Task killer apps " THE TRUTH"

[Krugger]

I think that it would be super cool if someone tested battery life with and w/o a task killer

its been done informally many times. every time battery life was better w/o. however, i don't think anyone is suggesting an always running task killer is beneficial. i think most people in this thread that are for tk's are suggesting that restricting what starts up automatically and killing tasks once in a while throughout the day are where the use is.

 

[iFrostyy]

its been done informally many times. every time battery life was better w/o. however, i don't think anyone is suggesting an always running task killer is beneficial. i think most people in this thread that are for tk's are suggesting that restricting what starts up automatically and killing tasks once in a while throughout the day are where the use is.

When you tested this did you have the app always running in the background or did you not even open it once. Because I have mine installed but I only open it when I have been using my droid heavily and I know I have a lot of apps running. Do you think that this still affects my batter life?

 

[Krugger]

When you tested this did you have the app always running in the background or did you not even open it once. Because I have mine installed but I only open it when I have been using my droid heavily and I know I have a lot of apps running. Do you think that this still affects my batter life?

i've tested it on my own with only open/closing. but plenty of others in the forums have tested it with it running int the background and said it makes things worse.

 

[iFrostyy]

Personally i think that it does no harm to the phone when it is not running, but im no expert

 

[iFrostyy]

SOLVED!
FAQ: Why You Shouldn’t Be Using a Task Killer with Android Geek For Me – Android CDMA Sprint Hero

In a nutshell-Uninstall Task killers, and battery life/memory usage/phone performance will increase.

 

[cunningstunts]

Ok, so I get an email directly from verizon with tips on how to use the droid. It specifically states to download task killer free from the market. Is this strange or what?

 

[SinfulDragon]

LOL, i just started a thread because I got that same email.

 

[iFrostyy]

You can believe what you want, but i was a regular Kill all apps kinda guy but then i decided to try out uninstalling it and i think that it improved many aspects to my phone

 

[silveragony]

I have read all the threads on this topic and am experiencing exact opposite results that all of you have had with task killers. My Droid Eris has seemed to slow down even more now that I have uninstalled my task killer and freezes more often with all my apps taking longer to load. Simple text msg with Handcent has proven to be a task since the uninstall of ANY task manager. Any ideas? Getting ready to go back to my BB Storm! Don't really want to....!

 

[cre8ivenail]

I have read thru most of this thread and feel enlightened enough to get rid of my Advanced Task Killer.

I still have one question: When I restart my phone I notice a few apps start up also, some from the Market & some preinstalled with the phone. Many have mentioned that there is a place one can go to kill unwanted tasks running (I have a note app from the market that starts when I reboot. Why it starts I have no idea, but I don't need to use it so I'm thinking I should just kill it. Some of you have made me paranoid by referring to poorly written apps\poor dev's.

I have a G1 and I don't know where to go into my OS naturally to kill "poorly written apps". Is this something I should worry about or should I just let G1 do what it is designed to do?

 

[cre8ivenail]

OK, I shut off cell, rebooted & noted apps that started w\reboot. I went into those apps & there was an option to NOT start at beginning of the start of background svc's. There were only 4 apps that started @ reboot, 3 from Market & 1 called 'My Uploads', which looks like an OS thing. The only on from Market I couldn't stop upon reboot was the app that keeps your screen from auto shut-off after a period of non use (this app is surprisingly made by the some person who made Advanced Task Killer). While I didn't stop it I did limit the amount of apps I wanted to keep the screen on). I uninstalled ATK, rebooted.

I saw a change instantly! My cell rebooted in less than half the time it used to. When it was done rebooting, I long pressed the home key to see what was running in the background...the screen said, "NOTHING"!

I am sold just on these two things alone! Now I'm thinking aboutt deleting the app that keeps the screen on while using certain apps. Any thoughts?

 

[cre8ivenail]

OMG, I can't believe how fast everything is!

 

[nlsuelo13]

ok i was using atk, uninstalled it , but i did notice a battery drain. T mobile recomended advance task manager and its back to saving my battery . the cool thing about it, is that you have the option to kill only the 3rd party apps. all the other apps it warns you that it could cause the phone to not operated normal for a short period of time, so i only kill the 3rd party apps and phone work great.

 

[cre8ivenail]

Since I have uninstalled ATK I have noticed considerable battery drain but I thought that I was doing something wrong. My cell reboots faster and I can surf the net faster BUT I get below 50% power at least 3x a day. It got to the point where I began rebooting my phoone after I used any apps just so nothing would keep running in the background (the only way I saved battery power). So now what? Must I sacrifice one for another?

 

[Space Mountain]

Has anyone ever thought of making a poll on who uses Task Managers and who doesn't? Like with success and without success of battery life and performance?

 

[jxker]

OK, I shut off cell, rebooted & noted apps that started w\reboot. I went into those apps & there was an option to NOT start at beginning of the start of background svc's.

exactly where do you find the options to have apps not start on boot?? ALL my apps start on boot and my phone lags until i kill them....also, over time, some apps start by themselves if i do nothing at all....do i really want handcent running if i didn't start it???

 

[GP84]

I've been going back and forth, back and forth with this whole Task Killing debate. Honestly, I notice no difference in battery life or phone performance with or without ATK. And I've read through this entire thread, and it seems like most people who are complaining about ATK are the ones who leave it running constantly...am I right?? Those who advocate not using task killers, do you mean not to keep it running all the time?

Because I use it, but I have it checked off to kill itself at the same time when I kill other apps. Leaving it on constantly obviously doesn't make any sense to me either, but using it once or twice a day seems perfectly fine to me. I have gmail, mail, messages, clock, voice dialer, settings, and usually the browser on my ignore list. Yay or nay?

 

[nosut]

so I read everything and noticed there are several points people are making then seem to be arguing about even though person A says something person B is using a different point to disprove person A.

What I mean simply is when someone says "I am using (any task killer) I have it set to kill itself while killing background apps" someone will come and say something like "but have (task killer) running can slow the phone down and drain battery."

When we are talking about task killers there are really three states the phone can be in regarding them.
1. No task killer
2. Task killer that moniters the phone at all times
3. Task killer that only runs and kills apps when you chose.

I have seen plenty of people state what happens and what they believe in regards to the first two. However what about number 3? What is the down side to having an app such as ATK (when you only run it when killing background apps and have it kill itself in the process). Battery life and speed should not be affected due to the fact that there is no app being run. And when you decide to kill multi apps at once you meerly need to click twice and you can close it all in one shot(which due to the fact that you can only shut down one at a time with the built-in task manager you take less time and use less of the phones battery supplying it to the display[not much of a sliver of its life but some none the less]). What are your thoughts on this?

 

[Yorb]

Just thought I'd mention that, being a Mac user from the start, the thought of a task killer never would have crossed my mind had it not been for the VZW rep (A Wireless, vzawireless.com) who sold me my Droid Eris. During the setup process at the store, he downloaded and installed the ATK Free app and added it to my home screen, saying it was the best app I'd ever find.

Did I believe him? Of course! I have zero experience with the Android OS.

Recently uninstalled, gonna see if it helps with my constant sense UI crashes and general sluggishness.

Having said all that, I agree with the sentiment that it might be a good idea to keep a task killer app on hand so that if you DO have a bad app that keeps launching in the background and leaking memory or hogging CPU cycles, you can track it down quickly.

 

[DaveTheDeceiver]

Found this to be true on mine too. Then I did some reading, and got out of the "Windows OS" mindset....and realized this isn't a windows OS, and a program like Task Killer is really not needed at all.

One of the first apps i downloaded was the advanced task killer and i was actually pretty unhappy with the phone. It would lag a lot when texting and doesnt let me be on aim 24/7 like my sidekick did. However then i read this forum. I had no idea that the problems could have been caused by the task killer.

Im now two days without any task killer, and my phone is just fine as far as battery life and little to no lag when texting. No wonder why the phone didnt come with one! It doesnt need it!

As for the aim thing, that still kindof ticks me off that it would destroy the battery so bad. I guess ill stick with staying mobile and receiving IMs through texts.

This forum was really helpful thank you!

 

[FrayAdjacent]

I used ATK for a while, then stopped, but started using it again recently.

I noticed when I restart my phone, several apps start up that I certainly do not need running. The two that come to mind are Maps, and the Amazon MP3 store. I have NEVER started the Amazon MP3 Store app manually. Never. It's one of the native apps, so it cannot be uninstalled.

I am also one who kills the task killer when I kill off applications. I haven't noticed any serious degradation of battery life, but then I'm a relatively light user, and I have opportunity to have the phone on the charger often.

 

[somekid13]

ok so i had TK and ATK since i got my droid and was in the same catagory of people believing that android need a task killer/manager. so after reading this forum and talking to some buddies who run linux i decided to try it without and yep they were right there is no need for it. android was developed not to need a task manager. my phone has beed running the same performance as when i had ATK, if not better.

p.s. i get my emails more consistently now and os is running smoother too.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[King_Bean]

my phone has beed running the same performance as when i had ATK, if not better.

p.s. i get my emails more consistently now and os is running smoother too.

Same here.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

It got to the point where I began rebooting my phoone after I used any apps just so nothing would keep running in the background (the only way I saved battery power).

seems to me rebooting is like the long ******ed form of just using a ATK that takes seconds. both accomplish the same thing in the end.. so if your going to do 1 or the other, I would just use ATK

I am a fan and user of ATK and don't buy, never did buy, that it causes any issues, damage, performance loss.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

SOLVED!
FAQ: Why You Shouldn’t Be Using a Task Killer with Android Geek For Me – Android CDMA Sprint Hero

In a nutshell-Uninstall Task killers, and battery life/memory usage/phone performance will increase.

this so does NOT solve anything..

"Android is hard coded to automatically kill a task when it’s done doing what it needs to do"

this statement alone is BS to me given I see tons of apps running I never asked to run, never use, never started. So, if is is designed to "kill a task when it’s done" how do you explain all the apps you can see running that you never activated?

"Android is hard coded to automatically kill a task when you haven’t returned to it in a long time."

same with this, as I have seen apps I never even use or used running.. and running later. and, what defines "a long time"? that is lamely vague.

"Killing a process when it isn’t ready only causes it to have to reload itself and start from scratch when it’s needed again."

yeah yeah yeah, nano seconds of power and time needed to "reload itself and start from scratch", he acts like it is starting up like an old 1980's car with a carb. if these apps can load in a second when the phone loads, they can load in a second when called upon IF even called upon.

anyway... that whole article seems to have holes to me and solves 0