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Disallow battery draining apps?

Qoo

Qoo

Newbie
Since about a week I have serious problems with my battery being drained within a few hours. I'm not sure exactly what the cause is, but I have an idea. It seems to be apps like Facebook or messengers in general, that constantly run in the background, using 3G/WiFi to sync their data. When I turn off 3G/WiFi the battery lasts a lot longer, so I'm quite confident, that this is the reason, especially Facebook which shows a huge amount of traffic even though I hardly ever use it.
Now I don't want to delete those apps completey, but I want them to stop when I exit them. For example even though I turned off any kind of auto syncing/checking within the Facebook app, it still seems to run in the background. Or after using the Youtube app, it will keep running in the background, even though I terminate it.
I basically want to use those apps only manually and want them off again when I exit them. Is there a way to realized that? I don't really want to delete them completely because they come in handy every now and then...
 
Use FB through your browser, uninstall it or make sure its syncing is turned off if you can't. Make sure all apps that sync, either do it once an hour or once a day, or manually... Many apps don't use much power running in the background, unless you have them set to sync. I personally do everything manually. Check my mail when I feel like looking at it (open mail, hit the sync now button). FB I just have a browser link, check comments, close my browser. 3G will use a lot of juice if you're in a low (to no) reception area.
 
I turned off all syncing except for gmail and saw a huge increase in battery life. As far as I'm concerned syncing can be done manually when the user launches an app that needs to poll for data, and you really don't need apps syncing while you're asleep, but that's just how I like to manage my phone.
 
Using the browser would be an option, but the app is more convenient to be honest. Also many chat apps just stay logged in after I used them once. Why can't I turn them off?
Besides Gmail (which I really need all the time) I basically don't want any apps to sync by themselves. But even if I set them to not sync they still seem to keep running in the background. For example: why does Youtube have to keep running after I watched a few videos? As far as I know I turned everything off that lets it do anything by itself. And worse, some of those apps even come back after I forecfully close them or just start with the phone.
Of course I could delete them all now, but why did I get a smartphone after all if I can't use any apps because they just refuse to close and shut up if I tell them to.

I actually tried JuiceDefender which really helped a lot, but since I have to use Viber a lot I can't afford turning off 3G/WiFi and receive messages/calls not in real time.
Since you said 3G uses a lot of power especially when the reception is low, would it be advisable to switch to WiFi whenever I can? Or is it just the same?
 
Qoo said:
Using the browser would be an option, but the app is more convenient to be honest. Also many chat apps just stay logged in after I used them once. Why can't I turn them off?
Besides Gmail (which I really need all the time) I basically don't want any apps to sync by themselves. But even if I set them to not sync they still seem to keep running in the background. For example: why does Youtube have to keep running after I watched a few videos? As far as I know I turned everything off that lets it do anything by itself. And worse, some of those apps even come back after I forecfully close them or just start with the phone.
Of course I could delete them all now, but why did I get a smartphone after all if I can't use any apps because they just refuse to close and shut up if I tell them to.

I actually tried JuiceDefender which really helped a lot, but since I have to use Viber a lot I can't afford turning off 3G/WiFi and receive messages/calls not in real time.
Since you said 3G uses a lot of power especially when the reception is low, would it be advisable to switch to WiFi whenever I can? Or is it just the same?
Click to expand...

Are you sure those apps are actually running or are they simply cached? There's a world of difference and I explain this a bit in this article.
 
Qoo said:
Since you said 3G uses a lot of power especially when the reception is low, would it be advisable to switch to WiFi whenever I can? Or is it just the same?
Click to expand...

YMMV, but I've found WiFi to use very little power. If, on the other hand, your phone is searching for a signal, it will kill the battery in no time at all.

So yes, I'd recommend that you switch off 3G whenever you have a WiFi signal.
 
ardchoille said:
Are you sure those apps are actually running or are they simply cached? There's a world of difference and I explain this a bit in this article.
Click to expand...

That's a good question. Where can I see that? I'm by no means an Android expert, but I'm already beyond the phase of task killers. But let's for example take the Facebook app. I start my phone and never use the app, yet it suddenly tells me that I have a new message. Why is it running?
The same goes for chat apps like Yahoo. In these I would like to be able to choose between closing them completely or stay online so I can receive messages. In the current situation it seems that every chat app thinks it needs to stay online all the time and I just can't close them completely.

I've been trying to track down apps or processes that really drain the battery, but so far I had no real success. I somehow have the feeling that clicking the battery symbol doesn't really reveal everything that's using energy.
For example currently it shows only 5 processes. They range from 2% to 15% and then there is for some reason a "media" process that uses 71%. Maybe it's the one draining my battery now, but I have no idea why it is even running or how I could stop it. I used the camera today, but that was like 12 hours ago.
Is there an app that can clearly document which process is using the most energy, so I have at least some reliable information from where I can progress? Because currently it's unbearable. My phone can't make it through an 8 hour night, where it's basically just lying around with the screen turned off, maybe receiving an occasional message.


Darkseas said:
YMMV, but I've found WiFi to use very little power. If, on the other hand, your phone is searching for a signal, it will kill the battery in no time at all.

So yes, I'd recommend that you switch off 3G whenever you have a WiFi signal.
Click to expand...

Ok, I will try that too, thank you. :)
 
Qoo said:
I've been trying to track down apps or processes that really drain the battery, but so far I had no real success. I somehow have the feeling that clicking the battery symbol doesn't really reveal everything that's using energy.
Click to expand...

Ah, you haven't discovered the secret yet. Let us initiate you.

Settings>About Phone>Battery Use

If an app isn't listed there, it hasn't used 1% of the total battery use.

And something I'm embarrassed to say that I only discovered recently. Tap on any entry in the list you see under Battery Use for more info about that entry.

The thing that will kill your battery quickest will be the phone using maximum power to find a phone and/or data signal. Try putting your phone into airplane mode for the night and I'm betting you'll notice a huge difference.
 
But that's pretty much the same as clicking the battery symbol in the dropdown menu, right? So currently I have this "media" process sitting in there, taking 71% of the total battery usage. What is this process? Why is it running? How can I stop it? :)
 
FB is always checking for posts. You have to change the settings. I would love to say it's a scam with the carrier and everyone wanting FB, but I bought an unlocked European Galaxy phone, and FB was on it. So Samsung put it on. TMO had complaints about FB and Doubletwist turning on and syncing on their own. Some only had a 200mg plan and FB would chew through that overnight. It's like the old Windows installs. Everything is wide open, you have to change it.

I don't even sync Gmail. I read it through Thunderbird on various computers and letting it sync makes a mess.
 
Qoo said:
currently I have this "media" process sitting in there, taking 71% of the total battery usage. What is this process? Why is it running? How can I stop it? :)
Click to expand...

I've never seen that, so I googled it. Try this:

Go to settings/applications/manage applications/all, click on "media storage", and then "clear data".
 
First of all, thanks for the WiFi tip, it really uses a lot less battery life. My phone got through the night with "only" using about 20%.
The other current problem seems to be the "media" process. This seems to include a lot of different stuff, like camera, gallery, drm, etc. It has been sitting on top of the battery statistics constantly using 60-70% of the total energy consumption. I deleted the data as you said but it didn't change anything. Android calls it just "media" and it has a little video camera symbol next to it. I think this will be the next step in saving my battery, but I don't know where to go from here.

Edit: It seems to be the process "arcsoft.android.musicplayer". I deleted the data of the only music player I could find in the list, but the problem still persists. I also couldn't find anything about this on the internet.

Edit 2: After restarting the phone it changed its name to "jp.co.sharp.android.camera" and it's still hogging the battery with about 60%. I guess this process is more specific to my phone, but I still don't understand why it's running in the first place and why I can't stop it.
 
"Media" is probably the YouTube Videos, if that's mostly what you did, that will be the highest percentage (unless 3G is searching).

If you dropped 20% at night, something is running draining your battery, probably 3G searching. If you don't want phone calls, put in airplane mode. Should not drop more than 1% on 8-12 hours.

Arcsoft is also media, either music or video.. What "changed it's name"? Arcsoft to Sharp? If media is 60% of what you're doing, it will be 60% of your drain. If you're not watching videos but still getting 60%, then it's running and you need to check ALL the settings in the app. Look for anything "sync" or "update" or "on"...

Check menu/settings/apps/running services... see if anything is running there that looks odd.

If you use the phone a lot, you're probably not going to get more than 24 hrs. If you do everything manually you can get 3-4 days (at least that's what I get on an Optimus-V). Good luck!
 
This problem is exactly what I meant by "disallow" in my original post. The only thing media-related I used that day was the camera so maybe it started this process. But even after 12 hours of not using the camera or anything else media-related that process was still running at 70% of my battery usage! At this time in the battery usage overview it showed the name arcsoft.android.mediaplayer, but after a restart it was still there running at 60 to 70%, this time under the name jp.co.sharp.android.camera. And this is what really bothers me. That such things can't be closed, since I didn't use anything on my phone for hours at that time. It was also running throughout the night, when I reported the 20% battery life decrease. At this time I had switched to WiFi, which actually drained a lot less battery. With 3G active my phone wouldn't last for a night.
Youtube usually has its own process shown. It was also just an example for processes that just won't stop after you close the app or, even worse, just start running in the background by themselves.

So in the end what I'm looking for is to tell Android to not allow certain processes like Youtube, Facebook, etc. unless the app itself is running and being used. But I guess that's wishful thinking.
 
I hear you and agree. Android is supposed to use it's memory "smartly" ("smartphone?"), and everyone says "don't use task killers, Android takes care of itself"... but I see the same issues occasionally. I think it's rogue apps that aren't programmed "smartly" (ie: developer doesn't know what he's doing). There ceratinly "shouldn't" be any default apps causing problems (you'd think). For 2 weeks I had "Goggles" showing 75% battery, using it less than 1 minute (but in actuality didn't really seem to be draining the battery)... so some apps show they drain, but don't actually do, while others actually do, but you have no clue which ones are doing it.

I use GO Launcher which has a nice built in app killer. One swipe and you see open apps, you can lock out the ones you know are harmless, you can kill all others. I do this 2-3 times a day. I have much fewer battery issues.
 
Ok, I will give that launcher a try. I guess rooting my phone would also help.
Another issue is definitely the 3G, which drains the battery horribly fast. I guess my provider's network is pretty weak or so.
I really like Android, but I don't like when software tries to "make it easier for the user" by incapacitating him. There should always be an option to let me decide which app I want to kill for good or if I want to let the system decide.
 
I control all the radios on my phone and all are off unless I want them on. Data I control with the app/widget called APN on/off. I ultimately rooted and got rid of a lot of things that wanted to load all the time and use Autostarts to control what is allowed to run or not. I go 2 days between charging and am a moderate user.
 
"Media Server" is when any media is used on your phone. Videos, music, whatever. When I stream Pandora on my phone, Pandora sits just a percent or two higher than Media Server. Every time. I assume it would be what controls all video and sound processing in the OS.

Another option, though, for controlling what gets access to the net and when would be to root. Once you root, install the app "DroidWall". If you don't want Facebook to check for updates at all if you're not on wifi, you can do that. If you don't want facebook to access the internet at all, you can do that, too. Changing it back and forth is pretty simple, too. I love that app.
 
Well, I hope there will be a way to root my phone soon then. :)
I use APN too, but since I use Viber a lot I need some kind of data connection most of the time. It just sucks that 3G needs so much battery life compared to WiFi.
As for Facebook, sure I could also always use the browser, but when it comes to the comparatively tiny screen of a smartphone apps are usually well-arranged and easier to use.
 
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