Do NOT use Task Kill !!

[Arlo18]

Read this article ..... I un-installed ALL my task kills after reading this and battery life is much better. Just makes sense. I apologize in advance if this has already been mentioned.

http://www.droid-den.com/android-guides/android-guide-should-i-use-a-task-killer

 

[Homan13PSU]

This should be mandatory reading for all Verizon Sales Associates. The first thing they did in store when my wife got her Inc was to install an App Killer. The first thing I promptly did on arriving home was to delete said App Killer.

 

[AGWednesday]

Yeah, I don't agree with that article at all.

 

[irishjoeyo]

What a terribly-written article. Same old stuff that so many of us are already aware of (how the OS manages memory/apps/processes), but totally omits some very key points. I like how the author goes on and on about how a task killer is "never" needed and only unnecessarily uses more battery life and makes the phone slower, but then at the very end, the author says, "there are some situations where you may need to use a task killer".

WTF? If that's the case (which it is), then why go on and on about how horrible task killers are and how they are never needed? Way to completely contradict yourself, Mr. Author.

Sure, it may take a TINY BIT more battery juice to start an app from scratch after killing it, but that's canceled out when taking into consideration that that particular app may be using even more battery while constantly accessing the internet and constantly uploading & downloading data. Whenever I use a task killer, it is for this very reason, and the task killer app is the last app that I kill.

 

[andreezy]

Interestingly enough, I thought the article was fairly informative. Going so far as to say never ever ever use a task killer is dumb... Especially if they are going to link to system panel, lite or paid...

That being said, system panel is my goto IF I have an app misbehave... It is really the only reason to have to need or want a task killer.

 

[howarmat]

system panel is NOT the same thing at all since you manually have to kill processes. I dont even classify it as a task killer at all. its a system monitor.

 

[JuniorNA]

system panel is NOT the same thing at all since you manually have to kill processes. I dont even classify it as a task killer at all. its a system monitor.

I agree with this statement here. I think it's more of an informative approach app, and not specifically designed to kill. Sure it does kill, but it's main focus is to see processes, cpu usage, and stats..if you decide to kill, then go ahead and kill, but I don't consider it a TK. Also, it's by far the most informative, helpful app in my opinion to have on any Android phone. It's just awesome.

 

[rushmore]

As long you exclude system tasks (little green and white icons) when killing tasks, task managers DO help, so the article is half right and half wrong. Net zero

 

[howarmat]

no, it doesnt matter what the process is, it will start right back up meaning its useless to kill it. think of the bloatware that is has to kill every single time it runs. the bloatware isnt even running

 

[JuniorNA]

i don't think he's being a hypocrite, he's just saying that you can and should use it for crappy apps that are really eating up your memory, or if something is in a loop like phone call, or message task, or pandora (sometimes it loops on me and i need to kill it). I agree with most of his message, but i dont think he's saying to use it as much as you'd like, he's saying it as i would say it, have one ready for crappy apps, or weird a occurrence but otherwise let the system do what it needs to do.

no, it doesnt matter what the process is, it will start right back up meaning its useless to kill it. think of the bloatware that is has to kill every single time it runs. the bloatware isnt even running

Again, i agree with you here. CityID, My Verizon, Skype - they are going to run no matter how many times you kill them. (run being the operative word, because they really aren't running, but you know what i mean). So i find it useless to kill those apps over and over again because nothing good will come out of it. everything is on my ignore list except for apps that i download such as games or utilities...that way if i really want to kill those apps, i can without worrying about "system or default running processes"

 

[Adamx]

lots of processes start up at boot but won't come back after being killed, like facebook. I would rather have an OS that actually gives us control over what's running, and they are running even if they only use up a little bit of processor time. We should focus less on criticizing apps that try to to help and google for letting apps constantly run wild on it's OS.

 

[JuniorNA]

Running wild is a bit hardcore i think because those apps aren't really being used. everytime i swap out my battery I do a kill all for some reason, I don't know why, i just do it...and you're right...most of the apps don't come back. (radio, police scanner, facebook) unless I use them...but the CityID/Skype apps are back as soon as you use the phone again, because one process is tied to another...so if you kill skype, it will use more memory to start right back up again. it's better to just leave the memory in use by skype instead of letting the OS start it back up...I agree that the apps mostly arent at fault either, but this is what you get with an OPen source OS

I'd rather this OS than any other OS for a phone in the world, especially over IoS and Win.

 

[jbuck1984]

I tried to get rid of system panel once 2.2 came out as I didn't see the point. Boy was wrong. Def, one of the best apps on the market.

 

[Fine69]

I used advanced task killer and kill them myself. I dont agree either with the article as well If I leave everything open the mp3 and mp4 player studders and gives me out of resources errors unless I free up memory so how does that NOT hurt battery life?

 

[euph_22]

lots of processes start up at boot but won't come back after being killed, like facebook. I would rather have an OS that actually gives us control over what's running, and they are running even if they only use up a little bit of processor time. We should focus less on criticizing apps that try to to help and google for letting apps constantly run wild on it's OS.

Since you seem to know so much about engineering an Operating System, how about YOU write a better one?

 

[euph_22]

I used advanced task killer and kill them myself. I dont agree either with the article as well If I leave everything open the mp3 and mp4 player studders and gives me out of resources errors unless I free up memory so how does that NOT hurt battery life?

Because high memory utilization SAVES battery life, atleast for the typical user.

 

[Thefoodman52]

I agree somewhat with it...

Straight up, generic task killers, no no. Don't use them, they're bad news.

However, something like system panel (I have the full version) is HIGHLY useful. It helps identify what drains the most battery, what has the CPU time (actively using the CPU) and what uses the most memory. I knew before hand that Pandora was buggy, but system panel really allows you to see stuff like that in hard white light. On my Evo, after I boot Pandora, everything slows down a good bit. Transitions are no longer as smooth, things take longer to open, my phone generally degrades the longer it's left open. I installed system panel one day, to find it was using 98mb of RAM (the fu--). Since then, I don't use Pandora, because I know it's really a rogue app. If you MUST use it, kill Pandora specifically when you're done with it.

Enough rambling with my findings... that was merely a drawn out example showing how more in-depth monitoring services like system panel are much more beneficial than a generic task killer.

Overall, I have to say, you DON'T need to go on a senseless rampage, murdering all your system and application processes hourly, or just multiple times through the day. I used to do that with my Hero, and I stopped when I had it. Things became much smoother. This is true for high end android phones as well, though that should come as no surprise.

My dad still has his Moment (I pitty him, we both hate the phone with a passion that burns with the intensity of-- I'll stop here) and he used to avidly use things like lookout and ATK. He continued to nag and complain that his phone would lock up and lag (outside of the persistent radio lockouts that happen 3 or 4 times a day, ugh) all day. I looked at his phone one day, and he had not one, but TWO task killers on there, and lookout. I got rid of the horrible treo on his phone, and miraculously, it began to run smoother, lag a hell of a lot less, and would only have the lock outs from the radio daily.

TL/DR

Task killers are bad if you're using it to kill everything. Most things are perfectly fine left on their own running peacefully in the background, but to find out the real issues, you need something like System Panel.

 

[AGWednesday]

system panel is NOT the same thing at all since you manually have to kill processes. I dont even classify it as a task killer at all. its a system monitor.

System Panel kills tasks. It might not kill tasks automatically, but it's still a task killer.

no, it doesnt matter what the process is, it will start right back up meaning its useless to kill it. think of the bloatware that is has to kill every single time it runs. the bloatware isnt even running

That's not true at all. Some apps will start right back up; some won't.

Whoever wrote this article is writing in extremes, then backing off to make exceptions. Task Killers are always bad for your phone! They stop Android from doing the job it can do better. Task Killers drain battery life. Oh, and by the way, this is when you should use them.

Task Killers aren't the problem. People who use them without first figuring out which processes should NOT be touched are the problem.

 

[Roze]

I only use the stock task manager or task panel if I must kill an app.

I looked at his phone one day, and he had not one, but TWO task killers on there, and lookout. I got rid of the horrible treo on his phone, and miraculously, it began to run smoother, lag a hell of a lot less, and would only have the lock outs from the radio daily.

A bit OT, but I'd like to know why you don't like lookout?

 

[irishjoeyo]

Whoever wrote this article is writing in extremes, then backing off to make exceptions. Task Killers are always bad for your phone! They stop Android from doing the job it can do better. Task Killers drain battery life. Oh, and by the way, this is when you should use them.

LOL, exactly!

Task Killers aren't the problem. People who use them without first figuring out which processes should NOT be touched are the problem.

Precisely. Don't blame the app, blame the user. Making a blanket statement such as, "Avoid all task killers at all costs! They are dangerous!" is akin to saying, "Avoid using knives at all costs! They are dangerous!"

If you know what you're doing, you'll be fine.

 

[Chew]

Battery debate aside, I have to use a task killer on my Captivate to receive calls!

My phone would freeze up every so often when multitasking and a call came in. Installed a task killer and now I'm not having the freezing issues.

I'm hoping the small memory bump in 2.2 means I can remove it.

 

[Fisz]

I disagree that task killers = bad. On the rare occasions that I get lag on my phone, I kill any unnecessary processes that happen to be running (non-system ones of course, just apps). Lo and behold, the lag disappears immediately when I do this. If they don't need to be running, then why should they be running? No matter how many times I read an overview of how Android works, I'll never grasp why I should have 10+ applications on when I only need one or two. The "they start up slower next time you open them" argument doesn't hold much weight either, as most apps open smoothly each time. The only exception for me is the Gallery, since I have so much stored there.

 

[Demache]

I use it sparingly, but they CAN be useful. I usually don't, because if I'm listening to music while on the internet, sometimes it will just randomly kill the music service (pretty damn annoying). So I don't use the automatic ones. System Panel only when there is an app misbehaving.

 

[OfTheDamned]

Ahhhh the always refreshing task killer debate.

I'm not going to comment either way as I've talked the subject to death.

I would like to remind everyone to keep the discussion friendly though.

 

[Kekkle]

Task killing is fine, as long as it's a 3rd party app and you're not gonna be using it for a while. (And it's not a service)

Automatic task killing is stupid.