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

Until android 2.2 I can definitely say that using a task killer wisely is needed for some users. I use advanced memory manager for root and have set to (bottom up) 150, 140, 135, 120. In my case it doesn't ever free up memory fromm my storm live games or opera. So I use ERAY to auto kill all games and browsers when screen goes off. This Is A NECESSARY. these programs will drop my memory down to 110 which gets sluggish.
Don't let people fool you. Using task killers wisely IS a good idea.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

I beg to differ.
I was a big believer in Task Killers and I used them from the G1 all the way to my Epic 4G and I discovered one thing. It's Android's nature to have programs in Dormit state in the background, what really sucks is to have porgrams in the backgorund consuming processor time, not memory.
I have uninstalled the Task Killer software and I've been task killer free for more than 2 weeks now, and I have seen more improvements. I notice in my task killer days that the phone would become somewhat sluggesh after 112 - 110 MB becuase the programs were restarting in memory and thats when the impact on the processor was being made (thus draining some more power).
After uninstalling task killer, I installed Watchdog which can kill apps but its main focus is to find the programs that will not be dormit while not being used, so far i've seen a jump in performace and longer battery life. I notice that everytime my phone may become sluggish there is always an nonused / nondormit software that needs to be killed, but its just one, not a bunch.
Also killing apps is not right for the phone, this can corrupt the services and programs in the long run.
I don't curse the people who use task killers, but I just don't think that we need it, specially with such a powerfull phone.

I had advanced task killer installed but I'm interested in watchdog.
Why is killing apps not good for the phone but allowing bunches of apps is good?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

It is because of the way that android handles background applications, sorta like the difference between windows and linux...in windows mobile phones, if an app is minimized it is still running like normal and taking up resources, you just are on a different screen. For android, if an app is "minimized" then the app shuts down but keeps certain files in storage to open up the app faster when you go back to it. the android OS is smart enough that it assigns a priority to each app based on how often it is used so that if it starts running low on memory then it will stop those apps with the lowest priority. If you use a task killer then it wipes all the stored files from the apps and when you go to open it again it has to work harder to open the app, therefore spending more resources and using more battery power
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

The longest I ever went between charges on my Epic was the day I didn't use my task killers at all...
Repeatedly opening and closing apps unnecessarily is not good for your battery. Most of those apps are just going to re-open themselves anyway.
Now I only use my task killer if my phone is actually starting to feel sluggish, and in that case it's just a matter of my experience using the phone, not trying to conserve battery. Task killers do the opposite of conserving battery.

badasscat said:
The longest I ever went between charges on my Epic was the day I didn't use my task killers at all...
Repeatedly opening and closing apps unnecessarily is not good for your battery. Most of those apps are just going to re-open themselves anyway.
Now I only use my task killer if my phone is actually starting to feel sluggish, and in that case it's just a matter of my experience using the phone, not trying to conserve battery. Task killers do the opposite of conserving battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, if you are going to use a task killer then that is the way you should do it, I use mine to shut down the drm service after a reboot to improve battery life but if my phone is feeling sluggish then I just do a reboot
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

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.

[Q] Are task killers safe for your phone?

I've read some posts and people said they are killing more battery.Other people said that they're good.So are they safe for your phone,or they can harm it.
I've used task killers since I got my phone and hadn't got a problem.

I found the answer by myself:
http://lifehacker.com/#!5650894/and...ed-what-they-do-and-why-you-shouldnt-use-them

I tested ATK with 2.1 2.2.1 2.3.2 using my phone (Gps, 3g - ON) with same apk on board each ROM and modarate killing and my battery last longer without ATK.
Peace
Sent from my GT540 using XDA App

panoramixus said:
I tested ATK with 2.1 2.2.1 2.3.2 using my phone (Gps, 3g - ON) with same apk on board each ROM and modarate killing and my battery last longer without ATK.
Peace
Sent from my GT540 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got rid of my task killer.I will provide some feedback after some use.Thanks for the reply by the way.

its good n safe if u use it wisely
i ever killed a running system n my phone become frozen

I've been using AutoKiller Memory Optimiser which utilises presets and works well with rooted phones.

i think not

Task killers aren't necessary for Android 2.1 and above. Google has optimized the system so that if you run out of memory, it will start automatically killing unused apps in the background. Even though you might see that only around 20MB of RAM is available doesn't mean it's a bad thing. It means that you can load up your recently used apps more quickly as it is already "cached" in your memory.
Killing apps may also disrupt other system processes that require it to run properly. However, if you want to save that extra battery then a task killer is good to use. Otherwise, task killers are not necessary. I would recommended downloading an app called "Watchdog" in the market. What this app does is monitors your running apps for any memory hoggers. This allows you to kill that app or uninstall it.
This is just my thoughts and may not be entirely correct. Anyone wishing to correct me is welcome to.

Reply
MegaBubbletea said:
Task killers aren't necessary for Android 2.1 and above. Google has optimized the system so that if you run out of memory, it will start automatically killing unused apps in the background. Even though you might see that only around 20MB of RAM is available doesn't mean it's a bad thing. It means that you can load up your recently used apps more quickly as it is already "cached" in your memory.
Killing apps may also disrupt other system processes that require it to run properly. However, if you want to save that extra battery then a task killer is good to use. Otherwise, task killers are not necessary. I would recommended downloading an app called "Watchdog" in the market. What this app does is monitors your running apps for any memory hoggers. This allows you to kill that app or uninstall it.
This is just my thoughts and may not be entirely correct. Anyone wishing to correct me is welcome to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply.I also think that they aren't necessary.In the link above I read that task killers are dangerous for your phone.They are slowly killing your CPU and after some time the phone may start to crash.

Well i'm using a taskkiller and it doesn't do any harm.. And I think it makes my battery last longer.. But that might just be some kind of "placebo effect"

I personally don't use them on my phone, but on my tablet, I use them as it can get very slow without it.

Haque92 said:
Well i'm using a taskkiller and it doesn't do any harm.. And I think it makes my battery last longer.. But that might just be some kind of "placebo effect"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also thought that they were great,but after doing some research I decided to remove my task killer.My phone is working as smooth as before.But that's just me.

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