Database Users

Multicore power saving - how to turn on?

Guys i need help. I have branded Huawei P8 Lite, and there is 4 cores locked. I found out (on my last phone, Alcatel One Touch Mini S 2) that this utility can unlock rest of cores, and improve performance on phone. I was doin that with Kernel Auditor app before, but on my P8Lite app just freezes when i'm selecting CPU settings. I tried other apps but problem was the same, or apps was not free (i'm broke). I've rooted phone, installed busybox and superuser, permissions works normal. Do you have any ideas how to unlock 8 cores in that phone?
btw, i was trying performance mode on cpu developer, works as 4 cores with maximum speed, not 8 cores, and i can turn off cores (of course only this 4 cores that are available)
If you help me i'll be very, very happy, i just hate limits on branded phones.

The cause of the problem is Huawei's Power Manager software, and this "core-locking" function cannot be removed, or disabled at this point of time. I'm almost sure, apart from the Power Manager, the kernel itself has such "core-locking" thing too.
I don't know know why Huawei did this, and why they didn't include an option to use all 8 cores with manual settings.
However, tests show that the last 4 core will activate under heavy load, meaning you should not need to manually unlock them.
Personally, I don't have any performance issues with the phone, all apps running smoothly, fast, and responsively, without any major lag.
I think without these regulations, the stand-by time would be much much lover than the current stand-by time, which is a solid 1 day for me, with WiFi/LTE always on, 10-15 calls, a few YouTube vids, and almost 5-6 hrs of Spotify music a day.
On the other hand, a few guys are already working on bringin AOSP and CM to our phone, with custom kernels, maybe after the new kernels, you will be to able to use all 8 cores, but as I said before, right now, there is no option to forcefully turn on all the cores.

Thanks for reply so fast, for me that utility is important cause it greatly improved battery life for Alcatel (like 2-3x time). But if it's locked directly from Huawei i guess on this time it's not worth to risk hardbrick. Anyway, thank You for clearing it for me

Good info on that:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/p8lite/general/octacore-4-cores-t3223533/page2
Conclusion: 8 cores work ONLY WHEN REALLY NECESSARY in Intelligent mode. CPU stats app seems to see all cores working nevertheless. CPUZ and CPUX don't see them working normally, in Intelligent mode at least.

fix for poor ram management???

Hi,
I was reading this article: http://www.xda-developers.com/how-t...-management-almost-double-the-apps-in-memory/ It says that new oneplus 3 has a build.prop command to limit background apps which has to improve battery life. I was wondering, what if our moto e has simmilar command too? Suprise suprise there is a "ro.MAX_HIDDEN_APPS=12" which I think does the same thing as command from oneplus article.
So I made a little test simmilar to one from article with one change. Since we have only 1gb I was picking only light apps (like phone, callendar, notes ect. no chrome or games) to see if limit is really working. Before each test I cleaned recent apps and rebooted device, also I disabled internet connection to prevent any background sync.
I'm running stock 6.0 eu rom, un rooted, with squid kernel. Here are results:
with "ro.MAX_HIDDEN_APPS=12" around 7-8 apps in background, I repeated this test twice to check.
with "ro.MAX_HIDDEN_APPS=70" around 23!!!! Probably you can remove this command or set to any high value and it will work the same.
p.s
I don't know how it will afect battery life or overall performance.

Podcast Addict Issues

I am reposting this because the issue remains and when I first posted in July I received a single response from a user that was also experiencing this.
I can't seem to find an answer anywhere. Basically when listening to a podcast with the Podcast Addict player at ~1.9x or faster the audio stutters and produces a static sound distorting the audio. Waking the screen immediately stops the issue. The issue gets worse if you increase the speed or enable the "skip silence" feature.
I made sure to disable any battery saving options for the app and enabled any workaround options within the app. I even contacted the developer who pretty much just said that the phone is governing the processor too low with the screen off. I have tested other podcast apps and they seem to function fine even at faster playback speeds. For some reason, this only affects Podcast Addict.
Is anyone else experiencing this? Anybody have a suggestion for a fix? I am completely stock OOS version 4.5.14. I have the 8/128GB model if it makes a difference.
It seems to have issues even if the screen is on and the app is not in the foreground. Within ~5 seconds of being put into the background, it begins to stutter.
I have been working with OnePlus' own "bug hunter team" to fix this but I have not heard from them in over a month since I reported it to them. They asked me clear cache and reproduce the effect on my device and send them logs, which I did but I haven't heard anything.
Can anyone test this and tell me if they don't have an issue with screen off?

I also couldn't get rid of the static sound in Podcast Addict when playing back at fast speeds (for me, around 1.7x or faster). This was on a Galaxy S8+. I've been listening to a podcast audiobook Wildbow's "Worm" (which weighs in in at 6,680 pages) and the static sound was killing my ears. Gave up on Podcast Addict today, and switched to Pocket Casts and not having any static problems now when listening at faster speeds.

I think I found the problem with Podcast Addict stuttering... it's the logging.
I've gotten into the habit of pinning my CPU frequency to 299 MHz maximum to save battery, and PA would stutter, so I dug into ADB to figure out what was going on. After getting rid of the hidden adware that the phone's manufacturer kept running in the background, CPU usage dropped enough that I could run PA without much stutter, but if I opened the notifications or ran any other app, it'd start stuttering again. So I dug further.
And it seemed that as I increased maximum CPU speed from 299 MHz to 1.3 GHz, CPU utilization would increase, too, if Podcast Addict was running. That was strange behavior, so I knew something was going on.
Apparently the system is somehow hooking into PA and logging everything PA is logging internally. When I run:
adb logcat -D -v long > c:\test\logcat.log
... the logcat.log file swells up to 80 - 110 MB in a mere minute. Without PA running, it's generally around 113 KB / minute.
So I started killing logging processes.
I killed logcat, and CPU usage dropped dramatically, but logd started hogging the CPU.
So I killed logd. It restarted, but no longer hogged the CPU.
So CPU utilization dropped from ~83% for PA, utilizing 4 to 5 cores, to ~60% for PA, utilizing 3 cores. Even with the CPU pinned to a maximum 299 MHz, playback was smooth.
As for logcat, after killing it, if you run it from your computer:
adb logcat -D -v long > c:\test\logcat.log
it'll begin log-spamming again (its the AudioTrack thread which is spamming the log) and the phone's CPU usage spikes again, but now, after having killed logcat once, when I stop logcat logging via ADB, logcat stops spamming the log and the phone's CPU usage returns to using 3 cores.
Get the CPU usage info:
adb shell dumpsys cpuinfo
inside that info, you'll see the PID of the applications. Look for logcat and logd. There might be more than 1 logcat, kill them all.
Let's say logcat is running two instances, with PID 239 and PID 760, for example (it'll be different each time you boot the phone), and logd with PID 13020.
Then issue the following commands from a command prompt on your computer:
adb shell
su
kill 239
kill 760
kill 13020
exit
exit
On my computer, if I type the commands too fast, ADB can't keep up, and ADB will crash, so give it a few seconds in between each command.
The above-described log-spamming behavior reoccurs upon reboot, so you'd have to do this after each boot.
Now I can listen to podcasts (I usually listen at 2x, sometimes as high as 3x for podcasters who talk slowly) without stutter, with the octa-core CPU pinned to 299 MHz maximum.

Stabilizing Shield Tablet Smoothness

I may have discovered a way to make Shield Tablet very smooth and stable very consistently. I don't have the technical backing for it - im just a regular user doing trial and error. I hope it helps the others who want to keep this awesome Device live up to its potential...longer.
So here's my Device setup:
- Shield Tablet US-LTE
- using stock 5.4 debloated for K1 by Sh0X31 for K1 (yes, it works well with my us-lte as long as you don't care about system updates and stylus app)
- rooted via magisk
- Xposed framework
- Nova launcher
Using the ROM as it is significantly improved the performance of the device compared to stock 5.4 for US or RoW LTE. But the sluggish experience Everytime the device wakes up from deep slumber, or connects to WIFI for the first time, is still there. Using Antutu system monitor on the notification panel, I could correlate the sluggish performance with the CPU hitting above 94%. That happens 99% of the time so I suspected that most of the persistent sluggish performance is a CPU issue rather than a RAM issue. So I looked for a way to pinpoint which apps are hogging CPU operations, and hopefully discover what triggers it.
I tried enabling CPU usage in Developer's Options but alas, it could only show com.android.systemui so nothing much can be done from there. I understand this is a bug in Android 7 and it was supposed to be fixed on 7.1 but we all know Shield Tablet is stuck at 7.0 for now.
Next I tried checking out Running Services, still in Developer's Option. So I saw a lot of apps there that seem to be hogging CPU - Malwarebytes, ShareIt, Antutu, Google Services, etc. I uninstalled Malwarebytes and ShareIt but the CPU was still operating at 94% and it takes the device a few seconds to respond to my inputs.
Finally, I noticed these Nvidia-specific processes - these few KBs of operations particularly the ones for OTA upgrade and Media as well as Nvidia -customize (something like that). I forced them to stop and voila! My device CPU suddenly calmed somewhere between 30-50% and as expected, it's operating smoothly and snappily.
When I rebooted, those Nvidia processes naturally became active. I suspect that it's probably part of the device startup process. And as expected as well, whenever they're present the device is expected to go sluggish at some point before its CPU can calm down again.
So now, it's been 2 days and my CPU operates between 18-54% on normal operation, sometimes hitting 80% when I transfer files or play games. But it has NEVER gone sluggish, not even once (waking from deep slumber, connecting to WIFI, etc). I'm very satisfied and back to enjoying my Shield Tablet.
DISCLAIMER: I don't have proof that this is indeed the solution. I can't explain it technically as well. Hoping someone with more knowledge on system process can enlighten us. One thing I'm convinced though is that the sluggishness we all experience comes from NVIDIA-specific processes. I make this inference from my observation that having AOSP ROMs make the device smooth consistently. But I don't like any other custom ROMs coz I need the controller support for the tablet. I hope I make sense and hopefully this could help some Shield Tablet Fans. Sorry for the long write up.

Thanks for the post! If you want to try and dig deeper into this, consider using Tasker, I believe it can be used to make those force stops automatic on start up. Good luck!

fpozar said:
Thanks for the post! If you want to try and dig deeper into this, consider using Tasker, I believe it can be used to make those force stops automatic on start up. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the TIP. I've checked it out in Google Play, the paid version listed what it can do. Need to study if it can disable those mentioned process at startup.
I really wished Nvidia would finally make it's firmware documentation open to the public.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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