Task Killer - What's Going On?

[Deutsche_Goddess]

So, I installed Taskiller at the recommendation of friends and Verizon reps who have a Droid, saying it will keep my apps from running all day to conserve my battery, etc.

I got my 2.1 update yesterday.
And it seems great, until I open Taskiller.
EVERY single time I open it, Voice Search, Settings are ALWAYS running!
I kill the apps.
And I have autokill on.
I check Taskiller 5 minutes later and they're running, AGAIN.

It seems like Taskiller doesn't want to kill my apps.
Why do they keep opening and what can I do to fix this problem?
I don't want my battery dying halfway through the day because of some apps running when they shouldn't be.

Please help!

 

[Martin030908]

Task Killer is working properly, but the apps 'restarting' is how Android's OS runs.
Do yourself a favor, and delete the task killer. They're not needed and will decrease, not increase performance.

http://www.droidforums.net/forum/dr...-not-worry-about-apps-running-background.html

To see what's actually using your battery.... press Menu > Settings > About Phone > Battery Use.
You'll see that the apps that are 'opening' aren't actually using any battery

 

[hookbill]

What Martin says, and never believe what a Verizon rep tells you.

 

[ShowTime]

+1 more to what Martin and Hook said, for added emphasis.

 

[Deutsche_Goddess]

I read around online and found totally conflicting statements!
Slightly confusing.
Well, my Droid before the Taskiller was horrid.... My battery would die within 6 hours because I'm an incessant texter.
I was told to install Taskiller to make things smoother and keep my battery from draining.
And it has worked well thus far. I just need my Droid to not die within 6 hours of use. My roommate's Droid will last 26 hours on a single charge including texting, calls & browsing!
What am I doing wrong here, then?
(P.S. thanks for all your help, I really do appreciate it!!)

 

[Martin030908]

I read around online and found totally conflicting statements!
Slightly confusing.
Well, my Droid before the Taskiller was horrid.... My battery would die within 6 hours because I'm an incessant texter.
I was told to install Taskiller to make things smoother and keep my battery from draining.
And it has worked well thus far. I just need my Droid to not die within 6 hours of use. My roommate's Droid will last 26 hours on a single charge including texting, calls & browsing!
What am I doing wrong here, then?
(P.S. thanks for all your help, I really do appreciate it!!)

Menu > Settings > About Phone > Battery Use..... take a look and report back what it shows in there. It will give us a start point to optimize your battery life

The big, beautiful display is the biggest culprit for using battery...

 

[Deutsche_Goddess]

Ok checking it now.
Here's the results:
39 display
19 idle
16 standby
10 droid system
4 browser
3 taskiller
and 2 for voice search.
There's a few more but they're all 1%.

Why is voice search using my battery when I've never once used it?!

And I checked Taskiller - Settings, Voice Search, MP3 store, uploads and stuff are ALL running. Why?
I don't use any of it....
I'm quite lost.

 

[ShowTime]

What's your screen brightness set at? I keep mine off of Auto and at about 10% anytime I'm not outside and in direct sunlight. That will help with display battery usage. (Also, I recommend keeping Bluetooth and wifi off when not being used... you can leave GPS on). And the fact that your task killer is showing up in battery use, but the apps that are always "running" aren't would be reason enough for me to uninstall it

 

[rusray]

Ok checking it now.
Here's the results:
39 display
19 idle
16 standby
10 droid system
4 browser
3 taskiller
and 2 for voice search.
There's a few more but they're all 1%.

Why is voice search using my battery when I've never once used it?!

And I checked Taskiller - Settings, Voice Search, MP3 store, uploads and stuff are ALL running. Why?
I don't use any of it....
I'm quite lost.

You should seriously consider reading the thread Martin posted up top, it gives you a pretty good explanation of how the droid handles apps

I never use any Task Killers and my battery more than makes it through the day. Do you turn down your screen brightness; and right now how long has your phone been unplugged for?

 

[Martin030908]

Ok checking it now.
Here's the results:
39 display
19 idle
16 standby
10 droid system
4 browser
3 taskiller
and 2 for voice search.
There's a few more but they're all 1%.

Why is voice search using my battery when I've never once used it?!

And I checked Taskiller - Settings, Voice Search, MP3 store, uploads and stuff are ALL running. Why?
I don't use any of it....
I'm quite lost.

I'd recommend setting your Display to Auto-Brightness. Also I would set your screen time out to 30 seconds.

Def read thru the link I posted about Apps Running in the Background. It will help you understand why things seem to stay running.

 

[hookbill]

Ok checking it now.
Here's the results:
39 display
19 idle
16 standby
10 droid system
4 browser
3 taskiller
and 2 for voice search.
There's a few more but they're all 1%.

Why is voice search using my battery when I've never once used it?!

And I checked Taskiller - Settings, Voice Search, MP3 store, uploads and stuff are ALL running. Why?
I don't use any of it....
I'm quite lost.

They are running, but not really just to confuse you some more. They are active but as far as actually running, using memory and power they arn't doing that. If you read that thread Martin gave you earlier it will explain it better then i can.

I imagine since you text a great deal now that 2.1 has voice text on it that may be using your battery. That's more or less an educated guess.

High tech phones are going to use battery, even just sitting there mine will go down 20% in about 6-8 hours. Usually I'm on it a lot at night so I always give it a booster charge and from 7 to 10 at night I usually run it down to 40% from 90%.

 

[Deutsche_Goddess]

Well I have my screen brightness set at 10%, WiFi is off and so is BlueTooth. I don't use either of them anyway!
My phone has been unplugged for a little over 3 hours.
I read that link and it does explain things but I'm still quite curious... if task killers and managers don't actually DO anything, why are they highly recommended?
My phone was off the charger for 16 hours yesterday and it was at 40% when I plugged it in last night. I barely even used it yesterday! ... But everyone raves about the battery life.
I really must be doing something wrong

 

[Martin030908]

Well I have my screen brightness set at 10%, WiFi is off and so is BlueTooth. I don't use either of them anyway!
My phone has been unplugged for a little over 3 hours.
I read that link and it does explain things but I'm still quite curious... if task killers and managers don't actually DO anything, why are they highly recommended?
My phone was off the charger for 16 hours yesterday and it was at 40% when I plugged it in last night. I barely even used it yesterday! ... But everyone raves about the battery life.
I really must be doing something wrong

VZW Techs are the ones recommending task killers, and it's only because they don't know any better.

Try setting brightness to Auto.
Set your screen timeout to 30 seconds.
Also.... dial *228 and select option 2 (update PRL -preferred roaming list). This will make sure your phone has the most up to date list of towers and will lessen the chance of searching for a signal, which can drain your battery.

 

[Deutsche_Goddess]

I'll try setting it to Auto to see what happens!

I did *228 two days ago, so I don't imagine it would be that.

Thanks for all the help everyone, I really appreciate your time and patience!

 

[Martin030908]

I'll try setting it to Auto to see what happens!

I did *228 two days ago, so I don't imagine it would be that.

Thanks for all the help everyone, I really appreciate your time and patience!

Keep in mind that a battery lasting a full day is about as good as it's gonna get. Some people get longer, some shorter.
I've always charged my smartphones at night every day. I never run into problems.... occasionally I'll have to do a recharge some days but that's only during heavy usage. And charging everyday has never shortened my battery life. Whether I was at 10% left or 50%, I still charge it.