I just installed a ROM (Senseless ROM 1.1) and I'm liking it a lot. But I noticed something odd when pressing and holding the "home" key to bring up the "recent apps" list. Every few minutes the oldest items drop off the end of the list.
So initially maybe I have 4 apps in the list, then after a while of switching between apps 1 and 2, suddenly there are only 3 apps in the list, then 2. And eventually it even drops down to 0 so the app I'm currently running isn't even in the list. Does the stock phone do this too and I only just now noticed it or is this feature only an issue with my particular ROM? What aspect of android controls the app switcher (if that's what it's called).
I'm using launcher-pro if it matters, and I haven't installed any task switchers from the market. I might consider getting one of the market task switchers as a decent workaround, but I'm not necessarily keen on the interface they all seem to use (tap home -> task switcher; tap home twice -> home screen of your launcher that you would otherwise get to with a single tap).
I haven't yet found any settings for controlling the app switcher. Are there any, and where do they live?
I almost can't imagine that this is an intentional design feature of the "recent app" history, but after an LED "notification" light that turns off after 5 minutes, anything is possible.
For what it's worth I started using the market app "PreHome" as a task switcher and am finding it a good replacement for the default. Now I just hit [home] once to bring up the PreHome app which maintains a good history, and never use the hold [home] to get the default android task history.
Oddly enough I haven't been able to reproduce the original problem I had reported, even when I do use the default switcher for a while.
I knew this would happen.. as soon as I reported that it wasn't reproducing anymore I started hitting the problem again. At least the part where semi-old items start dropping off the history list. I still haven't yet reproduce a history list containing 0 items.
Browsing the web seems to be the most reliable way to make older apps fall off the end of the list. Specifically I was browsing m.zedge.net listening to ringtones.
Anyway the only new news is that when an item drops out of the traditional app history list, it also dropped out of the PreHome app's list.
Related
Hi, so a long press on 'home' brings the last 6 apps used. It's so basic it's sad. Is there a way to replace this with a better task switcher? Yes I know how Android manages RAM. I do not want a task killer, but a task switcher that replaces the existing one.
Does that exist? Thank you!
Tried searching the Market?
Task Manager ?
Ok obviously this is frustrating, I think my question has merit and I get the rolling eyes smileys.
Yes I have searched the market. From the ones I tried (must have tried 5 or 6 of them) *not one* of these apps replaces the 'hold home for 2 seconds' behaviour. Not one.
Further more, a lot of them *do not work* on the SGS2. Perfect task switcher fails to render the screenshots for example, other freeze, other are plain broken - displaying all running processes including 'android system'.
What I'm looking for is something that replaces the 2 sec long press and display the most recent used apps.
Maybe try quickdesk.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
LauncherPro has such a feature. You can set one of the dock buttons to "recent apps" and it'll fill your entire screen with your recent apps, not just 6.
I just discovered that you can get rid of apps from the recent apps menu (the square button next to the home button) by swiping them to the side. I don't know why this makes me so retardedly happy, but I am sure that SOMEONE else out there will also appreciate this tidbit of information.
Anyone else have any nuggets of joy to share?
I liked that trick also when I first found out. Another thing too is that you can hold down the app in recent menu and a quicksetting will come up to let you remove it from list or look at app info.
Remember though, this only removes it from recent apps list. It doesn't close down the app itself.
Does it really matter though performance wise? I Always thought Android puts background apps into an "idle" state where they dont take up any resources until used? Although it is cool for people with OCD like me
demandarin said:
I liked that trick also when I first found out. Another thing too is that you can hold down the app in recent menu and a quicksetting will come up to let you remove it from list or look at app info.
Remember though, this only removes it from recent apps list. It doesn't close down the app itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does close the app. It just doesn't close background processes of the app.
Swiping an app from recent apps menu removes the app from cached memory, but keeps the background sync's (if it has any) still running. So you can kill off Facebook, but it's background sync (that would be started during system boot up anyway) remains.
You can test it, if you swipe browser from recent app's memory, it has to reload the page it was on. Same with Facebook app. But Facebook app's background process keeps running until you 'force stop' it.
Android application architecture runs in two layers, foreground and background processes. UI and the things you can use are written to memory when focus is lost from those apps, clearing them from recent apps also clears the memory those apps take at the time.
Is it useful? Yeah, for some things. But it won't improve your performance in any real noticeable way. Best you can do is swipe away apps that you don't need, keeping only apps that you want to keep in memory should you re-open them again. But that's usually too much micro-management to be worth it.
kristovaher said:
Yes it does close the app. It just doesn't close background processes of the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps, BUT, not every app in the recent apps list is actually running. That's why many times (most of the time?) the screenshot isn't what you actually see when you select an app from the list--you're really restarting it.
I think it's safest and easiest to just assume that you're really only removing apps from the recent apps list, not actually managing what's running in any way.
DroidHam said:
Does it really matter though performance wise? I Always thought Android puts background apps into an "idle" state where they dont take up any resources until used? Although it is cool for people with OCD like me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it doesn't make any difference performance wise, but it makes the menu much more useable for me =D
Thanks for this message, this is my first android device and I've been trying to figure out how to "close" applications. Did a search in here (I think), prime manual search and googled it. I am slightly OCD and like to "close" thinks that I'm not using. Harkens back to my early Windows days when you closed apps to conserve memory.
In the manual it says to close application by clicking on an X in the recent apps menu. Though unless it is super tiny, there isn't one.
redandblack1287 said:
I just discovered that you can get rid of apps from the recent apps menu (the square button next to the home button) by swiping them to the side. I don't know why this makes me so retardedly happy, but I am sure that SOMEONE else out there will also appreciate this tidbit of information.
Anyone else have any nuggets of joy to share?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you have the dock, 2 finger gestures on the touchpad act as screen swipes. i.e. swipe two fingers across the tab, the tab changes screens. Also, if you want to actually kill the apps, add teh asus task manager widget to a screen. works great!
elybug said:
In the manual it says to close application by clicking on an X in the recent apps menu. Though unless it is super tiny, there isn't one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was an ASUS Honeycomb customization. It went away in ICS...
redandblack1287 said:
I just discovered that you can get rid of apps from the recent apps menu (the square button next to the home button) by swiping them to the side. I don't know why this makes me so retardedly happy, but I am sure that SOMEONE else out there will also appreciate this tidbit of information.
Anyone else have any nuggets of joy to share?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you have the dock, 2 finger gestures on the touchpad act as screen swipes. i.e. swipe two fingers across the tab, the tab changes screens. Also, if you want to actually kill the apps, add the asus task manager widget to a screen. works great!
kristovaher said:
Yes it does close the app. It just doesn't close background processes of the app.
Swiping an app from recent apps menu removes the app from cached memory, but keeps the background sync's (if it has any) still running. So you can kill off Facebook, but it's background sync (that would be started during system boot up anyway) remains.
You can test it, if you swipe browser from recent app's memory, it has to reload the page it was on. Same with Facebook app. But Facebook app's background process keeps running until you 'force stop' it.
Android application architecture runs in two layers, foreground and background processes. UI and the things you can use are written to memory when focus is lost from those apps, clearing them from recent apps also clears the memory those apps take at the time.
Is it useful? Yeah, for some things. But it won't improve your performance in any real noticeable way. Best you can do is swipe away apps that you don't need, keeping only apps that you want to keep in memory should you re-open them again. But that's usually too much micro-management to be worth it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's what I meant. I should of been more clear then. just swiping it doesn't close down app "Completely", meaning no background process either. you have to use a task manager or Force stop in order to "Truly" close n stop an app from running.
elybug said:
In the manual it says to close application by clicking on an X in the recent apps menu. Though unless it is super tiny, there isn't one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There isn't any in ICS, only in HC.
i didn't know that either until last week! ice cream is awesome :]
Conduitz said:
if you have the dock, 2 finger gestures on the touchpad act as screen swipes. i.e. swipe two fingers across the tab, the tab changes screens. Also, if you want to actually kill the apps, add teh asus task manager widget to a screen. works great!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know.....that Asus task manager widget does not work on mine. It doesn't matter if I press x next to one app or select kill all - nothing happpens. I think mine is broken
I removed it from one of my home screens, no need to have it if it doesn't work
demandarin said:
that's what I meant. I should of been more clear then. just swiping it doesn't close down app "Completely", meaning no background process either. you have to use a task manager or Force stop in order to "Truly" close n stop an app from running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a bit different though, because those background processes will (likely) already be running even if you don't start the app. Most of those background processes are started by boot activity in Android and others are started by scheduling activities (such as alarms or certain notifications and sync). These will be usually restarted once app is started again too (after Force Close) and if they are not already running (and they usually are).
Force Close is unnecessary unless you know that a certain app is bad for the system and was run accidentally, etc.
What is the fastest and easiest way way to switch between four apps in the car. For example Google Nav, Poweramp, Trapster, and a speedometer app. A wave of the hand would be nice. I have looked at several and used a few. Smart Task Switcher, a reviewer said “Was warned about this app due to access to contacts permissions which dev says is used in China for advertising”. AppSwipe only does two ( the last opened). The “car apps” say nothing about task switching or is it shown in the Youtube videos. It would be nicer if an app would isolate and load these four programs from one key push then allow fast switching. A snap of the fingers would be another way to switch between these four apps. Also, a slideshow type thing of these four apps with the option to stay on the current one showing might be an idea. Or, one app that puts to the front the needed app, like the media player about the first and last 5 seconds of a song, trapster like app that would popup during notifications, navigation about 10 seconds before and after turns, and the speedometer the rest of the time. I'm just thinking out loud. Holding down the home key is not a good fit. Bottom line is I need a better task switcher (not killer) for the auto. An app that would allow me to map a steering wheel button in my 2011 Ford Fusion SEL for task switching would be golden! A friend's suggestion was to get four phones, so that one is already out there.
I tried Car Dock Home v3. It works by using a launcher that uses the back key to return to it's home screen, then another task can be selected via a shortcut. Unfortunately it cancels Google Navigation when the back key is hit to go to CDHv3 home screen. This would have been a better solution as it takes two key presses. It would be the best solution to perform one action to cycle through the desired programs. I installed Smart Task Switcher and that was good in theory but I could not find how to configure correctly and the floating button is far too small and often requires several taps, and that is sitting at the desk. There is a paid version where some of this is supposedly settable but from my experience with this app I don't think this is a solution.
The car was the first place that came to mind. But the need to quickly and efficiently switch task is useful in several environments.
I have hit a dead end and any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hey man,Im surprised you expect a phone to act as a tomtom,mp3 player and christ knows what else simultaneously.
theunderling said:
Hey man,Im surprised you expect a phone to act as a tomtom,mp3 player and christ knows what else simultaneously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S2 runs everything just fine, there is just not an efficient way to switch between them.
Post any Tips and Tricks you may know of for the Sony Z3v D6708 model.
I f the phone won't shut down or gets stuck -- open Sim card door, press the off button hidden there (above Sim slot) to shut down phone with a small object, something not sharp.
Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Advanced -> Toggle everything off by "Wi-Fi Optimization.
Turn on NFC and Bluetooth only when needed as it drains battery.
Now my list of apps I've disabled...
Amazon
Amazon app suite
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Music
Amazon Appstore
Audible
Black Hole
Bubbles
Caller ID
Cloud
Enchanted Forest
FamilyBase Companion
Gmail (I use Cloudmagic)
Google Korean Keyboard (include Chinese if you don't use Chinese either)
Google Play Books
Google Play Games
Google Play Movies & TV
Google Play Music
Google Play Newsstand
IMDb
Isis Wallet
Message+
My Infozone
News & Weather
NFL Mobile
Phase Beam
Pico TTS
Podcast
Slacker Radio
TalkBack
TV Launcher
Verizon Location Agent
Verizon Support & Protection
VZ Navigator
Wikipedia Extension
Wireless Emergency Alerts
Xperia Social Engine Sharing
Xperia with Twitter
Youtube karaoke extension
I'd disable the Email app, but there were frequent popups telling me is crashes. So I just leave it enabled. This as as far as I can think on the top of my head. xP
GigaSPX said:
Now my list of apps I've disabled...
Amazon
Amazon app suite
Snip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can we get a thread started dedicated to finding the apps safe to disable? This list is a good start for that.
Isn't the verizon locator agent the cell network location system? Or is it purely spyware...
Wish I knew what some of those more obscure apps actually did.
Marine6680 said:
Can we get a thread started dedicated to finding the apps safe to disable? This list is a good start for that.
Isn't the verizon locator agent the cell network location system? Or is it purely spyware...
Wish I knew what some of those more obscure apps actually did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seconded on the locator agent, among other nebulous apps.
Maybe killing Wireless Emergency Alerts isn't a great idea? Those are the weather, amber, and presidential emergency notifications.
I've already disabled most of them, I wasn't really sure what else I could disable without screwing something up. Thanks for the list, I will do more tonight.
Sent from my ghost white Z3!
Marine6680 said:
Can we get a thread started dedicated to finding the apps safe to disable? This list is a good start for that.
Isn't the verizon locator agent the cell network location system? Or is it purely spyware...
Wish I knew what some of those more obscure apps actually did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could go ahead and open up another thread since we're now free to post more to expand this new forum of ours.
Stormwing said:
Seconded on the locator agent, among other nebulous apps.
Maybe killing Wireless Emergency Alerts isn't a great idea? Those are the weather, amber, and presidential emergency notifications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh, when there's a giant tornado coming, I'm pretty sure I'll know what's coming when I see one. LOL
Jk, the real reason is the Amber alerts. Several times I've been alerted for a situation that occurs in a driving distance that's 6-8 hours away from me at 3 in the morning. What kind of BS is this? >_>
GigaSPX said:
I could go ahead and open up another thread since we're now free to post more to expand this new forum of ours.
Eh, when there's a giant tornado coming, I'm pretty sure I'll know what's coming when I see one. LOL
Jk, the real reason is the Amber alerts. Several times I've been alerted for a situation that occurs in a driving distance that's 6-8 hours away from me at 3 in the morning. What kind of BS is this? >_>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can disable amber alerts in the wireless emergency app.
If anyone else wants to know, our phones can do double tap to wake the screen to reduce wear on the power button. A feature most phones have to get root to add.
And if anyone is taking underwater photography, don't forget to enable No Touch to prevent the screen from spazzing out during your shoots.
Copy number from phone log
Copying number from log is a two step process here. Long press and choose "edit before call" then you can copy it
Try the slow speech effect in call settings. It's amazing tech and sometimes really helpful when dealing with people that talk too fast. There is an article about it here...
http://www.androidheadlines.com/201...low-talk-feature-slow-speech-voice-calls.html
Sent from my D6708 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Starting the camera app from the short cut options (camera key or from lock screen) resets any setting or mode that was previously active. To keep your settings active don't use these shortcuts.
nateperro said:
Starting the camera app from the short cut options (camera key or from lock screen) resets any setting or mode that was previously active. To keep your settings active don't use these shortcuts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice tip! I've noticed it always starts one way or another depending where I'm coming from. Right now I'm seeing there's about 4 ways to activate camera.
1. From physical shutter button
2. From lockscreen
3. From Camera app in app drawer or home screen
4. From the Camera widget (not including the other downloaded camera features)
Obviously 1 and 2 is advised not to reset, but the latter two is then what you should use to activate the previous settings.
GigaSPX said:
Nice tip! I've noticed it always starts one way or another depending where I'm coming from. Right now I'm seeing there's about 4 ways to activate camera.
1. From physical shutter button
2. From lockscreen
3. From Camera app in app drawer or home screen
4. From the Camera widget (not including the other downloaded camera features)
Obviously 1 and 2 is advised not to reset, but the latter two is then what you should use to activate the previous settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that I understand this camera feature I actually find it useful. Sometimes I want to fire off a quick shot using the short cut to start the camera in SA (superior auto mode) as I don't have time to check settings. Other times it takes a double tap unlock and then selection of the camera app to keep previous settings when I know I have time to think about the shot. [emoji4]
Power the Device Up in Safe Mode - Sony Xperia® Z3v
[Device-Specific Instructions]
Safe Mode puts your phone in a diagnostic state (returned to default settings) so you can determine if a third-party app is causing your device to freeze/reset / run slow. Our Troubleshooting Assistant can help you with other device issues if you aren't currently using the tool.
An alternate method is available if the device can be powered on and is responsive.
With the device powered off, simultaneously press and hold the Power button and the Volume down button (located on the right edge of the device ) until the Sony screen appears then release.
From the System Recovery screen, select Safe mode.
Note Utilize the Volume buttons to navigate and the Power button to select.
Note Allow approximately 1 minute for the device to reboot.
Note Once rebooted, 'Safe mode' appears in the lower-left corner of the screen.
Note Notes:
With Safe Mode enabled, test device and app functionality. If the previous issue fails to occur, the cause has been isolated to a third-party app and all recently installed or updated apps should be uninstalled.
Power cycle device to disable Safe Mode then reinstall and test each app one at a time to identify which app is causing the problem
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Clearing an Application's Cache / Data:
NOTE: Assuming that one of your applications isn't working properly then you may be able to fix this by clearing the app's cache or data. WARNING! Clearing an application's data will result in the removal of all personal information stored within the app. This includes login and credit card information, profiles, saved games, settings, high scores etc. It's recommended that you first try clearing the cache in order to prevent unwanted file deletion.
Tap "Apps" while viewing the home screen
Access the "Settings" menu and scroll to "Device"
Tap "Apps" and access the "All" or "Downloaded" screens
Select the desired application and tap "Clear cache"
If the method above didn’t help, tap "Clear data" too and press "OK" to confirm
Clearing the Phone's Cache Partition:
NOTE: In case your smartphone is not working as intended, it crashes, freezes etc. then you may consider master resetting it. However, you can also try solving these problems without losing personal data caused by a factory reset. To do so, try clearing the phone's cache partition as explained below:
With your smartphone turned on, press and hold the "Power" and "Volume Up" buttons
Wait for the screen to turn off and for the smartphone to vibrate three times
Once that's done, release all buttons
The cache partition should now be wiped. Press the "Power" key to turn on the smartphone as you normally would
NOTE: If clearing the phone's cache partition hasn't solved the problem, then you might want to master reset your phone. To learn how you can master reset the Sony Xperia Z3V, click the link
Enter Safe Mode and Uninstall an App:
NOTE: If you've installed an application that causes issues on your phone and prevents you from removing it as it runs processes in the background, then you can easily dispose of the app by first rebooting your phone in safe mode. In this mode, all third party applications are disabled.
With your smartphone turned on, press and hold the "Power" button
Tap and hold the "Power off" option
At the Safe Mode prompt, tap "OK" and wait for your smartphone to reboot
Once your phone restarts, a "Safe Mode" message should be present in the lower-left corner of the screen
To remove an app, tap "Apps" while viewing the home screen
Go to "Settings"
Swipe to "Device" and tap "Apps"
Scroll to the "Downloaded" screen and select the application you wish to remove
Tap "Uninstall" and press "OK" to confirm
Read more: http://verizonforums.com/threads/so...che-reboot-in-safe-mode.363259/#ixzz3PUePFP00
In case of emergency when your phone freezes and all else is unresponsive
A couple days ago, I was playing asphalt 8 and my phone froze when I tried exiting the game. My power button just pinged the notification ringtone, my camera button played the Cybershot sound but didn't change screen, and I couldn't pick up calls despite my ringtone playing. I thought my last resort somehow was to either wait for the phone to die (sure, waiting 2-3 days is definitely an option here due to battery life greatness, pfft) or use Android Device Manager and factory reset.
Unfortunately I went with the latter and then found out this one incredible tip: a hard reset button. I never knew such a thing existed for our phones and I would like to inform all new users of it too. This is thanks to @jhwookie for the info.
Tlr, there's a slightly brown button found inside the SIM compartment. Grab something such as a toothpick to press and hold onto the button for a few seconds, and voila. The phone will be hard reset to where you were previously.
GigaSPX said:
A couple days ago, I was playing asphalt 8 and my phone froze when I tried exiting the game. My power button just pinged the notification ringtone, my camera button played the Cybershot sound but didn't change screen, and I couldn't pick up calls despite my ringtone playing. I thought my last resort somehow was to either wait for the phone to die (sure, waiting 2-3 days is definitely an option here due to battery life greatness, pfft) or use Android Device Manager and factory reset.
Unfortunately I went with the latter and then found out this one incredible tip: a hard reset button. I never knew such a thing existed for our phones and I would like to inform all new users of it too. This is thanks to @jhwookie for the info.
Tlr, there's a slightly brown button found inside the SIM compartment. Grab something such as a toothpick to press and hold onto the button for a few seconds, and voila. The phone will be hard reset to where you were previously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for elaborating further I had mentioned this in OG post.
To make the phone appear faster go to Settings>System>About phone>tap Build number several times till you get Developer options>Drawing>Window animation scale>off,Transition animation scale>off, Animation duration scale>off, x1 is default and x.5 works well too, I prefer "off", don't like animations.
YMMV
1linuxfreak said:
To make the phone appear faster go to Settings>System>About phone>tap Build number several times till you get Developer options>Drawing>Window animation scale>off,Transition animation scale>off, Animation duration scale>off, x1 is default and x.5 works well too, I prefer "off", don't like animations.
YMMV
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THat's good advice for most devices. Smooths out the transitions.
If you guys go into Settings -> Data Usage, you can see which apps is draining the most data. If you want to restrict its background data, select the specified app, and scroll to the bottom to enable the checkbox.
If any of you guys have Snapchat installed, I highly recommend it since it's been noted it takes way too much data since its January 27th update.
Creating new folders in Sony Album
I find that Album isn't completely intuitive when it comes to creating a new Folder to help organize all your pictures. Here's how:
1. From the Album app, swipe from the left side of the screen to open the menu and select "Folders"
2. Open the folder where the picture is currently
3. Find the photo you want to move and long press on it
4. Click on the menu button on the top right of the screen (3 dots), then select "Move to"
5. Click on the plus (+) on the top bar to create a new Folder
6. Name your new Folder and select whether you want it on the SD Card or in Internal Memory
Sorry in lack of a proper definition- how are the apps shown in the recent apps menu called (when pressing recent apps button on the bottom) and even more important- how to customize these, none of them appear to be useful to me except settings maybe.
Edit: after some more investigation I found out it seems to be the same apps list the smart bulletin uses, but still no idea how to edit it.
To answer this question myself after some days of usage, for anyone that is maybe interested - this appears to be some "most used" or "most recently used" app list- however, the way this is determined remains a riddle to me, since those are definitely not the apps I use the most. Oh well.