I came from a epic 4g and 2.2 had its own task killer idk if it was a samsung thing or what but I used it a lot does the xperia need a third party killer to kill apps or do task killers run the battey down?
Sent from my R800x using XDA App
You don't need them
The only reason I have one is so that if a process becomes unstable, unresponsive, or it's just pissing me off I can kill that particular task. Ending every task as you stop using it is a waste of time and is pretty much asking for data corruption.
I just use Go Launcher EX, and in the app drawer there's a menu for "running" apps. You can close, lock, open any of the apps that are running. Seems to do a good job, quick and convenient.
Sithben24 said:
I just use Go Launcher EX, and in the app drawer there's a menu for "running" apps. You can close, lock, open any of the apps that are running. Seems to do a good job, quick and convenient.
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It would be awesome if this could be a seperate app. A simple task "ender" which soft kills each process, and only shows the processes you open.
There's a thread explaining why you don't need task managers, something about Linux's memory handling which is much better that Windows'... Task killing on Linux/Android is a waste of time as Android shuts down processes automatically when they're not used.
They kill your battery as it becomes a never ending cycle of killing the process which then starts up again which then gets killed which then starts again etc etc etc.
Any process not being used is frozen and doesn't use battery, memory or processor.
Avoid task killers unless you have a battery killing fetish
Related
I hear about people using different taskiller apps and now I have been reading that these apps are the cause of some problems and that the phone "knows" when to close apps if it needs the memory.
So what is the verdict??? Are Taskiller apps evil or necessary or do they have any value at all???
I use Taskiller. It's a great app but I have to admit, I wonder about its effectiveness. I tend to 'close all apps' if there are a lot running but I've found that this often causes more problems than it solves. As an example, I use the footprints widget on one of my screens. If I close the footprint app using Taskiller, sometimes it causes the whole touchflo process to terminate unexpectedly. I've also found problems closing processes with Taskiller which are related to the social networking/mapping features. If you know what processes to put in the 'ignore' list then fine, but closing some processes can hinder the phone's overall function.
Sometimes, however, if you want to close an app, there's no way other than to use a task killer. Take Peep for instance. No way to close it other than killing it. So yeh, task killers; generally unnecessary but sometimes handy.
Most applications do not properly handle shutting themselves down on Android. Android itself does not close many applications automatically, so a task manager is needed. How ever the automatic task managers have a tendency to kill system services as well and can cause a lot of problems on the phone.
s0v3r1gn said:
Android itself does not close many applications automatically, so a task manager is needed.
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I guess that is ultimately the question....is it really needed???
I used taskiller in the beginning but after I stopped using it I think my phone is generally more responsive and better. Why? Because it doesn't have to start apps everytime I change screen or whatever. However I do have taskiller to kill apps that crashes or similar just in case. I do not use it frequently though. Instead I let the phone handle killing apps and whatnot.
So in my opinion taskiller is not needed because the phone takes care of everything that's needed mostly.
advanced task killer screwed up my text messages so i havent bothered with one since. luckily the device is just as as quick and responsive without it. so my vote is 'a' and 'c'
My favorite has been Advanced Task Killer Free. It doesnt cost anything and doesnt get rid of any vital processes that Android needs, especially if youre using SenseUI. Also, I have seen noticeable performance increases afterwards. So yes, I would say it is needed.
I've been using advanced task killer with problems. It seems to do what it suppose to but it also closes the radio for some reason. The rx signal comes back but the evdo doesn't unless I do a reset... I even payed for the advanced task killer thinking it would have more options but only has a hourly function.
Linux has it's own scheduler which handles tasks very efficiently.
no its not needed. i use to use advance task manager and it totally screwed and lagged my phone. not to mention i wasnt getting my sms because of those apps...i stopped using it and my phone functions great. if i feel that the phone is bunddled up with alot of apps i previously opened, i simply reset it (i hardly do resets because the phone functions excellently).
so no to task killers.
I had Taskiller installed, but after initially using it, I found that I wasn't bothered to use it, but it was still there with the icon at the top of the screen.
I read that they can actually slow your system down, so as I wasn't using it, I uninstalled it and maybe it isn't but the system does seem a little more responsive now
Vince
i used advanced taskiller and it kept my phone awake even when locked/lcd off. that murdered my battery. i uninstalled and use task manager now with no issues. it is not as simple as dragging down the notifications bar but my battery life is fine now.
I've definitely found that there is pretty much zero benefit to regularly using a task killer. Other peoples mileage will vary of course, and I'm sure there will be combinations of applications that don't sit too well together and cause issues, but I'm pretty confident than Android handles resource management well enough for most users.
I do wonder how may of those who swear by task killers are also using swapper, as I can well imagine that swapper will cause problems with Androids own resource management.
Regards,
Dave
HAHAHA guess you're not getting a clear cut verdict on task killers from this thread! seems like everyone has their own opinion....
There was an earlier debate on this topic. The thread is here... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=569709&highlight=task+killer
and the android info is here (must read for understanding task killing) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=569709&highlight=task+killer
They work well when set up properly. No reason to be closing widgets and programs on your sense ui that you use on a fairly often basis because it will take some time for them to load when you want to view them.
Leave the stuff you use regularly open and close the junk that takes up resources that you don't regularly use. Most of these programs have exception lists for a reason.
People that automatically end all and close sense, or their system dialer files will obviously run into problems and lag when all that stuff restarts at the same time.
Aridon said:
...Most of these programs have exception lists for a reason.
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Exactly. They are fine if you exclude ALL the necessary components, then just have a few remaining on the main page that you know can be quit. Advanced Task Killer has been fine for me with their 'ignore list'.
i found that since ive stopped using task killer m battery life has improved quite alot
now i leave all the work to the android system
I have had the hero from day one and have had taskiller installed for about as long. I DID use it but do not now... and have no slow downs...
how?.......
custom rom....?
service which frees memory?
no...
Simply press back to exit a program and not home... if you press home the program most likley will not catch the button press and close. click back to exit and the program closes properly.
Press Back ....... this ISNT an iPhone with only 1 button.
nuff said...
I'm going without on this hard reset. On the last go around, even with disabling native sms app and using a 3rd party I was still getting the 100% awake time issue on the sprint hero.
FWIW, On a sprint hero make sure you ignore htiqagent, iqrd and omadm. Killing these will cause a radio reset, and ignore htcsense if you are using sense, which btw you can disable by removing its default setting in settings-apps-manage apps.
I think it is safe to say that I'm pretty ignorant about Android/Linux/etc. Nevertheless, I have Advanced Task Manager and I like to use it. I do use it judiciously, only ending certain programs/apps yet leaving most of that business to Android. And, of course, I use it to end the program itself.
El Mono
Im using advanced task manager to kill tasks so too many are not running. I used it all the time with the mytouch. Now using it with new Vibrant
Question,
I have excluded TwLauncher from being killed when I press end all, or press the widget. but when i kill all tasks (except for the excluded ones) I has to reload my home screen. What other process should I be exclude from being killed so that it does not reload my home screen?
Thanks
the better question is what else did you kill? Keep killing apps often so the list is small and see what app it is. Even better would be to close the one at a time and go back to the home screen each time.
In all reality, with the amount of ram and how good android is at killing apps itself, taskkillers are not needed. Infact google does not recommend them.
Like previously stated, do not use a task killer. Uninstall, reboot and you will have no issues.
s15274n said:
Like previously stated, do not use a task killer. Uninstall, reboot and you will have no issues.
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precisely.
forcing your phone to constantly kill apps only causes your phone to restart the services which were running in the background. While your phone is now being forced to RE-start those services it uses more clock cycles than simply leaving the services running would have done.
There's more than enough literature and evidence that task-killing in Android is at best useless, and at worst counter-productive.
I don't know if this is an issue with android.. or galaxy s... or "Advanced Task Killer".... but apps keep popping up after i "Kill" them....
when i say apps pop up... i mean random apps that i have not touched...
for example I never touched the Visual Voicemail as i don't have use for it.. and amazong mp3.. the list just keeps going ...
i don't know why it keeps reloading after i "kill" them..i did google this problem and could not find any one else complaining... maybe i didn't do a good job of searching... this is wayy too frustrating
is there a "Fix" for this?
well first you shouldn't be using a task killer. Second they show up there because some apps run in the background occasionally without you even opening them.
Because the apps are doing stuff and you keep killing them so they restart. Stop using a task killer and let android handle the running programs like google programmed the os to do. The google programmers are really talented I promise.
As said above. Apps auto run in background. Android deals with this efficiently, best not to use a task killer
Don't use task killers.
It's really that simple.
Task killer is a no no for Phones with 128+ RAM
Most stuff needn't be killed, but T-Mobile includes some bloatware that has absolutely no right to be running at all, much less all the time (hi, daily briefing). The "don't use a task manager" meme is fine for a stock android phone where presumably you're only installing things that you actually want to use, but when you buy a branded phone you really *don't* want the carrier garbage running all the time. At best, it sits around doing nothing until Android kills it on its own, but at worst it can drain your battery life and cause instability.
The only surefire solution I've found is to actually remove the offending bloatware using root explorer or titanium backup.
^^TL;DR Remove bloat, don't use a task killer.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Ok, I'll ask if no one else will, why not run a task killer? What is the downside?
There are any number of applications on the phone that I literally never use like Amazon MP3, Slacker, and Visual Voicemail, why would I want to leave those running when I have no use for them, and there is an easy way to kill them off when they spawn themselves?
lmlloyd said:
Ok, I'll ask if no one else will, why not run a task killer? What is the downside?
There are any number of applications on the phone that I literally never use like Amazon MP3, Slacker, and Visual Voicemail, why would I want to leave those running when I have no use for them, and there is an easy way to kill them off when they spawn themselves?
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I think its ok to use Task Killers for occasionally stopping apps that are giving you issues (running slowly, frozen). The problem with using Task Killers is that it can make your system unstable, it can mess up widgets, and Android doesn't really need it. Android will close apps on its own when it needs more memory . Most apps, if programed correctly, will use little to no battery power when idle in the background. It can take more battery power to start up an app again rather than opening it from idle.
lmlloyd said:
Ok, I'll ask if no one else will, why not run a task killer? What is the downside?
There are any number of applications on the phone that I literally never use like Amazon MP3, Slacker, and Visual Voicemail, why would I want to leave those running when I have no use for them, and there is an easy way to kill them off when they spawn themselves?
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We're finding more and more that on higher end phones, such as the Vibrant, when a task killer is running the Android OS isn't being allowed to control the apps to it's full potential and some of the task killers are causing problems. After we remove the task killers, problems can occasionally be resolved. Not always, it's just something we're seeing. At least in my store and when I can in to support.
Because when an app is running in the background, it uses practically no battery. Most of the time it is not using any processor clock cycles just taking up some ram space. You don't have to worry about the ram being used because android will automatically end apps when it needs more ram. A lot of the time, ending an app via task killers will actually slow the phone down because when you go to open the app again it has to totally reopen rather than just awake from an idle state. Android 2.2 is even better at managing background tasks and running a task killer will almost guarantee a slower phone.
Read 4 post down.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Smart Bars not a bad one that you can start up and kill a task that wont exit out. However i wouldn't use it to "free up RAM"
When you start up the phone on stock rom w/ all the bloatware you have like 20+ random apps already running by default. If you ran a quadrant test now your score wouldn't be as high as if you killed all those apps then did the test. I went from 1900 to 2250 by killing all the apps. Not a huge difference but personally I don't like things like Slacker or GoGo running in the background when I never use them.
I don't like using task killers though, I just wish all these stupid apps wouldn't start when the phone is booted up. It can really make the phone slower. Killing all apps + lagfix means load times are almost non existant. Having all those apps running + lagfix means you will get some stutters in load times.
Task killers often show cached apps. They are not running just on stand by until you open them.
Sent from the best phone from TMO... Vibrant
There is an app called "Start Up Auditor" It disables any app you want (yes including the bloatware) Form starting up when you boot up and randomly while the phone is on.
For example I have all my bloatware that I don't want set to do not start at boot up unless I physically choose to open that app.
Better than any task killer out there. So you NEVER have to worry about the bloatware other than it taking up some memory.
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/04/multitasking-android-way.html
That's really the best explanation right there. It explains just why Android does what it does.
Sorry, no tl;dr for the lazy.
I had my task killer on auto kill cuz i was frustrated..... but i'm gonna go download that "Star up Auditor"... sounds like the most efficient way... since i actually do use Slacker..
anyhow..thanks alot guys for the suggestions..
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.
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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
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
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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?
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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.
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bwcorvus said:
Why not just use the built in one? Settings, applications, manage applications, running tab?
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Yes, this is the way to go. No extra programs needed.