[Q] News app misbehaves... can it be disabled? - Thunderbolt Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I installed Watchdog Lite on my Tbolt and it constantly tells me that the News app is overstepping its bounds CPU-wise. I tell the monitor to kill the app but it starts back up again of its own accord.
Is there any way to disable this app without rooting my phone? Or even WITH rooting my phone? I'm not even using it anymore.

major_works said:
I installed Watchdog Lite on my Tbolt and it constantly tells me that the News app is overstepping its bounds CPU-wise. I tell the monitor to kill the app but it starts back up again of its own accord.
Is there any way to disable this app without rooting my phone? Or even WITH rooting my phone? I'm not even using it anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you are rooted, titanium backup and 'freeze' the app or delete it completely.
but i would also check to make sure under sync settings it isnt set to sync.

You can try startup auditor and disable the app... if its a system app, I wouldnt touch it.

Thanks to you both for the suggestions. I've made sure it isn't syncing, and I installed the free version of Startup Auditor and sicced it on the app. We'll see what happens...

either uninstall it, or root and use titanium back up to freeze it.

Just to follow up, the News app hasn't been an issue since I took those measures earlier today. Thanks to all!

just wondering, what kind of readings were you getting from the app?

magneticzero said:
just wondering, what kind of readings were you getting from the app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was basically telling me that the app was exceeding CPU-usage limits. I don't recall noting quantitative information. Didn't really care, I just didn't want it sucking up battery for no reason.

what is the news app called in /system/app/ i cannot find it.

Dunno... I can't find it either.

Htc changed it now... Try htcgreader.apk **backup incase you come across a problem** i remember on my incredible there might be some sense stuff that relies on that apk....just saying..

yeah, like the weather.apk is required to view specific dates in the calander

Hi all...TBolt newbie here. I think the "news" app is bloatware as it was already installed with many other apps on my Verizon TBolt. Like an idiot, I subscribed to several news sources and now cannot remove them and the app continues to ask at numerous random times for more sources. I've tried killing the task with ES Task Manager, but it keeps re-initializing itself. Hopefully there's some way of getting rid of this intrusive piece of crapware, short of rooting or custom ROM, which I have no idea how to do!

Related

[Q] There are Apps in the background

Dear Friends!
Glad to be here today (after 2 days! )
My dear Streaker is here!!
As the norm is, I have been busy tinkering with the stock material for couple o days, and I will continue to do so for some more time!
___________________________________________________________
Query: There are too many apps running (background) all the time!! I kill them, they resurrect!, How to do away with that?
Solution applied: Used Advanced task killer (but, apps resurrect!)
Another Solution tried: In Settings>Account & Sync settings> Unchecked Background data and Auto sync options. (Now, they dont connect to the net, but, they still restart!!)
Another Solution: Force close (from Manage apps) .. (Still same issue!)
Now, How can I tell the apps to come up only when I call them!?
(And some other apps I want to schedule them to come up every hour or so.. like my Gmail/FB)
____________________________________________________________
And, So far has been amazing experience!!
The screen is football field sized!! (Monster! yikes Scooby!)
Digging up all old posts to read some problems faced by new users..
Current hobby: Market and apps.
Future hobby: Roms and Flash!
Thank you all for your help!
care,
Sony.
Welcome to the cool kids club! I'm in a somewhat similar situation, I got my streak just before the massive snowstorm hit. Some of those apps need to be running... if you close some of them you may not get updates/notifications, or you can shut down your phone/data connection, or lose the use of multitouch.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
from what i understand, froyo is really good with resource management and there is no need to constantly kill processes or apps, its best to just leave them unless your streak is slow like a snail
Telal said:
Welcome to the cool kids club! I'm in a somewhat similar situation, I got my streak just before the massive snowstorm hit. Some of those apps need to be running... if you close some of them you may not get updates/notifications, or you can shut down your phone/data connection, or lose the use of multitouch.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lose multi touch!
How?
@rptw
So, It wouldnt really matter if there are apps running in the BG, and they start by themselves too!?
care,
Sony.
well in terms of the laws of nature (in most cases) stuff doesnt happen spontaneously so i think its safe to assume that your app that "started by themselves" were probably opened somehow either by you directly or indirectly by something else. if, however, you have a large number of apps that have started that you dont recall opening, maybe something is wrong with your software and you shouldnt try to cover the problem with a task killer.
So, what next!?
rptw said:
well in terms of the laws of nature (in most cases) stuff doesnt happen spontaneously so i think its safe to assume that your app that "started by themselves" were probably opened somehow either by you directly or indirectly by something else. if, however, you have a large number of apps that have started that you dont recall opening, maybe something is wrong with your software and you shouldnt try to cover the problem with a task killer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, Now, can you or other guys here please suggest how to go to the "root" of this problem!?
Ok.
Look, these apps are open right now!
Voice Search
Email
Messaging
Maps
Astro
Assistant free​
I use the Adv Task Killer free.
(It says 7 apps killed and 180 MB free)
I open Adv task killer after 5 seconds.
and these apps are running!
Email
astro
Voice Search
Assistant Free​
and I am sure, If I wait for some more time, the other apps will join in too!
(Now it says, 3 Apps killed, 171 MB free!!)
care,
Sony.
have you tried using the stock app manager and killing the apps there? i just checked my phone and i have the same apps under the running tab using the stock manager, i think email and messaging are always running since you have push features on them, in terms of the others im not sure. whats so bad about email and messaging running anyways? im sure you use them often enough to not want to have to open and close them right?
Hey, you posted the same question over at Pocketables forum.
As stated earlier, 2.2 is really good at managing back ground tasks.
I can tell you if you use a task killer and you have a problem with an APP, which currently you do not, the programmer for the app probably will not help you till you remove the APP killer program.
What you might try to do is run though your menus and see what you have selected to run, such as locations and sync services and disable what you can. Also if you do not want some thing running, you may want to just uninstall it. I do understand that you want some programs but you only want them to run when you ask, not sure how to tell you to handle that.
But, are you seeing any difference when you have the background tasks disabled. Try to find the APK for the programs and rename them just to see if you have any issues.

[Q] How do I find out what is using the GPS?

I noticed that whenever I'm on WIFI, the GPS icon would come on and blink for a few seconds then go away. It would keep doing this every 3 seconds on the dot.
On 3G, it would not happen.
On stock KG1 ROM, rooted. I have the Widget Locker and the touchscreenfix.
How do I find out what app or process is using the GPS? I even used the Samsung Task Manager to kill all the apps and cleared the memory. I also rebooted. Whatever it is, it simms to start up when the OS starts. Looking at autostarts, there are too many apps listed in the"after start up" category to pin point the offending app.
I think I found the problem. It was the AT&T Mark the Spot app.
I noticed the GPS also comes on when I change charge/discharge state, as well as network state changes. I looked at Autostarts to see what do these have in common, and out of all the other apps, this one is more likely the culprit.
I'd still wish for a way to find out what process is using what resources. Currently, there is no app for that.
naddie said:
I think I found the problem. It was the AT&T Mark the Spot app.
I noticed the GPS also comes on when I change charge/discharge state, as well as network state changes. I looked at Autostarts to see what do these have in common, and out of all the other apps, this one is more likely the culprit.
I'd still wish for a way to find out what process is using what resources. Currently, there is no app for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is this app (if your rooted that is), I have it as it allows me to prohibit some permissions of certain apps. Also in a sense enhances security. If you found this helpful don't forget the thanks button (as im trying to build that up! lol).
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lbe.security&hl=en
additionally for security there is also: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lookout&hl=en
EDIT: LBE lets you know what is using what or what potentially can.
Htc HD2 Spirit said:
There is this app (if your rooted that is), I have it as it allows me to prohibit some permissions of certain apps. Also in a sense enhances security. If you found this helpful don't forget the thanks button (as im trying to build that up! lol).
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lbe.security&hl=en
additionally for security there is also: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lookout&hl=en
EDIT: LBE lets you know what is using what or what potentially can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but that's not what I'm looking for. I don't want to prevent the app from accessing GPS, which looks like what those apps you mention can do. I just want to know for future reference if I can find out what app is using what resources.
For example, if I see the GPS keep coming on again even though there isn't anything apparently running, I'd like to know which app or process is using the GPS.

[Q] What does 'freezing' an app exactly mean?

Hi,
what does it mean technically if an app is "freezed"? Is the APK moved to another location, or are the unix access rights altered, or is a reference to the app deleted from some kind of "registry" of the Android system, or what else? Can it be done manually by a file manager?
Thanks,
Stefan
It can be done using the purchased version of Titanium Backup and probably a few other apps. It basically renders the app inactive without uninstalling it. Helpful for bloatware that runs in the background but you can't decide if you want to delete it or not.
Thanks, but this was not my question...
lowandbehold said:
It can be done using the purchased version of Titanium Backup and probably a few other apps. It basically renders the app inactive without uninstalling it. Helpful for bloatware that runs in the background but you can't decide if you want to delete it or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I know, but what does it do exactly on file system level? Doesn't anybody know?
stbi said:
Yes, I know, but what does it do exactly on file system level? Doesn't anybody know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most freezing apps simply rename the app to be frozen with an extension, like in the case of Bloat Freezer (IMHO the best one) the frozen app gets a .bzw extension. It remains in place but of course cannot be executed. The nice part is that if you run into an issue you can just rename the app back to what it was (assuming that you have root).
It works!
docfreed said:
Most freezing apps simply rename the app to be frozen with an extension, like in the case of Bloat Freezer (IMHO the best one) the frozen app gets a .bzw extension. It remains in place but of course cannot be executed. The nice part is that if you run into an issue you can just rename the app back to what it was (assuming that you have root).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, so simple - thanks! So it can be done with any file manager.
I've just successfully frozen the preinstalled "LGWorld.apk" by renaming it to "LGWorld.apk.bak". As soon as I had done this, a message popped up, saying "Deinstalled", and the icon disappeared from the app drawer, and also the update for "LG World" vanished from the Market app.
Hmm.. freezing doesn't mean rename. It is being remove from system. If.you rename yourself, the apps may failed to work.
Accidentally sent from my Google Nexus S using XDA Premium
Freezing the app works via decreasing the temperature of the app to roughly 50 Kelvin. At this point the the app's molecular structure becomes a super condensed crystal lattice. Due to the nature of the crystal lattice, android treats the super dense app as non existent. Essentially the app is deleted from your system completely. However, think of it not as a permanent deletion but rather a reversible one. Should you chose to 'restore' the app, you can defrost the app. You could defrost the app using a microwave but I for one use TB Pro as it does a far better job.
lambstone said:
Freezing the app works via decreasing the temperature of the app to roughly 50 Kelvin. At this point the the app's molecular structure becomes a super condensed crystal lattice. Due to the nature of the crystal lattice, android treats the super dense app as non existent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha smart ass.
lambstone said:
Freezing the app works via decreasing the temperature of the app to roughly 50 Kelvin. At this point the the app's molecular structure becomes a super condensed crystal lattice. Due to the nature of the crystal lattice, android treats the super dense app as non existent. Essentially the app is deleted from your system completely. However, think of it not as a permanent deletion but rather a reversible one. Should you chose to 'restore' the app, you can defrost the app. You could defrost the app using a microwave but I for one use TB Pro as it does a far better job.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ha ha ha! that was hilarious man
Press THANKS
stbi said:
Hi,
what does it mean technically if an app is "freezed"? Is the APK moved to another location, or are the unix access rights altered, or is a reference to the app deleted from some kind of "registry" of the Android system, or what else? Can it be done manually by a file manager?
Thanks,
Stefan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Press thanks if I helped
Source - How TO Geek
Manufacturers and carriers often load Android phones with their own apps. If you don’t use them, they just clutter your system and sometimes in the background, draining resources. Take control of your device and stop the bloatware.
We’ll be focusing on disabling – also known as “freezing” bloatware here. It’s a safer process than uninstalling the bloatware completely, and is also easier to accomplish with free apps.
Uninstalling vs. Freezing
Uninstalling an app is exactly what it sounds like – the app is entirely removed from your device. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to get many of these preinstalled apps from the Play Store if you ever need them again. Uninstalling some preinstalled apps may result in problems or instability, so you could run into problems.
It’s safer to “freeze” apps instead of uninstalling them. A frozen app is disabled completely – it won’t appear in your app drawer and it won’t automatically start in the background. A frozen app cannot run in any way until you “unfreeze” it. Freezing and unfreezing are instant processes, so it’s easy to undo your changes if you end up freezing a necessary app.
If you really must uninstall apps, you should freeze them first and wait a few days to ensure that your phone or tablet works properly without them.
You can’t uninstall or freeze preinstalled bloatware apps without root access and third-party app managers. Try and you’ll find the options grayed out in the standard Android interface.
klacenas said:
ha ha ha! that was hilarious man
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand and have frozen quite a few apps with TB Pro. My issue is there are shine pre-installed apps that I like to use, but when I run the task killer, they're always running. Is there a way I can fix them where they don't keep starting immediately after killing them, but still having them available when I want to use them?
donnebonn said:
I understand and have frozen quite a few apps with TB Pro. My issue is there are shine pre-installed apps that I like to use, but when I run the task killer, they're always running. Is there a way I can fix them where they don't keep starting immediately after killing them, but still having them available when I want to use them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can try greenify it will hibernate the apps and hence the app will be available for you any time
donnebonn said:
I understand and have frozen quite a few apps with TB Pro. My issue is there are shine pre-installed apps that I like to use, but when I run the task killer, they're always running. Is there a way I can fix them where they don't keep starting immediately after killing them, but still having them available when I want to use them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another app called greenify. Or using an autostart manager to prevent them from running without ykur intervention.
sangalaxy said:
you can try greenify it will hibernate the apps and hence the app will be available for you any time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thx a bunch. I dwld and installed the grenify app and disabled them, however, when I run my task killer the gallery app is always running. I wanted to greenify it, but it's not showing up in the greenify app, even when I did a search for it, it just took me to my home screen. I clicked on the app and it just opened but I didn't see any options to greenify it. Any suggestions? Thx for ur help.
so at the end is freezing and renaming the same thing? no one cleared that up, i usually just rename to BAK and thats it, what does TItanium apart from renaming?
ok i answer myself, freezing is the same as going to app manager, and selecting DISABLE
or from a root terminal using:
pm disable {package_name} (e.g. # pm disable com.android.browser)
wich calls:
/system/bin/pm
wich in turn contains:
# Script to start "pm" on the device, which has a very rudimentary
# shell.
#
base=/system
export CLASSPATH=$base/framework/pm.jar
exec app_process $base/bin com.android.commands.pm.Pm "[email protected]"
what it does is set a flag for a component to some of different values:
COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_DEFAULT
COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_DISABLED
among others. (http://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/pm/PackageManager.html)
where does it store this flag: I DONT KNOW
is this flag a value inside some manifest/ini file? : IDK
is this flag st in the file system? IDK
can someone show me the light?
edit: I DONT KNOW for sure but i think it stores it in : /data/system/packages.xml
that is generated by package manager taking info fro each app manifest. i hope i am right, but dont take my word as absolute truth since it was a quick google research lol
Renaming the apk file can result in unwanted behaviour... I learned by trial&error! I'm running MIUI 6 and wanted Google Play as default app store and not the MI Market. Renaming the apk file for the Mi Market gave me the result I wanted: launching Google Play whenever I clicked a link to a certain app. But that was until I rebooted the phone... it got stuck on the MI startup logo. After renaming the Mi Market apk file in twrp recovery, my phone booted again.
So might try freezing it to see if it will do the job properly.
Freezing Mi Market with AppFreezer worked like a charm!
el_jefe said:
Renaming the apk file can result in unwanted behaviour... I learned by trial&error! I'm running MIUI 6 and wanted Google Play as default app store and not the MI Market. Renaming the apk file for the Mi Market gave me the result I wanted: launching Google Play whenever I clicked a link to a certain app. But that was until I rebooted the phone... it got stuck on the MI startup logo. After renaming the Mi Market apk file in twrp recovery, my phone booted again.
So might try freezing it to see if it will do the job properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends what you mean by "renaming." Changing the extension from .apk to .apkold or .bak or something like that will harmlessly freeze the app since it's no longer seen as an apk by the system. Renaming the app itself is another thing entirely.
I renamed the extension to .noapk and Miui wouldn't boot anymore.
Good stuff

[Q] freezing apps and privacy

This is my first post. I have been contemplating freezing some apps through titanium backup. Ive notice that apps like pulse news and bloomberg run in the background when i never opened them in the first place. I would think that that's unnecessary strain on my battery and I want to freeze them. But if i freeze an app does that mean that I will need to unfreeze it in order to ever use it? If so how can i prevent an app from running in the background without completely disabling its use? My second question pertains to app permissions. A lot of the apps I download have permissions that seem a little too intrusive on my privacy. Is there a way I can store files so that no application has access to it? Again this is my first post. I did some research to see if these questions had been answered and I didnt see much. So thank you and pardon my ignorance.
The only way to effectively stop an app from running is to freeze it. And a frozen app cannot be run.
And yes the app constantly running does affect the battery. That's the main frustration with bloat. It'd be one thing if they just sat there, but they regularly run on their own. Most alternatives on the market to them don't run by themselves nearly as much.
By far the majority of permissions are not as bad as they sound. Contact the developer to see why the permissions are required. The reasons may surprise you.
What apps are you concerned about?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App

[HELP] Trying to find a solution to apps running in background. Any way to stop them?

First of all, I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP BILLIONS OF TIMES, SO BEFORE YOU REPLY WITH "Search the forums" READ THIS.
I have been looking for WEEKS trying to find an answer to this,and no answer given on any forums are what I am looking for.
I have an android phone (sidekick 4g) and there are apps that run in the background when not necessary. Now I know some stuff need to be aways running for the phone to function. But I also know that apps like Facebook, Market, Gmail, T-mobile's Media Store, MyYearBook, Maps, Aptoide, etc don't. When I force close them, they just start up a few seconds later. I've tried task killers and got the same result. I've read the "Why you shouldn't use a task killer" articles but everyone keeps saying different things about it so I'm confused.
Like many others, I want my battery to last at least half way through the day. The above mentioned apps (and some others) DRAIN THE BATTERY WHEN RUNNING IN THE BACKGROUND WHEN I DON'T WANT THEM TO.
Please does anyone know of a way to fix this?
My phone is rooted, if that matters.
Also, "freezing" the apps don't help cause then I can't use them when I actually want to.
Thank you very much in advance anyone who can help me out!
magnoidgoat said:
First of all, I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP BILLIONS OF TIMES, SO BEFORE YOU REPLY WITH "Search the forums" READ THIS.
I have been looking for WEEKS trying to find an answer to this,and no answer given on any forums are what I am looking for.
I have an android phone (sidekick 4g) and there are apps that run in the background when not necessary. Now I know some stuff need to be aways running for the phone to function. But I also know that apps like Facebook, Market, Gmail, T-mobile's Media Store, MyYearBook, Maps, Aptoide, etc don't. When I force close them, they just start up a few seconds later. I've tried task killers and got the same result. I've read the "Why you shouldn't use a task killer" articles but everyone keeps saying different things about it so I'm confused.
Like many others, I want my battery to last at least half way through the day. The above mentioned apps (and some others) DRAIN THE BATTERY WHEN RUNNING IN THE BACKGROUND WHEN I DON'T WANT THEM TO.
Please does anyone know of a way to fix this?
My phone is rooted, if that matters.
Also, "freezing" the apps don't help cause then I can't use them when I actually want to.
Thank you very much in advance anyone who can help me out!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Applications running, doesn't mean cpu cycles are being used. Sitting in memory is no different then a song sitting on your sdcard. Your issue with the battery has to do with processes using cpu cycles. If you have applications that update, force updates manually.
Just having apps in memory isn't your issue.
Use the features built into the os, find out what apps are causing the problem. Look at the settings. If you have looked at your settings, then you have one of three choices. Open bugreports with the application developers, don't install the apps causing problems, or upgrade your phone.
lithid-cm said:
Applications running, doesn't mean cpu cycles are being used. Sitting in memory is no different then a song sitting on your sdcard. Your issue with the battery has to do with processes using cpu cycles. If you have applications that update, force updates manually.
Just having apps in memory isn't your issue.
Use the features built into the os, find out what apps are causing the problem. Look at the settings. If you have looked at your settings, then you have one of three choices. Open bugreports with the application developers, don't install the apps causing problems, or upgrade your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you that makes sense.
I would think those apps would use battery because it pushes notifications for the app (like new messages and stuff). Does that not use battery?
magnoidgoat said:
Thank you that makes sense.
I would think those apps would use battery because it pushes notifications for the app (like new messages and stuff). Does that not use battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does use battery because to process the notification it needs to use the cpu. If you force applications to update manually. Your batter would be better. Check into battery saving tuts. All that information has already been discussed plenty. Won't change in this scenario either.
The more apps you have updating information the more data and notifications are being processed.
lithid-cm said:
It does use battery because to process the notification it needs to use the cpu. If you force applications to update manually. Your batter would be better. Check into battery saving tuts. All that information has already been discussed plenty. Won't change in this scenario either.
The more apps you have updating information the more data and notifications are being processed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!
Also, I have another problem, if you know anything about this kinda stuff. The Facebook app icon just (like 10 minutes ago) disappeared from my home screen, and it's not in the app drawer either. I uninstalled and reinstalled and still having the problem. I can only open it by manually searching "facebook" in the google search widget and that's when it gives me the option to open the app. It's really bizzare and I have no idea what's going on.
Sent from my SGH-T839 using xda premium
magnoidgoat said:
Thank you!
Also, I have another problem, if you know anything about this kinda stuff. The Facebook app icon just (like 10 minutes ago) disappeared from my home screen, and it's not in the app drawer either. I uninstalled and reinstalled and still having the problem. I can only open it by manually searching "facebook" in the google search widget and that's when it gives me the option to open the app. It's really bizzare and I have no idea what's going on.
Sent from my SGH-T839 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a issue with the rom or launcher. Try installing another launcher from the market and see if the application is installed. If its there with another launcher then its your stock launcher, if its not then its the rom.
lithid-cm said:
Sounds like a issue with the rom or launcher. Try installing another launcher from the market and see if the application is installed. If its there with another launcher then its your stock launcher, if its not then its the rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worked thank you!

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