[Q] How can I manage background processes? - Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Basically, I went into Settings>Apps>Running and realised I don't want Facebook in there ever unless I actually open the app. I opened the Facebook app Settings and disabled Notifications off. Also Messenger Location Services is off too. Each time I try and kill the process or reboot it comes back.
Things that load that I want to permanently disable unless I actually open the specific app:
Facebook
Maps
Google Play Store

I use Titanium to put a widget on my screen where I can freeze and unfreeze that app. I have done it with maps and some other programs that were aggressive in their communications. Unfreeze them, open and use, refreeze when done.

Thanks grubbster.
Any other options available to me?

Other than ignoring it, you can kill the app each time you close it. There's a developmental setting that shuts down the apps (not sure if it's in Cyanogenmod only or just stock) because it doesn't keep anything in the background. This would close ANY app that's not holding forground view however.

I'll just leave it as it is to be honest. Just thought there was a quick way of doing it similar to how the MSCONFIG utility operates in Windows.

MSCONFIG does that for startup, there are apps that block apps from starting up in android too but those apps need to be running as well which defeats the whole purpose of having plenty of RAM in the first place..
The whole point is Android manages the background apps just fine. Having 2GB of RAM but wanting 1.6GB to be free all the time (200MB used by GPU AFAIK so you are left with 1.8GB) is not the smartest way to manage apps. You want them snappy, in and out and done. Apps sitting in memory doesn't use more power because the RAM is active even as long as it's plugged into the the motherboard.

Related

RANDOM APPS OPEN ALL THE TIME *curses at phone*

Hello XDA, this is my first post. I've had the EVO since launch and I just installed the early rooted Froyo build when it was released but that's irrelevant because this problem was there from the start. I use Advanced Task Killer and see that random apps are opening without my prompting, things like Google Voice, Gmail, Voicemail...very annoying.
On another note I have much more available memory running this unofficial Froyo, even with these apps opening at their will, than I did originally. Thanks for that, XDA.
Since you're rooted, you have two options that I know of.
Download Titanium backup and when you click on the backup/restore tab, you can click on the apps that frequently pop-up in ATK (e.g., voice dialer) and chose to freeze them. This will render the app inoperable. If you have any functional problems you can simply defrost it.
If you find that you're frozen apps are not causing any problems and you don't use them, you can then uninstall them with root explorer (or another file explore with root access).
I have Titanium Backup and didn't know I could do this, thank you very much. is there any way I could stop the apps from opening without rendering them useless?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Get Autostarts. Configure it.
If I download Autostarts, will it stop my apps from opening by themselves even if I use them occasionally?
I know StartupAuditor does, but its a paid app...
Negrito said:
I know StartupAuditor does, but its a paid app...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suppose I'll go for that then
Some of the apps need to be running in order to work as they should. Unless and app is chewing up a lot of CPU you won't notice a drain on the system. A lot of these apps have services that are running constantly so they can poll the system for updates in state, say like receiving a text, call or email. Likely many of the apps are set to auto-refresh so they have to start every so often to complete a task.
ITS FINEEE!!!!
Ok, I am pretty good with computers and electronics but not so much on Android.
But I have done research from people who do know android, and will tell you what to do.
1. Don't use a task killer!!
2. Android is based off of Linux OS.
3. When you turn your phone on and launch Advanced task killer, all of your apps will most likely be "opened" however they are not running.
4. The way the OS works is by technically having all of those apps opened, but they are most likely not wasting CPU or battery, so don't worry about them, thats the way everyone's android device works.
5. Using a task killer is bad, because when you shut down the apps, eventually you will get a lot of force closes, because apps that were supposed to be open were closed and their for not running the way they should.
6. Apparently the OS runs better with more apps open, however its not like windows mobile where if you have 3 apps running at once, it will make the phone slower. Android is designed to have all apps "opened" Again it does not mean they are running.
However,
If you notice that a certain app is hogging CPU or causing poor battery life, delete it, but if you really need the app, then you can use the task killer to kill that app.
And no if used a task killer, your phone will not be ruined or anything.
Hope this helps.
agreed, don't use a task killer, they are essentially useless and just end up causing problems on the evo
What your seeing is most likely the app 'process' so it will actually work correctly.

Apps keep opening in background

I have a lot of apps opening up in the background on their own and eating up my memory. Things like qik, skype, city id, vz navigator open on their own even though I barely use them, if at all. My free memory keeps dropping down to around 30mb. Is there anything I can do?
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
The best remedy I came up with was rooting my phone, and then installing Titanium Backup and Autostarts. Titanium can freeze the apps you never want to use like some of the crapware that comes preinstalled. For the apps that you do use, but don't want automatically opening all the time, you can use Autostarts to choose which conditions must be met for the app to open, or not open in this case. For both of those applications, you need to be rooted, and unfortunately that's the only way I know of to stop some of the apps you mentioned (especially Skype and CityID).
You can root to remove the bloatware, but that's it. Also, memory on android isn't the same as on a PC. With a PC, clear memory means a faster system, but the opposite is true for android. Because of the way it manages applications, you want to keep the memory as full as possible.
mlclm said:
You can root to remove the bloatware, but that's it. Also, memory on android isn't the same as on a PC. With a PC, clear memory means a faster system, but the opposite is true for android. Because of the way it manages applications, you want to keep the memory as full as possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
dwray said:
The best remedy I came up with was rooting my phone, and then installing Titanium Backup and Autostarts. Titanium can freeze the apps you never want to use like some of the crapware that comes preinstalled. For the apps that you do use, but don't want automatically opening all the time, you can use Autostarts to choose which conditions must be met for the app to open, or not open in this case. For both of those applications, you need to be rooted, and unfortunately that's the only way I know of to stop some of the apps you mentioned (especially Skype and CityID).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the answer. There is a difference in night and day with my X since installed Autostarts and Fission.
If you install Autostarts and use Advanced Task Killer you will be able to kill the apps and they won't continue to run/open in the background. It's extremely worth it.
wad3g said:
This is the answer. There is a difference in night and day with my X since installed Autostarts and Fission.
If you install Autostarts and use Advanced Task Killer you will be able to kill the apps and they won't continue to run/open in the background. It's extremely worth it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Search android task killers on these forums. Then listen to the posts and let android do its thing.
Task killers bog down the system because these apps are shut down while attempting to do something (sync, send data, etc). The app then realizes that it needs to complete the process and restarts. This continues over and over hogging your cpu resources and slowing down the system.
Stop paying attention to the free memory and open apps. This is not an iPhone.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
AdhvanIt said:
Search android task killers on these forums. Then listen to the posts and let android do its thing.
Task killers bog down the system because these apps are shut down while attempting to do something (sync, send data, etc). The app then realizes that it needs to complete the process and restarts. This continues over and over hogging your cpu resources and slowing down the system.
Stop paying attention to the free memory and open apps. This is not an iPhone.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except you can put exceptions into what apps to kill.
EtherBoo said:
Except you can put exceptions into what apps to kill.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read this
http://geekfor.me/faq/you-shouldnt-be-using-a-task-killer-with-android/
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
AdhvanIt said:
Search android task killers on these forums. Then listen to the posts and let android do its thing.
Task killers bog down the system because these apps are shut down while attempting to do something (sync, send data, etc). The app then realizes that it needs to complete the process and restarts. This continues over and over hogging your cpu resources and slowing down the system.
Stop paying attention to the free memory and open apps. This is not an iPhone.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're missing the point. Autostarts doesn't allow the app to start in the first place so it doesn't bog down the system or hog resources.
Correct me if I'm wrong but is it not Gingerbread that has added the addition of a task killer.
It's not about the free memory, my phone runs faster. I can tell a difference.
It's possible we may be talking about different things.
I'm pretty sure closing Angry Birds when it's still open because I Home Screen buttoned out of it won't make a big difference.
If you're referring to closing services while they're running, it's a different story. I skimmed through the article, it looks interesting, but I honestly fail to see how closing an app that's running... even one that might be doing something I don't want it to (like using GPS because it didn't close when I back-arrowed out of it).
When I bought my phone, I installed Weather Bug. Weather Bug kept trying to get my GPS location while I was at work. My phone barely made it through work. Anytime I checked the weather, I had to close the program through a task killer, or I'd have no battery because the phone was trying to use my GPS all day.
How does not closing that save my battery?
EtherBoo said:
It's possible we may be talking about different things.
I'm pretty sure closing Angry Birds when it's still open because I Home Screen buttoned out of it won't make a big difference.
If you're referring to closing services while they're running, it's a different story. I skimmed through the article, it looks interesting, but I honestly fail to see how closing an app that's running... even one that might be doing something I don't want it to (like using GPS because it didn't close when I back-arrowed out of it).
When I bought my phone, I installed Weather Bug. Weather Bug kept trying to get my GPS location while I was at work. My phone barely made it through work. Anytime I checked the weather, I had to close the program through a task killer, or I'd have no battery because the phone was trying to use my GPS all day.
How does not closing that save my battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not a valid comparison. The android system manages apps, but it doesn't monitor everything that they're doing to prevent a runaway (like weatherbug). Actually read the article, then comment on it. And you do know you can turn gps off, right?
I happen to like GPS, and as long as I don't have any runaways, it doesn't drain battery since it's not used.
I'm just saying, for programs like that, Task Killers are great.
I'll read it tomorrow most likely.
I tried Watchdog and a few other task killers before finally shelling out the money for the full version of Titanium. I found that often times, the biggest cpu hog and battery killer was the task killer itself since it has to be constantly running in the background. For apps that you use on a regular basis, the best remedy for saving battery life is to just change the update interval period. By default, a lot of widgets (especially weather) update every 15 minutes, which can be a little tasking on system resources at times. I set mine to 1 hour and that helped tremendously. The main reason I went to the full version of Titanium is because it accomplishes what task killers can't by freezing apps to deny their access to open at all. Instead of removing the bloatware like CityID, VZ Navigator, and others, which will keep your phone from receiving OTA updates, just freeze them and you'll never have to worry about them. Autostarts takes care of the rest for me by allowing full control over the condition changes on the device which trigger certain applications to open. For example, I may use Google goggles occassionally, but I don't want it to automatically open in the background just because I enabled GPS. Before rooting my phone, I would normally average between 14 to 18 hours on moderate usage (with a task killer running I might add). Now, with those two applications managing things more meticulously, and chaning the update interval for all of my widgets, I get around 30 to 36 hours easily.

Not really able to multitask due to constant low memory situation?

Hi,
I don't think this is limited to my device so I am asking here. Are you guys really able to multitask on your devices? On mine I start the web browser then I switch over a couple of apps and when I try to go bqck to the browser it gets launched all over again. Of course it remembers all the pages I have opened but they get reloaded. The same happens to other apps all the time. That drives me crazy. I installed an app called System Panel that I used to have on my HTC Desire and it shows that there are a lot of background services running and out of 700 megs of RAM it's only 50-80 free memory. Among those running apss there are services of widgets that I have never used like AP widget, world clocks, Yahoo finance, samsung hubs and etc. That's insane that such stuff occupies memory while apps that I really use gets killed so eagerly. Is there any way to improve on this behavior? My HTC desire seems to handle more apps at once than my GalTab :O
Marcin
Sent from my GT-P7500 using Tapatalk
I'm with you about the browser. So irritating that pages are reloaded when you leave the browser. I put starburst ROM on mine so I'm not sure if that took care of the RAM issues, but the reloading browser is pure fail. (BTW- I use dolphin for pad and it's the same).
I guess it's more a matter of the OS killing background apps to retain memory than the app behavior.
In Android an app(it's called an Activity) cannot forbid the operating system from killing it when the OS decides to. An app can only gets notified about the event of being killed to persist its state to be able to restore it later. And the browser does that.
What the problem really is here is that because of a lot of bloatware(including background services of Samsung hubs, Yahoo widget, Associated Press widget) running in background the OS is not having enough memory to keep the user apps runinng. So soon afther an app is put into background it gets killed to make space in memory for other apps.
And as far as I know killing thresholds for available memory are set to around 56 MB. And this happens to be around how much free memory is available for most of the time. So it makes any app put in background to be killed almost immediately. This makes the OS that is supposed to have an edge over iOS in terms of multitasking to be in fact able to run a single app at a time
And ifor example my HTC desire that runs vanilla Android 2.3.4 (Oxygen) seems to run with close to 200 MBs (out of 576MB built in according to the specs) of free RAM during normal operation. I do not use any task killers or any similiar tools. This makes the OS to easily handle multiple apps in background.
So, the question becomes: "how do we [permanently] kill all those background bloatware processes?"
freeze them with titanium backup
U guys realize it only reloads browser pages if u back out or hit the home button right? X the tabs out and ur browser will not do this
The only app that ever shows me the low memory msg is logmein ignition
Sent from my GT-P7510 using XDA Premium App
This is not really what we are talking about here. Try it this way. Open any page in a browser. GMail for instance. Log in and leave it this way. Now open the task switcher and go to some other app (e.g. Tapatalk). Navigate through some other apps and then select the task switcher and try to go back to your browser. You will notice that it was shut down silently and now it's started again. All previously open pages will be reloaded at this point. On my HTC Desire using the same scenario I end up with a web browser screen restored with the already open page not being reloaded. It even remembers what part of the page I scrolled down to.
bandit_knight said:
This is not really what we are talking about here. Try it this way. Open any page in a browser. GMail for instance. Log in and leave it this way. Now open the task switcher and go to some other app (e.g. Tapatalk). Navigate through some other apps and then select the task switcher and try to go back to your browser. You will notice that it was shut down silently and now it's started again. All previously open pages will be reloaded at this point. On my HTC Desire using the same scenario I end up with a web browser screen restored with the already open page not being reloaded. It even remembers what part of the page I scrolled down to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the honeycomb memory management system is doing its job and freeing up memory when the browser is in the background idle. You are complaining?
bluskye said:
So the honeycomb memory management system is doing its job and freeing up memory when the browser is in the background idle. You are complaining?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it does not really. I just rebooted my device and noticed that now I can switch between tasks without having the one that I've just put into background immediatelly killed. Also after the reboot there is around 300 MB of free RAM compared to 50 MB thad I had after a few days of use. Also the entire device feels way more snappy now. Doesn't it look like a memory leak?
I have not seen this problem - can have many things running and still have close to 100mb memory free. Doesn't seem to have got worse from a few weeks usage, either. But I have noticed some running processes that I have never even opened, which is strange. Solution is definitely to root and then freeze the things you don't need, but personally I am not going to do this as my memory seems fine. You could try taking off certain widgets and not running certain programs after reboot to see if one thing in particular causes a big memory drain. Social Hubs? I have never even opened this as it caused a mess on my Samsung phone.

Running apps without launch

Hello guys, ive juz got my iconia a few days ago.. its my first time using android. Its relatively new to me compared to apple. Ive notice that a few apps is running without me opening e application. is tis normal? ive tried to force close.. but after awhile it comes back up n running again?
What apps?
Wysłano z Acer A500
burnout69 said:
Hello guys, ive juz got my iconia a few days ago.. its my first time using android. Its relatively new to me compared to apple. Ive notice that a few apps is running without me opening e application. is tis normal? ive tried to force close.. but after awhile it comes back up n running again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Generally speaking, yes, this is normal.
Those apps are put into standby and some apps run automatically like Systemupdater, Acer Sync etc... Other apps, like Photo Browser 3D, nemoPlayer, even Maps etc - will start but not in the sense of 'start' like we would think. They are ready states (as I understand them) and in some cases will stay ready or swap out when resources are getting light and the OS needs more headroom.
"By default, every application runs in its own Linux process. Android starts the process when any of the application's components need to be executed, then shuts down the process when it's no longer needed or when the system must recover memory for other applications."
So even if you don't launch and application manually, it could easy start up on it own if a component of it was executed (on some level).
It is not recommended to force-close applications unless the application is causing problems - in which case, uninstalling it is the better option.
gammaRascal said:
Generally speaking, yes, this is normal.
Those apps are put into standby and some apps run automatically like Systemupdater, Acer Sync etc... Other apps, like Photo Browser 3D, nemoPlayer, even Maps etc - will start but not in the sense of 'start' like we would think. They are ready states (as I understand them) and in some cases will stay ready or swap out when resources are getting light and the OS needs more headroom.
"By default, every application runs in its own Linux process. Android starts the process when any of the application's components need to be executed, then shuts down the process when it's no longer needed or when the system must recover memory for other applications."
So even if you don't launch and application manually, it could easy start up on it own if a component of it was executed (on some level).
It is not recommended to force-close applications unless the application is causing problems - in which case, uninstalling it is the better option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes those r the apps that has been running.. tried closing them by using android task manager.. for a moment it will juz start again..by uninstalling them, wats the risks of running my other apps? will it caused any problems?
burnout69 said:
yes those r the apps that has been running.. tried closing them by using android task manager.. for a moment it will juz start again..by uninstalling them, wats the risks of running my other apps? will it caused any problems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I (though others would say the opposite) do not recommend uninstalling anything that came preloaded with the tablet. Both for stability reasons and future updates - if however you're really REALLY obsessing over getting back a dozen megabytes of allocated memory from those minor apps then you're going to have to go the whole long road down root avenue and backing up those applications etc ad nauseam. You can get all the info you need throughout the forum.
My advice is, don't worry about those native apps running in the background - if the OS needs more resources it will manage them on it's own. It's not like Windows where you can kill running programs or processes willy-nilly from the task manager when you want to free up memory - in Android, the OS does this as it sees fit, on its own. If it wants more juice, it will make more juice available to itself.
I had the same issues.. a quick fix i ran was to root my tablet and install "bloat freezer" from the market.
it simply stops the processes from running, so your not un-installing them just stopping them from running, Im now seeing my free ram running at appx 65% free at any time which is much better than before.
If i do want to use skype or whatever i simply unfreeze them and freeze them again when finished..
hope this helps..
<edit>
just to let you know i have frozen all of the acer bundled apps
Freezing apps is an option. I don't do that so I have no experienced opinion as far as that goes.
i agree with gamma
These apps are not really running. They are connected to context menues.like when younare in camera app and you click the share image menus.you will see the apps that can share the image such at Facebook Picasso dropbox and so on.these are the apps setting in static mode.I know in nor totally correct but its the closes I can do to describe.if your statement needs the memory or CPU cycles these apps might be using it will shut them down..I have tested this theory by launching many apps and logging processes.
task killers running in the background work against the built in memory and resources management's.
Good luck.if im wrong anyone please correct the post.just do so nicely
Don't make the blonde geeky chic cry giggles
yyiinn said:
I had the same issues.. a quick fix i ran was to root my tablet and install "bloat freezer" from the market.
it simply stops the processes from running, so your not un-installing them just stopping them from running, Im now seeing my free ram running at appx 65% free at any time which is much better than before.
If i do want to use skype or whatever i simply unfreeze them and freeze them again when finished..
hope this helps..
<edit>
just to let you know i have frozen all of the acer bundled apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That does freeze those apps.but if the system needed that ram it would do the same.it gives foreground ape priority.if that or those apps need the resources.the system will kill the lowest priority apps.
Of course thee are some rogue apps that do not play fair.if you find them then uninstall.I use advanced task killer.but never let it run in background.just can launch it lookat what's running. Then close it it will not restart itself
I understand the memory management. But i would rather applications especially skype to run when i want and not as the system see's fit. Social jogger was another culprit they were my biggest bug bears..
yyiinn said:
I understand the memory management. But i would rather applications especially skype to run when i want and not as the system see's fit. Social jogger was another culprit they were my biggest bug bears..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can freeze those apps with titanium backup.just remember to unfreeze before you do OTA. update
yyiinn said:
I understand the memory management. But i would rather applications especially skype to run when i want and not as the system see's fit. Social jogger was another culprit they were my biggest bug bears..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those apps are not running. The may be started at boot but only partially, then they are "paused" and cached for quicker loading if needed.
Android does an awesome job at memory management and will kill apps when it needs more ram.
I dont like it either since i dont use social jogger, nemo player, acer sync and many more so you have two options
If you are rooted flash a rom without all that crap in it.
Or
Use a file manager with root access and file manipulation like 'rootexplorer' and rename those files so they wont run.
I rename them to socialjogger.apk.bak
Just adding the .bak to the filename is enough.
But dont piss around you can smoke the tablet and have to do a factory reset via recovery if you mess with the wrong file.
Just post a list of thing you wish to remove and we will be happy to let you know whats ok or not.
Oh and btw... the ipad runs a crap ton of stuff in the bckground too, apple jst desnt show you like android does.
Sent from my unknown using Tapatalk

[Q] Suspended or Closed?

Hi,
I likes to use Weather and twitter,FB apps of Win8.But hot to close them after opening them?I have to go to Task manager to kill them.
When i go to task manager there was Suspended written in left side of Application name.
What does it indicate?
What is difference between Suspend & Killing??
Sorry for Bad English
My basic understanding is that it is sort of like a mobile OS (Android, iOS...). Suspended apps are kept in RAM for quick resume but not actively processed. They can also be cleared from memory automatically as soon as it is needed for something else. In theory, you shouldn't have to worry about it, just let it do it's own thing. In practice, task manager is there if something goes wrong.
Correct, Supended apps are held in memory, but they do not use any processor nor do they have any effect on battery life. Very effecient way of multitasking like Windows Phone 7.5.
someone tweeted about it to Sam Moreau in channel9.
and he explained people have to stop thinking about "closing" an app and have to close apps to get your computer work fast. of course they have to tweak it.
and difference with killing, its apps are suspended so they eat some memory but its not like it will kill your memory.
with all apps suspended and all, still I use like 10-15% less memory than windows 7. which is amazing
This is not completely true. Several days ago, I was playing with Windows 8 and I have noticed that it got significantly slower. So I opened a task manager and weather app was using 60% of the CPU. In background. I am not sure, what was doing but I guess that it was drawing weather animation?
Also another drawback is that you cannot control what is in "app switching menu". You just have to keep sliding apps to the right and hope that you find one you are looking for. Apps you don't need don't close and apps you do need might suspend/close.
matejdro said:
This is not completely true. Several days ago, I was playing with Windows 8 and I have noticed that it got significantly slower. So I opened a task manager and weather app was using 60% of the CPU. In background. I am not sure, what was doing but I guess that it was drawing weather animation?
Also another drawback is that you cannot control what is in "app switching menu". You just have to keep sliding apps to the right and hope that you find one you are looking for. Apps you don't need don't close and apps you do need might suspend/close.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But its because its Dev Preview. and remember these apps are just place holders to have something to show in windows 8. its not like they will be there in the end, since they aren't optimized for example.
so the point is... you will not have to close the app. but since its a dev preview it will have problems. sometimes i cant even type here in IE desktop because it gets slow i guess for the spellchecker. and it wont stay that way in the end, they are fixing all this stuff, adding new features and making awesome apps for stuff like photos, people, messenger hub. stuff like that. but these apps you see like [email protected] and weather are just placeholders.
also developers have to optimize everything for their apps.
and the apps switching is for tablets, the swipe thing. you only click on the left of your screen and it goes to next app. if you pause a second and click again you will go back to your last app. also you can use scroll wheel. and alt+tab and win+tab. and ctrl+win+tab, ctrl+alt+tab.
so you don't have to think these apps you got in dev preview are going to be in RTM or beta. and apps will not be optimized to run nicely (like they do in WP7).
this OS needs work and it will have alot of bugs.

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