Please stop using task killers...

[bbuck002]

this is for everyone that seems to have missed this boat...


TASK KILLERS CHEW THROUGH YOUR BATTERY
when used with android 2.2

they arent needed anymore...verizon csr's don't know what they are talking about when the tell people they have to install them...

Android devices are NOT blackberries...they have been programmed to shut down apps properly and free up resources as needed...

task killers lead to never ending loops that kill processes the OS needs to run so the OS restarts them and the task killer kills them = neverending loop that kills your battery...

ok, now please return to your regularly scheduled programming...

have a nice day!

 

[aleis]

i use to be a real bad task killer promoter. they really...actually...do not even work on 2.2. it is a few apps that it will kill but most it only kill itself. some of my games are buggy so...advance task killer helps. if i didnt have it installed i would have to do a battery pull...
still keeping it for that, but other than that its useless.

 

[JrzDroid]

try all you want OP
with the carriers insisting that they are needed, its like trying to argue with a brick wall
i've gotten into fights with people over them and how they are bad for the phone

 

[aohus]

i actually told the csr at verizon retail store to remove them from all devices. it seems as though he was listening to me.

i came off as knowledgeable so maybe he conceded to my demands. i also told him to install 'autokiller' instead, as memory task managers are beneficial, not task killers.

 

[bbuck002]

i won't let any csr's touch my phone...i don't even call tech support anymore...i just come here and ask my questions...the only time i've talked to any support from verizon since having my dx (and my bb storm for that matter) was to tell them i wanted a replacement cause my screen fritzed out...they don't know anything, typically they are just reading from prompts off a computer screen...

I know, there are the rare few who do know what they are talking about, and for those few, they probably post here or one of the other android boards on the interwebs...

 

[Napalm]

LOL. Granted 2.2 changed alot of things apparently, as 2.1 did previously.

OH and I never had a task killer on my crackberry. and never had crackberry issues.

(if you saw how people at my office use their blackberries you would call it that too)

 

[Steven58]

I agree with OP.

 

[MikeAce00]

OP:
Your thoughts on autokiller? Some will claim its similar to ATK some will say its simply tweaking what Android does already. If you are familiar specifically with autokiller, please share your thoughts...

Mike

 

[Deleted User]

Autokiller simply modifies what Android does automatically - choose when and where tasks have outlived their usefulness and kill them appropriately. It doesn't do the killing, it just modifies the system to prefer to kill apps more or less aggressively, or maintain more or less memory free. This is a far better way to deal with things because task killers tend to pillage apps without consideration of whether they actually should be left open.

Android, for the most part, knows when apps should be left open and when they can be killed - Autokiller just lets you set the guidelines for that process.

 

[Airmaxx23]

Autokiller simply modifies what Android does automatically - choose when and where tasks have outlived their usefulness and kill them appropriately. It doesn't do the killing, it just modifies the system to prefer to kill apps more or less aggressively, or maintain more or less memory free. This is a far better way to deal with things because task killers tend to pillage apps without consideration of whether they actually should be left open.

Android, for the most part, knows when apps should be left open and when they can be killed - Autokiller just lets you set the guidelines for that process.

+1 for the AutoKiller, and it definitely isn't a task killer.

 

[Steven58]

+1 for the AutoKiller, and it definitely isn't a task killer.

Yeah, but you have to be rooted for it to work. I have mine set to something like "kamakaze" level.

 

[eraursls1984]

Autokiller is amazing but if your on 2.1 and not rooted task killers may be necessary. Before I rooted I used task killers and they helped my battery life, and didn't kill it as you say, it all depends on how its setup. Before I rooted and started using autokiller, task killers were the only thing that helped keep my phone from lagging. Some people said "you can do it in settings" but that was doing the same think as my task killer it just took a lot more time. They just need to be setup properly to be beneficial, turn off the auto kill setting and set anything you use on a regular basis or anything you don't know what it does (i.e. all the .com.android.blah) or you will end up causing more problems than your trying to fix.

 

[Initial GT3]

I'm running 2.2 and just uninstalled my advanced task killer and downloaded autokiller, are you all using the default settings for autokiller or are there any particular settings that are better suited for the DX?

 

[dmiller2007]

I gotten into an argument with 2 csr's about task killers. One was a recent iPhone convert to the dx and the other had a d1. I took a replacement dx in because of an unresponsive screen issue. The lady thought it was just lag and told me I "need" to use task killers. I politely informed her that I've forgot more about android than she'd ever know and to get back to the warranty claim. Lol I'm joking because I'm not that rude but it was furious trying to tell them why they don't work and they just said that I "need" to use one. The iPhone convert finally admitted that I know a lot more than them and should work there.

 

[dylo22]

I'm running 2.2 and just uninstalled my advanced task killer and downloaded autokiller, are you all using the default settings for autokiller or are there any particular settings that are better suited for the DX?

You could test out the different presets that are avaliable and see which one works best for you. I'm currently using "aggressive".

 

[jbhumph]

http://androidforums.com/droid-x-all-things-root/140063-auto-killer-preferences.html

 

[Exiled]

Problem is, a lot of the so called "general users", or people who just buy the phone 'cause they need a phone but aren't really interested in learning how to use it, don't get this. I saw some guy using a DX in my class the other day, and I mentioned I had the same one and asked him how he liked his phone. He said it was the most frustrating thing he ever owned, because it would crash and require a battery pull several times a day, get really sluggish, and eat the battery in just a few hours which was not enough to last the whole day on campus. He said he was going to sell it. I told him to remove the task killer, which he did, and several days later he was thanking me for saving his phone which he was about to sell. Naturally I referred him to this site and offered him more tips, but I highly doubt he will even bother since he's not really a techie. Like I said he is a great example of the typical users that make up probably like 90% of the people who use the phone. Sometimes you wonder why people say they hate their android phones, but chances are they have absolutely no clue how to use it-- similarly, they probably have 5-10 market apps and thats about it. fact is, it is a complicated high tech device and it takes a lot of time for many to learn.

 

[jbhumph]

I wouldn't argue with you on that one much at all. My supervisor at work has the same phone and was asking me all kinds of questions about it when I said I had the same phone.

Another guy I work with got the DX as well and kept complaining about how e-mail wasn't being pushed to his phone....uh, really? Easy fix...

So I hear ya on that one lol

 

[bigbadwulff]

I used Quick Pull on my BB Storm and rarely/ever had to do a battery pull. Have never used an app killer on the X. My battery lasts all day with a lot of use.
I will, however, look at what apps are running and kill some my self, only very rarely. I can tell when something is running that eats up battery and that something is usually WHERE.

 

[BabyDoc]

Should Auto Killer Memory be recommended here to an ordinary DX user? While I recognize it isn't an ap killer, it isn't very useful unless you have a rooted phone.

I get great battery life with my DX. Ultimate Juice has made more impact on my battery life than any application killer. If you are a light to moderate user like I am, Ultimate Juice will make the most difference in your battery life. It allows you to set the frequency of background activity that goes on when you aren't using your phone; for example, how often your phone looks for email or text messages, or how often it gets the latest weather reports; whether your phone will be ready to receive phone calls during the night or perhaps automatically go into airplane mode to save you even more juice while you sleep. It's the best $5 I have ever spent on an application.

 

[Initial GT3]

Huge difference, thank god I found this thread, I was having to charge the battery twice a day and figured it was because I played with the phone too much, but here we are day 2 without a task killer and I'm still at 90%... Big ups to the OP.

 

[bbuck002]

Glad I could help!

maybe this could be a sticky?

 

[jbhumph]

Yeah, this is a topic that gets brought up every so often....prior to the Froyo update, there were some hard stances on each side of the fence. Froyo seems to have taken care of that for the most part.

I wish VZW would simply educate their employees a little more as they are always the first to say that you NEED to get it...of course if people don't know any better, why would they ever look it up? They should be able to trust the VZW rep...

 

[eraursls1984]

Huge difference, thank god I found this thread, I was having pto charge the battery twice a day and figured it was because I played with the phone too much, but here we are day 2 without a task killer and I'm still at 90%... Big ups to the OP.

If you were having battery problems its because you had it set to auto kill every 5 minutes or whatever, it doesn't drain the battery if you turn off the auto feature and use the program manually as a one click kill for things tu don't use to help speed up your phone, or better yet root your phone and run autokiller. Do you have 2.1 or 2.2? if ypur running 2.2 task killers wouldn't work anyway.

 

[Initial GT3]

If you were having battery problems its because you had it set to auto kill every 5 minutes or whatever, it doesn't drain the battery if you turn off the auto feature and use the program manually as a one click kill for things tu don't use to help speed up your phone, or better yet root your phone and run autokiller. Do you have 2.1 or 2.2? if ypur running 2.2 task killers wouldn't work anyway.

I had it set to "go bat-shit and kill everything and its mother mode" on 2.2, my phone is rooted and I'm running autokiller now and its all sunshine and rainbows.. I've been messing with the phone all morning and I'm still at 80%, I would have been at 40% had it not been for this thread...