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Is it good or bad for the phone?
I'm getting mixed information....
Thanks
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
from a spec perspective, the phone should be able to handle multitasking fine. though in terms of software, it may vary. certain apps use a ton of power when running in the background so a task killer can be handy. though the android dev team hates task killers cause android technically doesn't need it and it can cause FCs on apps.
Our phones don't need it. I quit using task killers when I got the Vibrant. Tell you the truth I never noticed a difference with or without it.
i use it maybe once a day because i dont want any apps running in the bg eating my battery
technically, they lost most of their use after Android 2.1 became standard and just like what has been said before they weren't that great to begin with unless you used a ton of apps. You're better off using Cachemate every now and then. Most users really don't need a task killer app. Its just a waste of time.
Auto Task Killer just reconfigures the OS to kill idle tasks quicker. Without it, my G1 running 2.1 crawls after an hour of use (same with my ZT-180 Android Tablet running 2.1). With it, my G1/ZT-180 run fairly fast. I never "use" it, I just configure it and forget about it.
I have not put ATK on my G2 yet as everyone says not to use it on Froyo. I don't understand why not to though. I may try it if my G2 starts slowing down. Hopefully that will never happen.
It doesn't take tons of apps to slow it down, just a few that insist on remaining in memory for no reason (which is most apps with widgets, even if you are not using the widget)
-FuRBz- said:
i use it maybe once a day because i dont want any apps running in the bg eating my battery
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Another great feature of Android is smart power consumption, along with the solid memory management. Power shouldn't really be an issue.
I used to use TasKiller on my G1 and it made even CM6 choppy as could be. FC's, nothing ran smooth, tons of lag opening stuff. In theory, Android runs a service and TasKiller tries to kill it, so Android runs it again, and it loops again and again; this eats cpu and resources like crazy. They day I uninstalled TasKiller from my G1 was the day that blew my mind on how fast the phone still was with CM6. That was the ONE thing I did... No changes except uninstalling the task killer, and that change made my phone ~4x faster.
Now I have a G2 and no task killer of any sort.
It's bad! Android is set up this way too preserve battery life and functionality. Its like putting your computer on stand by. Nothing is running but you know its on. By "killing"certain apps, you are making the os realize that something it needs is not there and then haas to reopen it which wastes battery and functionality worse than just letting it stay a process in the background. Under application settings there is a menu that says running services.if an app is giving you a hard time, you can force close from there. Task killers are a waste of time and do more harm than good.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
If you want to get more specific, here's how the Android system works with memory and application management:
GeekFor.Me Article
It's a good read, but if it's TLDR then here's the summary:
GeekFor.Me said:
* Android is hard coded to automatically kill a task when more memory is needed.
* Android is hard coded to automatically kill a task when it’s done doing what it needs to do.
* Android is hard coded to automatically kill a task when you haven’t returned to it in a long time.
* Most services (while possibly running in the background) use very little memory when not actively doing something.
* A content provider is only doing something when there is a notification for it to give. Otherwise it uses very little memory.
* 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.
* Because a task is likely running in the background for a reason, killing it will only cause it to re-spawn as soon as the activity that was using it looks for it again. And it will just have to start over again.
* Killing certain processes can have undesirable side effects. Not receiving text messages, alarms not going off, and force closes just to name a few.
* The only true way to prevent something from running at all on your phone would be to uninstall the .apk.
* Most applications will exit themselves if you get out of it by hitting “back” until it closes rather than hitting the “home” button. But even with hitting home, Android will eventually kill it once it’s been in the background for a while.
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Absolutely useless
sent from my HTC Vision
I see that people have those apps running; its in the status bar.. but is recommended? I just want to make the use of the phone to run on its max without performance loss, as we all. But before, in other forums.. Froyo didn't need any of that... ??????
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I use auto memory manager..
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
no, they're not needed. the OS will handle that got you and if you do need to kill an app or service, you can do it in Settings > Applications.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Android is pretty good at battery and performance management so not really.
Ok thanks..i just see pictures of the apps being runand I just wonder if we need it or why people use them.. Or is it just because to make them feel better
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I use a task manager, back in the day with the g1 it really helpped out saving bettery life im not so sure how much extra life I'm going to get with the g2 but we'll see
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I think it is needed seeing as how apps just start and run on their own.
AreOh said:
I think it is needed seeing as how apps just start and run on their own.
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Yeah, just once in a while kill some programs, and you'll be fine.
gaarry said:
Yeah, just once in a while kill some programs, and you'll be fine.
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Sure but you dont need a task killer to do that. Just go to Settings - Running Services and then just touch whatever service you want to kill.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Just in case you haven't seen this:
As long as you aren't put off by rooting for some reason, the following thread can help you disable all applications of your choosing from booting up (and the settings stay after a reboot). Goodbye Photobucket and Amazon.
Edit: Err, forgot to add: following that, you will rarely ever need to kill any processes, as the unwanted ones should be off anyway.
task killers usually just kill your available resources:
http://lifehacker.com/5650894/andro...ed-what-they-do-and-why-you-shouldnt-use-them
But is it true that in g2 u can not kill ana app like in older version, u have to force stop? I find my self doing that.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
U don't really need a task killer. I don't anymore. I just force stop only the apps that hang or stop responding other than that what's the point of killing an app if its just gonna start back up. 2.2 does a really good job of memory management anyway. If u don't want an app running in the background temp root and uninstall it.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
From what I remember reading, in Froyo their Kill API is handled different in such that the application/service isn't really "killed" it just restarts.
I could be wrong, but my understanding is that memory management and simply just management as a whole is much better in Froyo. I only use a task manager just to see what's running. If something does go haywire or hangs, then I'd step in. Otherwise, I just like the information being displayed; makes me feel like I know what's running back there.
This is from the developer of Mobile Defense:
"Note, we do not recommend installing task killer applications. These type of apps have the ability to kill other running applications with the promise of freeing memory. Not only are these apps unnecessary but they also waste battery and introduce instability by killing necessary processes. Google Android Engineers and leading Android developers are beginning to speak out against task killer apps:
hxxp://geekfor.me/faq/you-shouldnt-be-using-a-task-killer-with-android/
hxxp://droidtalk.net/should-i-install-a-task-managerkiller-on-my-android-device/
hxxp://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/04/multitasking-android-way.html
And my favorite, with Cyanogen Twitter quotes:
hxxp://androinica.com/2010/05/07/google-and-cyanogen-comments-imply-task-killermanager-apps-are-pointless/
Even the developer of Advance Task Manager admits that it's not needed on new devices!
Arron La, developer of Advance Task Manager, suggests that task killers are more important for legacy devices like the G1 and phones running older versions of Android.
“Task Managers were absolutely needed in the past before the new services UI came out in Android 2.0 or 2.1,” La said in an e-mail. “Task Managers had a niche of allowing users to quickly kill services associated with apps – including all the other stuff as well, such as alarms – but that was the only way to do it before the introduction of the new services UI.”
Task killers only cause problems and eat up your battery.
Taskillers only for Android < 2.1
On Android 2.1 and later there is no need for task killers, the OS handles memory and apps much more efficiently than in older versions of Android.
Task killers were needed for the best performance on Android before 2.1 but overusing them could be detrimental to performance also.
My general rule is no task killers on 2.1 and later versions but sparring use of task killers on anything earlier.
To me taskers kill ur battery because they r always running. I use hot reboot it restarts the phone from bootscreen not from the slash. So it takes me about 14 too 17 secs to restart my phone. Sense i use my phone for almost everything. Rebooting to kill all apps and start from fresh is good for me sense it takes no time to do so.
sent from the moon on my Evo 4g
I am running Cm7 and my wife is running konis elite III (Sense) and just wondering what task killer or manger is the best for those 2 roms. I'm currently using "super Manager" to clean up RAM and a cache cleaner on my cm7. If anyone knows of a good task killer for cm7 and sense that would be awesome! Thanks in advance!
I have had no real trouble with memory management with either of those roms. This has been a topic of debate for a while, to task kill or not to task kill, I personally have found that Android runs better with out a task killer. Since Android 2 came out it has built in memory management which works pretty well I might say. "Personal Opinion" A lot of people think that Android runs like a desktop computer/laptop. In that you open an app and unless you close it it stays in ram/memory never letting the space go unless the app is closed. Android on the other hand does this a little different. When an app is opened it is in the foreground and has priority over other apps. Other apps are run in the background. Now if an app is opened that needs memory that is being used by a background process then the background app is closed, saving the state if handled correctly, giving the newly open app the space it requires. There are a lot of details on how this works and what I said is a cut down version of it.
Basically, using a task killer goes against how Android handles background tasks.
Task killer no good
I'd advise against them. Personally never had to run them. if you still want one, you can look into tasker, juice defender; some that others use.
Task killers/managers died in android 2.1, its now known that they cause issues with the way android handles memory/processes. Your phone is smart enough to close or keep something running on its own.
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teh roxxorz said:
I'd advise against them. Personally never had to run them. if you still want one, you can look into tasker, juice defender; some that others use.
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dirkyd3rk said:
Task killers/managers died in android 2.1, its now known that they cause issues with the way android handles memory/processes. Your phone is smart enough to close or keep something running on its own.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
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I agree. Besides that, CM7 is a Gingerbread (2.3) based ROM. IIRC, 2.3 has slightly better/enhanced memory management over 2.2 as well - the garbage collector. 2.2 and 2.3 handle their memory management very well from what I see and read.
Concurrent garbage collector — The Dalivik VM introduces a new, concurrent garbage collector that minimizes application pauses, helping to ensure smoother animation and increased responsiveness in games and similar applications.
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http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-2.3-highlights.html#UserFeatures
More often than not, over-aggressive task killing running in the background can actually cause system instability and force closes if you run a lot of processes.
To add to what's already been said, a task killer is not only possibly harmful, it's a waste of time & counterproductive as well.
Most of the stuff that's running in memory is just sitting there, waiting to be reopened again. It isn't using any power or wasting battery, nor is it slowing your phone down. It's staying there so that when you do open it again, it opens more quickly instead of having to reload entirely.
Android will close those apps if/when it needs the memory. There's no need to have a separate app to do it less-efficiently.
Cool! Thanks Guys! Thats what I pretty much figured 2.2 and beyond but just wanted to double check.
I had it on my first epic and liked it but some say to stay away from it, if i dont use it is there a better safer app or not to use 1 at all and manually stop programs. i c there is a paid and free 1. i guess the free 1 has adds but i didnt on mine??
Nabisco_12 said:
I had it on my first epic and liked it but some say to stay away from it, if i dont use it is there a better safer app or not to use 1 at all and manually stop programs. i c there is a paid and free 1. i guess the free 1 has adds but i didnt on mine??
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Leave it alone. Android 2.2 + manages tasks for you. Task killers cause instability. Just use the built in task killer on our phones.. (hold the home button and press task manager)
Yeah really shouldn't have to be killing things that often and if you do ever need to that's why there's a built in task manager.
qbking77 said:
Leave it alone. Android 2.2 + manages tasks for you. Task killers cause instability. Just use the built in task killer on our phones.. (hold the home button and press task manager)
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No matter what people say, there are programs that are not handled properly by Froyo's built in memory handler. If you use a task killer to kill autoreloading tasks (like MAPS for google navigation) then you are causing battery drain by you killing them and then them reloading. If you know what tasks are reloaders, then you can select them to be ignored by the task killer. Some programs hog phone RAM and do not release it like the stock internet browser. Knowing this, I use the Advanced Task Killer for Froyo to kill the browser and make more RAM available for other things.
So yes, use it BUT with proper knowledge of when and how.
Watchdog FTMFW (look it up on the market). Had their widget on my homescreen pretty much from the day I started using Android. Old-style task killers are BS.
If you use the back key or pre-designed exit key, you will close apps properly and they will only rarely reappear. It's part of the Andriod design.
kennyglass123 said:
So yes, use it BUT with proper knowledge of when and how.
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Yes, this is important. In general, don't use them, but some people don't code their apps right.
Typed by a man standing on a toilet, eating a bacon sammich.
Nay, but as stated some apps just suck, I always take the time to test the app...
Sent from my MyFrankenstein EC05OCE using XDAPA...
I will throw my 2 cents in here for good measure. As far as I can tell, my setup appears to get me generally better battery life than the rest of users, so I believe that qualifies me to comment .
I have used and tested Task Killers since I got my Epic, my first android phone, this passed November. Yes, I still use one. It's called Advanced Task Killer. It's free, and it's simple. As mentioned in a previous post, and by myself many times before, certain tasks will reload with impunity no matter what you do. Aside from freezing these services, which may result in instability in certain instances, you can't stop this. And continually causing them to restart will drain more battery rather than saving any. Which brings me to my main point:
NEVER USE AUTO-KILL! Simply use a task killer widget to "clean up" before you lock your phone, nothing more. If you use it in this way, like me, you'll see battery improvement. Just also ensure to set certain system services to the ignore list to avoid issues.
Cool thanks guys ur input helps alot!
If anything, best bet is a memory tweaker. like "autokiller memory optimizer." I'm sure thats what your looking for =) it's not a task killer.
i used a task manager/killer back in the G1 1.5 days but nowadays android does a much better job of managing memory so a task killer is really not needed anymore in my opinion.
I've used for months without any problems.. I don't kill the essential processes.. just the apps.
Web browsing is MUCH faster if I kill apps before going to the web. It gives more free RAM to cache pages.
Has anyone had any luck with Startup Auditor since Froyo? It doesn't seem to actually do anything when comparing the disabled programs in its list with what is "running" according to the phone Manage Apps setting.
rando991 said:
Has anyone had any luck with Startup Auditor since Froyo? It doesn't seem to actually do anything when comparing the disabled programs in its list with what is "running" according to the phone Manage Apps setting.
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I'll almost guarantee you that they are just restarting. Thats why taskkillers dont work in 2.2.x, because it just "restarts" them.
[sig]Typed by restless thumbs, that are too tired to help hold my bacon sammiches[sig]
Thanks, that's what I thought.
rando991 said:
Thanks, that's what I thought.
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Yeah, google removed the code for taskkillers in froyo.
Hey, I noticed that in the screenshots section that everyone has a task killer, aren't they bad for android? I've read that they were needed for android 2.1 and down, not after Froyo.
So, do I need one? Why? Why not?
Thanks guys.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I927 using XDA
ajt1995 said:
Hey, I noticed that in the screenshots section that everyone has a task killer, aren't they bad for android? I've read that they were needed for android 2.1 and down, not after Froyo.
So, do I need one? Why? Why not?
Thanks guys.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I927 using XDA
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samsung roms (even stock) have default task killer called "Task Manager", for active apps and if you go to Settings > Applications > Running Services, you can kill apps running in the background or cached processes. The difference is, the default tasker does not have a "Kill All" feature.
Task killer is, well not recommended, because Android has "Low memory Killer" feature, which, from the word itself, Android will kill apps as memory is needed.
It's still up to you if you want the default tasker, or a 3rd party one.
I hate that Samsung put that there. I've always been told that you let android do its job, unless there is a runaway process.
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If you ask me a task killer gets you more battery life and helps reduce data usage by killing apps that you are not acctually using.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I927 using XDA
yes but even if you kill some apps they reopen on their own. I am referring to the stock Rogers rom and that dam AP program.
the reason task killers are considered bad is becausw most people blindly kill everything. your phone has a lot of tasks it will automatically relaunch, thus wasting more processor time in the end. if you pay attention to which processes these are and exclude them from your kill list, you can safely use a task killer.
i also suggest apps like autostarts, lots of stuff like to start that dont need to.
im newly registered but not new here! just picked up a glide yesterday and put cwm/osi on already. a keyboard is a must for me and this was the nicest phone i found with one. my d1 was overdue for retirement. i use sipgate/google voice for free calling, texts and vms (wifi) so thankfully carrier didnt matter. very happy with this thing so far. cant wait to see some ics roms?
Advanced task killer shows you which apps automatically restart and lets you disable them from being killed
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Automated task killers generally are bad voodoo because they interfere with Android's own memory management system. Android micromanages memory like you wouldn't believe, and task killers will only slow things down by interfering with it. In particular, you'll lose significant performance and battery life as the phone works harder to reopen apps that could have just been sitting around in otherwise unused memory as intended by the OS. (And of course, the auto-re-open thing mentioned above.) I used to keep a task killer on my OG to troubleshoot misbehaving apps (sometimes killing the process and forcing it to restart would right some issues), but now that Android has the running services dialog, there really is no need for task killers at all.
bobbinthreadbare said:
my d1 was overdue for retirement.
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So I'm not the only one upgrading from an OG!
roothorick said:
So I'm not the only one upgrading from an OG!
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It was an excellent phone. Mine finally locked up the other night while I was out and totally died. Doesn't even get the M Moto symbol when you start it up. It had been dropped countless times, entirely submerged in a puddle, whiskey spilled on it. But it soldiered on until the other night. I was even running a very broken ICS ROM (dead project now) on it and it was just as fast CM7. I ran it constantly at 1GHz which impressive for a phone that was stock 550Mhz. Most phones, even the Glide, you can't overclock by more than double like the D1. The fastest kernel I ever had on it, I had edited a version of ChevyNo1's 1.2Ghz kernel to allow 1.3Ghz. I ran it like that for a few days and it was stable.
Great phone. It truly deserves a burial at sea with a 21 gun salute.