Random App starts and other oddities

[CthulhuFtagn]

Firstly, whilst I consider myself to be quite technically adept I am a bit of a newbie when it comes to the android OS.

I have a HTC Desire HD that is running a custom rom (N5 Experience Version) running Android 4.4.2. Most of my apps are downloaded from google play but I also have a few sideloaded ones. The phone is of course rooted.

My biggest mode of confusion is with process management. Being linux under the hood you would think process (task) management would be easier than with windows but it confuses the hell out of me.

I have a few issues.

1. Apps appear to randomly start, even when the phone is idle and data, bluetooth, etc is switched off I have advanced task manager installed and I've had it open waited for a few minutes, killed all tasks and then after a few more minutes a bunch of tasks have started again. This isnt just stuff like sms or the dialer, its games, random applications, even google chrome and opera start up randomly. I have scanned the phone with both avast antivirus and malwarebytes and there are no threats detected. What could be causing this? Is there a way to stop or prevent it? Bear in mind that this has happened to me within the last three days even after a full factory reset, wipe of all caches and reinstall of the rom.

2. My calls sometimes keep disconnecting. This is again at random. I could be in the middle of a call and suddenly it disconnects with no warning. Other times its fine. This seems independent of network coverage, time of day, battery level or credit remaining.

3. Again at random, when I make a call wifi, bluetooth and the flashlight will turn on. Again not all the time but often enough for it to be a battery draining annoyance.

Does anyone have a solution to any of the above issues, or has anyone experienced similar problems.

If this was a PC I would be looking at a virus / trojan as the possibility. I would also be looking at system restore and at whats happening in the kernal, but android is a black box to me. The most I can do is run some antivirus apps on the phone but none of them have picked anything up, and they lack the advanced features / configurability that the equivalent windows products have.

 

[Digital Controller]

1. This is android being android. It will start apps that you use more frequently, trying to be one step ahead of you opening them. This is where task killers come in, which in some cases cause more bad than good. It's better just letting Android be Android and let these apps run, because even if you kill them they usually start right back up after that.

2. This sounds like a device issue, or a ROM issue. If you haven't experienced this before maybe you should considering switching ROMs. If this is reoccurring no matter what, then it could just be a hardware issue, similar to that of the Galaxy Nexus, which was unfixable.

3. Okay the last one I cannot explain at all. Just make sure you have a clean install fo this ROM and that it is bugfree

 

[CthulhuFtagn]

Thanks for the help. I have been doing some reading up on how android manages tasks and whilst what you say is true I think you are misunderstanding. Its not just the processes being cached in memory or starting 'in the background' due to some event. I could be browsing through my contacts and suddenly plague inc will start up IN THE FOREGROUND as I'm trying to search for someone (just as an example).

With the call dropping issue I've also done some googling and it does look like its a hardware fault (unfixed) to do with the HTC Desire.

My third issue does have me totally stumped. I took a look at app premissions to see if anything had permission to turn on the flashlight other than the camera and no app had permission to do that. I can understand some apps turning on wifi and bt but its the flashlight starting during a call that confuses me. I'm wondering if this last issue and the call dropping issue are somehow related, though.

 

[lunatic59]

The only thing I can think of that would explain all of this is a hardware problem with your digitizer registering random screen touches and/or a bad proximity sensor.

Do these problems with the dropped calls and flashlight only happen when you are holding the phone to your ear? That could easily be a bad proximity sensor turning your screen on and your ear or cheek taps the screen and turns something on or hangs up while you are on a call.