Help apps restarting themselves after force stop.

[intermental]

why is it that some apps restart themselves without me starting them after i have forcestopped them? things like gmail, maps, gallery... all tend to restart themselves even when i have backround data turned off.. WHY? HOW DO YOU STOP IT?!

furthermore you know what i hate.. theres no end on things. in order to make an app quit you have to force stop it. thats lame.

otherwise i am loving the crap out of my optimus V a week after getting it.

 

[adam97202]

This is why some people run task manager software -- to periodically kill the processes that come up whether you want them or not.

 

[mkbkr1]

Most of these apps are not actually running. Android keeps them in memory so they are ready when you need them. If they are not actually on screen and being used they don't use any juice. The android system is actually very good about monitoring its on memory. Force stopping those apps and having them start back up will use more juice then just leaving them alone. If the system needs more memory it wil automatically close apps to give you the needed space.

 

[Thorsten]

This is why some people run task manager software -- to periodically kill the processes that come up whether you want them or not.

You're right in the sense that people do do that. However, this is not actually advisable. At least the stock apps mentioned by the OP (and the vast majority of apps overall) will do absolutely no harm sitting in the background.

I used to be paranoid about this myself, but am no longer. The simple but effective proof: my wife uses an identical V with identical software and very similar usage patterns. The major difference between our phones: I'd always force-stop apps no longer needed; she doesn't even know what

 

[adam97202]

I wasn't necessarily advocating using a task killer, just saying that's why they exist.

I myself use Android Assistant, but I don't have it set to kill things automatically. Instead, if I feel like things are getting bloated, I open it manually and do a "Quick Boost," which clears everything out for the time being.

 

[Narrow Salvo]

Most of these apps are not actually running. Android keeps them in memory so they are ready when you need them. If they are not actually on screen and being used they don't use any juice. The android system is actually very good about monitoring its on memory. Force stopping those apps and having them start back up will use more juice then just leaving them alone. If the system needs more memory it wil automatically close apps to give you the needed space.

Are you sure about this? I'm seeing battery draining on apps.

Charged my phone overnight. Picked it off the charger and didn't even turn it on until about 2 hrs later. By that point, I was down to about 80% of battery life. According to SETTINGS / ABOUT PHONE / BATTERY USE, 54% of that power had been used by Google Goggles. Hadn't even used it today (ie. since the charging). Used it yesterday for 1-2 shots. Seems like that app IS running in the background and eating battery.

Am I missing something?

 

[peurbach]

Are you sure about this? I'm seeing battery draining on apps.

Charged my phone overnight. Picked it off the charger and didn't even turn it on until about 2 hrs later. By that point, I was down to about 80% of battery life. According to SETTINGS / ABOUT PHONE / BATTERY USE, 54% of that power had been used by Google Goggles. Hadn't even used it today (ie. since the charging). Used it yesterday for 1-2 shots. Seems like that app IS running in the background and eating battery.

Am I missing something?

I agree with Narrow Salvo. Maybe the stock apps that came with the phone are harmless to battery life, but many newspaper and magazine apps seem to search for updates (Bloomberg News is especially bad), and if I don't force close it, the phone gets hot after an hour or two and my battery dies approximately 6 hours away from charging.

 

[AndyOpie150]

If you just have to forcestop an app that keeps restarting,you might try Android App Manager. If I forcestop it with this app manager, it stays stopped until I need to use it.

 

[Petrah]

why is it that some apps restart themselves without me starting them after i have forcestopped them? things like gmail, maps, gallery... all tend to restart themselves even when i have backround data turned off.. WHY? HOW DO YOU STOP IT?!

furthermore you know what i hate.. theres no end on things. in order to make an app quit you have to force stop it. thats lame.

otherwise i am loving the crap out of my optimus V a week after getting it.

Read these articles so you can better understand how the Android operating system works (why apps keep restarting), and why it is important to stay away from task killers.

FAQ: Why You Shouldn’t Be Using a Task Killer with Android
Android Task Killers Explained: What They Do and Why You Shouldn't Use Them
AndroidSPIN Why you don’t need a task killer app with Android.

Having said that, you can download Watchdog from the Android Market. Watchdog is not an automated task killer. It will sit silently in the background, watch your apps, and give you a warning should any app begin to eat too much system resources. It will then give you an option to kill the app. This is much, much better for killing apps and gives you more control.

Thus far, the only built in app that came with my OpV to give me issues is the CoolIris Gallery app. I've had to kill that app a few times as it was eating up over 40% of my CPU.

 

[Narrow Salvo]

Read these articles so you can better understand how the Android operating system works (why apps keep restarting), and why it is important to stay away from task killers.

FAQ: Why You Shouldn

 

[koopakid08]

Thanks. I read those articles. However, frankly, I have to agree with a lot of the comments on the last one. To quote a few of them:

"You are right in that Android devices don't need ATKs for making room for more apps to run, but you miss the point that it is for battery conservation as well..."

"So, plug your ears and stomp you feet while screaming 'task killers are worthless' but, my battery still disagrees with you."

"I agree, android may not care how many tasks are running, but the battery certainly does... "

Killing apps is worthless. You kill them using battery power they reopen using more of your battery and then you kill them and then they reopen. It's just the way it works if you really care about your battery so much use juice defender instead of task killers. They are not actually running they are just hibernating not using your battery.

 

[Narrow Salvo]

Killing apps is worthless. You kill them using battery power they reopen using more of your battery and then you kill them and then they reopen. It's just the way it works if you really care about your battery so much use juice defender instead of task killers. They are not actually running they are just hibernating not using your battery.

You can say that, but my own phone says that 54% of my battery used since the last recharge was used by Google Goggles -- an app I hadn't even used since the last recharge. How do you account for that?

I'm open the possibility that I've got some other problem. But, as it stands, my battery would be dead in 10-12 hours - and that's just with the phone being inactive. And, again, over 50% of that power usage on an app I'm not using.

But, ultimately, you're right, the app just starts up again. What do I do about an app that keeps reopening and eating my lunch? Uninstall?

 

[AmishFury]

if google goggles is eating so much of your battery that means it's not behaving properly and should be removed

 

[Petrah]

if google goggles is eating so much of your battery that means it's not behaving properly and should be removed

nomnomnomnomnom!

Knowledge is power.

 

[intermental]

You can say that, but my own phone says that 54% of my battery used since the last recharge was used by Google Goggles -- an app I hadn't even used since the last recharge. How do you account for that?

I'm open the possibility that I've got some other problem. But, as it stands, my battery would be dead in 10-12 hours - and that's just with the phone being inactive. And, again, over 50% of that power usage on an app I'm not using.

But, ultimately, you're right, the app just starts up again. What do I do about an app that keeps reopening and eating my lunch? Uninstall?

yeah.... and as of my last check, Gallery is eating up 45% of my battery, and all i can figure is that it opens automatically when i turn on my camera. so then i have to kill both the camera and the gallery to make it stop doing that.

and yes.. i am running juice defender.

oh wait, i just checked and its 46% now.. despite the fact that force stopped both camera and gallery about 4 hours ago.

phones been unplugged for over 12 hrs, and actually thats only when i plugged in to my usb to transfer a file.

 

[ardchoille]

I develop Android apps so I though I'd explain why a task killer isn't needed on an Android system.

Activities
Android apps use activites to preform tasks. For example, if you use a file manager to send a picture via email, the file manager calls the send activity within an email app, passes the file name to it and the email app sends the picture.. not the file manager. This will result in seeing the email app as "running" even though the user didn't actually launch that email app.

Smaller apps
Using activites helps developers design smaller apps. A file manager app that contains every bit of code needed to do everything a file manager does would likely be so large that no one would want to install it. Developers know that an android phone more than likely has an email app so there is no need for the developer to include email code in his/her file manager to send a picture when he/she can call an activity in an existing email app to do the job. This results in a smaller file manager app since there is no need to include email code or any other code for an activity that can be done via an app that is already present on the phone. This also alleviates redundant code. When you install an app outside of the android market, also known as sideloading, the file manager app calls the package installer (already present in Android) to install the requested app.

Running apps vs. cached apps
The "Manage Applications" list included in many android devices lists running apps as well as cached apps. Cached apps don't use any CPU or battery, they're cached so they will load faster the next time you need them. Killing cached apps results in those apps requiring more time to load the next time they are launched.

System management
By default, every android application runs in its own Linux process. Android starts the process when any of the application

 

[syav]

Thanks for the detailed explanation, ardchoille!

 

[intermental]

this explains alot... and thank you very much.

 

[koopakid08]

Thanks for explaining it better than I did.

 

[Narrow Salvo]

Thanks, ardchoille, that's helpful.

However, is there an explanation as to why some apps seem to use an inordinate amount of power (according to SETTINGS / ABOUT PHONE / BATTERY USE)?

Doesn't seem like Google Goggles should have used 54% of the power on a day (when I didn't even use Goggles). (Had been unplugged for about 3 hrs by then and was down to about 80% battery.) Possibly it downloaded an update to Goggles during that time?

 

[marakae]

I have the LG OptimusV & find the battery gets sucked up without doing anything, even after doing task killer & force stops on apps. Went to bed one night with full battery & it was dead in the morning. any ideas?

 

[AndyOpie150]

Turn everything off when not in use, EVERYTHING. GPS, Bluetooth, 3G, WiFi, Auto sync, and turn down the screen brightness when you do use it to a level that you can just see the screen ok. Also there is a lot of good info in here as well 3G Drops and Battery Drain Solutions

 

[satish2114]

thanks a lot it's very usefull

 

[Trip9]

One of the the things that irritates me, is whenever I install or remove an app, a hand full of apps start up like they have business running without me starting them. Available memory drops and some apps are just plain battery hogs. So, whenever I install or remove an app I have the additional task of closing these apps. Run time for any app should occur at my discretion.. If an app refuses to cooperate, it is obvious the logic is missing to behave and it's gone. The OV has limited resources and efficient operation requires proactive maintenance. Using these procedures I get 2 days on a charge with moderate usage. Otherwise, I'd be charging one to two times a day.

 

[Petrah]

Trip.. check out the large post about 5 to 7 posts up from yours. It will explain a lot, and help you understand the Android operating system a bit better.