Apps suddenly disappear from screen (they don't crash)

[AC Question]

I love my note5, but last fall I noticed that apps began to suddenly disappear from the screen randomly. They didn't crash; if I pressed the "recent apps" button, the app would be there still running and would come right back to the screen if I tapped it. The behavior seem to be exactly as if I had pressed the physical home button, but in many cases, I wasn't even touching the phone. It was sitting on a table in front of me, with me reading an article or watching something on Netflix. In November, I reluctantly defaulted the phone. I downloaded and installed most of my apps, and thankfully, the behavior was gone; the phone worked perfectly, just as it did for the first year I owned it. In recent weeks, though, the same behavior has returned. I'm not as hesitant to default now (Helium will make sure I won't lose my progress on games), but it's still a pain. Does this behavior sound familiar to anyone? Does anyone have any ideas?

Thank you!

- Ken

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! See if the problem happens in Safe Mode: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-27639

If the problem disappears in Safe Mode, then something you installed is causing the problem. You may have to uninstall apps one by one until the problem disappears. If the problem persists in Safe Mode, then it's more likely to be a hardware or firmware problem. A faulty Home button is not that unusual.

 

[Ken_in_Pittsburgh]

Thanks for your quick response!

I should have mentioned that before defaulting, I did try safe mode, and the behavior did not persist. That let me to believe that the problem was something I had installed, rather than the hardware, just as you stated. My first thought was Nova Launcher, since it takes over control of the display. However, uninstalling Nova Launcher did not fix the problem. I was hoping that someone else might have experienced this same issue, and would be able to point to a particular app that they might have discovered as the culprit. I'll probably default again and reinstall a minimum number of apps, then add the rest one at a time, keeping a light. If I figure it out, I'll report back; maybe it will help someone else.

Thanks again!

- Ken

 

[B. Diddy]

The next time this happens, go to Settings>Smart Manager, then tap RAM to see what apps are currently running. That might give you a clue.

 

[Ken_in_Pittsburgh]

I don't see a Smart Manager under Settings, but I did find "Memory" under Applications. It shows 66 processes that have used RAM in the last three hours, but I don't see anything unusual (of course, I don't really know what I'm looking for!). Are you suspecting that an app is hogging memory?

 

[B. Diddy]

Hmm, I wonder why your menu is different. I was looking at my wife's Note5 from T-Mobile, which is still on 6.0.1. Is yours on Nougat?

A little while ago, the basic Android menu (i.e., what you see on a Nexus/Pixel) took away the ability to see what apps are currently in RAM, and now only shows what you describe -- which apps have been using RAM over the last few hours. This isn't as helpful, because sometimes you may want to see what apps are currently in RAM (as in your case right now) as a troubleshooting step. Maybe an app is hogging memory, as you mentioned. Or it could be conflicting with other apps and causing them to force close.

EDIT: I found the menu option I was looking for -- it's now in Developer Options: https://www.howtogeek.com/258300/ho...of-running-apps-in-6.0-marshmallow-and-above/

 

[Ken_in_Pittsburgh]

6.0.1 from Verizon.

I just found it in developer Options! Still don't know what I'm looking for, though!

- Ken

 

[B. Diddy]

Ok, so next time this happens, go to that menu and make a note of which apps are open (taking a screenshot is probably easiest). You'll probably have to do this a few times to see if there's a particular app that's always there. Focus on 3rd party apps, not system apps.

 

[Ken_in_Pittsburgh]

Got it. Thank you so much!

- Ken

 

[Ken_in_Pittsburgh]

Here's an update: I followed your instructions and found that there were a number of third-party apps that always seemed to be running when this happened. One by one, I either disabled or completely uninstalled each of those apps. The symptoms continued as I was doing this. I got to the point where I think Yahoo mail was the only app left. I got busy and couldn't continue working on it, but I was pretty frustrated and decided I would simply default and start again from scratch when I got some free time. Then at the beginning of last week, Verizon bestowed Nougat upon my phone. Instantly, the problems were gone! Almost 2 weeks now and there has not been a single instance of an app disappearing from the screen or closing unexpectedly. Does this mean that the operating system had become corrupted? I'm using all the same apps; I even reactivated or reinstalled the apps I had taken out. So far, no issues. I will let you know if the symptoms come back.

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me!

- Ken