Database Users

[Q] Is the 'suspend process' issue truly a mystery?

I have searched through XDA and read all the threads regarding the 'suspend process' issue. The specific issue is outlined in Issue # 11126 on the Google Code/Android project home...
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=11126
I am trying to get to the bottom of this, as best as possible. For all intents and purposes, this really appears to be a mystery. Ultimately, it appears as though there is (currently) absolutely no specific reason a to why 'suspend' runs wild until the device is rebooted.
My question is (I know we can all only speculate):
Is there any chance that this could be Google account-specific?
The reason I ask is, I've been doing some "testing," just to try and make sense of this for myself. Here is what I've done/come across thus far...
- My fiancee's first MT4G was a black one manufactured in Taiwan. It had the inferior LCD-SH-C2 screen. Her battery was draining VERY quickly - i.e. before noon, without using the phone for much else other than texting.
- I enabled USB Debugging for her, to "rule out" the init process issue.
- Even though she only had Handcent, Facebook and Angry Birds installed, I removed all of them, leaving only Watchdog.
- I factory reset her phone, twice.
- For all of the above, the device was not rooted. I have since rooted her phone via the steps in this thread.
I'm in the process of creating a new Gmail account for her, exporting ONLY her contacts and then using that account for her new MT4G (Plum) that's scheduled to arrive today. I'm actually thinking of NOT using her new Gmail account at first though, so I can use her original Google account on this new, clean device and see if the suspend issue persists.
I might just be wasting my time, but I enjoy doing this and I don't think it's a complete waste to try and find SOME constant here. Am I nuts for thinking it's tied to the Google account? The Google account seems to be a black box of sorts. There is more than just contacts, apps and settings, yet there is no "window" into everything else that comes down - e.g. I can't log in to Gmail and "configure" it to not restore her wallpaper or WiFi settings. So that's why I say it's a black box of sorts, since it's doing more in the background than we have control over.
Nothing is truly random, at least not in the context of Android and the hardware affected. There has to be some reason why users of various devices, either do or do not experience this issue. Whether it's a specific action or the something that differs between one person's action vs. another person's, there has to be SOMETHING that's triggering this on her device, yet never triggers it on mine. I guess I'm just trying to flush everything out and hope that discussing it will help rule out/rule specific variables.

Let me know what you find. This is driving me crazy! I charge my phone at night, so when I head to work it's at 100%. By the time I'm heading home (4-430pm)... the phone is around 15% battery.
Watchdog tells me suspend ranges from 5%-49% at any given time. I've never had suspend drop below 5% except on fresh reboot. I've noticed, though, after a reboot that the suspend process will slowly work its way back up to using lots of CPU cycles (it starts at, say, .2%, then 10 minutes later its 3%... 30 minutes later its 5%... an hour later its 9%). Battery just gets hotter and hotter due to this.
I'll be checking back to see what you find! Thanks!

mwelliott said:
Let me know what you find. This is driving me crazy! I charge my phone at night, so when I head to work it's at 100%. By the time I'm heading home (4-430pm)... the phone is around 15% battery.
Watchdog tells me suspend ranges from 5%-49% at any given time. I've never had suspend drop below 5% except on fresh reboot. I've noticed, though, after a reboot that the suspend process will slowly work its way back up to using lots of CPU cycles (it starts at, say, .2%, then 10 minutes later its 3%... 30 minutes later its 5%... an hour later its 9%). Battery just gets hotter and hotter due to this.
I'll be checking back to see what you find! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to XDA and Issue #11126, you're not alone.
What's really bugging me is that neither my first MT4G, nor its 1st replacement or its 2nd replacement, have ever done this. My fiancee's first phone did this. She is now using my 2nd replacement while she waits for hers to arrive (today). So a device that never exhibited this issue, over the course of at least a week of normal-for-me use, started exhibiting this issue for my fiancee maybe a day or so after using the phone.
I thought I had "solved" it when I didn't see it crop up the first day she used my replacement phone. She was quick to let me know I was incorrect.
So I've got serious pressure here - all of my MT4G's haven't exhibited the out of control 'suspend process' issue while I was using the devices, but with her, it does. <queue the jokes>
We own our own business, so we're in the same room all day long while we use our phones. I was the first to tell her, "it's something you're doing." I'm only repeating myself by saying that I blamed it on an app she installed or something she "did" to cause it. After factory resetting, what...2, 3 times...I'm starting to forget; after checking the apps that are installed (and removing all of them); after verifying every setting from USB Debugging, screen brightness, account sync, etc. I seem to at least be able to say, "every single setting, shortcut, widget, app or usage pattern, does not produce the issue on any device I have used with my Google account, whereas it does with my fiancee."
That's the most difficult part to get absolute - the usage pattern. She's doing such basic things though, but I know that even the slightest of difference can produce different results.
I will most certainly report my results, futile or not.

The only common denominator I've noticed so far is that it only affects Sense UI devices.

Chadastrophic said:
The only common denominator I've noticed so far is that it only affects Sense UI devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That seems to be the constant, to a degree. I'm seeing people state that they're having this issue on anything from the Samsung Galaxy S (i9000) to a Nexus running Cyanogen 6.1. That's people stating it though, so I'm not sure if they're actually experiencing the same issue or not.
I am biting my tongue, but I think I found another common denominator...I am going to post back in a coupla days once I've seen it last for this entire week.

hi,
i'm running cyanogenmod 6.1 on a desire hd and have been experiencing the suspend process problem exactly as described in this thread a nubmer of times now over the last week. so its definately not limited to devices running sense.
the only circumstances this behavior hasnt shown is when running 2g only with all other sorts of communications and sync off

zero_oli said:
hi,
i'm running cyanogenmod 6.1 on a desire hd and have been experiencing the suspend process problem exactly as described in this thread a nubmer of times now over the last week. so its definately not limited to devices running sense.
the only circumstances this behavior hasnt shown is when running 2g only with all other sorts of communications and sync off
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it didn't seem 100% related to devices running Sense, so thanks for posting back to this.
My fiancee was experiencing this across her first two MT4G devices and has yet to experience the issue on her third and final MT4G. I want to see it run the rest of the week though before I share, but the issue did pop-up for her pretty much within 24-48 hours on her first two MT4G's.

Shlongwoodian: I have been following your posts as the "suspend" process has been affecting me since I received my phone the first day available. However, I am reluctant to send for a replacement as all else is great on the unit I have and there seems no gaurantee that a new phone fixes this issue.
I have tried Tmo and HTC and both seem clueless; therefore, I appreciate your research and look forward to any "fix" short of waiting for Gingerbread.

Anyone have any wisdom to pass on? This issue is driving me crazy! I've noticed it most on my black MT4G (w/the good screen) after browsing the web, youtube or using the media player. My wife's red MT4G (w/the inferior screen) has had no issues and her battery is amazing! The first day she got her phone her battery lasted 24 hours without even conditioning it! Granted she doesn't use it like I do mine, but it is still a huge difference. When this issue comes up on mine, I'm dead within 3-4 hours. I have Watchdog set so when it alerts me I just soft reset. That clears it up until it decides to come back at random intervals. It usually doesn't come back until I open the browser, etc. With as much as I use my phone (I am constantly on the road), it becomes a major pain to have to constantly monitor battery life. Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

Man, I am sorry to report that I gots nothin'. Ok, here was my original theory...
I was speculating that "something" inside the Google/Gmail account was the cause. My reasoning being, essentially, your info is stored in a database. When you get an Android device, that online database is synced locally with the phone's database. We each have different databases and there is more than just your apps, Market links, contacts, etc. I never exhibited the /suspend issue on phones that she experienced the /suspend issue on. I figured it was database-specific.
If a table contains a value, or rather, does not contain a specific value (or if columns are missing, etc.), it can cause an application to respond in a negative way. Sometimes, this causes an error to bubble up in an application. Other times, it doesn't. In my experience, I've seen much more subtle issues in databases, that don't cause errors or a crash, but instead just cause "undesirable results."
When my fiancee got her final, good replacement Plum Glacier, we started with a completely new Google account. We thought we nailed it, when a handful of days passed without seeing /suspend get out of control, leading to Android System and/or OS sucking down battery life. I think it was nearly a week into it and one day while she was out, she realized she lost battery life really quickly - i.e. left the house with 90% and by the time she got to the store, shopped for a bit and looked, her phone was down to like 30-40%. She knows how to check for /suspend and it was, of course, back.
It's still not something that can be completely ruled out, since it's not a very air-tight test. There could be something about my Google account (which I've had pretty much since Gmail beta was available) that's keeping me (and others like me) from getting it or that idea could be crap.
For some reason, I have never, ever seen this happen on my Glacier(s) running stock 2.2.1. Phones that I never saw the issue on, she saw the issue on. There is so much speculation around it, but it just seems like "some people" don't experience it and "some people" do. It's all over different devices, different skill levels, etc. No apps, same apps, whatever and it happens to some but not others.
Sorry to get anyone's hopes up. I'll keep looking for differences/similarities though and if I find anything at all I'll - or if anyone else finds anything, no matter how ridiculous it sounds (yes, we've tested the 'rock' and it doesn't appear to suffer from the /suspend issue) - post it here.

Thanks for trying! It was a good theory. So . . . now what? Is there any way to get this ranked higher with Google, HTC, etc. to get more people working on it? It is really driving me nuts! It mainly happens after I use the web browser, then put the phone on standby for some reason. I can't even use the browser any more without needing to reboot it to save battery life. There is another thread, but specifically for the Evo and I think one for the Nexus one, all with the same problem. What if a new thread were started that is not device specific? That way we can get more people to star it and maybe Google or whoever will pay more attention to it! I would hate to think that we are stuck with this problem until when and if we get upgraded to 2.3. I would suggest rooting and flashing a new ROM, but even those with custom ROM's are having the same problem, so that's not going to help. Thoughts???

jpiano said:
It mainly happens after I use the web browser, then put the phone on standby for some reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It truly is a mystery to this day. I've seen people say, "it happened right after I installed Handcent" or "it happens as soon as I do..." No one has come up with any concrete evidence thus far.
My fiancee has Handcent, I have Handcent. I used Handcent heavily, never had an issue. She stopped using Handcent - still has the issue. We've gotten so granular in our troubleshooting, we're literally tracking every step. LOL i.e. I pressed the trackpad to wake the phone, once; I unlocked the phone, I swiped my thumb once to view my Watchdog Widget on the screen to the left of my homescreen, etc., etc., etc.
So, for now, we just wait? My phone (and all previous phones) have been just fine. My fiancee however...yeah, I'm trying to find a fix pretty quickly.

One common theme that I've seen with this issue is that it only happens after I put the phone to sleep. I have never seen it crop up while actually using the phone. Maybe we're going about it the wrong way in trying to identify an app, etc that's causing the problem... perhaps it is simply the code involved in putting the phone to sleep and that's why there hasn't been any consistency with what one does to make it appear. In your experience, have you ever seen or heard of it showing up while the phone is being used? Perhaps it's just on mine that it works that way, but I thought it was worth mentioning. I know nothing about code or how android works so please forgive the noob comment if this is an obvious one. Merry Christmas!

I've got this problem big time. Returned my first phone because I thought it was the phone. First few days were good but lately its back and as bad as ever. First thoughts were angry birds twitter or wifi but I have no idea. If I can't figure this out I might have to sell this phone.
I will try to post some more thoughts. I think you're onto some good ideas here.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

(Re-posting from the developer's Google blog where others are following this issue): Interesting about using the phone without a Google account. Not sure if this is relevant or not, but I've noticed something else with consistency. Granted I wasn't able to document the behavior through system panel at the time, but this has consistently happened. When suspend goes crazy, I can get it to stop simply by charging the phone! Even if I charge the phone for a few seconds, then unplug, it stays dormant without having to reboot. Noob speaking here but perhaps the part of android that actually logs the battery usage is suspending when the phone goes to sleep? When it us charging, this log is reset and clears the process from running. If this is even possible, then could someone write an app that clears this system log? Maybe by mimicking what happens when the phone is charging, we can at least temporarily clear the issue without the need tovl reboot? Again, I know nothing about all this so sorry if this is all irrelevant. Just sharing what I've noticed to be consistent. Thoughts??
Also, I saw on another xda blog (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=870557&page=2) that someone linked this issue to a corrupt photo on the sd card. After formatting the card and restoring some files, says the issue has not returned!

jpiano said:
Also, I saw on another xda blog (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=870557&page=2) that someone linked this issue to a corrupt photo on the sd card. After formatting the card and restoring some files, says the issue has not returned!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if you're on to something with the SD card. I've been thinking I haven't seen the suspend issue return on my phone in quite a while. I just realized that the only thing I've really changed is installed a new 16 gb SD card. Since then, no suspend process problems. For those who are having the problem still, I wonder if removing or formatting their cards would show any improvement? Worth a shot if at least to eliminate another possible factor.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

That's cool that this thread is flushing out other ideas and possible variables. I like the idea of connecting it to the charger for a couple of seconds, but my fiancee is so used to just rebooting her phone each morning and sometimes again by mid-day, that it's easier for her to do just that.
jpiano said:
Even if I charge the phone for a few seconds, then unplug, it stays dormant without having to reboot.
Also, I saw on another xda blog (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=870557&page=2) that someone linked this issue to a corrupt photo on the sd card. After formatting the card and restoring some files, says the issue has not returned!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the microSD Card notion. This is such a weird issue, that it's so easily associated with other items - e.g. applications, usage patterns, etc. This seems feasible though, but the only way to know for sure is to reproduce it. My fiancee experiences the suspend issue daily, if she doesn't reboot regularly. So, I should be able to take her microSD card and use it in my phone and get the suspend issue. I don't want to 'muddy' up by swapping microSD cards, so I'll try reformatting her card and see if that makes any difference. She usually sees the issue within 24-48 hours of a fresh boot, so it shouldn't be long before we see if that fixes it or not. I can check the card for errors, etc. as well.
werk said:
I just realized that the only thing I've really changed is installed a new 16 gb SD card. Since then, no suspend process problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll be upgrading to a 16 GB Class 10 soon, so I can give her my Samsung if need be. I'd really like to see if this is it though. It would explain the "some people get it and some people don't" pattern.

I also noticed that the minute I plug the phone in the problem goes away. Not sure why, just confirming it happens to me too. I also should note that when I returned my phone, they popped my old SD card into my new phone. So if there is an SD card issue with a corupt file/photo that could be something as well. I wonder woody if your girlfriends phone has had the same SD card after how many times did you say you traded it in? BTW, a side note, how did you exchange it so many times? After I took mine back to the store on day 14 they told me I wasn't able to exchange it again.
I do have a 16GB SD card but just haven't had time to install it. Wanted to double check which things I need on the new one from the old one, but it might be a good way to test this issue. Let me know some ideas before I swap the cards and maybe I can help test this.
Also, one more thing, what is the app you're using to log stuff? I'm just using Watchdog Lite right now.
I've got to figure this out or this is a dealbreaker for me. I have waited 3 years to upgrade phones, first time on Android, really wanted iPhone but wanted to stick with month to month from TMob. If this continues I think I will move to Windows Phone 7 or iPhone if I have to, but I really like this phone when the battery is not draining like a leech.
Thanks.

werk,
Just wondering what process you went through when you upgraded SD cards. Did you copy any files over to the new one or just start blank?
Thanks.

royhobbs said:
werk,
Just wondering what process you went through when you upgraded SD cards. Did you copy any files over to the new one or just start blank?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just straight copied the existing files over from the old card to new one (new one in phone connected via USB, old card in SD adapter in my laptops SD card slot). I think some Angry Birds files didn't make it due to long paths, but reinstalled it and no problems since then.

[Q] NC 1.41 clean root w/MN-5-12-20 observations/questions

New NC w/1.3 did BN stock update to 1.41, confirmed all working. Then I applied the manual nooter 5-12-20 using CWM sd with no errors or issues in installing/rooting/booting. A couple issues/observations after successful booting.
Posting here as new user hoping other new users in same boat without enough time on forum to be allowed to post to the dev thread (I've read every page of the thread and every post since 5-12-20 was released mult times so can say these questions/observations are either not observed or observed and not definitively answered that I could find).
A couple observations and questions:
1. At least 2 other posts noting issues with WiFi.....mid-usage wifi just drops goes dead and I have to manually connect - only started after applying 5-12-20 - is there a fix or something more I can contribute testing?
2. Damned market. Seen many posts relating to market - some claimed to "fix" by re-rooting after going back to stock (doesn't make sense since I observed no errors in the process). My market launched, then updated fine. I, however like others saw many common apps simply not there like Google's own Voice app, facebook app, etc. Maybe someone can tell me, should my rooted nook color NEVER even see those 2 apps in the market? If it should, something went wrong. **Yes, I went back to page 1 of that thread and applied the "market visibility fix" which really needs to be updated to say you MUST uninstall the market "update" to roll it back to the original rooted market then apply the steps - then yes, it worked in the sense that all apps EXCEPT for some pretty BIG ones like facebook, google voice, etc are listed. This one is the primary reason I'm rooting and I've read a LOT of different "fixes" of changing DPI, fingerprint, build.props, etc. yet in any of the original root instructions seen an indication that this is a STANDARD action every rooter needs to take. Why do some need this "workaround" of hacking dpi and props and some don't? Is it simply that those that don't are not using these very common apps like facebook? Someone could make my day by helping out with this as I really hate doing things half-assed and having something half-working.
3. Power consumption seems a bit higher than pre-MN-root which leads me to next question - the MN rooting process installs "google latitude", "navigation", and what appears to be phone processes. Without a gps or location services I can't seem to get these nav type apps to work (hang at aquiring location), is there a reason they are installed and is there a way to make them work? Can any of the phone/dialer type daemons be removed could any of them be increasing power consumption? Again, I'm game for testing if a dev can shed some light.
4. Basic question but one I saw people had app "updating" issues with but no clear answer as to best practices. If an app is available in both BN store and android market, are there pros/cons to installing one vs other? Netflix good example installed via BN store yet market says update when BN store does not.
5. Dual-booting - seen different threads but they are dated to older firmware and with the awesome job GMPOWER did putting together 5-12-20 MN, would love to help him or the devs test and put together a step by step rolling his 5-12-20 MN and current 1.41 in with whatever the best practices are for setting up a dual boot with CM7, etc.
Again, you guys rock and I love the NC, any help on these would be greatly appreciated!

I'm new here too,but I might have a simple solution to question #1.If you're "dropping WiFi" at home,check the channel your router is using and see if a neighbor (or two or three)are also using that channel."Sniffer" programs are around that will give you the info.Try to set yours up on a "clear" channel.Worked for me when the neighborhood "filled up" with routers all set to channel 6.Went to ch.3 and problem solved.
Good luck.

Thanks but as I stated only after the manual nooter is the wifi dropping - no need to get out wireshark when 4 other wifi devices including a non-rooted nook in the same room without dropping but thanks for the suggestion!

BTW, I should ask are you rooted and which version, etc?

WyldWolf said:
[...] 1. At least 2 other posts noting issues with WiFi.....mid-usage wifi just drops goes dead and I have to manually connect - only started after applying 5-12-20 - is there a fix or something more I can contribute testing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not experience this issue. In fact, on B&N 1.4.1, my wifi was more dependable than on CyanogenMod. I suspect a lot of has to do with specifics on your wifi setup, including router make, security used and so forth. You could try tweaking parameters to see if it helps. Was it dropping as much before you ran MN? I wouldn't expect what was done with MN to make a difference. Are you using Dalingrin's kernel or anything similar?
2. Damned market. Seen many posts relating to market - some claimed to "fix" by re-rooting after going back to stock (doesn't make sense since I observed no errors in the process). My market launched, then updated fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm. I never got around to trying Google Voice, and have no use for Facebook, so can't say for sure those were there. I've since nuked 1.4.1, so can't test now either. I can say that I had well over 100 apps that I commonly use on CM loaded, and didn't find any that I weren't visible in Market without any tweaks. It did take a long time for Market to update, but after that, it worked smoothly. You might try accessing the Market via the web interface and see if those apps will install from there. I did that a few times. Maybe that trips something?
3. Power consumption seems a bit higher than pre-MN-root which leads me to next question - the MN rooting process installs "google latitude", "navigation", and what appears to be phone processes. Without a gps or location services I can't seem to get these nav type apps to work (hang at aquiring location), is there a reason they are installed and is there a way to make them work? Can any of the phone/dialer type daemons be removed could any of them be increasing power consumption? Again, I'm game for testing if a dev can shed some light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My power consumption was initially very good, but after a week or so, I started seeing the battery drain go to 3-5% per hour. Unfortunately, 1.4.1 hobbled a lot of troubleshooting tools, so I wasn't able to nail down the culprit. This is what ultimately drove me to abandon 1.4.1 for CM again.
I did try renaming phone.apk and others that have been recommended, but my NC seemed to get very unstable thereafter. Lots of spontaneous reboots and the like. I put them back and really didn't see a big difference one way or the other that I can attribute to these. From everything I've read, they're not likely to cause noticeable drain, but some other standard functions depend on them.
4. Basic question but one I saw people had app "updating" issues with but no clear answer as to best practices. If an app is available in both BN store and android market, are there pros/cons to installing one vs other? Netflix good example installed via BN store yet market says update when BN store does not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cost is probably the main factor. Netflix from B&N supposedly supports HD while the Market version does not. On a 7 inch screen, I couldn't care less. Netflix off of the Market looks pretty good, so I'm happy.
5. Dual-booting - seen different threads but they are dated to older firmware and with the awesome job GMPOWER did putting together 5-12-20 MN, would love to help him or the devs test and put together a step by step rolling his 5-12-20 MN and current 1.41 in with whatever the best practices are for setting up a dual boot with CM7, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you do to stock is pretty much independent of dual-booting.

Bobstro,
Thanks so much for the input! As for the wifi, it does seem very specific to after I ran the MN on 1.41, in fact it never once dropped and I went back to stock 1.41 for the last day and haven't seen it drop again (my wife's is stock 1.41 and doesn't drop either when my MN does so unless it's a hardware issue I'm guessing it's something in the MN process, driver, etc.)
One weird thing I did have happen and searching found a couple references but nothing definitive was using CWM 3.2.0.1 flashing the 1.3 stock after formatting system, data, cache multiple times was my touchscreen did not work. I even re-downloaded the 1.3 from xda must have flashed 6 times never worked. Then downloaded a 1.41 posted on one of the recovery xda threads and lo and behold my touchscreen worked. Also, unlike the 1.3-1.41 upgrade, when I flashed right to 1.41 a couple things came up that didn't after upgrading mine and my wife's to 1.41, namely netflix right on the home screen touch to install, and the nook friends app right on the home screen.
Have you come across anything that would indicate why my touchscreen went dead no matter how many times I rebuild the CWM card, formatted the nook partitions correctly and flashed without error? It really made me worry I had a bad unit but like I said worked out of box, worked after 1.41 upgrade, worked after latest MN, only once I returned to 1.3 stock did it die until flashing 1.41 directly.
Interesting about the market, I did have thousands of apps just not some of the most common big ones and I did try through browser it told me facebook was incompatible with my device which led me to all the "hack the dpi, props file, etc." threads I just didn't want to be part of a minority for for some unknown reason had to hack workarounds if 99% of folks running the MN could simply install facebook and google voice from market without workarounds.
Thanks again!
Edit: on the dual boot I thought there was a way to install CWM or something to internal to allow dual internal booting from stock (nootered) and CM7 - I'll keep looking.

WyldWolf said:
Thanks so much for the input!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm happy to help where I can. The smart folks here on XDA have helped me tremendously, so I trying to pay it forward as best I can!
[...] One weird thing I did have happen and searching found a couple references but nothing definitive was using CWM 3.2.0.1 flashing the 1.3 stock after formatting system, data, cache multiple times was my touchscreen did not work. I even re-downloaded the 1.3 from xda must have flashed 6 times never worked. Then downloaded a 1.41 posted on one of the recovery xda threads and lo and behold my touchscreen worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EDIT: Sorry about that strange post. I wanted to point you to the thread about the hardware having changed with more recent NC versions. 1.4.1 includes the newer drivers. Depending on where you get your older versions from, they may or may not work.

Well that 'kinda" makes me feel better that I at least don't have bad hardware, had I known the 1.3 that's posted was "different" then the 1.3 that came on my newer unit apparently must have had the newer screen drivers I would have backed it up - surprised someone hasn't posted it. I mean, mine came with 1.3 installed and the screen worked so it must have had the newer driver until I wiped it, right?
Also, do you have the links you referred to for the screen issues thread?
Thanks again!

The ongoing discussion I referred to is here. On page 2 or so, I've got a link the the original post.

HimWill said:
I'm new here too,but I might have a simple solution to question #1.If you're "dropping WiFi" at home,check the channel your router is using and see if a neighbor (or two or three)are also using that channel."Sniffer" programs are around that will give you the info.Try to set yours up on a "clear" channel.Worked for me when the neighborhood "filled up" with routers all set to channel 6.Went to ch.3 and problem solved.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do look at WiFi, Once I Locked it on channel 1 it is rock solid reliable.

Bobstro,
I'm guessing your battery life must be a typo, at 10% an hour discharge would be 10 hours of runtime - they advertise 8. 3-5% sounds awfully low. Mine out of box is at about 10% an hour with wifi on and screen at 30% with constant online web browsing, maybe an app or two install, launching in and out of system apps, etc. - constant "activity" on my part not just flipping book pages or watching a video, etc.....I hope my unit is on par with others.
I also noted that my wife's refurb bought about thanksgiving that does not have the "new" screen hardware mine does actually looks side by side more blue/white with mine slightly yellower tinge which annoys me a bit. I know from years of jailbreaking and swapping iphones that there was definitely a difference in screen colors as they went from the 3g to the first 3gs I had, same thing blueish/whiter to a more yellow tinge - I can't win! LOL

Ah, sorry for the ambiguity. That was 3-5% while idle with screen off, which is far worse than normal. I expect to see 4-6% drop while idle with screen off overnight, max.
While in use, consumption is roughly 10% per hour, and mostly due to screen, which I usually run at 25%.

[Q] Repartitioning Problem

Hi, I'm really sorry if this is considered cross posting, but I'm starting to get desperate here and really need help. I'm on a deadline and running out of time, I need to figure this out somehow and have been bashing away for almost 24 hours now.
My question is in this thread - and is the last post.
I am actively online and working on this. I'm starting to consider just reverting to stock from the recovery partition and then building everything from scratch, but if I can avoid that time vampire I would like to. Does anyone know what's going on, have some ideas, or anything?
Next step, I'm going to try the 1Gb 5Gb repartition that Dean originally developed. Though with my Nook broken already and my inability to restore it to a working state despite having a ton of perfectly fine Nan backups, I have doubts as to whether anything will change there.
I'll monitor both threads. Thanks in advance for any guidance/help.
Edit: Still plugging away, last steps mentioned above didn't work. Next steps: I'm reading Leaping Lar's partition fix thread and getting some ideas. am going to try:
Flash Partition > Boot to CWR
Format > Flash to CWR
Flash Dizzy Den's signed 4.1 zip > Boot to CWR
Flash my Registered Nan backup of Stock 4.1. > Boot to MMC, get a look around
I think I already did this, but left out the last step. Might work as it should restore my registration data instead of starting me from an unregistered account. If it seems worth trying at that stage, I will then flash my registered Nan of 1.4.2 and get a look at that.
Speculation: I just realized, I've been trying to restore a backup of a rooted 1.4.2 over an unregistered 1.4.1 - which is what I keep getting reverted to. I don't know if that matters, but my hope is if I flash my registered backup over what I'm reverted to, then build up to registered 1.4.2, that will help things... We'll see.
Failing all of this, I will try Leapin' Lar's partition repair.
I have finished reading the Partition thread I linked to above (where my original post is) and found that one other person reported my issue, almost to the T. His/Her user name is Blondie. Blondie seems to have quit without a fix, or if ever got a fix it was never posted. It was quite some time ago, but if any of those who helped him/her can remember if there was a fix would you let me know what it was?

Screw the original nook firmware. Go install CM7 Mirage ROM.
Rooting a stock nook is pointless. CM7 is better, faster, more efficient than stock and it comes rooted by default.
Now that your serial number is probably gone or corrupted in the /rom partition, you most likely cannot register your nook with the B&N servers, and that is probably why you can't install apps.
If you need a complete partition table wipe, follow this guide. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1759558
Next time you decide to mess around, be sure you backup your ROM and factory partition before doing anything.

sagirfahmid3 said:
Screw the original nook firmware. Go install CM7 Mirage ROM.
Rooting a stock nook is pointless. CM7 is better, faster, more efficient than stock and it comes rooted by default.
Now that your serial number is probably gone or corrupted in the /rom partition, you most likely cannot register your nook with the B&N servers, and that is probably why you can't install apps.
If you need a complete partition table wipe, follow this guide. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1759558
Next time you decide to mess around, be sure you backup your ROM and factory partition before doing anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do have backups of everything. As I said above, they aren't wholly functional.
I never said I was completely unable to install apps, or that I couldn't register with B&N. I can register fine, and in some scenarios I can indeed download my apps just fine, just not if I try and restore a MN Nan backup. That is not because of a missing SN but because of a registration issue that can be caused by the MN process - otherwise I would not be able to download them at all in any scenario.
Also, if you know the MN process you know my factory partition is intact. Perhaps the partitioning messed with it a little, I'm not sure - but nowhere did I say I have yet tried to reset to stock from the factory partition, so we have no real way of knowing yet.
I understand that my OP is starting to get tl;dr because I don't want to double-post, but actually reading what has been done so far and reading the post at the original thread I linked to might be more useful in trying to give people advice. A little less snark would be useful too, I am not a n00b at this by a long shot and talking down to people tends to get hackles up instead of being productive - especially when you clearly haven't read their thread - as an example, if you had read it, you would have seen I already know about Leapin' Lar's partition fix and it's one of the next things I plan to try..
On the other hand, I may take your suggestion about installing CM7 Mirage. Honestly, I had my reasons for not doing that in the past, but those reasons are largely moot today. I will get a look at the thread. Thank you for the suggestion.

You're right, I apologize for not reading thoroughly. I had a derp moment.

No worries Sagirfahmid, I owe you an apology too. I'm sorry to have jumped on you, I am a little bit... stressed, and tired. Not that it's any great excuse. I need to take my own advice about talking to people. Sorry.
And fwiw, I believe you are right and the original partition did mess with the factory partitions, I've just been avoiding facing it. I really ought to get off the fence and run the repair and then follow Dean's guide to using fdisk on the emmc, but I'm getting OCD about trying every other thing first - even down to considering a flat reset to factory and rebuild from scratch. Stupid, I know.
Thing is, there is at least one other person out there who had this exact problem, and it didn't sound like her issue ended up being a corrupt partition as the partition repair didn't help her. Unless it was too corrupted. I know there were a lot of people running the same system as me, and it was very stable. Someone besides me and one other person has to know what this is and how to deal with it. That's what I'm hoping anyway. LOL
And seriously, thank you again for the reminder that there are other options out there that might better suit me now. The more I read the more I think if I can just reset the darned thing to a fully working state, I may well just do an SD CM10... or should I just stick with Mirage? Is there an advantage to Mirage over 10.2?

Yes definitely. It's faster--that's the most obvious advantage. (I disabled all the fancy animations and removed a lot of useless system apps like the phone, contacts, calendar, camera, and GPS app via adb).
Also, CM7 Mirage has USB host mode, so if you get a male microUSB to female standard USB port, it is very possible to use a keyboard or mouse, or a flashdrive or harddrive (if you get a powered hub). AFAIK, the max current it can supply without a powered hub is 100mA (enough for a flashdrive or keyboard/mouse that isn't too fancy--skip the ones with LEDs; each LED uses around 15mA).
Oh yeah, CM10 runs in phone UI (there's an extra bar on top taking up space).
In CM7, there's only 1 bar, so you have a bigger area on the screen. Of course, there is a patch to get CM10 into tablet mode, but I don't like all the hassle.
On CM7, you can overclock the CPU to 1.2GHz, but on CM10, it's limited to 1.1GHz AFAIK.
=====================================================
Right now, I'm hoping to get Debian ARM natively installed on the Nook Color. I've been making progress thanks to the devs and users here. Android is still required, but it will be on top (instead of the other way around, which is Android on top and Debian chrooted). SInce they'll be using the same kernel, I think I can get Debian to use the Nook Color's USB port to connect devices like printers or scanners (that would be so awesome...).
If you're interested in running full blown Debian on the NC, and assuming that you are able to fix yours, you can check out this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2422518

Solved
Sorry for the double post. Need to separate this from the wall o text above. Problem is solved and since I never did find a spelled out definite answer while I was reading the last 2 days, I want to post it here where someone who might be looking in the future might easily find it.
To reiterate the problem concisely for those who don't have time for the diatribe above:
My device is a Green dot Nook Color:
* Running a stable Manual Nooter 5.08.20 over a Stock B&N 1.4.2 ROM, and using > This < method to block OTA Updates - basically use a SQLite Editor for Andriod to modify the fota mode in the nook's registry.
I recently started getting the Low Memory message asking me to please archive some of my apps to SD. Am about to go on a long trip abroad and I not only needed what apps I had but also need a couple more. Solution: Repartition the Data and Media partitions.
Full backups: have a whole slew of backed up NC B&N Update zips, Flashable updates created by several awesome people here, and step-by step Nan Backups of every single time I have re-rooted my device after a B&N Update - signed and registered stock configs, roots and final images, and finally a whole store of dated backups of my Tibu backups off of my SD card.
So, I repartition following steps exactly.
* At first reboot, CWR freezes on load. This makes me thing something went horribly wrong.
* Reboot again, everything seems to Format fine, reboot into Nook
* Unlike most people, my nook has reverted to an unregistered stock 1.4.1, no root.
* Flash my latest Nan-backup of my rooted NC, doesn't take properly and B&N is a mess because (duh) I didn't register it before flashing - But I shouldn't have needed to because all of those settings were in my Nan Backup. Okayyyy... weird.
* Flash back to a Registered stock NC nan backup of 1.4.2 since that was the last version I used. I was able to DL books and read them, and could DL apps - but my apps couldn't install at all and there were a couple of new B&N Apps that were stuck in a DL/Install loop too. Hm.
* Flash an earlier root Nan over that. Now my Nook can't download anything, I get an error message that it cannot execute. Lovely.
* Bash around in this fashion trying to make it work, occasionally trying different partition schemes in the process, while reading every thread I can find on the subject of what issues I'm having.
I begin to suspect that my partitions might be all messed up, especially considering the original freeze from CWR, but have no real way to check that and don't want to give up, so I post in the instruction thread and later here to see if anyone has any guidance or knows what this is.
A whole slew of people have endorsed this method and had no problems.
A few people had some problems, but only one user has reported exactly my problem off of the exact build I was running, no less. (1st link is that user's first post and 2nd is the page where her posts begin). However, that thread ended with no real answer - or so I thought.
At once point before the issue ended with no further response from the poster with the issues, Leapinlar (who had been assisting her, or at least trying to) tells her that if his Partition Repair didn't solve anything, then it likely wasn't the problem. If she cannot get her B&N Apps to DL & Install, then it's most likely the version of the B&N Stock that she is on and she needs to flash to the most recent - he even points her to a signed CWR Flashable one that he created for 1.4.3. She argues that can't be the issue - and I get that, because the apps installed and worked before in 1.4.1 right? So why all of a not now simply because she's back on 1.4.1 again?
I don't know why B&N would have made it so that you can't install any older apps on your device even though they installed on older ROM versions, forcing people to move up to 1.4.3, but it appears to me that this is exactly the case and Leapinlar is once again correct.
Took me a long time to internalize that and have it click. After running his Partition Repair with the same results as her, I left it on a registered 1.4.1 Stock, put the NC down and stepped away for a while to do other things. when I came back I was fixated on what Leapinlar said about flashing to a newer version of B&N Stock. So I did. And when that didn't really fix it I flashed up to the next ans last version, 1.4.3.
Hallelujah, problem solved!
For my own apps to download, I had to wait for a couple of new ones sent to Nooks from B&N for version 1.4.3 to download and install - and they were not able to do that on earlier versions. I propose that their inability to install was what was blocking my other apps. but it could be that the others were also made version specific once B&N stopped making NCs in favor of HD's and the Tablet, and released the final update.
Regardless, that is the final answer. If you are on MN and repartition, and then find when you boot you are taken to unregistered stock, and upon registering you can access your books but your apps will not install after downloading and you have a couple of new ones that seem stuck at dlownload and install, all you need to do is Update your NC to the final release, 1.4.3, and the re-root. I think you will need to re-root from scratch, unless maybe your last root backup was from 1.4.3 - which mine was not.
Next dilemma: Stick with root or start running a CM ROM from SD...

I'm a cheapskate, that's the truth. I am a geek, I want to do **** with my devices and I don't care if I end up bricking them so long as there are ways to recover. I also care about my privacy. I don't stick with the stock firmware because:
1. B&N wants you to REGISTER with your CREDIT CARD to be able to actually USE the Nook Color. Why the hell?
2. B&N possibly has BACK DOORS to your Nook Color. They might DRM lock apps or something. They can obviously force updates onto their users unless they root. They might also decide it's time to brick your tablet if they wanted, so you would go buy another one (yes, this is more of a conspiracy theory, but hey, if they can force updates, they surely can also do this).
3. B&N's custom Android is crippled unless you root. You can't use the 5GBs of space. Why the hell not?
etc etc...there are more reasons I don't stick with any stock firmware, be it for a tablet or phone.
(I use Debian on my computer most of the time now because Windows is a piece of crap. You can't do whatever you want on it, except game. Did I mention the useless startup services and apps you need, especially antivirus, for Windows to function without worries of getting a keylogger or some nasty virus? Valve has made Steam for Linux very usable, and I rarely use Windows for gaming now. Linux is tons faster, and I can do almost anything on it).
Have you ever used a T-Mobile smartphone? the apps that come installed are numerous! It makes me want to puke every time I use a stock Android phone from a phone company. I like and want my devices to only contain the apps I want. That means NO BACKDOORS, NO FISHY BACKGROUND PROCESSES, NO **** APPS, NO RESTRICTIONS.
======================================================
Backup the documents and whatever you have on your B&N firmware. Install CM7.2 Mirage onto INTERNAL SD card.
Stop being a wuss :silly: and start enjoying a better Android experience.

sagirfahmid3 said:
I'm a cheapskate, that's the truth. I am a geek, I want to do **** with my devices and I don't care if I end up bricking them so long as there are ways to recover. I also care about my privacy. I don't stick with the stock firmware because....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely understand! I have many of the same concerns and make workarounds and otherwise try to frustrate the usual 'Big Brother' tactic that are becoming so prevalent. I don't think you've gone into the realm of conspiracy theory at all, what you're talking about is a long term goal I think. Think of the marketing and capital profit possibilities of that kind of control over a still largely unregulated market - 'largely unregulated' because the technologies and the possibilities they allow are evolving so quickly.
I also am a 'computer geek', prefer control of my own devices and am very strict about personal security. So then why does B&N have my personal data? Largely because they had it far earlier than there was ever a blip on the tech radar of 'e-readers'. I'm also incredibly bookish and there haven't been a whole lot of B&N in my region, but I prefer their company as a book retailer, so I was a member that had begun ordering from them online as soon as they had a website to order from. So, it wasn't a huge loss for me to keep the stock and use it as intended. here are some things about this that do grate with me, yes, but they wouldn't have lost my data history anyway, so wth, I might as well get a really elegant e-reader interface from a company I mostly like and support. This is definitely not a situation that applies for everyone, I know.
I use windows on a secondary boot partition and funnily enough, largely for gaming. I also use it on a work laptop because I have to. I run Suse most of the time, myself.
As far as DRM, it' something we need to fight in the courts and through making our own backups for experimentation, and that's all I can really say.
When I bought my NC over two years ago, tablets were still pretty uncommon and e-ink readers all the rage. I splurged on this even though I was still using a flip phone because I felt it would serve multi needs well:
a) The need for an e-reader (I travel at least 1ce a year and I read a lot while traveling. Books are HEAVY! and I'm getting oilder...)
b) The desire for an e-reader that could read color and comics - so I could DL comics and fan creations and manga as well as books on the same device - and one that isn't an Apple (I dislike Apple as much as I dislike MS).
c) The desire to have a good interface in a size that is more readable than most phones on the market, to surf the web on or read the above during my long commutes.
d) The desire to have all of the above in one item that would also not tie me to a single seller - in other words I also wanted to run the Kindle App and Google books.
At the time, Kindle Fire had not been released and the next best machine (actually, tied as of the time I bought this nook) was an iPad. Other tablets out there were more expensive and glitchy and without that quality - some didn't even expect to ever update their android ROM. There was nothing on the market close to the NC in that price range - and I knew I could root it or otherwise replace the original ROM if I didn't like it, to do what I wanted, and essentially never brick it!
I chose MN over CM or Nightlies because I didn't have to mess with the factory partition at all or ever worry about replacing it, and it let me use my nook directly from system in a two-sided boot that had a tablet on one end and a Nook on the other. Very neat. I got the 3 yr warranty when I bought it because at that time they stated that you could return the NC within that time for a lower price on the next new thing. I plan to use that, so I wanted the original factory partition intact.
There are only two things today that would keep me from running a CM install or SD right now. The most important of those two is Battery Life.
The trip I'm about to go on is to India from the east coast of the US. We'll be gone about a month and my NC/Rooted or flashed tablet will be my ONLY mobile device. I need something stable, and that if I am not already familiar with it will be fairly intuitive, and most important - Good Battery Life. As far as I know, the CM ROMs for NC are energy hogs - is that still the case? We will have a lot of devices to try and keep charged, one plug adapter, and the NC will have a central role in our keeping in touch with family and friends. We we go for a day without a charge but with about 8 hours of use including wifi time on a MN root, I know I will still have enough charge the next day till we get to the next location where we can try and charge everything.
My other concern is more about running apps and what apps will work with the setup I'm planning - which I already know would work on my NC had I not hit the "Low Memory" wall and started all of this.
I am still interested in running CM, can you point me to info on these? For the second, I need to link to Canon Image Gateway wirelessly and also a Bloggie. I love that CM7 can run a USB interface! That's a huge advantage that I could use!
Even if I don't use it for this trip, I may change it when I get back to a CM7 sd boot to play with till I'm used to it. Also, I am rooting a NC for a Niece before I leave, and I think I'm going to change tactics and put CM on it instead.
As to smartphones... LOL. I still have a pay-as-you-go flip phone, wanna talk about being cheap and having security paranoia? XD Seriously, I spend a lot on my computers - which I prefer to build - and spent a lot on my tablet back when I bought it and when I replace it will consider carefully and spend on that again. =) Smartphones? I will get one eventually, it's a matter of time, but I'm holding out as long as I can. LOL

...I need something stable, and that if I am not already familiar with it will be fairly intuitive, and most important - Good Battery Life. As far as I know, the CM ROMs for NC are energy hogs - is that still the case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, CM ROMs have great battery life these days. I get 10 hours on my Nook Tablet (CM10, 4700mAH battery AFAIK); 8 hours on my Nook Color (CM7, 4000mAH battery. Obviously, it's going to have a slightly lower battery life). Also, keep in mind the li-ion battery is almost a year older than the Nook Tablet, so it has a decreased charge capacity. Li-ion's have a lifespan of 3 to 5 years--after than, you're gonna get crappy runtime on battery. Good news is li-ions are very recycle-able and non-toxic. I think most major electronics stores accept li-ions for free.
The only issue with stability is that, if you have wi-fi set to "always on" in CM7, sometimes you'll get a SOD (screen of death) after an extended period of sleep. Basically, your screen will fail to turn on--you must force power off and restart the NC. The guaranteed workaround is to set the wi-fi setting to "only when screen is on." You can safely overclock your CPU to 1GHz (+200MHz past stock 800MHz) guaranteed, and 1.2GHz almost guaranteed (I have mine at 1.2GHz, no freezes or crashes at all, and I run Debian chrooted in it currently, which takes a lot of power).
My other concern is more about running apps and what apps will work with the setup I'm planning - which I already know would work on my NC had I not hit the "Low Memory" wall and started all of this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All CM builds can transfer apps' storage location to the external microSD if you wish. I have all my games and non-essential apps on my 32GB class 10 microSD, both on my NC and NT. Again, don't forget, the CM7 build for NC has USB host mode (so if you were really crazy, you could possibly plug in a 3TB+ mechanical harddrive, with a powered hub of course). Don't forget, the Nook Color also has bluetooth (which isn't there on B&N software). I have successfully transferred files between my netbook and my NC via bluetooth (but you have to be within 1 to 2 feet distance lol, unless you tear apart the NC and mod an antenna or something). You can also use an external bluetooth GPS receiver and bluetooth headset. Go look on the NC accessories thread if interested.
Even if I don't use it for this trip, I may change it when I get back to a CM7 sd boot to play with till I'm used to it. Also, I am rooting a NC for a Niece before I leave, and I think I'm going to change tactics and put CM on it instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good idea. Install CM7 on your niece's NC (INTERNALLY :silly: ) and see how you like it. I guarantee you'll like it, and so will she. Since you messed with the partitions, I would suggest you visit the CM7.2 Mirage thread and post if the changes in partition sizes should make any problems with flashing.

Thank you for all this great info! I had read about the SOD issue, but I usually keep my wifi off when not using it, so I'm not too worried about that - it helps battery life some too. Interesting, I hadn't realized lion batts had that limited a lifespan. I haven't noticed a whole lot of change in my own NC's life, but to be honest I haven't looked either. I should.
Regardless, great to know CM is better at battery life.
sagirfahmid3 said:
I have all my games and non-essential apps on my 32GB class 10 microSD, both on my NC and NT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, that brings up the issue of class 2 vs class 10 cards and stability. There are a few threads that have benchmarked SD cards for running CM ROMS and have found the best and most stable - especially for large cards - is a 16 Gb Cl2 SanDisk... it looked by recent discussions that this is still the case, have you noticed this at all? My card is also Cl10, and as of now I think I would want to run CM off of an SD, at least until I'm used to it.
Turns out I didn't mess with my partitions after all. Gotta love computer systems! LOL Turns out the issue was version of stock I was running, and only that. I re-registered, updated to 4.3 stock and all is fine. You would think I would learn one day to read, step away and consider, instead of banging my head against a wall repeatedly. I should have figured it out much sooner, Leapinlar basically spelled it out for the other member who had this problem. And it completely explains the issues I had too. I may end up messing with them correctly again though.
I did not know the NC ended up having a blue tooth after all! I remember the speculation but the teardowns had only begun then and I never followed up on them. Now that IS interesting!
My Niece's on the other hand does have a corrupted partition, but from something she did to it. I think I will flash CM to the emmc, nice idea!

(Qualcomm varient, I believe) [XT1768] Moto E4 - abnormal CPU, very low battery

I apologise in advance if this has already been discussed elsewhere, because I have been unable to find said topic if it exists.
My problem:
I have a Moto E4, bought from Republic Wireless in 2017, shortly after its launch. Up until last week, I have had no serious problems with it. This last week, however, I suddenly have had 50% reduced battery runtime, in addition to noticably slower performance.
After some quick digging, I determined that the culprit is not an app, but the OS (battery stats under settings places "Android System" around 70% of the battery's usage). I installed a CPU monitoring app, and discovered that the CPU speed was stuck at the max 1.4 GHz (it never scaled down) with an idle utilization of 25%. Although I am unable to see the utilization of each of the 4 cores, I believe one of them is running a code loop. Restarts, and cache, app cleaning have had no effect thus far.
As I have done no more digging (I am on vacation and haven't had much time), I would like to know what next steps I should take. I have not performed a factory reset, but it is one of my next options for when I return home.
I do not want to root if I don't have to, but I know how to do so if it's absolutely required.
Thank you in advance, i know this post is lengthy...
~Nup

TheNupster said:
I apologise in advance if this has already been discussed elsewhere, because I have been unable to find said topic if it exists.
My problem:
I have a Moto E4, bought from Republic Wireless in 2017, shortly after its launch. Up until last week, I have had no serious problems with it. This last week, however, I suddenly have had 50% reduced battery runtime, in addition to noticably slower performance.
After some quick digging, I determined that the culprit is not an app, but the OS (battery stats under settings places "Android System" around 70% of the battery's usage). I installed a CPU monitoring app, and discovered that the CPU speed was stuck at the max 1.4 GHz (it never scaled down) with an idle utilization of 25%. Although I am unable to see the utilization of each of the 4 cores, I believe one of them is running a code loop. Restarts, and cache, app cleaning have had no effect thus far.
As I have done no more digging (I am on vacation and haven't had much time), I would like to know what next steps I should take. I have not performed a factory reset, but it is one of my next options for when I return home.
I do not want to root if I don't have to, but I know how to do so if it's absolutely required.
Thank you in advance, i know this post is lengthy...
~Nup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A factory reset is probably the next step if you prefer not to root. Also try to identify the source with a monitoring app like BBS or GSAM (I prefer the latter). You'll need to grant a few extra permissions via ADB on an unrooted device to get the full picture. GSAM walks you through the procedure via the overflow (3 dot) menu. Good luck.

I installed GSAM, used my PC to enable permissions, and checked the app after awhile. Once again, it's showing "Android system" as the main CPU AND battery hog, at over 74.6%. I would attach a picture, if I could figure out how to do it... (Please tell me how, I feel dumb). But that's what I have done this far. When I get home, I'll work on factory resetting it.
However, I am still worried that a factory reset might not fix the problem, since it is with the Android system. If all else fails, would it be possible to reflash the OS? The phone shipped with Republic Wireless software, so I would need the ROM from them..... And I would probably have to ask them for it. But that is only if reset fails to fix my problem. Is a reflash even possible...?

TheNupster said:
I installed GSAM, used my PC to enable permissions, and checked the app after awhile. Once again, it's showing "Android system" as the main CPU AND battery hog, at over 74.6%. I would attach a picture, if I could figure out how to do it... (Please tell me how, I feel dumb). But that's what I have done this far. When I get home, I'll work on factory resetting it.
However, I am still worried that a factory reset might not fix the problem, since it is with the Android system. If all else fails, would it be possible to reflash the OS? The phone shipped with Republic Wireless software, so I would need the ROM from them..... And I would probably have to ask them for it. But that is only if reset fails to fix my problem. Is a reflash even possible...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's the 1768 then the retail firmware should be fine (I'd say preferable even). Unless you need that extra software that is.

After factory resetting my phone, I reinstalled everything. BUT, to my surprise, as soon as I installed Snapchat, the same problem BEGAN HAPPENING AGAIN. I used GSAM, expecting to see Snapchat this time. Yet, it still said Android System was hogging the battery.
So I uninstalled Snapchat.
Surprisingly, the problem ceased to exist.
To be sure, I reinstalled Snapchat. The problem appeared. Uninstalled, problem disappeared.
So it appears that a factory reset might not have been necessary, but I'm wondering what aspect of Snapchat was causing the core overload. Regardless, I am never using Snapchat again, until I hear word of this problem being looked into/fixed. (I did capture and send them a bug report, but that might be of no help regarding this situation)

TheNupster said:
After factory resetting my phone, I reinstalled everything. BUT, to my surprise, as soon as I installed Snapchat, the same problem BEGAN HAPPENING AGAIN. I used GSAM, expecting to see Snapchat this time. Yet, it still said Android System was hogging the battery.
So I uninstalled Snapchat.
Surprisingly, the problem ceased to exist.
To be sure, I reinstalled Snapchat. The problem appeared. Uninstalled, problem disappeared.
So it appears that a factory reset might not have been necessary, but I'm wondering what aspect of Snapchat was causing the core overload. Regardless, I am never using Snapchat again, until I hear word of this problem being looked into/fixed. (I did capture and send them a bug report, but that might be of no help regarding this situation)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you grant permissions (via ADB) to allow GSAM to disambiguate resource consumption on an unrooted device. Try using Greenify to rein in bad app behaviors. Works a treat on rooted devices and *should* be effective on user installed apps if unrooted.

I'll try that. And yes, despite using my laptop to give GSAM permissions, it only showed Android system as using the power. I'll install Snapchat, see if the problem appears again, open GSAM, and give it some time. I'll also install the other app and set that up too.
Between those two, I should be able to determine if Snapchat is causing this issue; and if so, what part is. (Phone is unrooted, because I don't want to void warranty (Motorola needs to give me the key to root, and I don't want to do THAT just yet) so we'll see what happens)

Okay. After extensive testing, the phone has finally "cooled down". Snapchat no longer hogs battery, and now I get more battery life than before this problem even began. I wonder if, somehow, somewhere, a system file became corrupted, instead of Snapchat causing the problem...
Whatever the cause, a full system reset forced the loop to break.
Now I'll use Snapchat (and every other app) with caution now... I have a CPU monitoring app running 24/7 (it uses almost no battery)
Feel free to close this thread

Hight CPU and battery usage on idle system; restarts don't help

I've got a problem with my S8 which is running latest, official, non-rooted XEO firmware. Specifically, it uses battery like crazy and heats up whilst doing nothing. This smells like a virus / malware infection or just... well, the last update was in December 2021 so it's also possible some system component is wonky OR... <shivers> some rootkit? I'm generally rather careful when installing apps, most of which will be coming in from official sources (Google Store) or at least fairly trusted sources.
Every so often I'll get a warning that a system component is using too much CPU and I should restart the phone - which obviously doesn't help at all. Also the battery drain is reported primarily by Android System and System Core (29 and 15% respectively). Battery usage stats generally don't add up because the listings don't add up to 100%. :/
I know the S8 is an old phone... and I know there are probably steps I should take prior to asking here - like a factory reset. But I'm really sceptical of doing a factory reset simply because I've got so much stuff on the phone that, while not impossible to backup, is certainly annoying (authenticator or banking apps for example - and I don't think the standard backup tools like those available from Google or Samsung backup such apps).
So I'd rather try some solutions or methods of dealing with the damned thing without resetting the phone first. Is there anything I can do?

You need to find the root cause. It may be a 3rd party using one or more of the Samsung system apps running under Android services, lol Legend for there are many... all lumped together.
A firewall with logging can help. Karma Firewall is what I use, uses almost no battery. Being rooted you have more options... use them.
Malware is always a possibility.
3rd party apps can cause hell. I don't allow any social media apps on the phone, ever.
Try in safe mode... if things calm down it's likely a 3rd party app. If so start going through the installed apps.
Clear system cache.

blackhawk said:
You need to find the root cause. It may be a 3rd party using one or more of the Samsung system apps running under Android services, lol Legend for there are many... all lumped together.
A firewall with logging can help. Karma Firewall is what I use, uses almost no battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will try that, thanks!
blackhawk said:
Being rooted you have more options... use them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is NON-rooted.
blackhawk said:
Malware is always a possibility.
3rd party apps can cause hell. I don't allow any social media apps on the phone, ever.
Try in safe mode... if things calm down it's likely a 3rd party app. If so start going through the installed apps.
Clear system cache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, safe mode! I'll try that too! Thanks!

Shaamaan said:
Will try that, thanks!
The phone is NON-rooted.
Oh, safe mode! I'll try that too! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about the root thing, my bad.
If you're running on Android 9 or lower Karma Firewall's logging feature is fully active otherwise not. Samsung store>Galaxy Labs> Battery Tracker can be useful.
I use Accubattery's history page to get a quick idea of charge/discharge rates.
I use Device Care>storage>clean as well.
Make sure no cloud apps are running in the background.

Update: in safe mode the phone doesn't heat up and battery usage seems normal. So it's probably some app.
Alas, the firewall wasn't very helpful - it seemed that apps that attempted accessing the internet were your usual suspects - Play Store, One Drive or other sync apps, Vanced.
Any other suggestions on possibly nailing down the culprit?
PS. I've also decided to send Samsung an error report via the Members app - I don't know what their reply times are and I honestly don't expect much from them but who knows? Perhaps they'll come through.

Shaamaan said:
Update: in safe mode the phone doesn't heat up and battery usage seems normal. So it's probably some app.
Alas, the firewall wasn't very helpful - it seemed that apps that attempted accessing the internet were your usual suspects - Play Store, One Drive or other sync apps, Vanced.
Any other suggestions on possibly nailing down the culprit?
PS. I've also decided to send Samsung an error report via the Members app - I don't know what their reply times are and I honestly don't expect much from them but who knows? Perhaps they'll come through.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why other than maybe text messages is anything syncing? Take out the trash and go from there.
The ones that are connecting every minute or more when not open are prime suspects.
Some apps like Brave browser need to be closed out when not in use or they eat battery.
You can also try a hard reboot.

Update!
I left the phone in safe mode overnight. I mean, it seemed like things were better, so at least I'd have a stable phone.
Well, in the morning I was greeted with a severely depleted battery (went from 100 to 40 in the span of 6 hours) and I got the "high CPU usage" warning popup. The phone wasn't as hot to the touch tho.
So... Whatever is going on seems to happen also in safe mode, albeit less often? Or perhaps it's less "severe" where it doesn't heat up the phone but the drain is still there? But since safe mode is affected it's probably NOT an app, right?
At this point I'm completely baffled. Any other ideas?

Shaamaan said:
Update!
I left the phone in safe mode overnight. I mean, it seemed like things were better, so at least I'd have a stable phone.
Well, in the morning I was greeted with a severely depleted battery (went from 100 to 40 in the span of 6 hours) and I got the "high CPU usage" warning popup. The phone wasn't as hot to the touch tho.
So... Whatever is going on seems to happen also in safe mode, albeit less often? Or perhaps it's less "severe" where it doesn't heat up the phone but the drain is still there? But since safe mode is affected it's probably NOT an app, right?
At this point I'm completely baffled. Any other ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hard reset... hold power button until it powers off.
Try temporarily disabling Google play Services at night, see what that does.

OK, I'm baffled. I feel like I didn't really do anything but the phone is now running fine. Battery drain now might be better than ever!
Warms up on usage, obviously, but when idle it's nice and cool and battery drain seems minimal. I'll... leave it for a few days to see how this develops. It's very difficult to tell what the heck's the case here.

Shaamaan said:
OK, I'm baffled. I feel like I didn't really do anything but the phone is now running fine. Battery drain now might be better than ever!
Warms up on usage, obviously, but when idle it's nice and cool and battery drain seems minimal. I'll... leave it for a few days to see how this develops. It's very difficult to tell what the heck's the case here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Retrace what you did. Reason being you may need to do it again. Really most times all you need to do is just "play" with it a bit (a lot). Almost impossible to crash a stock load, so explore and learn by playing with it. You are what you load and download; be careful with 3rd party apps they are the biggest potential hazards.
Once you have a fast, stable OS that's fulfilling its mission, let it be. Don't update or upgrade it.
Updates can and do break Sammy's. This N10+ is still running on Pie, current load is over 2yo. Rock solid stable and it runs like a bat out of hell with minimal maintenance. Security isn't an issue.

blackhawk said:
Retrace what you did. Reason being you may need to do it again. Really most times all you need to do is just "play" with it a bit (a lot). Almost impossible to crash a stock load, so explore and learn by playing with it. You are what you load and download; be careful with 3rd party apps they are the biggest potential hazards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a suspicion this might have been some Samsung app (my bet's on Bixby) since those are likely still able to run in Safe Mode that got updated and then fixed...? Does that make sense?
blackhawk said:
Once you have a fast, stable OS that's fulfilling its mission, let it be. Don't update or upgrade it.
Updates can and do break Sammy's. This N10+ is still running on Pie, current load is over 2yo. Rock solid stable and it runs like a bat out of hell with minimal maintenance. Security isn't an issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm concerned about the last bit. I mean, upgrading to a new Android version is one thing but security updates are common, no?

Shaamaan said:
I have a suspicion this might have been some Samsung app (my bet's on Bixby) since those are likely still able to run in Safe Mode that got updated and then fixed...? Does that make sense?
I'm concerned about the last bit. I mean, upgrading to a new Android version is one thing but security updates are common, no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kill wittle bixby... you read it EULA?☠
It's more than one apk though. Takes a while to optimize a Sammy the first time
Well... if it's set up and used right Android 9 will run securely in the real world. No saving dumb bunnies anyway; they'll still get tagged even with the latest version
The proof is in my hand. Loaded over 2+ years ago and this N10+ UI version 1.5 is running clean like a bat out of hell. If I do get malware I can't erraticate in an hour or so, factory reset and change passwords.
My data is redundantly backed* up 4+ times, plus the onboard SD card used as a data drive. I'm ready to reload right now if I have to...
A malware forced reload is still less trouble than constantly updating and having the updates screw things up. That means more troubleshooting, finding new work arounds and still maybe needing a factory reset on top of all that. No.
Not vaxed either... not buying the hype.
*critical data must be redundantly backed up or sooner or latter it will likely be lost. Never encrypt data drives as you are the most likely to be locked out!

blackhawk said:
Kill wittle bixby... you read it EULA?☠
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I'd love that - but it's a system app and removing those without root is kind of... impossible? I can look into disabling it completely however - I never use it anyway. Since it's not a single app - any chance you got a link to the list of apps that need manual disabling?
Anyway, I'm still getting those damned warnings. The phone isn't constantly hot however, which is some improvement.

Shaamaan said:
Oh I'd love that - but it's a system app and removing those without root is kind of... impossible? I can look into disabling it completely however - I never use it anyway. Since it's not a single app - any chance you got a link to the list of apps that need manual disabling?
Anyway, I'm still getting those damned warnings. The phone isn't constantly hot however, which is some improvement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Package Disabler kills bixby proper.
You can also disable it with an adb edit. That's one of the first things I do.
Bixby is a hot mess best dump along the interstate... like Google Assistant it needs external servers for many of its functions. I may change my mind but it's eula is like eating dry hardtack for breakfast.