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Help All app icons disappear after quitting a runnning app

I have a 2012 32GB Nexus 7 running KitKat 4.4.4 (I refuse to update to LolliCrap, which wrecked my other N7!), it has been running great up until very recently when it started this odd quirk. After quitting a running app (it happens with most apps I have installed) the "desktop" screens (all) are blank, no app or widget icons!

After a 10 to 20 seconds, all the icons reappear on their own. This happens almost every time after quitting a running app. It's really getting frustrating. Note, the App icons do NOT disappear permanently, but all are missing (blank screen) immediately after quitting any running app.

Now3 before you jump to conclusions, this is a 32GB 2012 N7, 70% of memory is unused and I routinely run Cashe cleaners, every once in a while a memory defrag app (high rated one) and I also use "Droid Optimzier" by Ashampoo which is very highly rated by users and it keeps RAM and memory optimized.

Why is this disappearing App icon happening and how to fix it??
 
All these cache cleaners, RAM optimisers and the like are snake oil and completely go against the way Android is supposed to work. Specifically anything by Cheetah Mobile.

Have a read here: http://androidforums.com/threads/pu...k-killers-ram-optimizers-and-the-like.896663/

If you ditch all of those, you may well see an improvement in performance.

Are you using the default launcher that came with the N7 or have you replaced with Nova or something similar?
 
I am using the default launcher for 4.4.4
I have to say that before I added those cleaners, the N7 was running slower and i've been using these cleaners for a year now, the disappearing icons is only recent, within the last couple months.

My observations is that Android does a complete non-existant job of self-cleaning RAM of running apps that aren't being used, or stopping useless apps that have started of their own volition just sync and then sit there occupying RAM space. Before I added Droid Optimizer my N7 slowed to a crawl with only like 12% RAM left.
 
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This problems has NOTHING to do with cleaner apps, it is clearly an issue with a corrupted Android systems app like Launcher or some other. Reasoning is - It happens with no cleaners running and recently run, I constantly get "Lanucher is not responding, do you want to close (or something similar) the Launcher, Leo Laporte agrees as several other callers to his radio show report the same issue and they are NOT running any cleaners. When the buggy launcher feels like finally respond, the icons come back on!

Stop blaming cleaner apps because Android does a crap non-existant jobs of cleaning itself and lets untold numbers of useless not used apps (including Google apps) run in the background which fills up RAM. That is BS, I'm seeing Android on Nexus tablets as a half-ass engineered OS - NO self-cleaning, NO defragging, NO built-in cashe cleaning!
 
Apologies, I missed your earlier response.

Stop blaming cleaner apps because Android does a crap non-existant jobs of cleaning itself and lets untold numbers of useless not used apps (including Google apps) run in the background which fills up RAM. That is BS, I'm seeing Android on Nexus tablets as a half-ass engineered OS - NO self-cleaning, NO defragging, NO built-in cashe cleaning!

Linux based OS's like Android are designed to have apps cached in RAM. They will kill apps to free up as and when needed.

Cache cleaner apps are junk and totally pointless.

You're probably having performance issues with your device because it's 3 year old. I have 2 2012 Nexus 7's and whilst not performing in the way you're mentioning, they are both slow and sluggish doing even simple tasks.

Have you tried a factory reset? You can backup before hand with something like Helium.
 
Apologies, I missed your earlier response.
Linux based OS's like Android are designed to have apps cached in RAM. They will kill apps to free up as and when needed.

Cache cleaner apps are junk and totally pointless.

You're probably having performance issues with your device because it's 3 year old. I have 2 2012 Nexus 7's and whilst not performing in the way you're mentioning, they are both slow and sluggish doing even simple tasks.

Have you tried a factory reset? You can backup before hand with something like Helium.

Hogwash! Android does nothing about closing apps that take up RAM. I've run apps to monitor RAM and when my 2 N7's start skidding to a crawl and launcher no longer responds garbage Android has done nothing and RAM is down to 12 - 15MB out of a Gig! I've seen this over and over and over again daily!!

Andriod (like CrApple OSX and iOS also based on Linux) also does nothing about clearing unused Cashes and hopelessly fragmented memory!

The problem my N7's are having is corrupted services, which I don't know enough about he minusha of Andoid, but as I said even Leo Laporte agrees, it's corrupted services (probably Google and Androids buggy update and the operation flaws in Android.

If anyone has a REAL answer instead of these old wives tales, I like some accurate solutions. It certainly isn't well chosen and proven cleaner apps, because without them, from the state of RAM and Cashe glut, my N7's would be a useless brick.
 
Android MAY be at some very basic level based on Linux, it certainly ISN'T Linux and it Certainly isn't ACTING like linux! My 2013 N7 32GB can't be the only one acting in this fashion and indeed with some checking around, at more technical Android forums than this one, I am not alone and all these BS blaming of "cleaner apps" is indeed BS. The problem is Androids lousy RAM management and it's even more lousy Launcher, which is re-writing the desktop (more and more slowly) as time goes by. Reference ALL these many complaints about the same issue in either 4.4.4 KK or LolliCrap 5.x. This is Google's fault, not "cleaner" apps. https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=79729

Question is, how to fix it obviously without Google's Android **** development teams help, which has apparently cares less about the Nexus line.
 
I just want to let all of you that piped in about this situation of all Android desktop icon disappearing (all screen blank) immediately after quitting most applications and the N7 running slower and slower, and BLAMED IT ON USING "Clean Up" apps ..... you don't know crap! After searching obviously more knowledgeable forums with people that know what they are talking about, I found this very simple solution that restored my N7 32GB KitKat 4.4.4 and my N7 8GB Lollicrap 5.02 to running NORMAL!

It's called Clearing the Cashe Partition!
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/OKTvLTcOxbs

I actually saw this remedy suggested on other forums as well with the vast majority of those using it, reporting it was successful! Learn something talking heads, before you continue giving lousy advice!

  1. If you are not able to access the settings menu (such as when the device hangs when updating), use Recovery mode:
  2. If your device is on, hold the Power button to restart the device.
  3. When the device turns off, press and hold the Volume Down button, then press and hold the Power button at the same time until the tablet turns on.
  4. Press the Volume Down button twice to highlight Recovery mode.
  5. Press the Power button to start Recovery mode. You'll see an image of an Android robot with a red exclamation mark and the words "No command."
  6. While holding down the Power button, press the Volume Up button.
  7. Use the volume buttons to scroll to "wipe cache partition" then press the Power button to select it.
  8. When the cache is cleared, press the Power button on "reboot system now."
 
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