The Restarting State

[franhound]

since the launcher is also restarting, i'm guessing you get redraw issues where the launcher doens't appear right away for a few seconds when you press 'home' or back out of an app.

Yeah, I get redraws. I switched to Nova now, though. So far it hasn't happened again yet. I hope it's not just placebo.

 

[nickdalzell]

GPU rendering does nothing. at least, not perceivable. since you are running Jelly Bean, try disabling some of the bloatware (such as OfficeSuite) in settings--apps--click app name--check 'disable' and confirm. that prevents the app from running and gets rid of the icon. if you feel you want to use it later, you can scroll down the list to the bottom and click and uncheck 'disable' and get it back.

Nova Launcher (and the much-more functional Nova Launcher Prime) is pretty decent on having a low memory footprint, and i think part of that is due to it basically being a more advanced variant of the stock Android launcher.

 

[franhound]

GPU rendering does nothing. at least, not perceivable. since you are running Jelly Bean, try disabling some of the bloatware (such as OfficeSuite) in settings--apps--click app name--check 'disable' and confirm. that prevents the app from running and gets rid of the icon. if you feel you want to use it later, you can scroll down the list to the bottom and click and uncheck 'disable' and get it back.

Nova Launcher (and the much-more functional Nova Launcher Prime) is pretty decent on having a low memory footprint, and i think part of that is due to it basically being a more advanced variant of the stock Android launcher.

Ha, thanks. The ability to disable is great.

Play Music doesn't allow to get disabled, though. Hmm. Does it really have to be in the background all the time? I use Doubletwist and absolutely have no use of the stock music player and Play Music. Hmm.

Oh, and about Nova Launcher, yeah it seems to be a lot lighter than Apex. Do you recommend that "keep in memory" feature, though? I noticed that it moves from the cache to the "running" section when I check that feature. Which is healthier, to check or to uncheck that feature?

 

[Pixeline]

Ha, thanks. The ability to disable is great.

Play Music doesn't allow to get disabled, though. Hmm. Does it really have to be in the background all the time? I use Doubletwist and absolutely have no use of the stock music player and Play Music. Hmm.

Oh, and about Nova Launcher, yeah it seems to be a lot lighter than Apex. Do you recommend that "keep in memory" feature, though? I noticed that it moves from the cache to the "running" section when I check that feature. Which is healthier, to check or to uncheck that feature?

Start by "Uninstall updates" - after that you get the choise to disable

pix

 

[franhound]

Start by "Uninstall updates" - after that you get the choise to disable

pix

Cool. Thanks.

 

[nickdalzell]

you also have to be in the 'all apps' list to disable as if you uninstall updates it won't show anywhere else, and will disappear from 'downloaded'

I use Nova Prime on my GS3, but i never use 'keep in memory' (and i think it requires root but not sure) and never get redraws. i don't know your particular phone nor its capabilities but my phone has 1GB of RAM so running out is extremely unlikely. in my case, the 'Free RAM is wasted RAM' applies 100%.

 

[franhound]

you also have to be in the 'all apps' list to disable as if you uninstall updates it won't show anywhere else, and will disappear from 'downloaded'

I use Nova Prime on my GS3, but i never use 'keep in memory' (and i think it requires root but not sure) and never get redraws. i don't know your particular phone nor its capabilities but my phone has 1GB of RAM so running out is extremely unlikely. in my case, the 'Free RAM is wasted RAM' applies 100%.

My phone only has 512 MB of RAM, and I have 143 apps installed, not counting the stock ones, so I wouldn't blame my phone for running out sometimes.

 

[nickdalzell]

wow. 143? my Samsung Precedent (had only 256MB) crapped out after the 50th app. that's a lot of apps trying to use a tiny amount of memory. my ZTE Merit had 512 and too many apps (hardly 50) would make it randomly reboot. the ZTE Merit is a decen phone and built well but the dev community sucks or doesn't even exist, so you can't do much with it, even with root.

out of 200+ with the GS3 (which is rooted and running a beta custom ROM) i probably have maybe six or so running minimized that i use each day. i wouldn't trust the 'running' list in the settings. most of the apps listed as running are just background stuff that notifies you or whatnot. Like for example, Google Maps periodically lists as 'running' but all it's doing is giving Google Now GPS data, or giving location info to my weather apps/widgets so they know where i'm at.

 

[franhound]

wow. 143? my Samsung Precedent (had only 256MB) crapped out after the 50th app. that's a lot of apps trying to use a tiny amount of memory. my ZTE Merit had 512 and too many apps (hardly 50) would make it randomly reboot. the ZTE Merit is a decen phone and built well but the dev community sucks or doesn't even exist, so you can't do much with it, even with root.

out of 200+ with the GS3 (which is rooted and running a beta custom ROM) i probably have maybe six or so running minimized that i use each day. i wouldn't trust the 'running' list in the settings. most of the apps listed as running are just background stuff that notifies you or whatnot. Like for example, Google Maps periodically lists as 'running' but all it's doing is giving Google Now GPS data, or giving location info to my weather apps/widgets so they know where i'm at.

So, the number of apps installed is beyond what my phone can handle. I see. No wonder why my RAM's always more than 80% occupied. I just wish there was something like CCleaner for PC that will let me disable services and stuff.

 

[nickdalzell]

you can always root the phone and make those apps fit into that tiny amount of memory by changing the memory values where only so many can run at one time and Android would be more aggressive at killing them rather than letting them run--it's got a heavy performance cost especially when an app that got closed sits there at a blank screen while it loads up, but if it avoids lag, it's worth it to me. For example, the paid app ROM Toolbox Pro has the means to disable services (called 'background recievers') to apps including system apps--but be careful--disabling, say the 'com.android.statusbar' will cause your notification bar to vanish, for instance. However, disabling 'com.google.playstore.crash _notifier' will avoid the annoying 'Play Store isn't responding. do you want to close it?' message, and disabling 'com.android.facebook.katana.autostarter' will ensure Facebook shuts down when Android kills it or if you back out. so there are benefits to be had.

 

[out of ideas]

my ZTE Merit had 512 and too many apps (hardly 50) would make it randomly reboot. the ZTE Merit is a decen phone and built well but the dev community sucks or doesn't even exist, so you can't do much with it, even with root.

the phones actually a hunk of junk with a decent camera. me, stayboogy, phydeux and some others did pretty good things with it.

out of the box it reboots like crazy and can only handle a few new apps(FB, Twitter and the weather channel and its pretty much full).


franhound, you should look into rooting to get rid of stuff you arent going to use that bothers you. also apps like link2sd or titanium can freeze stuff for you if you want to go that route

 

[nickdalzell]

well to be fair the Samsung Galaxy Precedent is more low-tech than the Merit and has only 200-more MHz to its CPU. it has less RAM, less features, no prox sensor, and otherwise the same hardware overall. but it still has a CM7-based ROM, far more development, and even an ICS (unstable) port. the Merit only sucks because of the Tracfone branding and being an unknown make while Samsung is a brand most people are familiar with.

The Merit has a lot of potential. it's built rather well and is the only smartphone that has not one scratch on the screen despite never being protected or in a case. if it weren't for development and being stuck forever in Gingerbreadland, it might be a more valuable device. even the HTC Dream has a Jelly Bean port--which makes me wonder how they managed that when it requires at least 512MB RAM and that phone only had 192MB

 

[out of ideas]

the merit was the first screen i broke (in 6 days of owning). the ZTE source and kernel are a mess which is one the big problems with it.

the precedent lucked out because most of the dev stuff came from the Galaxy Prevail(which i also had) which was lucky enough to have some of the most amazing devs and general support for low-end phone(Hroark, Bloodawn, Koumajutsu, etc.)

.I think the merit/avail could handle a higher version, but never really tinkered with it because i figured something dumb like the camera would never get working, and kind of got super busy like the other devs and started making apps in the tiny amount of free time i have. but still, the memory size issues have been solved with partitioning, and stayboogy moving the the dalvik cache to the /dev, and the whole thing has been sped up and streamlined by a few different ROMs. hell, i got panorama working on the dumb thing, which makes me happy enough.

I still think a 5mp camera on an $80 phone is awesome, and ZTE recently dropped an avail2 with JB but a 2mp camera. some guys are working on root so we'll see how that goes.

But to keep this thread on track, don't use the home button

 

[franhound]

Maybe rooting is just too complicated a thing for me. But I'll consider it. I've always wanted to try custom ROMs, and the non-rooted world always seemed small to me.

 

[franhound]

the phones actually a hunk of junk with a decent camera. me, stayboogy, phydeux and some others did pretty good things with it.

out of the box it reboots like crazy and can only handle a few new apps(FB, Twitter and the weather channel and its pretty much full).


franhound, you should look into rooting to get rid of stuff you arent going to use that bothers you. also apps like link2sd or titanium can freeze stuff for you if you want to go that route

you can always root the phone and make those apps fit into that tiny amount of memory by changing the memory values where only so many can run at one time and Android would be more aggressive at killing them rather than letting them run--it's got a heavy performance cost especially when an app that got closed sits there at a blank screen while it loads up, but if it avoids lag, it's worth it to me. For example, the paid app ROM Toolbox Pro has the means to disable services (called 'background recievers') to apps including system apps--but be careful--disabling, say the 'com.android.statusbar' will cause your notification bar to vanish, for instance. However, disabling 'com.google.playstore.crash _notifier' will avoid the annoying 'Play Store isn't responding. do you want to close it?' message, and disabling 'com.android.facebook.katana.autostarter' will ensure Facebook shuts down when Android kills it or if you back out. so there are benefits to be had.

Is there a possibility for my phone to stop working if anything went wrong during rooting ?

 

[Tattycakes]

So, the number of apps installed is beyond what my phone can handle. I see. No wonder why my RAM's always more than 80% occupied. I just wish there was something like CCleaner for PC that will let me disable services and stuff.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cleanmaster.mguard

Android often makes a mistake when it tries to clear out memory on its own. third-party launchers seem to be the first to go, and causing the redraws, even some 'app not responding' dialogs, because third-party launchers don't ever get a higher priority even when you use them often, which is odd but true. Go Launcher and ADW for example are set at a priority level 6, which means when Android needs extra memory for some app (such as Facebook) it will kill the launcher before anything else. you won't notice that until you back out and sit staring at a blank screen for a bit.

Your whole post was one of the most informative and interesting ones I've read in a long time, I never thought my massive pile of apps would be a problem if I didn't use them but now I plan to be more selective with what I download.

How do you find out the RAM priority status of different apps?

 

[franhound]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cleanmaster.mguard



Your whole post was one of the most informative and interesting ones I've read in a long time, I never thought my massive pile of apps would be a problem if I didn't use them but now I plan to be more selective with what I download.

How do you find out the RAM priority status of different apps?

I have that app, and it's really great. I just wish it had the ability to disable services and receivers.

 

[nickdalzell]

you usually have to either check their usage (including cached RAM) and their frequency of being restarted, but as a general rule, the demand, in order:

1. games (heaviest)
2. social networking apps (medium to large depending on how social you are)
3. photography
4. email, sms, calendar, etc (lowest demand)

permissions during install can shed some light, the more busy an app is, such as Facebook needing to use Google Maps to locate you, means that not only is Facebook doing things, but Maps is being used as well doubling the demand. if an app has very low permissions it's not likely to use as much. apps that need GPS, location data, reading phone state, access to the data network, etc are going to be RAM hogs.

however a lot of it is trial and error. if your phone suddenly lags like a 486 trying to burn a CD-ROM in Windows 98 after you install something, i'd uninstall it.

 

[franhound]

you usually have to either check their usage (including cached RAM) and their frequency of being restarted, but as a general rule, the demand, in order:

1. games (heaviest)
2. social networking apps (medium to large depending on how social you are)
3. photography
4. email, sms, calendar, etc (lowest demand)

permissions during install can shed some light, the more busy an app is, such as Facebook needing to use Google Maps to locate you, means that not only is Facebook doing things, but Maps is being used as well doubling the demand. if an app has very low permissions it's not likely to use as much. apps that need GPS, location data, reading phone state, access to the data network, etc are going to be RAM hogs.

however a lot of it is trial and error. if your phone suddenly lags like a 486 trying to burn a CD-ROM in Windows 98 after you install something, i'd uninstall it.

Holy sheep, your reply is informative as hell. Yes, I'll keep an eye on those permissions. I still have something to clarify. Say, I just went to Facebook and turned off location services? Do you think that would help? I've turned off notifications for Facebook, and I haven't seen Maps being in the running list in a while.

 

[franhound]

you usually have to either check their usage (including cached RAM) and their frequency of being restarted, but as a general rule, the demand, in order:

1. games (heaviest)
2. social networking apps (medium to large depending on how social you are)
3. photography
4. email, sms, calendar, etc (lowest demand)

permissions during install can shed some light, the more busy an app is, such as Facebook needing to use Google Maps to locate you, means that not only is Facebook doing things, but Maps is being used as well doubling the demand. if an app has very low permissions it's not likely to use as much. apps that need GPS, location data, reading phone state, access to the data network, etc are going to be RAM hogs.

however a lot of it is trial and error. if your phone suddenly lags like a 486 trying to burn a CD-ROM in Windows 98 after you install something, i'd uninstall it.

I think I have underestimated the games terribly.
Tsk.