• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Lack of choice of App selection while in Power Saving Mode.

Lu D

Lurker
Jan 18, 2020
3
2
I own a Samsung Galaxy Prime Core.

My problem - When I put the phone in Power Saving Mode, O cannot put any app that I choose in the empty slots. When I depress the + sign to add an app, my choices are limited to maybe 5 apps, not giving me the ability to add my app of choice. I want to insert a phone app, in the event I need to make or answer a call while in that mode.
The instructions in the manual doesn't address this. All it provides are instructions on how to remove or add an app(s). When I depress the + sign it gives me, as mentioned above a choice of 4 or 5 being like calendar, voice recorder, etc. ???
 
My WAG on this is that you will be able to make and receive calls even if you are in power saving mode.

Some apps, especially system apps, are not affected by this mode at all.

Generally it is to be assumed that making calls is the dominant function of the device, so any power saving efforts would only serve to continue this sbility for as long ss possible.

My guess is that the apps that you cannot select are already included in the set of apps that are not affected by the power saving mode anyway.

To test this, put the device into power saving mode and then attempt a call.

As far as I know, power saving mode generally affects data useage more than anything else, so it should not affect voice calls.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dannydet
Upvote 0
You are right as the phone does list the resident phone app on its display. But, the app I want to include is a phone app that is on the phone but not on the power saving home page. I wanted to include it because it because my resident phone is pay-as-you-go that can get quite expensive to use. My workaround was to download this 2nd phone app, which I use when my phone is full power. The problem is I can't install it on the 6 selections that I have in the power mode. All it gives me, as I might have mentioned previously are mundane apps such as clock, memo, etc. I'm starting to believe that the only apps I can put in the power saving mode are those that are resident to the phone. The manual doesn't address that possibility not mentioning any limitations. All the manual provides is procedures to add and to remove apps, without mention of what apps.??
In any case, t thank you for your reply and suggestion. But, if you come up with any more info about this matter please don't hesitate in providing it. It would be helpful. Mentally and financially! Lol....
 
Upvote 0
Your issue is one that I can relate to well.
Even if I had the money to spend on an excellent device (and I don't) I still wouldn't.

I am about as frugal as I can be, out of both choice and necessity.

I don't use the power saving mode on any of my devices.
They just don't seem to save anything and only serve to hamper performance.

Generally speaking, Wi-Fi uses less energy than cellular.
So use Wi-Fi whenever you can.

I also use a secondary phone app, called Dingtone.
It is a VOIP service, allowing calls, texts, and MMS over the internet.

I have a single account that is shared between three devices. When I could not afford a cellular plan, this app was a God send.

Anyway, back on point- System apps are not going to stay shut off- they will automatically reboot.
So theonly apps that you have real control over are the ones that you install yourself.

There is an app called Greenify that will allow you to control these apps running in the back ground, and givevyou some other cool features as well.

Also, under Settings, Battery, then the menu inside the Battery Settings there are the options for Battery Optimization.

This is where you can control what apps the Android OS turns off when it decides that they no longer need to run.

Then there is the Data Saver feature, that will disable/limit data connections that are not on Wi-Fi. This not only saves data useage, it also saves power.

Another thing to do is to turn Mobile Data off when you are not using it. This,will also save data and power, but remember that your data dependent apps (e-mail, social media, etc.) won't update until a data link is restored.

I know that it seems counter intuitive to install another app to save power when there is already a 'power saver' feature- but it seems that you have also found that it is not as useful as it should be.

I swear that my device seems to use more energy when 'power saver' is on rather than off.

It also seems that I need to turn it off if I wish to use the device for most anything at all.

So I would try Greenify, and look at the apps inside the Battery Optimization section.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones