Getting fed up with my droid..

[xxteargodxx]

The thing that annoys me about it the most that I cannot seem to figure out how to fix is this.

Say I don't use my phone for a short while, when I get a text i go to unlock my phone and it takes an entire 10-15 seconds to load my icons on screen so I can tap my text interface and reply.

Why does it do that? What the hell gives?

 

[Rodeojones]

Are you using a third-party launcher (such as LauncherPro or ADW)? This sometimes happens with these launchers. Basically, the task manager built into the Android OS starts to run low on RAM and as a result kills the launcher. So when you unlock your phone (or exit a memory-intensive app), the launcher has to reload and you'll see all your icons and widgets take some time to reappear. This is all very common. There are some fixes (LauncherPro has an option to "keep in memory" and will attempt to keep the OS from killing it. If you're rooted there are other things that you can do (usually with more success).

 

[sorceror]

Say I don't use my phone for a short while, when I get a text i go to unlock my phone and it takes an entire 10-15 seconds to load my icons on screen so I can tap my text interface and reply.

It is, unfortunately, a known issue:

https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=11500

Rodeojones is correct that it seems to be the launcher getting killed for lack of memory, but it happens with the stock launcher as well. There are ways to mitigate the problem, but not to solve it completely at present.

When going back to the home screen, try to be in the same orientation as when you left it. That helps some. If you root your phone, there are ways to force the launcher to stay in memory longer.

I'd suggest adding your vote to the above issue and help pressure Google to fix it.

 

[Vance]

This will solve all of your problems:
In a terminal,
type su and enter.
Then type echo ro.HOME_APP_ADJ=1 >> /data/local.prop and enter.
Then reboot.

What this does it "pin" the homescreen in memory so that when some app or glitch sucks up all the RAM, the OS won't dump your homescreens. It will be the last thing over the rails when it is dumping extra weight. With this code entered, the redraw will almost NEVER happen. I have used it with the stock launcher, custom launchers and stock and custom roms.

If you need a terminal, just get Terminal Emulator from the market.

BTW, this was not my doing, it has been posted so often here on the forums, I don't even remember who originated it! :0)

 

[sorceror]

This will solve all of your problems:
In a terminal,
type su and enter.
Then type echo ro.HOME_APP_ADJ=1 >> /data/local.prop and enter.
Then reboot.

However, as I said before, this does require the phone to be rooted. Otherwise, you get "Permission denied" when you try to 'su'.

 

[Vance]

However, as I said before, this does require the phone to be rooted. Otherwise, you get "Permission denied" when you try to 'su'.

AHH, forgot about that!! Sorry!

Yet another reason to root!! :0)

 

[dberthia]

I was very hesitant about rooting my Droid, but this very issue is the one that put me over the edge. I was sick and tired of waiting for 30 seconds to get back to a usable home screen after running an app. I finally took the plunge, rooted and installed CyanogenMod 6 with the Chevy1 LV 1GHz kernel, and now everything is running smooth as silk. I had some trial and error with other ROMs and kernels, but this combo works best for me. No regrets whatsoever.

 

[Vance]

It was the reason I rooted as well. And at first I didn't try out any ROMs, I just enjoyed the home screen stability (no redraw), the free wifi tethering and the ability to move more apps to SD and freeze apps as needed. Eventually, though, I tried out some ROMs and am now happily using Pete Alfonso's Gingerbread ROM!

 

[aysiu]

If you do root, I'd highly recommend Cyanogen 7 RC4. It's very stable.

 

[AngryHatter]

So you root because you are impatient over a phone?

 

[dberthia]

So you root because you are impatient over a phone?

Yes. Yes, I do.

 

[YankeeDudeL]

So you root because you are impatient over a phone?

I rooted because I was impatient over an update. 2.1 seemed to take forever to get here. My impatience has never been rewarded so terrifically.

 

[johnlgalt]

@OP - the steps that require rooting that you perform will almost always solve your problem - but when it goes into sleep mode and it is the only thing going, if Android decides to chuck it out the window, then it will still happen on occasion. There is currently really no fix for this, but it gets worse if you use a lot of memory intensive apps on your phone that force Android to kill other apps in the background. Things like games, etc.

That being said, I use Launcher Pro and it has a setting to force the app to stay in memory - but I've actually stopped that now. I'd rather have the memory free, b/c my poor little DROID is on its last legs when it comes to running CM7 nightlies and having enough free memory to do much of anything memory intensive.

Now, as far a rooting is concerned, I originally rooted my phone simply to overclock. I've done a lot more to it since then, but that was my real reason - I just wanted a faster phone. And I got what I asked for, too....

 

[Chuck1906]

I have been experiencing these issues for about almost a year now and it keeps getting worse! I get a blank home screen after almost everything I do on the phone! Like the original poster said I am up to about 30 seconds or more waiting for my icons to return! NO MY PHONE IS NOT ROOTED. Another reason why I plan to jump ship once the iPhone 5 comes out! I like my Droid but I am tired of issues like this.

 

[bleedGreen]

I have been experiencing these issues for about almost a year now and it keeps getting worse! I get a blank home screen after almost everything I do on the phone! Like the original poster said I am up to about 30 seconds or more waiting for my icons to return! NO MY PHONE IS NOT ROOTED. Another reason why I plan to jump ship once the iPhone 5 comes out! I like my Droid but I am tired of issues like this.

Mee Frkn too!!!!

 

[bleedGreen]

I have been experiencing these issues for about almost a year now and it keeps getting worse! I get a blank home screen after almost everything I do on the phone! Like the original poster said I am up to about 30 seconds or more waiting for my icons to return! NO MY PHONE IS NOT ROOTED. Another reason why I plan to jump ship once the iPhone 5 comes out! I like my Droid but I am tired of issues like this.

I will say this though ; I did a factory reboot, no problems what so ever. I put most of my apps back on, with 1 step cache cleaner. What a difference, REALLY! It also allowed me to reissue some apps I "lost" from reboot, taken from free Amazon pro-apps (like shazaam, tuneradio plus, etc).
I will prob root, just BC of the overclock added bonus. All this will suffice till iPhone 5.