Help Advanced Task Killer

citlecevoli · Jul 10, 2011

Hello everyone,

I have just moved from my iPhone to Samsung Galaxy S2 and am struggling with the adjustment. I have read all the threads on here and elsewhere about the battery draining quickly and have a similar experience.

My query though are around the fact that when I open up Advanced Task Killer and end all apps after a few minutes they start up again even though some of them I have not opened since killing:

1. Is this simply me learning that apps/programs always run in the background and previously through my iPhone I could not see this or is there a way to stop these apps from automatically running after being stopped?

2. Would these apps/programs running in the background contribute to my battery drain issue?

Thanks in advance

geekaren · Jul 10, 2011

I've found that leaving task killers running in the background contributes to battery drain. Here's what I'd suggest:

* Uninstall Advanced Task Killer.

* If you have been using a particularly battery-draining app and want to manually close it, you can long press the Home button and select "Task Manager" button at bottom. That will bring up a display of active apps, and you can simply press the "End All" button to close them.

* BTW, when you are finished using an app, repeatedly pressing the "Back" button should close the app for you.

Slug · Jul 10, 2011

Welcome to Android Forums, Citlecevoli!

Have a read of Should I Use a Task Killer? for some background info on why these are generally considered bad juju with recent Android releases.

jimlad · Jul 10, 2011

anyone using advanced task killer on this phone is a fool... its not how android is intended to run...

loony · Jul 10, 2011

+1.

task killer WAS a good idea.

Slug · Jul 10, 2011

jimlad said:
anyone using advanced task killer on this phone is a fool...

I think "misguided" is a better description.

Task management apps have their place, which is why recent Android versions include the facility. Automated task killers went out with the ark though, or at least with 1.5/1.6.

fssia · Jul 11, 2011

Hi, I am still very new to Android, so forgive my noob question.

I stopped using task killers after I read about Watchdog and also other threads here and in XDA but I didn't uninstalled them as I assumed without setting auto kill, they will be fine. But since reading this thread, I have un-installed both Advanced Task Killer and its like.

I am however still using ZDbox and an app called App Cache. ZDbox has task killer function which I hardly use. Is it advisable to uninstall it too? I like the other functions it offers, so am wondering if I could keep it.

Is it ok to use App Cache and History Eraser? Or these apps are duplicating functions already built-in to the S2 system apps?

Please advise. Thanks a lot!

Slug · Jul 11, 2011

It's the automatic killers that are advised against, as they can end up fighting Android's own process management and doing more harm than good. Having one installed for manual intervention in the case of problems is fine, and probably good practice if you try out lots of apps.

You can clear individual app's data and cache files from Settings/Applications/Application Management, but if App Cache makes it easier then there's no harm in using it.

trick202 · Jul 11, 2011

In my opinion (as an iPhone user as well as a recent purchaser of the gs2) is that you just need to get used to the android way of working.

Many scoff at the iPhone's 'multitasking' credentials - for in everyday life, for an everyday user - it's way more efficient. You MUST be more disciplined about exiting apps when you don't need them. I tend to back out of mine, as has been suggested here. I'm not a "power user" though

My galaxy s2 also has a widget called 'active applications'. Let's me know if I've left things open and allows me to shut them down all at once, or individually.

My battery seems to be fine at the moment, but I haven't used it in anger yet.

citlecevoli · Jul 11, 2011

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply, I have followed the advice and ditched the advanced task killer and now kill apps with the active applications widget. Today has seen me use the phone to listen to a couple of podcasts, some texting and email and got around 16hrs out of the battery -is this about average? Seems to need a charge every night?

ducati1979cc · Jul 12, 2011

My battery is drained after 10 hours of use with Advanced Task Killer. :mad:

Without this app I get with the same usage about 15 hours.

I keep almost everything enabled, like GPS, auto rotate, auto brightness, auto sync 5 mail accounts, Live Wallpaper, RSS auto update every half hour and 3G is always on. :cool:

The ROM is from Lite'ning 1.5

fssia · Jul 12, 2011

Slug said:
It's the automatic killers that are advised against, as they can end up fighting Android's own process management and doing more harm than good. Having one installed for manual intervention in the case of problems is fine, and probably good practice if you try out lots of apps.

You can clear individual app's data and cache files from Settings/Applications/Application Management, but if App Cache makes it easier then there's no harm in using it.

Thanks for the advices. I feel safer now.

Still testing out all these apps as I was once a Palm device user and boy, trying out the apps and games was actually more fun than actually playing the games installed or using the apps themselves.

But what I want was to eventually settle down with the apps that suits my usage. Hoping for Android to develop into what the Palm was able to offer (before it became dead) soon.

On charging battery, if we're left with 40% or so at the end of the day, are we advise to charge it or better to let it drain down to less than 20% then charge it?

Slug · Jul 12, 2011

fssia said:
On charging battery, if we're left with 40% or so at the end of the day, are we advise to charge it or better to let it drain down to less than 20% then charge it?

It doesn't matter. If anything it's probably better (in the long term) to recharge from 40% than 20% or lower. Li-ion batteries do not like being fully discharged regularly.

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