Android noob - Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Ive had my gs3 for a week now. Moved from my htc tp2.
Firstly the signal quality is worse. Sat in my normal place in the house and unable to hear people. Have to go to the window.....4 year newer upgrade should be a total upgrade.
Secondly my partner has a galaxy S. We've been playing uno across bt. If you haven't played it one person hosts and the other joins. My partner was contantly the host as her phone could load in and out of the multiplayer in 1/2 the time... galaxy s better then gs3...! Grrrr
The question or oddity i have is memory.
Out the box i was getting about 500 mb usage. Few task managers/startup kills downloaded and tried. Gained about 50 mb. Used fmr memory and got down to about 350 mb.
Then started trying a few apps... wifi finders. File managers. Clocks etc. Noticed memory usage up to 550 mb. Looked at a few task managers again. Killed a few things. Used fmr again but unable to get anywere near 450mb. The task manager dont show any of the new apps. Uninstalling the new apps got my memory usage back down. But why..... if the task managers ( tried the top 5-6 and inbuilt for comparison) show no additional apps in memory where is it going.
This may-be my lack of understanding of how android works. Or a failure on the compatibility of the task managers and gs3. Or maybe im using the workings of a pc and incorrctly comparing.
Can anyone explain....
Sorry about any typo's. Still getting my head round this keyboard....
Need an android qwerty in the uk... this phone will be ebayed...my tp2 died so HAD to get a new phone. Gs3.
My review
Not bad.. screen is lush... size too long (only time i had to go 2 handed with my tp2 was when using the phyical qwerty, contantly using 2 hands with this size screen. Nearly droped several times juggeling and i have man hands). Home button should be touch not phyiscal.
Accessories...moronic.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

jr_enver said:
Ive had my gs3 for a week now. Moved from my htc tp2.
Firstly the signal quality is worse. Sat in my normal place in the house and unable to hear people. Have to go to the window.....4 year newer upgrade should be a total upgrade.
Secondly my partner has a galaxy S. We've been playing uno across bt. If you haven't played it one person hosts and the other joins. My partner was contantly the host as her phone could load in and out of the multiplayer in 1/2 the time... galaxy s better then gs3...! Grrrr
The question or oddity i have is memory.
Out the box i was getting about 500 mb usage. Few task managers/startup kills downloaded and tried. Gained about 50 mb. Used fmr memory and got down to about 350 mb.
Then started trying a few apps... wifi finders. File managers. Clocks etc. Noticed memory usage up to 550 mb. Looked at a few task managers again. Killed a few things. Used fmr again but unable to get anywere near 450mb. The task manager dont show any of the new apps. Uninstalling the new apps got my memory usage back down. But why..... if the task managers ( tried the top 5-6 and inbuilt for comparison) show no additional apps in memory where is it going.
This may-be my lack of understanding of how android works. Or a failure on the compatibility of the task managers and gs3. Or maybe im using the workings of a pc and incorrctly comparing.
Can anyone explain....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you worry about memory usage if it doesnt do any harm? you can start worrying about it if your the gs3 starts to run slowly etc.
I think you are worrying about task managers and memory usage because you got used to wm This is android and gs3 is beast of a phone, no need to worry too much about closing apps or memory usage.
Home button should be touch not phyiscal.
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Click to collapse
urgg agreed! :fingers-crossed:
coming from all touch SGS vibrant, AT&T GS2 , I feel this too. home button is bit hard to press sometimes using it single handed. But size of the phone is great for me, although I prefer more waiting for the Note 2 :fingers-crossed:

Out the box i was getting about 500 mb usage. Few task managers/startup kills downloaded and tried. Gained about 50 mb. Used fmr memory and got down to about 350 mb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cache is "eating" up your RAM. Take a look at this page: http://www.linuxatemyram.com/
All operating systems do it, some just don't show it that prominent because it confuses the heck out of new users.
Using Task managers actually slows your phone down since it has to load data from the SSD which is always orders of magnitude slower than RAM.
However Samsung - and if your phone is carrier-branded, the carriers too - have added a lot of crap- and bloatware to he devices. If you're rooted, you can easily freeze or remove it which should give you 100ish MB of additional RAM. It's the same as with all devices that are sold today,
I'm wondering when they will start shipping ovens with a 30day Trial of PizzaBaker Pro.
Firstly the signal quality is worse. Sat in my normal place in the house and unable to hear people. Have to go to the window
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try another modem. That often makes huge differences. However, as usual, modems with better signal drain more battery since they send with a higher signal strength.
y partner was contantly the host as her phone could load in and out of the multiplayer in 1/2 the time
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Click to collapse
I don't know that game and altough I've both phones (S1 and S3) sitting in front of me I'm not particularly inclined to try it out now
However there could be several reasons to this behaviour, including e.g. the game trying to load higher texture resolutions for your far larger and higher-resolution screen, the app having issues with your particular phone,....
Is your partner's S1 on Android 2.x or 4.0? On CM7 / CM9 or another ROM? S1+ CM9 is very fast and it's snapiness not far behind the S3 without CM9.
Still getting my head round this keyboard....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Open market and get another one. Plenty to choose from
Nearly droped several times juggeling and i have man hands
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Click to collapse
Either you're holding it wrong *g* or your hands are small. Usually only women struggle to use it one-handendly.
Home button should be touch not phyiscal.
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Click to collapse
I disagree. It's far easier and accurate to use a physical button (you don't have to look at it to find it) than a touch button. Phones with 4 touch buttons below the screen make me want to throw the device at the next wall from frustration.
Accessories...moronic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If that is a killer, I recommend you don't get an iPhone. Ever. They got some pretty stupid accessories, cases and stuff.

jr_enver said:
Ive had my gs3 for a week now. Moved from my htc tp2.
Firstly the signal quality is worse. Sat in my normal place in the house and unable to hear people. Have to go to the window.....4 year newer upgrade should be a total upgrade.
Worth trying a different modem .
But if i had the negative views you have i would sell it .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

JJEgan said:
jr_enver said:
Ive had my gs3 for a week now. Moved from my htc tp2.
Firstly the signal quality is worse. Sat in my normal place in the house and unable to hear people. Have to go to the window.....4 year newer upgrade should be a total upgrade.
Worth trying a different modem .
But if i had the negative views you have i would sell it .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When.. Will you learn to quote? xD
Skickat från min GT-I9300 via Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse

Ram works best when it's high..
Do u have any lag? Cos mines a beast.
If u don't like Samsung. Downgrade to an HTC again.
Sent from my stock GT-I9300 using xda premium
Hit thanks if I've helped

RAM
For RAM, read the appropriate link in my signature to give you an idea how it works and why you shouldn't care about it,

Many thanks to all the replies.
Dont get me wrong love the phone. This was a list of first week oddities. The things i love about this do outway.
I would upgrade to a high spec qwerty slide in a heart beat. But the spec would need to compaire to this phone. Screen quality is 5*. Touch sensitivity again lush. Sound... and many more great features.
Info. Gs3 is unrooted unbranded. Girlfriends gs orange latest update.
Modem..... didnt even consider it.. many thanks.
Ruchira88. You may be spot on there. Allways had to keep one eye on tm with wm6.5. Have noiced an occational lag but i was running alot.
Keyboard..... just not a huge fan of on screen keyboards.. i know many people prefer them but still prefer a qwety slide. I find it quicker and more accurate for me.
My point about the home button. I find i have to shift my hand to add presure. May be the way im holding it. First week with a phone this big. Also have sgs3 flip case. Nice but also could be an added interference
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

Took me a while to get used to the screen size.. But looking at my s2 now and i wouldnt like a smaller screen
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

Related

Sims 3 heap error

Well I've actually been playing sims3... pretty fun time killer actually. I keep getting heap errors... maybe it has something to do with the game thinking it has 512mb to use but android only making 256mb available?
Anyone else? Any fixes (besides rooting and changing the memory available)
(I'll do some cross referencing of posts here)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=730107
After reading that it seems like I should mention I don't have the directory hack (nor do I have my phone rooted). I'm pretty far into the game too, doesn't usually happen unless something memory intensive in the game happens.
Copied down the error from the last time it happened too. Not a typo, the first number is always less than the second:
Heap 2 out of memory. Allocating 652 bytes but only 1000 available (500 LFB). Increase icf setting [s3e] MemSize2 (current value is 5000000).
I think this may be your issue, also...
Sims 3 install error "Couldn't clear application caches"
Edit: Sorry, didn't see your update until after I posted. We were a couple minutes off of each other.
I am having the exact same issues and can't resolve. please help
Same problem here. It started happening a lot when I upgraded my house. I think its too much memory for the device, or at least it thinks so. Hope this gets fixed.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
This is happening to me now right after the 2nd house upgrade while trying to rearrange my kitchen. Anybody got a fix? This version of the game is supposed to be optimized from the vibrant LOL
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
I had some issue's prior to the hack to make my phone faster with buying mode crashing, but now with the speed hack it happens just in normal game play, hope a new hack comes out that dosnt use so much memory up in the process.
Okay, not much of a "fix" but here's what I did to get around it.
I had been getting the error everytime I tried to fix my fridge or cook a meal. I had the second house upgrade and had been working on my gardening skills.
I uprooted my whole garden and haven't had the issue since. I don't know if it was specifically related to the garden, or was just enough to bring me below the threshold of too much stuff in the house.
YMMV. Good luck!
lund0529 said:
Okay, not much of a "fix" but here's what I did to get around it.
I had been getting the error everytime I tried to fix my fridge or cook a meal. I had the second house upgrade and had been working on my gardening skills.
I uprooted my whole garden and haven't had the issue since. I don't know if it was specifically related to the garden, or was just enough to bring me below the threshold of too much stuff in the house.
YMMV. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried this and uprooted my entire garden and then proceeded to move and buy furniture and have not had the heap error since, not much testing, but i moved everything in my house and bought some new stuff, and no error. I could never get through moving 2 things, or buying 2 things or one of each without the error, now just did about 50 in a row and no issues!!! Garden eats up too much memory I guess. Great find. I hope they fix this in the next update.
.accidently reposted same post when i hit the back button, so deleting it

Multitasking - might have found improvement?

Hey so I've been toying around with the multi-tasking and might have a tip that works for you.
Would be interested to see if it helps others as well.
I removed panels from my home screen and it seems to have improved mult-tasking.
I personally don't need 7 panels...
Simply click the home button to get to the panel browser, long-press a panel and drag it to remove.
Does this help with anyone else or am I imagining things?
I have it set to only five panels and so multi tasking isn't any better.
ieee_raider said:
Hey so I've been toying around with the multi-tasking and might have a tip that works for you.
Would be interested to see if it helps others as well.
I removed panels from my home screen and it seems to have improved mult-tasking.
I personally don't need 7 panels...
Simply click the home button to get to the panel browser, long-press a panel and drag it to remove.
Does this help with anyone else or am I imagining things?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every little thing you do helps with memory. Live wallpaper? Memory, around 30MB. Widgets? Each widget takes up memory. I've had 1x1 brightness widgets take up 2MB each time. They'll add up.
So you can remove screens, remove those big ass HTC widgets, and keep things lean and you will save memory. Every bit counts on this phone because HTC has screwed it up.
To clarify, since you seem to think HTC screwed up, this phone has plenty of RAM. THAT isn't the issue with this multitasking. They made it too aggressive. I've heard that they fixed it on the One X, and I'm sure they'll apply a similar fix to us. And custom ROMs have fixed those problems as well. It isn't a hardware issue, it's a software issue.
Edit: that was directed at the poster above me, I thought I hit the quote button but I guess not.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
SoraX64 said:
To clarify, since you seem to think HTC screwed up, this phone has plenty of RAM. THAT isn't the issue with this multitasking. They made it too aggressive. I've heard that they fixed it on the One X, and I'm sure they'll apply a similar fix to us. And custom ROMs have fixed those problems as well. It isn't a hardware issue, it's a software issue.
Edit: that was directed at the poster above me, I thought I hit the quote button but I guess not.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Well reason cause the apps keeps closing so fast is not cause of the ram left, is because the way the phone saves more battery it kills apps like Facebook that used too much ram, I remember on OG evo days we did this too to make sure our phone lasted a full day or close to 12 hours now the htc did it everyone is piss and want them to "fixed it", anyways I do find it annoying sometimes but I feel like going back home and launch the app is much better then using recent apps sometimes ,
It would be nice if they gave u the option..I'd sacrifice some battery life if a panel would stay open without a reload within literally 10 secs..it def ruins multitasking..all multi tasking does now is bring u back to the app u were using and starting over ..
It's sad to say that HTC has implemented worst multitasking than even the iPhone has.
jgalan14 said:
Well reason cause the apps keeps closing so fast is not cause of the ram left, is because the way the phone saves more battery it kills apps like Facebook that used too much ram, I remember on OG evo days we did this too to make sure our phone lasted a full day or close to 12 hours now the htc did it everyone is piss and want them to "fixed it", anyways I do find it annoying sometimes but I feel like going back home and launch the app is much better then using recent apps sometimes ,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's both. There's not much available RAM at bootup because of all the extra crap HTC has put in there. And then on top of that, its overly aggressive app killer options. And then on top of that, its data/background process pause/kill for everything else.
But the RAM thing definitely doesn't help. All I know is when I boot up Sense 4 or boot up CM9 there's 150 on S4 and 390 on CM9 of free RAM. The other stuff hurts too, but RAM being low to start with (about 100MB less than the EVO 3D thanks to video memory) makes it worse.
For those saying "this phone has plenty of RAM" you're right if you never boot up. But once it boots up, 300 of it is gone for video RAM. The original 4G had about 100 go to that, and the 3D had about 200. So "plenty of RAM" means 700, which isn't a ton when you see how much Sense and HTC fills it.
I agree there is a multitasking problem and to bad HTC didn't have foresight to need a extra 512 of ram even... However I have grown use to the multitasking and while it is bad to a point doesn't bother me to much.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
I'm not seeing the problem here. If you back out of an app with the back button, Android kills the app; if you leave the app by pressing the home button, it retains the app. For the last week and a half or so, I've been reading A Game of Thrones via the Kindle app and press home to leave it every time. Whenever I fire it back up, it's right back on the page I left. I don't play any demanding games on my phone so I'm not sure if RAM is a bottleneck in that instance, but these phones aren't exactly staved for memory.
chessmyantidrug said:
I'm not seeing the problem here. If you back out of an app with the back button, Android kills the app; if you leave the app by pressing the home button, it retains the app. For the last week and a half or so, I've been reading A Game of Thrones via the Kindle app and press home to leave it every time. Whenever I fire it back up, it's right back on the page I left. I don't play any demanding games on my phone so I'm not sure if RAM is a bottleneck in that instance, but these phones aren't exactly staved for memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you use other apps is diferentes Like Tapatalk and Facebook
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
It varies on the app. Browsers use much more and will trigger it quite a bit faster than most things.
It must certainly be dependent on the app, because I'm developing my own App and while testing I'm noticing that the tasker is not killing it. I can hit the home screen and be away for multiple hours, and open the app back up, and I will be at the same activity (screen) I left off at.
I meant it varies depending on what other apps you use. If you use apps that are all 30 mb it might take a bit. But open a browser and do 3 tabs or 1 tab with flash content and you'll have your old apps close.
firmbiz94 said:
It would be nice if they gave u the option..I'd sacrifice some battery life if a panel would stay open without a reload within literally 10 secs..it def ruins multitasking..all multi tasking does now is bring u back to the app u were using and starting over ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree. It's very frustrating in my opinion.... Hopefully there's a fix soon for this.
via eVoLTE.

[Q] S4 UI is laggy and it pisses me off

It pisses me off to see me and many others complain about such a basic thing as LAG in this "super powerful" device.
What is the point of all this tons of CPU, huge RAM and etc., if it cannot manage basic tasks quickly. that's great that i can play 3D games, but I want my phone to be responsive as it used to be in the beginning.
How come I need to wait for 5 seconds for my contact list to load? 3 seconds for my SMS to load, 2 seconds for an app to load in the application center. 1.5 second until it responds to a home button. You expect this kind of basic tasks to be done INSTANTLY.
So what if I have lots of contacts? Doesn't Android follow BASIC programming concepts?
That is first load the frame, then show LOADING, then load the most necessary (in that case would be the first part of the list) and then load the rest. This way it doesn't feel laggy for the user. How come it simply loads for 5 seconds without any response and then shows ALL at once.
Everything is laggy, almost anything I press takes 1-2 seconds to respond the first time. Second time is mostly instant.
Tried to clean cache of all apps, using memory cleaners, disable double home click, I am at version 4.3, using Go Launcher.
How can I find if there's a specific app that causing it? Or what should I clean to make it go smooth as it used to be when it was new? all these task managers and such don't make ANY difference. Total waste of time.
Don't mind me being pissed and thank you for your input
P.S. - My device is not rooted.
yeah....that's why i put my S4 aside and bought the G2. it's touchwiz. it's horribly optimized and has been since JB. on ICS, touchwiz was great. it was snappy, fast, awesome. it was amazing on my S3. then the S3 got JB, and it turned to utter garbage. now, every samsung phone since JB is awful.
they really need to scrap TW and code it all over again.
I'm not getting this 5 second lag. 1 and a half seconds perhaps on the contact list and I have maybe 210 people on there.
If you're getting 5 seconds of lag I think something's up. I'm getting pretty quick responses WITH Power-Saving Mode enabled. With it disabled I don't really notice anything different tbh lol.
Sorry you're having a pain of a time. If you're going to get a new phone I would suggest the Nexus 5 :laugh:
I'm stock non-rooted.
Nova Launcher
That's it.
johno86 said:
I'm not getting this 5 second lag. 1 and a half seconds perhaps on the contact list and I have maybe 210 people on there.
If you're getting 5 seconds of lag I think something's up. I'm getting pretty quick responses WITH Power-Saving Mode enabled. With it disabled I don't really notice anything different tbh lol.
Sorry you're having a pain of a time. If you're going to get a new phone I would suggest the Nexus 5 :laugh:
I'm stock non-rooted.
Nova Launcher
That's it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, I'm not gonna get a new phone just because of that.
Could you perhaps tell me with which accounts you sync your contact list? I would assume that's related. Also are you trying it after your has been idle for a while? (it's much more responsive when I open it the second time)
Because of all the bloat you have installed...take off go launcher lol
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Go launcher is the worst. Go to the dev settings and change animation time to 0.5x or off, get apex or nova and use the fastest animation speeds, try different dialer & messaging apps. Don't use memory cleaners or task managers just delete whatever apps you don't use. Basically avoid using as much touchwiz crap as possible lol. Also know that live wallpaper and a lot of widgets cash slow things down too. I would think keeping all the stupid proximity sensor stuff on doesn't help either.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
It really does suck how slow this phone is considering it's hardware. Samsung needs to hire some new people because my girlfriend's htc one is very smooth and snappy with almost no lag (minus att 's slow 4g network) I wish htc would pull their heads out of their a**es and build good phones with good cameras with removable batteries and sd cards :banghead:
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
If you go through and disable stuff like crazy it improves, but that doesn't really speak well for Samsung.
Frankly I'm done with 'em as a company.
SomeGuyDude said:
If you go through and disable stuff like crazy it improves, but that doesn't really speak well for Samsung.
Frankly I'm done with 'em as a company.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. But with htc in the sh*tter and Samsung heading in a similar direction, what other manufacturer is worth a damn? Or even half of one?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
I'm using nova prime as well as quite a few xposed mods including XuiMod.
All my nova settings are at faster than light, XuiMod settings are also set to fast, and I've set the transition animation scales to 0 /. 5 as well.
My S4 flies. I have no complaints at all. I've used titanium and gotten rid of all the BS too.
I agree TW has a lot going on but can be set up quite good and run quite fast. I've looked at other phones over and over again, trying to get back into flashing ROMs, but I keep landing back at my S4. It's still an awesome phone
Verizon Galaxy S4
# MJ7 #
ALL Knoxed Up!
Don't mistaken transition speed for loading/processing speed which are two totally different things. The S4 is no slouch, if it's "lagging" like you said, it's an app for sure. I nor anyone I know with an S4 has experienced this phantom lag. But then again we don't blow up our phone with launchers, widgets, or 5 different apps telling me my battery level and apps running. Try using stock everything (launchers, dialers*lol*, messaging*lol*)
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
whatever61 said:
It pisses me off to see me and many others complain about such a basic thing as LAG in this "super powerful" device.
What is the point of all this tons of CPU, huge RAM and etc., if it cannot manage basic tasks quickly. that's great that i can play 3D games, but I want my phone to be responsive as it used to be in the beginning.
How come I need to wait for 5 seconds for my contact list to load? 3 seconds for my SMS to load, 2 seconds for an app to load in the application center. 1.5 second until it responds to a home button. You expect this kind of basic tasks to be done INSTANTLY.
So what if I have lots of contacts? Doesn't Android follow BASIC programming concepts?
That is first load the frame, then show LOADING, then load the most necessary (in that case would be the first part of the list) and then load the rest. This way it doesn't feel laggy for the user. How come it simply loads for 5 seconds without any response and then shows ALL at once.
Everything is laggy, almost anything I press takes 1-2 seconds to respond the first time. Second time is mostly instant.
Tried to clean cache of all apps, using memory cleaners, disable double home click, I am at version 4.3, using Go Launcher.
How can I find if there's a specific app that causing it? Or what should I clean to make it go smooth as it used to be when it was new? all these task managers and such don't make ANY difference. Total waste of time.
Don't mind me being pissed and thank you for your input
P.S. - My device is not rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whatever61, did your phone behave like you have explained (lag) when you first bought it? If the answer is no then you have an apps/widgets/or other software on the phone causing you the problem. The ole' saying 'keep it simple stupid' kind of applies here (not saying at all that you are stupid). There are only so many resources in our phones...cpu capabilities, memory etc. The resources in our S4s are pretty significant considering the size and the limited power available. It really boils down to this...the more task you demand your phone to perform the more resources it uses and at some point it has to slow down to reallocate the limited resources it has...lag. Task managers use more resources than they save...live wallpaper is a resource hog...widgets (weather, facebook, goggle now, goggle +, pandora etc) constantly updating and running are resource hogs...contracts with added thumbnails, although "neat", take up not only memory but take longer (resources) to process when you want to look at one (when you call up a contact do you want the information or do you want to look at a picture, which one of those do you NEED?)...email and messaging apps that have to sync more than a few days of old mail/messages is a waste time and resources...Samsung has put a lot of "cute" animations and gesture sensitive "crap" on our phones...they are "cute" but not necessary and use resources. Bottom line...do a factory reset, decide what you need and "keep it simple stupid". (Again, I'm not calling you stupid!!).
Don't worry, I didn't think you are calling me stupid
Yes, if I remember correctly in the beginning it was working faster (but cannot say for sure what and where was the lag already existing and where it wasn't) and what you're saying about widgets, lots of apps and all that is very obvious and very general (thanks for the input, though). The don't install too many apps or reset to factory approach is not something I think a correct approach. I bought a super powerful phone to be able to install whatever I want on it, right?
Besides an example that I provide is that when I am in the application manager and pressing on an application it takes like 2 seconds to open up. I don't think it's related to me having too many apps.
I think that I should be able to see which app is causing the lag in each case and then make my decision based on it. Yes, I can install different task managers to show me which app is taking how much CPU and RAM, but I don't see anything exceptional there. Problem is at specific actions I do, so it would be good to see what happens (like in Chrome inspect element) when I press on the action, which processes are being launched, how much time it takes for them to complete and how much CPU was used at each process. A log like that would do the job.
Besides my post was more about the wrong engineering (see the example of the Contact list lag) and the fact that many people complain about the lag in S4 and a question if someone knows about a tool that can help me find what is causing the lag (see description of the tool above).
Thanks
richii0207 said:
Don't mistaken transition speed for loading/processing speed which are two totally different things. The S4 is no slouch, if it's "lagging" like you said, it's an app for sure. I nor anyone I know with an S4 has experienced this phantom lag. But then again we don't blow up our phone with launchers, widgets, or 5 different apps telling me my battery level and apps running. Try using stock everything (launchers, dialers*lol*, messaging*lol*)
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't like "stock everything", besides seems to me like stock stuff is even more laggy.
I don't blow up my phone with stuff neither and I think the reason lies in something else (see my post above for a better explanation)
whatever61 said:
I don't like "stock everything", besides seems to me like stock stuff is even more laggy.
I don't blow up my phone with stuff neither and I think the reason lies in something else (see my post above for a better explanation)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand your frustration and your point is well taken. I don't know of a utility/app that will enable you to clearly identify an app or process that is causing the lag you experience. I know doing a Factory Reset is a big PITA and I never recommend that to someone unless I know of no other "cure" for the problem. And, sometimes a Factory Reset isn't the cure either. But often it is. The reason I recommended Factory Reset is that it is about the only way you can (that I know of) start with a "clean" phone and nail down the app or apps that are causing a problem as you reinstall them one or two at a time. I have a developer edition S4, rooted and bootloader unlocked, and I usually will do a factory reset every two or three weeks even while running a ROM that has been debloated and "fine tuned". It usually improves battery life and the phone works smoother...or maybe it's just my imagination, but I don't think so. Anyway, good luck, hope you find the problem. Maybe some wise ole' guy will come along and point you in the right direction.
whatever61 said:
I don't like "stock everything", besides seems to me like stock stuff is even more laggy.
I don't blow up my phone with stuff neither and I think the reason lies in something else (see my post above for a better explanation)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, for the most reliable experience, it is always best to stick with stock.
My advice is to run stock everything for a day to see if that's the problem. Your other option would be a factory reset in which I am trying to make you avoid.
Do you have 3rd party apps installed like sms/launcher/dialer/lockscreen/etc.? I can't imagine the amount of processes going on if someone had all those apps installed.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
I really dont understand why people complain about this so called lag. I've had no such thing since I got my s4 right when they came out.
My girlfriend gets her S4 acting all strange sometimes too, can seem laggy. However she is constantly downloading music and she uses like 3 programs to do so. I've had to remove quite a few of those apps and then it's working like new again. Sometimes a lot of the apps available out there just aren't the best and can screw things right up I think. I've had none of the issues she's had. Mine has been fast as hell since day one. And hers is back to normal too, I just have to keep an eye on her!!
Verizon Galaxy S4
# MJ7 #
ALL Knoxed Up!
This post is ancient, but I still got the problem
I am just curious if other S4 users have the same problem or most don't ?
Then I will know that something is possible to do for sure, at least..

Worst galaxy ever?

On paper this is the best galaxy s ever, we all know that, but I have had this phone for 2 weeks now, and I have had the worst android experience on any phone, I had owned every phone on the galaxy s line since the beginning.
I haven't seen any phone with more lags or software flaws than this one.
To begin, the wakeup lag, sometimes more than 10 secs for the phone to wakeup.
The sd card read/write lag, I change my sd card to a Samsung top notch one, and the lag is still noticeable.
Memory issues, I recreates thisnissues in may ways, open up a game (plants vs zombies 2) play for a couple of mins, lock the phone, and see if you can weke it up.
I noticed a bit more smotthnes after the updatw but still the performance on this phone is just awful.
I hope this is an isolated issue, but I have seen a lot of people complaining about the lag as well.
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Premium HD app
Forgot to add the connection issues, I use the subway a lot, I have to put the phone in airplane mode and off to get reception back after getting off the subway, otherwise it will not refresh the connection by itself.
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Premium HD app
livito said:
Forgot to add the connection issues, I use the subway a lot, I have to put the phone in airplane mode and off to get reception back after getting off the subway, otherwise it will not refresh the connection by itself.
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me toi
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
livito said:
Forgot to add the connection issues, I use the subway a lot, I have to put the phone in airplane mode and off to get reception back after getting off the subway, otherwise it will not refresh the connection by itself.
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too. I can't tell you how many problems I've had with this phone. That's just one of the many.
I don't have any of these problems. Maybe its crapware your carrier loaded that's restricting it?
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Free mobile app
Yes, it might be a "T-Mobile" version problem, I am pretty sure this are software related problems, I would like to see it running on a vanilla version of android, it has to be TouchWiz messing it up, but anyway, this had to be thoroughly tested before releasing it to the public, shame on T-Mobile/Samsung, hope a fix is on the way.
livito said:
Yes, it might be a "T-Mobile" version problem, I am pretty sure this are software related problems, I would like to see it running on a vanilla version of android, it has to be TouchWiz messing it up, but anyway, this had to be thoroughly tested before releasing it to the public, shame on T-Mobile/Samsung, hope a fix is on the way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try using the international stock roms. On the S4, those were MUCH better that the US version roms. I know it requires rooting, but you'll probably be happier and it doesn't really matter if you're outside your return period anyway.
I don't have any of those problems either.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
Me neither
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Free mobile app
Great phone, no issues, where did you buy yur phones?
I've had the phone for a while now and it hasn't lagged once, the fingerprint scanner works over 90% of the time, and signal is good as well. Yeah, the HR monitor is a total gimmick, but to say this phone is "the worst galaxy" is a bit extreme.
So either I got extremely lucky and got 2 phones without any problems, or some people are getting unlucky with their purchase.
livito said:
Yes, it might be a "T-Mobile" version problem, I am pretty sure this are software related problems, I would like to see it running on a vanilla version of android, it has to be TouchWiz messing it up, but anyway, this had to be thoroughly tested before releasing it to the public, shame on T-Mobile/Samsung, hope a fix is on the way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a feeling most of it is a T-mobile problem. However, I have a friend on another carrier (I think it's Verizon) and he hates his as well. Tons of problems.
i got no problem with mine S5, just love it.
I have the mysterious lag screen problem on wake!
livito said:
On paper this is the best galaxy s ever, we all know that, but I have had this phone for 2 weeks now, and I have had the worst android experience on any phone, I had owned every phone on the galaxy s line since the beginning.
I haven't seen any phone with more lags or software flaws than this one.
To begin, the wakeup lag, sometimes more than 10 secs for the phone to wakeup.
The sd card read/write lag, I change my sd card to a Samsung top notch one, and the lag is still noticeable.
Memory issues, I recreates thisnissues in may ways, open up a game (plants vs zombies 2) play for a couple of mins, lock the phone, and see if you can weke it up.
I noticed a bit more smotthnes after the updatw but still the performance on this phone is just awful.
I hope this is an isolated issue, but I have seen a lot of people complaining about the lag as well.
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes, no matter what I've tried, I'll be using the phone and let the screen turn off, When I push the home button, nothing, the phone is still running but I can't see anything, I try to use the power button and again nothing, I have to pull the battery and restart the phone to get it working. There is a group of people that are experiencing the problem and at first people thought it may be SD card related but it is not conclusive at this point. It will work fine sometimes for days, then all of a sudden pull the above mentioned crap.
Exactly, onlast Sunday every time I locked the screen it would never wakeup, I had to remove the battery like 3 times, it has been OK for the las 2 days though, but this is frustrating, I mean, I haven't even rooted the phone yet, I read that 4.4.3 is on its way, hope that addresses these performance issues.
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Premium HD app
Yes I agree this phone is very laggy specially the camera they send me a "new" phone and the problem still there, also i usually charge it at night
and this morning the screen was on the boot screen logo i had to remove the battery it sucks
So, I keep researching the reasons of why some of us have this issues, today I went to the "t-mobile my account" app, went to options and deselected all the options (ALL OF THEM), and I notice the fun is a lot smoother, probably the placebo effect, but I will keep trying for a couple of days, if you guys want give it a try.
No issues here, touch wood, using T-Mobile phone on AT&T network.
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA premium 4 mobile app.
I've only had the phone for about a week but it's amazing so far, I upgraded from a S2. I play Ingress constantly and lately I've been able to play for 4+ hours at a time before needing to recharge and that's just on the stock battery. I removed all the bloatware I could and turned most everything off just to try and squeeze out every little bit of battery life. The only thing bugging me about the phone so far is that root would void my warranty and I'm a little upset about that but meh, it's not like I ever needed it I'm just a little worried because the phone is so new. I might just wait until the 12 months is up and root the phone then. So far I don't really have a reason to need root but I'm sure that desire will gain in traction as new tools for the device get released. I'm mostly thinking about mods like Cyagenmod, that will be one of the reasons I root and break Knox if I do before the warranty.
livito said:
On paper this is the best galaxy s ever, we all know that, but I have had this phone for 2 weeks now, and I have had the worst android experience on any phone, I had owned every phone on the galaxy s line since the beginning.
I haven't seen any phone with more lags or software flaws than this one.
To begin, the wakeup lag, sometimes more than 10 secs for the phone to wakeup.
The sd card read/write lag, I change my sd card to a Samsung top notch one, and the lag is still noticeable.
Memory issues, I recreates thisnissues in may ways, open up a game (plants vs zombies 2) play for a couple of mins, lock the phone, and see if you can weke it up.
I noticed a bit more smotthnes after the updatw but still the performance on this phone is just awful.
I hope this is an isolated issue, but I have seen a lot of people complaining about the lag as well.
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PEBKAC

Low Free Memory and Slow Speed

My Nexus 9 is running slow most of the times and it takes while to I switch between apps or open an app most of the times...what is the fix for that? I have been trying clearing the dalvick cache several times but no help...and I really don't have lots of apps. Thanks for your help in advance.
arminvm said:
My Nexus 9 is running slow most of the times and it takes while to I switch between apps or open an app most of the times...what is the fix for that? I have been trying clearing the dalvick cache several times but no help...and I really don't have lots of apps. Thanks for your help in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try flash custom kernel..the memory management is very good with custom kernel
Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk
arminvm said:
My Nexus 9 is running slow most of the times and it takes while to I switch between apps or open an app most of the times...what is the fix for that? I have been trying clearing the dalvick cache several times but no help...and I really don't have lots of apps. Thanks for your help in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try tapping on 'Memory used by apps' on that memory settings screen, should let you know what the culprit is
Choochter said:
Try tapping on 'Memory used by apps' on that memory settings screen, should let you know what the culprit is
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firstly, you need to face the fact that 2GB was a bad decision by Google for this tablet. There is nothing that we can ever do about that. :crying:
If you want to stay on stock, Chrome is the main culprit in consuming Ram. Switching to Habit Browser makes things better as well as changing your DPI to 288. Do a search on XDA regarding this. Whilst it improved things, it was still not enough for me.
I snapped a week ago and have now rooted and flashed CM13 and stuck with Habit. I've been using a few days now, and for the first time, I can keep my 3 Fantasy Premier League Tabs open, (they are huge,) without constant refreshes, redraws and lag. :victory: Right now, I feel for the first time, I'm getting what I paid for and the Nexus Experience. The only bug so far, is that always listening doesn't work.
If you've just bought this tablet, I'd consider returning it if you are not prepared to root. The performance will never be acceptable on stock.
arminvm said:
My Nexus 9 is running slow most of the times and it takes while to I switch between apps or open an app most of the times...what is the fix for that? I have been trying clearing the dalvick cache several times but no help...and I really don't have lots of apps. Thanks for your help in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clearing dalvik cache will do precisely ONE thing and ONLY one thing; make it take a long time to boot next time as it regenerates it.
Ignore the amount of available memory. People who are concerned about the amount of free memory are trying to apply bad mswindows knowledge to Android. Totally different and no comparison. UNUSED MEMORY IS WASTED MEMORY!!!
So here is how memory management works in Android; it *preloads* everything that it thinks you are most likely to actually use, so that when you DO use it, it is more likely already loaded and starts up very quickly. If you are switching to something that is NOT already loaded, then it just needs to dump lower priority programs out of memory, which basically only takes a few nanoseconds (billionths of a second). So that is NOT it.
If your device is acting slowly, then you need to figure out what the actual cause is. Trace the CPU utilization with something like the "top" command (the one with busybox is a lot nicer than the one that comes with Android) while you are experiencing slowdown. You can also look to see if there is excessive I/O happening (i.e. read/write to the internal storage), and of course, some software will require a network exchange before it will start up -- nothing you can do about network lags.
kacang87 said:
try flash custom kernel..the memory management is very good with custom kernel
Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I am still on the official rom, I probably should switch.
Choochter said:
Try tapping on 'Memory used by apps' on that memory settings screen, should let you know what the culprit is
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done it several times. As I said, I really have not so many apps and just the very common google apps are installed.
Masteryates said:
Firstly, you need to face the fact that 2GB was a bad decision by Google for this tablet. There is nothing that we can ever do about that. :crying:
If you want to stay on stock, Chrome is the main culprit in consuming Ram. Switching to Habit Browser makes things better as well as changing your DPI to 288. Do a search on XDA regarding this. Whilst it improved things, it was still not enough for me.
I snapped a week ago and have now rooted and flashed CM13 and stuck with Habit. I've been using a few days now, and for the first time, I can keep my 3 Fantasy Premier League Tabs open, (they are huge,) without constant refreshes, redraws and lag. :victory: Right now, I feel for the first time, I'm getting what I paid for and the Nexus Experience. The only bug so far, is that always listening doesn't work.
If you've just bought this tablet, I'd consider returning it if you are not prepared to root. The performance will never be acceptable on stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply. Yeah, most of the times, the slow down happens while I am in chrome and browsing..it actually is not snappy at all in internet browsing...however, I remember it was back in the days that I had bought it.
No, I have this Nexus 9 since last May I think, but have not yet found the time to root it and flash a custom kernel and rom . Anywyas, I have done it previously for my other devices, so not that much rookie in it. Probably will give it a try,
doitright said:
Clearing dalvik cache will do precisely ONE thing and ONLY one thing; make it take a long time to boot next time as it regenerates it.
Ignore the amount of available memory. People who are concerned about the amount of free memory are trying to apply bad mswindows knowledge to Android. Totally different and no comparison. UNUSED MEMORY IS WASTED MEMORY!!!
So here is how memory management works in Android; it *preloads* everything that it thinks you are most likely to actually use, so that when you DO use it, it is more likely already loaded and starts up very quickly. If you are switching to something that is NOT already loaded, then it just needs to dump lower priority programs out of memory, which basically only takes a few nanoseconds (billionths of a second). So that is NOT it.
If your device is acting slowly, then you need to figure out what the actual cause is. Trace the CPU utilization with something like the "top" command (the one with busybox is a lot nicer than the one that comes with Android) while you are experiencing slowdown. You can also look to see if there is excessive I/O happening (i.e. read/write to the internal storage), and of course, some software will require a network exchange before it will start up -- nothing you can do about network lags.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your kind reply and explanation.
I think that is exactly the problem as even sometimes switching between the apps that I have just opened is also so slow and the nexus lags badly....Yes, I am aware of the network lags, but the problem I was talking about does not have anything to do with it...I will try the command you said, but can I run it on stock rom? I have not yet rooted my nexus nor flashed a custom rom.
Thanks
arminvm said:
Thanks for your kind reply and explanation.
I think that is exactly the problem as even sometimes switching between the apps that I have just opened is also so slow and the nexus lags badly....Yes, I am aware of the network lags, but the problem I was talking about does not have anything to do with it...I will try the command you said, but can I run it on stock rom? I have not yet rooted my nexus nor flashed a custom rom.
You can do some investigation by watching the processes and seeing which are taking the CPU and memory on stock. The problem is, when you find out, there isn't much you can do about it.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do some investigation by watching the processes and seeing which are taking the CPU and memory on stock. The problem is, when you find out, there isn't much you can do about it.
Its quicker and easier to just install a custom rom where this type of work has already been done for you. :victory:
Lately, I've discovered that loading Chrome immediately raises my CPU temp by 30+ degrees. Sometimes that's enough to make things run really slow
Yeah, I agree...I will try to fimd sometime amd go over flashing a custom rom. ??
Yes! I habe noticed that these slow downs mostly happen when I am browsing in Chrome...
Web browsers are DEFINITELY a source of slowdowns.
The problem, more often than not, is actually *javascript* that is written by MORONS. Even on a desktop machine, you can watch the web browser for CPU and RAM utilization, and it just grows and grows and grows until you finally kill the process and start a new one.
What this may come down to is actually quite simple; the CPU in the Nexus 9 is actually more suitable for use as a stovetop than an actual CPU. These things get way too hot way too fast. If you beat on them with a web browser, they'll get hot and throttle down to low/verylow frequency, which will make them generally unresponsive. So if that is what is happening to you, there really end up being a few options to deal with it;
1) disable javascript in the browser,
2) don't use the browser,
3) improve the ability to disperse heat from the CPU.
For #3, you may note that when it gets hot, it is pretty localized to the corner of the device up near the power button. An easy solution to distribute heat better might be something simple, like adding a layer of copper foil to the inside of the back cover. The thicker the copper foil the better. Copper is very good at conducting heat, so this would spread the heat around over the entire area covered by that foil. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Copper-Foil...nductive-Adhesive-Ship-from-USA-/162018486132
I also found chrome was slow starting up, switching tabs etc. Found that logging out of my Google account in chrome improved this. Seems that synching tabs etc triggers the pause. This might be an acceptable workaround for some but I appreciate it isn't a great fix if you want to use that feature. Actually I'm not bothered as I think Google know too much anyway. �� But the underlying problem is this tablet... I don't have this problem on my phone.
doitright said:
Web browsers are DEFINITELY a source of slowdowns.
The problem, more often than not, is actually *javascript* that is written by MORONS. Even on a desktop machine, you can watch the web browser for CPU and RAM utilization, and it just grows and grows and grows until you finally kill the process and start a new one.
What this may come down to is actually quite simple; the CPU in the Nexus 9 is actually more suitable for use as a stovetop than an actual CPU. These things get way too hot way too fast. If you beat on them with a web browser, they'll get hot and throttle down to low/verylow frequency, which will make them generally unresponsive. So if that is what is happening to you, there really end up being a few options to deal with it;
1) disable javascript in the browser,
2) don't use the browser,
3) improve the ability to disperse heat from the CPU.
For #3, you may note that when it gets hot, it is pretty localized to the corner of the device up near the power button. An easy solution to distribute heat better might be something simple, like adding a layer of copper foil to the inside of the back cover. The thicker the copper foil the better. Copper is very good at conducting heat, so this would spread the heat around over the entire area covered by that foil. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Copper-Foil...nductive-Adhesive-Ship-from-USA-/162018486132
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, they do get hot...and the browser is the problem, I agree...however, I think they are not the main reason...there is something wrong with low memory or maybe some apps...
astralbee said:
I also found chrome was slow starting up, switching tabs etc. Found that logging out of my Google account in chrome improved this. Seems that synching tabs etc triggers the pause. This might be an acceptable workaround for some but I appreciate it isn't a great fix if you want to use that feature. Actually I'm not bothered as I think Google know too much anyway. �� But the underlying problem is this tablet... I don't have this problem on my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, I agree...google already knows a lot!..thanks
arminvm said:
Yeah, they do get hot...and the browser is the problem, I agree...however, I think they are not the main reason...there is something wrong with low memory or maybe some apps...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't agree with that.
We use our N9's *all of the time*, and there is never any perceptible slowdown. Possibly with the exception of straining them with web browsers, but web browsers are... poopy... on EVERY platform and device, so that doesn't really stand out. Typically just minimize the use of web browsers and all is well.
Web browsers were good in 1996 when they were simple things to display an html website. Since then, they've added all kinds of useless crap to them that bloat them out, hog up tons of memory, and just generally make them into a useless waste of space.
doitright said:
I don't agree with that.
We use our N9's *all of the time*, and there is never any perceptible slowdown. Possibly with the exception of straining them with web browsers, but web browsers are... poopy... on EVERY platform and device, so that doesn't really stand out. Typically just minimize the use of web browsers and all is well.
Web browsers were good in 1996 when they were simple things to display an html website. Since then, they've added all kinds of useless crap to them that bloat them out, hog up tons of memory, and just generally make them into a useless waste of space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know..but everyone knows that N9 should be faster!...
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA-Developers mobile app
Update:
I think I have kind of find the problem of low speed of my Nexus 9...I uninstalled an app that was for weather prediction and from that time on my Nexus 9 is very fast and responsive...No problem so far. I also uninstalled some other apps alogaide that which I was never using them,so I am not sure if the weather app was exactly the reason of the slow downs...but the other apps where just some games or some simple apps....well, I hope this information helps! Let me know your idea. Thanks everyone
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA-Developers mobile app

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