Database Users

Advanced Task Killer Questions please

Hi
Ive just got this app (really to save myself some battery time)
On launching for the first time it presents me with a whole bunch of stuff including my clocks
Now i'm sure this maybe a pretty dumb question but if i kill the htc clock App will that stop the time and weather updating correctly? (i have my weather set to update hourly) and also if i kill any app like K-9 or Peep (that i have an update schedule set for) will it stop that schedule till i manually launch the app again or will it auto launch when it reaches the sheduled update time?
Sorry for the (potentially) stupid questions
Cheers

The only thing you're going to achieve with using a task killer, is lowering performance and causing even worse battery drain. If that's what you want to do, fine, but otherwise, I wouldn't bother if I were you.
Here's why:
Android's memory management is nothing like Windows Mobile. Applications you've finished with are MEANT to stay in memory until they really are completely finished with, and just because YOU aren't using them, doesn't mean the phone has. If they've been inactive long enough, or some other program needs the RAM, Android will tidily close them down.
If you close them prematurely, then Android will have to load them back up again, so that whatever was using said program's services, can continue to function. This noticeably affects phone performance, and puts an extra load on your battery. Do you REALLY want to do that?
I'm not using any task killers, and my phone runs great, and battery is up to 2.5 days.

Hmm interesting, i might try that, im killing all instantly and repeately, thanks for the tip

FloatingFatMan said:
The only thing you're going to achieve with using a task killer, is lowering performance and causing even worse battery drain. If that's what you want to do, fine, but otherwise, I wouldn't bother if I were you.
Here's why:
Android's memory management is nothing like Windows Mobile. Applications you've finished with are MEANT to stay in memory until they really are completely finished with, and just because YOU aren't using them, doesn't mean the phone has. If they've been inactive long enough, or some other program needs the RAM, Android will tidily close them down.
If you close them prematurely, then Android will have to load them back up again, so that whatever was using said program's services, can continue to function. This noticeably affects phone performance, and puts an extra load on your battery. Do you REALLY want to do that?
I'm not using any task killers, and my phone runs great, and battery is up to 2.5 days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats correct.
I installed it on the phone, and the battery was empty the same night
Uninstalled it, and all works fine now.
Greetz.

would an app like task panel work?
you can add apps that are system apps etc to the ignore list and have apps such as games on the force to kill list or is it just best not to have any task killer apps installed at all?
its strange that there are so many task killer apps and its bad to run on your device. There must be some reason as to why there is an app for this purpose?

ragmanchu said:
would an app like task panel work?
you can add apps that are system apps etc to the ignore list and have apps such as games on the force to kill list or is it just best not to have any task killer apps installed at all?
its strange that there are so many task killer apps and its bad to run on your device. There must be some reason as to why there is an app for this purpose?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They exist, because people think memory management on Android works like it does on Windows Mobile. It doesn't, and never has. Think if it like the so called "memory manager" tools you can get for XP that claim to be able to free all your RAM and speed up your system... Every single one of them is nothing but a placebo designed to part you from your cash, and often end up CAUSING problems, just like task killers on Android do.
Avoid them.

FloatingFatMan said:
They exist, because people think memory management on Android works like it does on Windows Mobile. It doesn't, and never has. Think if it like the so called "memory manager" tools you can get for XP that claim to be able to free all your RAM and speed up your system... Every single one of them is nothing but a placebo designed to part you from your cash, and often end up CAUSING problems, just like task killers on Android do.
Avoid them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guess thats a good enough reply lol

task killers can work fine, but you need to know what is running and what is using it.
for example, if you have the music widget on the homescreens, then the music player process will be opne in the background.
likewise friendstream will keep people, facebook and twitter open in the background.
if you kill those processes, they will just get opened again.
As long as you are careful, using task managers will not decrease battery life, you just need to know how to use them properly. randomly killing everything in the background is NOT the way to do it.
and you should never close clock if you want your alarm clock to actually go off!!

Might be worth making a list of what apps should be ignored and what apps can be forced killed?
When i had an app killer installed, i used to only force kill games and sat nav apps, the rest i asked it to ignore but after reading this thread, i decided to delete the app killer app =)

Ive put a bunch of stuff like clock, weather, Peep and facebook etc on the ignore list and have used the task killer to only kill off frivolous apps like Spark (for xbox friends) streamfurious, photos etc...Nothing Major!
I unhooked my phone from the power at 7:30 am on the 13th April, its now 16:36 on the 14th april and it still has 30% of the juice left, and i always have wifi and mobile data connection on too...phone is always left on with facebook connecting ever 4 hrs and peep once a day and mail set for every 2 hrs (besides which i do check and update them manually a couple of times a day)
I'll try all this without task killer installed and test how long the phone can run before charging
As you say, it could well be a combination of the battery coming up to speed and a placebo effect.
However, surely it cant do more harm than good to kill an app like Spark !
However, im no Phone Genius so im sure someone will soon tell me that im completely wrong
But so far so good....like i said, ill test things without task killer installed

I've stopped using the task killer now and my battery life has improved very noticably.

oursoul said:
I've stopped using the task killer now and my battery life has improved very noticably.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im not so sure about this.
im using a task killer when i want to close the browser or something using internet, as we all know internet drains a lot of battery and even if the browser or market is in the background it still probably has some active connections = draining battery

cez10 said:
im using a task killer when i want to close the browser or something using internet, as we all know internet drains a lot of battery and even if the browser or market is in the background it still probably has some active connections = draining battery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to close fast the browser or any app, you should have a try at taskOS and launch it with the search key whenever you want...

Binned this app in favour of Juice defender, my new battery saving app of choice, seems to be working as it should too...nice

profete162 said:
If you want to close fast the browser or any app, you should have a try at taskOS and launch it with the search key whenever you want...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but then that works pretty much like a task killer
can anyone correct me about the apps i.e. browser using internet while not active(in background) is this true or not? of course having the sync/updates turned off

Task killers can be handy for those times when apps seem to have crashed but aren't forcing close. for example, i've had times where ebuddy just doesn't want to even try to sign in. Task kill it. Try again. all is well. And last my internet browser wouldn't let me click any buttons. Again, killed it - restarted - all is ok.

I've had to use such an app countless of times due to unwanted/unneeded apps running, hanging FCs and black screens, checking/closing net related or sensor using apps, and numerous times when 300KB apps wouldn't install citing 'low memory' when I have more than 70MB free, but it was the RAM being near full causing FCs in apps like Market, and halting the installs. I only use Androids built-in TaskPanel widget for this though. Everything routine is set over to the ignore list so that I don't accidently hit and close that (single hit closes the app). Additionally I use this app to check and to switch to an opened application that is running (when it's not in the recent list).
Sent from my HTC Desire using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

profete162 said:
If you want to close fast the browser or any app, you should have a try at taskOS and launch it with the search key whenever you want...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the route I've taken naturally. I'm using jkAppSwitch on my longpress search key, mainly used for switching but can be used to kill problem apps.
Full task killers are being proven to be useless on the Desire.

I would recommend using an app that monitors the cpu usage(watchdog etc.). This way your can see which apps put a drain on your phone.

Thank you for the information. But I do notice a considerable improvement in battery power with Advanced Task Killer.
I hope someone can provide me an answer.

Task killer = bad?

2 guys in the n1 section here gave me these articles during a converstation i was having with them. i havent read them yet becuase im at work, but it sounds interesting. ive never heard anyone say this before. im going to try it out.
discuss?
http://geekfor.me/faq/you-shouldnt-be-using-a-task-killer-with-android/
http://androidspin.com/2010/05/25/why-you-dont-need-a-task-killer-app-with-android/

I think it is more user preference, they can cause issues. I use mine often and would not be without it.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

Automated task killers (as opposed to something like SystemPanel which is just a convenient way to kill running processes) are bad. They hearken back to 1.x versions of Android which had poorer process/memory management.
Just say no.

I've downloaded a task manager that shows the CPU usage, and even with a ton of things open (browser, etc) most of them show 0% unless i go reopen them. and i havent killed any tasks since yesterday.

elborak said:
Automated task killers (as opposed to something like SystemPanel which is just a convenient way to kill running processes) are bad. They hearken back to 1.x versions of Android which had poorer process/memory management.
Just say no.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. I use a manual one, and have excluded apps that I know cause problems when they are killed (e.g., contact-specific ringtones don't sound if People is not running). Mostly that is system apps and stuff that comes on the phone; I haven't taken the time yet to prune HTC apps that I don't use (and you must be careful with some of those, too).
But I rarely have to use it. I usually have >200MB free RAM, and the phone is responsive. I don't think I'd need it at all if more apps had exit buttons, but it seems that few do.

Must Have Apps

So I just picked up a pair of evo's yesterday.
I got my fiance a white one and me a black one.
I'm new to the whole android scene but not to the hacking scene. I came from the palm pre which lets face it sucks if you don't hack it.
But I was wondering what are some must have apps and/or widgets for the evo.
For me and my fiance alike.
I got a task killer and sms popup and some stuff like that. But what else is there that is going to really make this phone shine?
Let me know. OH and I got the xda app so don't worry about suggesting it lol
And I've used xda in the past with my old windows mobile dash/exaclibur. It's a great community.

Please use the Q&A section. It's there for a reason.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

If someone would be kind enough to move this for me that would be awesome. I didn't see that question and answers thread at the time of posting this. My bad.

Just do some research.
Task killers are a no no.
There are 70,000 apps to choose from, to each their own. Check out appbrain.com for reviews etc.

redditor01 said:
Please use the Q&A section. It's there for a reason.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[sarcasm] excellent response, junior [/sarcasm]
For one, give up on the task killers now. They are redundant and do more harm than good. Task killers are good for one thing in an android device, closing a problem app. Android does a great job of managing tasks all on its own.
My must haves:
Handcent (be sure to disable notifications in the stock messaging app)
Audio Manager
DocsToGo
Root Explorer
Google Earth
Google Voice (I use it for vvm only)
Dropbox
Pandora
Shazam
System Panel
ShootMe
Wireless Tether for Root Users (now in the market )

What's wrong with task killers? I'll take it off cause I trust you guys but just wondering what is the problem with them?

Barcode Scanner
Apps Organizer - Put apps in folders instead of having one long list
Systray Monitor - See percentage of battery left in toolbar
LED Desire Light - lets you use the flash for your camera as a flash light
Google Sky Map
Dolphin Browser - better browser
Shazam - recognizes songs
Pandora
Music Junk - can find just about any song

guitarjockey said:
What's wrong with task killers? I'll take it off cause I trust you guys but just wondering what is the problem with them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do some searching, you will find plenty of good reading on the subject. You may even start in one of the older device forums, there was a lot of discussion on the subject in the CDMA Hero section.
Android manages it's ram and it does it quite well. A task killer is just another app that is always running, it's completely unnecessary and if you don't set it up right you might be killing stuff that you need.
If you want more detail than that I'm sure it will be VERY easy to find..
@xHausx, fwiw I used to be a huge fan of SysTray Monitor but I learned it runs rampant and uses more juice than it deserves. Unless they have updated it to perform more efficiently I had to drop that one from my must haves list when I had my Hero.

I use a task killer and have had good results with it, I just have it ignore everything except stuff I know is not needed and kill it when I am done. If you kill everything stuff will be constantly restarting and draining your battery

nebenezer got most of the must have apps. However, one app you MUST get is AppBrain. Its also a website. What it does is you go to www.appbrain.com, log in with your gmail account, get the app from the android market and then you can surf the Android market through a web browser and select which apps you want. Then go to your phone, open AppBrain, select Manage my apps, and sync. Then you can install all the apps that you just saw on your PC. Very handy and much easier than surfing the entire market on your phone.
Basically, you will want a file explorer like Root Explorer (only useful if you are rooted (which I recommend you do)), Astro File Manager, ect.
If you dont like the Sense UI that comes with your HTC Evo or if you would like to try something else, some other home applications are available. My fav is LauncherPro but another great one is ADW.Launcher. These apps replace your entire home screen and interface with highly customizable interfaces that can be themed and tailored to your expectations.
The stock music app sucks imo. doubleTwist is a great player to replace it until we get froyo.
Another must is Screebl Lite. This app detects how you are holding your phone and will prevent the screen from sleeping until you set it down so that its resting at a 90* angle or a 180* angle and with this you can have the phone's timer set very low to allow for excellent power savings. Mine's set at 15 sec so when Im reading something on the internet, I dont have to keep tapping my screen so that the screen wont dim, turn off, and lock on me.
Here is the list of Apps I use a lot and are must haves for me:
Barcode Scanner
Torrent-fu
Gmail Unread Count
Screebl Lite
doubleTwist Player
Handcent SMS
Dropbox
AppBrain App Market
Pandora Radio
AudioManager Widget
Engadget
ASTRO FileManager
Gmote 2.0 <~ Very cool app if you like to watch stuff on your PC from your bed or couch.
Places Directory
SwitchPro Widget
LauncherPro Beta
XDA
System
Lastly, the whole speculation on task killers is kinda iffy. Some ppl think that killing tasks hurts the battery cause the apps will just then have to restart and that uses more CPU cycles than just leaving it running in the background, and in theory they are right. With a stock, unrooted, HTC Evo, you are going to have bloatware constantly restarting if you use a taskkiller. I used one anyways cause I multitask like a champ and when I finished my session, I ended it with a task killer and then locked my phone and went about my business. Now, what you need to do is pay for and use a program called 'System'. Its amazing. It will show you all the apps running in the foreground, background, system apps, and user set excluded apps. System shows how much CPU time apps are using and how much of a drain it puts on your battery for a period of time which is set by you, the user. It can monitor and show apps that eat battery like a fat kid at mcdonalds. With System, you can add apps to an "excluded" list so that they arnt killed when you run the taskkiller. Very handy app.
Hope this helps. tl;dr.

xHausx said:
I use a task killer and have had good results with it, I just have it ignore everything except stuff I know is not needed and kill it when I am done. If you kill everything stuff will be constantly restarting and draining your battery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should definitely check out an app called autostarts, you'd probably like it
HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN TO MENTION LauncherPro?????
so embarrassing

Best method for task killing

So since 2.2 I hear you shouldn't use a task killer. What's the best method you take to end tasks?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Let the kernel do the work. Updated stocks are pretty good, but I like Netarchy's kernels better.

Suicide_Evo said:
So since 2.2 I hear you shouldn't use a task killer. What's the best method you take to end tasks?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The way that 2.2 manages memory makes having a task killer almost unnecessary. However, you might want to keep one handy just in case you get one of those buggy apps that keeps on draining your battery or makes the phone unstable. I personally use SystemPanel app: nice interface and monitoring options for battery life, history, uninstaller and backup-to-sdcard (archive).

Why would you ever want a task killer?

I would like more input on this. I ditched them on my Hero back when I ran CM6, mainly due to the fact that they actually slowed that phone down!
But it seems on the Evo, killing tasks seems to save much more battery life. Or am I just dreaming?...

I have stopped using a task killer since going to 2.2 and have never looked back.

ImmortalLuD said:
I would like more input on this. I ditched them on my Hero back when I ran CM6, mainly due to the fact that they actually slowed that phone down!
But it seems on the Evo, killing tasks seems to save much more battery life. Or am I just dreaming?...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're dreaming.

Keep a passive task killer around if you like that you can use to kill programs that go completely nuts. E.g. use it to kill a game or app that has locked up or just isn't working right. A passive task killer is one that doesn't actively go searching for apps to kill on its own - one that you must manually tell to kill an app.
If you like, I suggest you try Watchdog Lite from the Market. It occasionally checks your phone for programs that are gobbling up tons of CPU time that may be an indicator that an app isn't running correctly. It still won't actively kill the app though; it just warns you and lets you choose to kill it.
Task killers with Android 2.2 are usually a dumb idea. 2.2 does not have a traditional "kill" command like earlier versions of Android. In 2.2, the same command that would have killed an app is now just a restart command. Instead of the app dying and going away, the app dies and then restarts all over which uses up lots of extra CPU cycles to restart the app. It's only going to save you battery if the app in question has gone haywire.

If anything, get an app like Autostarts that lets you control when apps are allowed to start.

I have systempanel lite.. gives you some nice OS info also gives you a widget to kill apps on demand. I don't use it much but sometimes if I feel my phone is getting a little sluggish. You can exclude all the htc/system/gmail apps etc from being killed. But I agree, do not have a task manager running all the time.

SystemPanel is great. Aside from being a task manager it also is a system monitor and is very helpful in tracking down problematic apps and system processes.
Autostarts is also great, I have mine configured so pretty much NOTHING runs without my say so.
Hot Reboot is pretty slick too, when your phone is starting to slow down and act sluggish. Just do a quick ROM reboot (10-15 seconds TOPS) and your phone is as good as new.

Why not just use the built in one? Settings, applications, manage applications, running tab?
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

I use System Panel to moniter my phone and AutoStart is a great app to jeep apps from launching themselves again after you close them out. Throw in startup manager and you have a great trifecta of apps.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

bwcorvus said:
Why not just use the built in one? Settings, applications, manage applications, running tab?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this is the way to go. No extra programs needed.

Desktop takes ages to load up

Hey! I got my G2 a couple of months ago, and I'm loving it, but! There is a problem with when I tries to wake up (when I unlock it) or simply go to home screen.. it takes up to 5 seconds to show me the icons or be at all responsive... I have a bunch of folders and icons on the desktop, but no intense widgets or anything...
Does anyone esle have this problem or is my hard/software malfunctioning?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

No problems for me... I got the off Rom, bunch of widgets on the desktop and it's a question for less than a half of second to display.
Have you tried to use "Advanced Task Killer" (available for free on the market)? You might have something running in background which should be "killed".

swissman said:
Have you tried to use "Advanced Task Killer" (available for free on the market)? You might have something running in background which should be "killed".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry but I'm gonna have to fight against this suggestion. Task killers have been completely useless since 2.2 (and especially in 2.3). Running task killers to blanket kill apps hurts performance and battery life in most cases. It has been shown that simply allowing apps and processes to run in the background to finish their tasks and then store in memory is better for performance that constantly killing them, only to have them repeatedly restart over and over again.
If you think you're having issues with malfunctioning tasks, I'd recommend trying out Watchdog Lite in the market. It doesn't kill tasks, just monitors RAM and CPU usage, and gives you an alert when there is an App or Task taking up an unusual amount of resources (you set the threshold). From there, you can choose to kill or troubleshoot the issue with the individual app.
OP, what kind of ROM are you running? Just stock? Rooted? The stock G2 can definitely start to slow down when transitioning from portrait to landscape, or coming back to home after a long time in a given app because the processor really isn't that fast (only 800mhz out of the box). I noticed this as well when my phone was stock.

martonikaj said:
Sorry but I'm gonna have to fight against this suggestion. Task killers have been completely useless since 2.2 (and especially in 2.3). Running task killers to blanket kill apps hurts performance and battery life in most cases. It has been shown that simply allowing apps and processes to run in the background to finish their tasks and then store in memory is better for performance that constantly killing them, only to have them repeatedly restart over and over again..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point... agree.

OP; What, if any, mods have you made to yur phone?

To me this happens when the Sense Home app seems to be thrown out of active memory when I open some or many applications. I heard of a G1 method of priorising an app to keep it from being unladed comletely. Is there a file that explains this?

I have the advanced task killer app, and I sometimes kill useless apps that are running I the background.. I'm gona try watchdog instead..
Now for the mods, I had my phone oc'd to 1.4 back in the day, before ppl figured out how to permaroot, but then there was an update that prevented old style temproot. I didn't have much free time, so I never looked into new rooting options. So, I guess bottom line is that now I have an unrooted stock phone. I had a setspu profile to dicrease the freq when not in use to conserve battery, but I turned it off and the problem is still there.
Also the benchmark tests for the cpu look normal..
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

[email protected] said:
I have the advanced task killer app, and I sometimes kill useless apps that are running I the background.. I'm gona try watchdog instead..
Now for the mods, I had my phone oc'd to 1.4 back in the day, before ppl figured out how to permaroot, but then there was an update that prevented old style temproot. I didn't have much free time, so I never looked into new rooting options. So, I guess bottom line is that now I have an unrooted stock phone. I had a setspu profile to dicrease the freq when not in use to conserve battery, but I turned it off and the problem is still there.
Also the benchmark tests for the cpu look normal..
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol I never use task killer...
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

So, I tried watchdog, and whenever the screen freezes, it shows that desctop is using 99.9% or the cpu... i have a live wallpaper running though.. could that do it?..
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App