Help When I close radio/music it still plays...

[doooford]

I may not know how to use Android, so it may be obvious. But the other day I went to the BBC to listen to Radio 4 online. I had to install BBC Media Player, and then it played. When I closed the website (and all applications using that square at the bottom left of the screen) I was still listening to the Archers (which I don't like). It got me in a right tizz as it seemed to not be open. I had to restart the phone to close it in the end.
The same thing happened today, I was listening to 'Chess Masters are Cool' through the default "Music" app. I closed everything down yesterday and when I plugged some headphones in today it carried on playing. But when I pressed that square to show open applications there is nothing there.
How do I properly close this stuff down as there is no in program close function like in the good old days.

Also, I don't know why Radio 4 let the archers on there, it ruins what would be a perfectly great Radio station.

 

[Slug]

How do I properly close this stuff down as there is no in program close function like in the good old days.

The app will close itself (as required) if its inactive. Rather than leaving the stream running, use the "stop" or "pause" button; the app will then remain inactive and its resources recovered if required.

 

[doooford]

Cheers Slug, but pausing a stream doesn't always guarantee that the data connection drops and it may buffer a fair bit of data.
I'm quite festidious about wanting everything closed as I don't like "background" applications especially with the battery life I'm getting. Is there a way to stop Android 'hiding' background applications or a task manager I can use to close them down?
Just seems odd they don't show under that applications button?

 

[doooford]

Also it's inconsistent. So sometimes the music player kicks in from last time. Sometimes it doesn't. So I would be hesitant to believe that this is not a bug.

 

[Slug]

pausing a stream doesn't always guarantee that the data connection drops and it may buffer a fair bit of data.

Ah, that's a good point. I always "stop" if I'm streaming over mobile data.

I'm quite festidious about wanting everything closed as I don't like "background" applications especially with the battery life I'm getting.

The danger with that is that you inadvertently 'close' processes that are essential to the device's operation. It's not always obvious from the name why an app/process is running.

Is there a way to stop Android 'hiding' background applications or a task manager I can use to close them down?
Just seems odd they don't show under that applications button?

In Settings/Apps, the menu (top-right, three vertical dots) has a "Show system" option. By selecting an app, you can see stats about storage, data, battery etc used by that app, and selecting these in turn give further options to fine-tune behaviour.

I can't advise on task managers, as I've never used them. I've always found Android to be pretty clever at managing itself.

sometimes the music player kicks in from last time. Sometimes it doesn't. So I would be hesitant to believe that this is not a bug.

If the Music app remains idle but in memory (inactive) then it resumes playback perfectly. I find though that if it's not used for some time, and thus is 'killed' by Android's own resource management, it remembers the last-played track but usually resumes from the start rather than mid-track.

 

[doooford]

This is my worst nightmare though, hidden background applications. No wonder my battery dies so quickly!

 

[doooford]

So I suppose my best bet is to convince myself that this is a feature then? Much like Samsung Note customers get a free hand warmer

 

[Slug]

This is my worst nightmare though, hidden background applications. No wonder my battery dies so quickly!

Sometihng else is at work here....

So I suppose my best bet is to convince myself that this is a feature then? Much like Samsung Note customers get a free hand warmer

Or you could work with us to find out why your battery is being hammered?