Why don't Android apps work after a reboot?

[AC Question]

I'm starting to realize, I DON'T get Android. There's either a deep flaw with this ecosystem, or I'm missing something. I just want to get apps to work but also -stay- working. I've been trying for days without success. Some will reload by themselves, some won't. Some will reload themselves after a restart, but won't if you shut the phone off. Some will reload if the phone is in "fast boot" mode, but may not if fast boot mode is off, or if the battery is pulled. Then if I am lucky enough to get an app to load by itself after shutting off the phone, well then Android may kill it at any time! If Android doesn't kill it, then it may be killed easily by inadvertently pressing the screen and clearing out all apps from memory in one shot. Then, the things I need to work on the phone in the background won't unti the phone is restarted or shut off.

So unlike a computer, there seems to be no way to get an app to work and *stay* working. Or is there a solution to this? For the record, I have tried *many* apps that enable or prevent startups (ie. Autostarter, Apps Auto Run, Manage AutoStarts, Startup Cleaner Pro, All-In-One Toolbox, etc), as well as automator apps (ie. AutomateIt, Tasker). Manually restarting apps is not a solution.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! What kind of app do you want to continue running in the background? I'd say that this really depends on the app itself and how it's coded. An app that is intended to run in the background (like a music app, for example) would be coded to run as a background service while it's still playing music. But other apps that don't have a need to run as a background service won't do this. They'll be active if they're in the foreground, and if you switch to a different app, they'll remain cached in RAM until they're opened again, or until RAM is needed to open another app. A device with less RAM will clearly have more trouble keeping the app cached in RAM, so this is where having more system RAM can be helpful.

Rebooting the phone obviously clears out RAM, so you'll start from a clean slate after the reboot, and the system will decide which apps to open initially.

 

[belodion]

It's my understanding that apps will run if they need to, and if the user has allowed them to.

 

[LeoRex]

Well... first, what apps are we talking about here. Android is a Linux-based operating system, but it has a MUCH different use case than say a desktop running Mint or Windows. It is not trying to be some big system with a million apps loaded and all running concurrent processes. It prioritizes the app that you see on the screen and mostly puts everything else on the back burner, even to point of closing out apps completely if memory starts to get tight (Android doesn't do swap or virtual memory).

But app devs do work around this.... if you look at something like Gmail, for instance. There is GMail, the app, but there are also services that start on boot (and remain running in the background) that do all the background tasks, such as actually go out and retrieve your email. Those services run on boot with a bit higher priority and won't get killed unless Android absolutely has to.

Describe a specific example please.

 

[Skinjob]

Hi,

I hope its clear that I am talking about ensuring that apps run after a *restart* or *power down*. I don't want "the system" to decide which apps I need to start on boot, I want to decide that. That's why I use "Autostart" to force the apps below, to start on boot. It would be a huge problem of course, if Android then kills the apps I need running, whenever it feels like it. (My device has 512mb ram, so not much). But that's a second order of problem I need to deal with, and I'm still just struggling with getting the apps to load after boot!

These are the apps I want to start:

Greenify
Power Toggles
Increasing Ring (*oddly, the phone already has an 'increasing ringtone' in the settings, but it doesn't work!)
wave2Unlock
DS Battery Saver
iPhone Notifications
AutoStart
AutomateIt Pro


I know Android isn't Windows, but.... surely Google doesn't expect a billion users to keep manually loading desired apps every time the phone starts or is rebooted?

 

[LeoRex]

Keep in mind that with that amount of memory, you are not going to be able to run a lot of apps. Android kills those apps because it is trying to free up RAM. There's not much you can do about that.

 

[dpham00]

I know Android isn't Windows, but.... surely Google doesn't expect a billion users to keep manually loading desired apps every time the phone starts or is rebooted?

Well it has to do with your phone which has very little ram.even my Thunderbolt which came out in March 2011 had more ram than that.

This is like having a very old low specd pc - it will run slow when it runs out of ram.

 

[Skinjob]

My problem isn't running the apps or slowness, though. It's getting the apps to start when I restart the phone.

So far, I have not noticed any of them being killed by the system. And I thought Android didn't really run out of ram (like Windows, etc), because of the fact that it swaps out apps when memory is needed?

Most of the time, the phone (a Huawei Ascend, btw), is responsive enough.

 

[LeoRex]

Well, it all depends on how much memory all those apps need. If they are all, as a whole, requesting more than you have available, it'll start to prioritize, even on boot.

AutomateIt is a resource heavy app, have you tried Llama? And that battery saver app... 'Saver' apps usually do more harm than good.

 

[Skinjob]

No, the apps are not taking all the memory. (The system takes the most memory). There's at least 80mb free well after boot. I just looked at "Llama". It's interesting, but it's really not the same type of app as AutomateIt. Its more location-oriented, and limited in its configurations. "AutomateIt" is like "Tasker" (but easier to write scripts for).

Most battery saver apps do more harm than good... but DS Battery Sleep is, I don't think, in that category. When the screen is off, it puts things in a deep sleep, and wakes them up when the screen is back on. Not unlike "Greenify" I suppose, which hibernates apps. I do want to do more than "nothing", in an attempt to have the battery last longer, as this is an essential thing. But I really didn't want to use any apps on startup, to keep the RAM use minimal. Just that there are some basic things I need the phone to do, that I consider important. For the record, they are:

- AutomateIt: implements ascending ringtone (thus replacing the app "Increasing Ringtone". But, it also turns off Wifi and Bluetooth when screen is off, replacing "GreenPower Premium" battery saver app, and it sets volume rington to max when screen off, replacing "Volume Locker" app. It does a couple more things, so AutomateIt seems to earn whatever resources its taking.

- Powertoggles: The built-in notification toggles does not have a brightness control, which I consider essential.

- Wave2Unlock: This unlocks the screen with a wave. Constantly unlocking the phone through its rubber case housing proved to too difficult/annoying. This solution puts less wear on the buttons too.

- iPhone Notifications: Pops up a reliable reminder in the middle of the screen, clearly alerting as to when a call or SMS was missed. Very necessary, much better than a small icon badge.

- AutoStart: "AutomateIt" can also start progams at boot like AutoStart. But it proved unreliable through restarts, so Autostart became essential.

The problem I've been complaining about, of apps not reloading after a power down/reboot, was in great part, due to engaging "Fastboot". The Android feature that speeds up the boot process by way of hibernation. With Fastboot off, most of the time, the apps mentioned above will reload. However... as I have just confirmed again, things can still fail to load even with Fastboot off.

Back to the drawing board!