Should You Use a Task Killer?

[SHiFT3R]

If you want to kill tasks - yes
If you don't want to kill tasks - no

Do you want to kill tasks?
No - you don't need a task killer
Yes - why do you want to kill tasks?

I wan't to kill tasks that are sucking the life out of my desire - bad app!
I wan't to kill tasks because OCD drives me to keep things as minimal as possible - you don't need a task killer you need an iPhone

Heh.. I want to add this as a signature
May I?

 

[spinz78]

after un-installling Advanced task killer the overnight battery usage has gone down to 4% from 11%. WaT was the use of task killer again??????

 

[spenspuma]

I uninstalled advanced task killer a few weeks ago and noticed NO improvement in battery usage.

 

[Eris Ed]

I'll continue to use task killer to close apps that do actually continue to run and drain battery in the background like sports scores update apps etc.

I hear this argument for the use of task killers quite often.

My feeling is that it's far better and quicker to do Menu > Settings > Update frequency > Never. when you no longer want an app to update (such as sports results in your example), than opening the task killer, selecting the app and forcing a close.

I would think there is more risk of problems and/or forced closes due to shutting down an app by a third party task killer than letting the app manage it's own operations as it was designed to do.

 

[stringent]

Well I always have used one, but in the interest of curiosity and to see if Lekky is right, I'll uninstall it and see how the phone goes.

 

[matttye]

I knew about how Android managed memory long before I actually got an Android phone, so I never even thought twice about a task killer

Nearly every single point "for" task killers can be refuted. If something is running battery intensive tasks in the background that you don't want it to do, then look through the options to see if it can be controlled. If not, then get rid of the app and find one that's actually half decent; no app should auto-sync without the user's say so.

Well I always have used one, but in the interest of curiosity and to see if Lekky is right, I'll uninstall it and see how the phone goes.

Lekky is right. If your phone is worse without a task killer then you should think about uninstalling some rogue/bad apps you've installed.

 

[sar050680]

First thing I was advised in CarPhoneWarehouse was get Advanced Task Killer to enhance the battery. Used it for maybe two weeks, liked it. After Lekky saying its not needed in another thread I thought I'd have a go without it and have been maybe three weeks without ATK and I have not noticed much difference tbh. After reading your article Lekky I have a better understanding now, so thanks for writing it, from a first time android nokia lover, lolol.

 

[Wardogz]

it really isn't. you should really read my article. Android actually creates an ecosystem where no apps should be closed, if a phone had enough memory available, the ideal situation for android would be all apps open all the time.

"running", please make note of how i surround the word in quotations. then do a search in my article for the same word.



Again, some poor assumptions here. you really don't need to kill "running" apps when your screen turns off. Freeing up memory for when your phone turns on again is actually really bad advice. Basically means the phone having to completely reopen an app, rather than pull it from memory (where, i might add, it has been sitting idle not harming anyone) quickly and efficiently.

I was playing Racing Live Storm 8 this morning and it started hanging and just refused to load properly, in order to restart it I used the force close widget in ATK to kill it.

I also use it to kill ebuddy as I don't want it running all the time using data and battery. Whatever Android does in the background does not stop 50 people sending me messages on Ebuddy all day . And with the data caps that network providers are planning I am keen to avoid certain apps running me up a big bill.

I find ATK really useful and I also get excellent battery life, which improved with ATK.

I don't use auto kill and I ignore all core apps. I'm aware that I can force close apps in system settings but it's quicker to use ATK

 

[EmperorKabir]

what about long shutdown times that are drastically shortened by task killing just before you power off?

 

[Stucky]

I have ATK and find my battery life has improved since using it. I have noticed my phone starting to slow when there's a lot going on in the background, and having one button to kill it all helps. I did uninstall it for a while and almost immediately noticed my battery was running down faster. So for me, it does what it says on the tin and I'm happy with it.

 

[HTCandroid]

i always used one from when i had my phone, un-installed it recently to see if there was a difference and for me it was not noticeable. Its definite not running worse, maybe a lil smoother though. Plus whilst i had the task killer i had the habit of killing tasks every time i used the phone which got annoying so im happy without it

 

[mikebell]

what about long shutdown times that are drastically shortened by task killing just before you power off?

For most users, this is no longer an issue with Android 2.2 as shutdown is fast and reliable.

For those with 2.2 and this issue, it may actually be the task killer that's the problem. It is, after all, trying to circumvent the way that the OS does its work.

 

[matttye]

I was playing Racing Live Storm 8 this morning and it started hanging and just refused to load properly, in order to restart it I used the force close widget in ATK to kill it.

I also use it to kill ebuddy as I don't want it running all the time using data and battery. Whatever Android does in the background does not stop 50 people sending me messages on Ebuddy all day . And with the data caps that network providers are planning I am keen to avoid certain apps running me up a big bill.

I find ATK really useful and I also get excellent battery life, which improved with ATK.

I don't use auto kill and I ignore all core apps. I'm aware that I can force close apps in system settings but it's quicker to use ATK

Are you trying to tell me that eBuddy doesn't have a log out feature? If so, it's quite possibly the worst IM app ever written

 

[SB13X]

Not needed and after opening apps and leaving updates frequeny at around 1-2hours (even though I usually force refresh a lot more regularly) get a days usage and even without powercycling and leaving the phone alone other than the odd 5 minutes phone call and texts the phone will last 2 days easy. ATK's aren't required, savvy use of the market and checking of CPU usage with newly installed apps is whats required. Only people I imagine will suffer greatly in regards battery life are those hammering GPS using apps and not turning it off when not in use.

 

[Wardogz]

Are you trying to tell me that eBuddy doesn't have a log out feature? If so, it's quite possibly the worst IM app ever written

Of course it does but I don't want to have to log in and out every time, this is the same for many apps I use. ATK is an extremely useful tool for me.

There is nothing wrong with using an ATK providing you make sure it ignores all core apps. People that experience shortened battery life while using an ATK are not using it properly.

Like I've said many times, using an ATK in the way I do has saved me A LOT of battery life.

 

[Deleted User]

Nearly every single point "for" task killers can be refuted. If something is running battery intensive tasks in the background that you don't want it to do, then look through the options to see if it can be controlled. If not, then get rid of the app and find one that's actually half decent; no app should auto-sync without the user's say so.
Lekky is right. If your phone is worse without a task killer then you should think about uninstalling some rogue/bad apps you've installed.

That's bang on accurate, the Android OS manages apps and memory properly. The issue is some apps don't manage themselves properly. That's one of the problems of an open market for apps - badly written apps can get in the way of all the other good stuff.

As for battery life, under my typical use of a few calls totalling 20-30mins, some texts, a little browsing, Maps lookup, Google Sky, etc., I can get 2 days out of a charge. I have 3G, location, GPS, weather, and always on data enabled so it works as a smartphone should (wifi and bluetooth off). My last charge netted me 52 hours and down to 28% before I recharged again. With heavier usage, I still get a full day out of it, but I have a car charger ($11 cheapy that works great) incase I need to run Navigation or use it a lot more than normal.

I'm quite happy with the Desire.

 

[LECTER]

Happy to see that this thread made it to the apps forum!

 

[CloughIsGod]

What if I don't want multiple icons in the status bar at the top of the phone?

 

[SB13X]

Simple if the apps any good you should be able to deactivate it in a settings menu.
Such as you can with 3G Watchdog and AudioManager.

 

[Wardogz]

Simple if the apps any good you should be able to deactivate it in a settings menu.
Such as you can with 3G Watchdog and AudioManager.

the problem is sometimes there is no alternative to these apps with "poor coding" so simply deleting them and looking for a better alternative is not always possible.

 

[Mongoose135]

Hmm, how could you explain WHY leaving tasks running can improve battery life? It must have something to do with the starting up or closing of applications taking more battery life, or some kind of side effect due to that..

Could it simply be that people with task killer apps tend to use their devices more heavily, thus causing them to get the task killer in the first place? It could be psychological.

 

[lekky]

the problem is sometimes there is no alternative to these apps with "poor coding" so simply deleting them and looking for a better alternative is not always possible.

there is always an alternative!

Hmm, how could you explain WHY leaving tasks running can improve battery life? It must have something to do with the starting up or closing of applications taking more battery life, or some kind of side effect due to that..

Could it simply be that people with task killer apps tend to use their devices more heavily, thus causing them to get the task killer in the first place? It could be psychological.

You'd seriously be hard pressed to find someone who uses their phone more than me, seriously.

 

[Magser]

I have found out from experience myself as a brand new Android user just how badly the phone is affected by the task killer. My phone's battery life went down so badly after I installed it not long after getting the phone and after having it in my phone for almost a month I uninstalled it after seeing this in another thread on here and now it runs much better.
Thanks for the advice!

 

[SB13X]

the problem is sometimes there is no alternative to these apps with "poor coding" so simply deleting them and looking for a better alternative is not always possible.

Don't be so vague explain which app your referring to and the features you require from the app and let us do the looking for you and see what we come up with. I'd like to know the specific apps so I can at least add to the demand for the notification bar icon to have a disable option by contacting the relevant developer.

 

[widehead]

So, when I turn my phone off and then on again - how do I turn off all the apps that autorun and try their hardest to sync every 5 minutes? Without a task killer how do I stop Plurk (for example?)