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Seeing CPU usage in Android 9 without rooting?

S

Sunny Rio

Android Enthusiast
Both CPU-Z and Simple System Monitor will not show CPU usage on Android 9 and claim it has to be rooted. But I have managed to grant some access to Simple System Monitor as instructed to do so by using the commands:

.\adb shell pm grant com.dp.sysmonitor.app android.permission.PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS
.\adb shell pm grant com.dp.sysmonitor.app android.permission.DUMP

Can't I do something similar for CPU usage? I really can't be bothered rooting my Samsung Galaxy A10 just for this, since it seems a hellishly complicated procedure. Surely just to see how busy the CPU is shouldn't need root? I just want something like Windows Task Manager, to show the overall CPU usage.
 
CPU Info only shows the frequencies each core is running at, as does every other program I've tried. It's a good estimate, but not enough. I have a problem where my phone has recently started running programs at 2/3rds speed. I run science apps from Boinc. Boinc reports that for each hour of runtime, each program is only getting 40 minutes of CPU core time. It used to be almost 100%. I was trying to work out why. It's definitely running slower, as the phone is producing less heat.

I do notice one thing which isn't enough to cause my problem. CPU info shows my six 1352MHz cores running at full speed, but my two 1560MHz cores are both running at 1144MHz. Are they not all allowed to go at full speed at once?
 
Yes but that was only a system warning, it didn't do anything, it just asked me to close Boinc. I refused, then managed to disable the warning. It's been running flat out since then and only slowed down a few days ago.
 
Sunny Rio said:
Yes but that was only a system warning, it didn't do anything, it just asked me to close Boinc. I refused, then managed to disable the warning. It's been running flat out since then and only slowed down a few days ago.
Click to expand...

Still could be a result.
Just because you disable a notification does not mean that the issue has magically vanished.

The systems on modern devices are now adaptive, meaning that they will adapt to your useage.

This also includes adaptation to any perceived 'misuse' by the user.

I am not in favor of any of these things.
If they had just made the systems more able to be controlled by the users then many issues could have been avoided.
 
It never reduced anything by itself, it was only ever a warning. And it seems to have stopped doing it!

I can understand their desire to be more secure though. My Android 4 phone was ridiculous. Absolutely covered in adware, completely unusable. I rooted it, firewalled it, couldn't calm it down. it's gone in the bin.
 
Sunny Rio said:
It never reduced anything by itself, it was only ever a warning. And it seems to have stopped doing it!

I can understand their desire to be more secure though. My Android 4 phone was ridiculous. Absolutely covered in adware, completely unusable. I rooted it, firewalled it, couldn't calm it down. it's gone in the bin.
Click to expand...

Adware most often comes from aps that the user installs.

Especially on such an old device, where most bloatware could be disabled.
 
The adware on the old phone comes with it (it was a fake i got fully refunded for, it was sold as Android 6, and claimed this in the faked control panel). After a factory reset, immediately everything i do invokes an advert. i've tried rooting it and installing a firewall, which helped for a time, but it kinda got in the way of communications i wanted to do (using it as a remote science processor so it had to talk to the internet and a windows desktop).
 
Ah, well there's your problem: not the Android OS itself, but buying a phone from some skanky fake phone manufacturer. They probably filled the ROM with adware to make a few extra yuan.
 
Hadron said:
You are lucky you got a refund
Click to expand...

I always get a refund. No Chinaman has ever ripped me off on Ebay.

kate said:
Have you tried this app? Check the description for the list of supported phones.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.chladek.profiler
Click to expand...

There seems to be no list of supported phones, so i'll just try it. Nope, same as the others, first screen it produces says "your device is providing data of following components2 and puts a cross next to CPU load, GPU load, temperature.
 
Sunny Rio said:
It only mentions:

• Cpu frequency
• Cpu temperature
Click to expand...

It will do more if the device is able.
On my old devices it shows everything that the app is capable of.

With my newer ones, I cannot even change the temperature from C to F.

As I said before, new devices do not allow 3rd party apps near as much access as they did before.

It sucks, because many of my favorite apps have lost abilities, and many developers have let apps die out because of all the problems.
 
All these bloody hackers messing around with phones have caused security to go through the roof. They ought to bring back hanging for anyone tampering with computers.
 
Ah, my phone can be upgraded! I changed it from Android 9 all the way to 11! Just clicked upgrade in the settings and it did everything itself. Now my science programs work!
I thought they auto updated, as all the apps do via google play and other repositories.
Only found out by mistake when trying to connect it to my Aunt's TV to cast some photos wirelessly and it suggested i upgrade.
I wonder why that stupid shop sold me a refurbished phone with Android 9 on it, if it had been 11 they could have charged more. £30! The front camera is broken, a slight not-noticeable crack on the screen, and the Google Pay transmitter is flaky. but damn good value.
 
Last edited:
SOLVED!!!!!

It's already on the phone! Settings, developer options, GPU watch. You can create widgets to monitor FPS, GPU usage, and C PU usage, it's designed for games developers. This is on Android 11 on a Samsung Galaxy A10.
 
Didnt I mention developers options in my first reply?

Was this GPU watch not in the developers options before you updated?
 
Either it wasn't or I didn't see it. I am two versions more advanced than before. Why the hell didn't it auto update? I only found out when it was recommended to me by a program I was using to cast the screen to my Aunt's TV.
 
Perhaps auto-update was turned off in developers options?

I always turn it off, because I hate anyone screwing with my devices, especially by remote.

I had one device that I could not prevent 'updates' and I would wake up to a whole new device.

Haveing to spend the bext day or so to get it back to how I wanted it, only to have the SOBs 'update' it again that very night.

The last time it forced an 'update', I smashed the stupid thing right onto the driveway.

Here I am trying to make an important call, but nooooooooo- Google needs to 'update' my device.

"Please wait while the update is completed."

How about h@ll no.
 
I would never have turned that off. I had the updates for apps turned on, why would I have chosen differently in there?

It doesn't interrupt you, I want the latest version on it, and it's not like there's anything new to learn.

Unlike Windows where I would agree with you, because that reboots without my permission and has on occasion lost me the contents of a document I was halfway through writing. My phone asks first, that's the key.
 
For devices where this option isn't available under Developer Options one can make use the app Tako Stats. Otherwise ADB can be used to run "top". For unrooted devices running A11+, Wireless ADB can be used to run the above in Termux or any other Terminal emulator.
 
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