Is there a way to easily close apps without having to root?

[Alan Q]

Hello there. First poster .

I know when you press the home button most apps keep running on the background, most games takes not only memory but a fair share of CPU also. And of course I know the 'proper' way to close apps is by using the back button, the problem though, is that some apps actually use that button, so depending on the app it's a tedious process to exit them.
Task manager also isn't very accessible, you have to fire it up, look for the app on the task list and then kill it. Not adequate at all.
So, I've been wondering if there's some way to make a quick shortcut for killing apps. Like when you hold the back or menu button it just closes the app right away. Or maybe some way to add a small 'close' button or a close gesture.
I'm asking this mostly because my phone sometimes even crashes because of high memory usage.
There are some task killers on Google Prey but I don't agree with their permissions.

Also, is that true: Permissions are far from ideal. I'll probably never have an Android device. - Page 3 - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com (post #56)? Probably not because it seems everyone in that forum disagrees, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Hadron]

Welcome to the forum

I'd certainly avoid task killers, as they are quite counterproductive (there's an article about this that's commonly linked, probably in the faqs forum, but as I'm using my phone & tapatalk to post this I can't easily search & link).

I'd have thought that most apps like games would go inactive rather quickly when you press the home button - navigation or a batch backup you'd want to continue, but you don't usually want games playing without you. In which case they may use RAM, but shouldn't be using cpu (and the phone will kick them out of RAM if another app needs it). RAM usage isn't something you should worry about. All linux/unix based systems, including android, normally run with high RAM usage - it's a different way of working from Windows.

TBH I do use a custom ROM where a long press on the back key kills an app, but don't use that feature very often. Some app managers or launchers have "kill this app" features, but I don't use any of those so can't really recommend one. I'm sure someone will have some suggestions.

 

[Alan Q]

Thanks for your reply.

Yeah, as a Linux user myself, I've never found it taking that lot of ram though, but it's okay, as long as the thing keeps running stable.

The problem is most games actually keep running on background as I use the home to exit them and they'll almost never actually stop... At least I've never noticed that.

The problem with the back button is some games just don't allow you to exit them using it. They ask for confirmations (sometimes two confirmations, before exiting the level and before actually quitting, not to tell you have to press back a lot of times), so the back button isn't suitable for closing apps.

Oh, I forgot to mention I'm on ICS (4.0.4). Imho, the ability to close apps by holding the back button should be a built-in feature, even if it's disable by default and in the developer menu.

Any idea about that link?

Thank you.

 

[jefboyardee]

I don’t know why, I already know I shouldn’t, but I sometimes use Fast Reboot to kill backgrounded apps and show a list of them.

 

[Hadron]

Remembered where it was! The link was in the Android Things To Know sticky post in this forum, and the article it links is Android Task Killers Explained: What They Do and Why You Shouldn't Use Them.

Hmm, on my phone the games I've tested do go to sleep when I press the home key (actually most exit immediately I switch to my monitoring app!), but my phone probably has more limited resources than yours so they may be different games or the OS might be dealing more aggressively with them .

 

[El Presidente]

If you're on ICS, you can swipe away apps to "kill" them/clear them from memory via the recent apps screen.

 

[Hadron]

I'd just looked that up, but was too slow

I really should get a new phone...

 

[dmobley88]

Menu key > Settings > Applications > Running Services > click on the app you want to kill and press force stop.

 

[Alan Q]

If you're on ICS, you can swipe away apps to "kill" them/clear them from memory via the recent apps screen.

Yes, but that screen doesn't show how much Mem/CPU the app is taking, and it seems it also doesn't even show if the app is actually running or just cached.

Menu key > Settings > Applications > Running Services > click on the app you want to kill and press force stop.

Yes, that's exactly what I don't want to do every game I stop playing.

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Isn't there a way to make the applications close by holding the back button without rooting/flashing a new rom? Or maybe just another way to make them quit, without having to go through task lists.

There is an option in the development menu that seems to prevent apps from running on background. I don't think It's a good approach though.

And what about that link on the first post?

Thank you guys.

 

[Spikey1109]

Advanced Task Killer would be the best option however it saves battery, but slows down your phone significantly since its constantly running in the background. Anyway, I use GO Launcher, and I'm petty sure you can kill tasks in the app drawer with it, so you could give it a try? If you're interested PM me and ill check for sure for you or something.

 

[El Presidente]

Advanced Task Killer would be the best option however it saves battery, but slows down your phone significantly since its constantly running in the background. Anyway, I use GO Launcher, and I'm petty sure you can kill tasks in the app drawer with it, so you could give it a try? If you're interested PM me and ill check for sure for you or something.

Have a scan of the links in this post: http://androidforums.com/android-lo...ose-apps-without-having-root.html#post5810317

Advanced Task Killer won't save battery (quite the opposite).

Alan, re the permissions, all you ever wanted to know is here: http://androidforums.com/android-ap...explained-security-tips-avoiding-malware.html

 

[nickdalzell]

I would only force stop an app which is either misbehaving or hogging CPU (phone is hot) such as some older or badly written apps. Some also include an exit feature in their settings menu (three vertical dots in 4.x and a gear or three little horizontal bars in 2.x) or ask when hitting the back key. Home is the minimize button. Force stopping an app also forces the background processes (notifications, Etc) to stop and most apps will automatically restart those services again. On limited memory devices such as older phones or low-end products many apps fight for their spot in the RAM which causes them to slow down (fitting Angry Birds and Facebook in 256MB isn't easy) and it makes more sense to stay on top of what is running and what isn't but most recent devices no longer require it

 

[Alan Q]

Advanced Task Killer would be the best option however it saves battery, but slows down your phone significantly since its constantly running in the background. Anyway, I use GO Launcher, and I'm petty sure you can kill tasks in the app drawer with it, so you could give it a try? If you're interested PM me and ill check for sure for you or something.

Have a scan of the links in this post: http://androidforums.com/android-lo...ose-apps-without-having-root.html#post5810317

Advanced Task Killer won't save battery (quite the opposite).

Alan, re the permissions, all you ever wanted to know is here: http://androidforums.com/android-ap...explained-security-tips-avoiding-malware.html

Yes, I'm trying to avoid task killers and in general too much programs bloating the system. I prefer to do everything with the built-in tools, except when they're really unusable or if there's a true advantage in using a 3rd party alternative.
That topic didn't help too much for this specific question but it's quite helpful overall. Epic I'd say . Google answered that question though (read below).

I would only force stop an app which is either misbehaving or hogging CPU (phone is hot) such as some older or badly written apps. Some also include an exit feature in their settings menu (three vertical dots in 4.x and a gear or three little horizontal bars in 2.x) or ask when hitting the back key. Home is the minimize button. Force stopping an app also forces the background processes (notifications, Etc) to stop and most apps will automatically restart those services again. On limited memory devices such as older phones or low-end products many apps fight for their spot in the RAM which causes them to slow down (fitting Angry Birds and Facebook in 256MB isn't easy) and it makes more sense to stay on top of what is running and what isn't but most recent devices no longer require it

Sure, the only problem is that there's a 'minimize' button but there's no 'close' button, sometimes you just want to close that app you're using, which is the case in all the games I play. The back button works very differently depending on the app, some just won't allow you to quit them using it so you need to use the in-app 'quit' command, and some apps doesn't have a 'quit' button and you need to use the back key. It's a mess.

----

I've installed an app called "permission.READ_PHONE_STATE" that only requires that permission and it displays a whole lot of strictly personal information. Seriously that forum "AndroidCentral" is an epic fail. It seems not even the moderators have an idea on the subject and if you say the truth you're burnt at the stake.
I know it's offtopic so I'm not talking more details.

Back on topic. I think this is a kinda annoying thing that you can't simply close the app easily. I know android is made to keep apps (the most possible) either running or cached all the time, but this just doesn't work as I expected, so a way to actually close an app would be quite useful. It seems that It can't be done without rooting though. Most apps are okay, but that minority that keeps hogging your CPU really can ruin your day.

Thank you guys.

 

[chanchan05]

Depends on the app, but I've never had trouble exiting apps. On browsers I close all tabs before exiting, but I never open a lot of them. Some browsers have exit buttons. Games exit when you back out. The only apps that I experience any difficulty in actually closing are apps that are many to run in the background like Twitter, but I want them to do so anyway, so I just leave them be.

 

[nickdalzell]

Chanchan twitter and the like probably do close down but their notification processes stay running

 

[gaslucas39]

advanced task killer, you can choose auto kill mode to save more ram

 

[Hadron]

A really bad idea. See the link I posted earlier in the thread.

 

[Alan Q]

The problem is when the background apps keep running. They hog CPU and in case of games they keep playing the sound, unless you exit them properly what is a tedious process depending on the app and can take a lot of time.
There should be an option to autokill background apps like that, so you could safely use the home button to exit apps.
It's good to have apps cached on the background, but not running like that.

Isn't there a task killer that kills (some) apps taking CPU/playing sounds when you 'minimize' them with the home button? Advanced Task Killer doesn't do that.

I find it very frustrating that there's no way to exit the apps consistently. It's up to the developer how you close them and they are rarely similar, so, basically, you can't rely on 'closing' apps in a hurry because each one is different. I miss the Alt+F4 .

It reminds me the pre-windows gui programs... most of them could be quit with a keyboard shortcut or the menu "File->Quit" that is consistent among most of them. I wasn't expecting this problem to be reintroduced decades later in a worse extent.

I hope they 'fix' this problem soon.

 

[nickdalzell]

Every solution I know of requires rooting. Changing the VM heap size where Android kills on its own more aggressively (almost always kills games on exit) is also root only. In ICS and above there are options in Development Options under settings to kill every app when leaving them however this will also kill launchers and Widgets as well.

It is not a problem. I used to think that way too but I was using devices running Android versions over three years old and expecting them to perform well with the hardware today. I assure you a higher end device would never need elaborate options like closing programs. Please do not compare Android to Windows. Pick up a Nexus and open everything all at once then hit home. I guarantee the device won't lag

 

[LoyalServant]

Remember guys you can disable and hide apps on a lot of devices.
If it's frozen and hidden it won't run and it won't be available to be run.
You can do that to all your carrier bloatware.