless they want you to know.
blackhawk said:
SD Maid Pro, a very useful app.
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You seem to be using an old version. Here's mine (I see I'm still over 1,000 apps). 🫣

TheMystic said:
If you search the internet, you'll see bad actors can simply install a service on your phone (locked bootloader) that you won't see anywhere and they'll be able to see everything you do, and more. As an unsuspecting user, it will make no difference to you unless they want you to know.
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Keeping it locked reduces the risks considerably.
You are what you install though...
TheMystic said:
You seem to be using an old version. Here's mine (I see I'm still over 1,000 apps). 🫣
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I tend not to update apps unless I have a good reason. Updates carry risks.
629 apps is an awful lot. I throw out apps I don't need or if they cause trouble. Sampling apps is a bad practice that can result in messing up hidden user settings. Not all apps uninstall clean and undo changes they made. I stick to mostly to apps/versions I know to be good. One of the reasons this load will be 3 yo in June.

blackhawk said:
Keeping it locked reduces the risks considerably.
You are what you install though...
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I have seen a video where an IT expert demonstrated how easy it is to infect someone's device with spyware and the user wouldn't even know it. The takeaway was to not give your phone to anyone.
Here we are talking about an unknown entity that charges a subscription to disable something on your phone to help with performance and battery life. How do you know for sure that they don't do anything more than that?
blackhawk said:
629 apps is an awful lot. I throw out apps I don't need or if they cause trouble. Sampling apps is a bad practice that can result in messing up hidden user settings. Not all apps uninstall clean and undo changes they made. I stick to mostly to apps/versions I know to be good. One of the reasons this load will be 3 yo in June.
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I agree. About 250 of them are watchface apps which are essentially just placeholders that help launch the app page on Play Store on the watch.
Even then I'll be having about 400 user apps which is still very high. May be I'll uninstall the rarely used ones someday instead of keeping them in a frozen state.

TheMystic said:
I have seen a video where an IT expert demonstrated how easy it is to infect someone's device with spyware and the user wouldn't even know it. The takeaway was to not give your phone to anyone.
Here we are talking about an unknown entity that charges a subscription to disable something on your phone to help with performance and battery life. How do you know for sure that they don't do anything more than that?
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Yeap.
Never give your phone to anyone or allow remote access. Never plug in foreign OTG drives.
TheMystic said:
I agree. About 250 of them are watchface apps which are essentially just placeholders that help launch the app page on Play Store on the watch.
Even then I'll be having about 400 user apps which is still very high. May be I'll uninstall the rarely used ones someday instead of keeping them in a frozen state.
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Yeah occasionally I'll spot a misbehaving app, not malware just poorly written. Just uninstalled a photo gallery app like that a few days ago; it's database size was abnormally high. Took a good 30 minutes to clean up the mess it made. Deleting it's data screwed up another good gallery app. Fortunately it was repairable by simply clearing the good app's data and letting it rebuild. It had me going at first

blackhawk said:
it's database size was abnormally high.
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Let me guess: Was it Aves Gallery?
blackhawk said:
Deleting it's data screwed up another good gallery app.
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This is unusual. Never experienced something like this. I mean all apps are sandboxed and something like this is not expected.

TheMystic said:
Let me guess: Was it Aves Gallery?
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Simple Photo Gallery, what a mess
TheMystic said:
This is unusual. Never experienced something like this. I mean all apps are sandboxed and something like this is not expected.
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I'm running on Pie so no scoped storage. Still it shouldn't have done that. I backed up the whole dcim folder before I uninstalled it because I was expecting trouble However it didn't damage the contents of the dcim folder, just another app. Swell. Glad it's gone... it was always firewall blocked.

blackhawk said:
Simple Photo Gallery, what a mess
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If you're talking about this, I would be surprised. It works fine on my phone.
blackhawk said:
I'm running on Pie so no scoped storage. Still it shouldn't have done that.
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That's true.
blackhawk said:
it was always firewall blocked.
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Simple Mobile Tools make very clean apps, unless you are referring to something else. None of their apps have internet permission in them.