Performance/Memory Leak?

[graysonk95]

Hello all.
Ever since around the time I got the 4.4 update I have had a memory/performance leak somewhere.
I figured my phone was performing poorly because of the "buggy" update, but performance declines with time (as the used RAM goes up, performance goes down, a RAM clear drastically improves performance).
I installed Memory Booster to better monitor my RAM and I reboot my phone every 7 days.
The trend is as follows:
The first three days performance is great (40-55% RAM used after a RAM clear). The next two days my used RAM begins to increase (65-75% after a RAM clear) until the final two days where my phone is painfully slow and I only have 15% remaining after a RAM clear.
I have monitored RAM for three weeks and the trend is proving true.

I've searched the internet for how to solve this issue, but everything I find is directed toward developers in a virtual environment.
I just want to know what the heck is cluttering my RAM and sucking performance out of my phone.
The problem just seems to happen out of nowhere but always within 7 days.

From my understanding Android runs best with more used RAM, but for me more used RAM equals slow unresponsive performance.

Any help?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[zedorda]

FYI you are still thinking on the MS Windows paradigm. Free RAM in Android is wasted RAM. The less free RAM means the more cache has been built which takes time(days). If your flushing the RAM everyday your never going to see the full potential of your device.

Just use your device and stop OCD'ing on the memory.

 

[electricpete]

he said his phone is slowing and there is some correlation to free memory. He never said anything about Windows...just stated his symptoms.

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[zedorda]

he said his phone is slowing and there is some correlation to free memory. He never said anything about Windows...just stated his symptoms.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

I know he never said Windows but his thought pattern is on the bases that free memory speeds up Android which it doesn't. Only the x86 structured systems benefit from having free memory available to load apps. Android doesn't work that way it uses memory to save as much of the commonly used apps to load the apps faster. So in an ideal world Android would have everything single apps cached in memory before you tried to use the app. Making for a near lagless experience but if your flushing out the memory the system is constantly fighting you by having to restructure the RAM cache over and over.

So people need to break away from the idea that more free memory is a good thing and start being happier the less free memory they have. I do understand that back in the days of 2.2, 2.3 Android had failed to do this but since 4.0 it has made huge leaps in development in memory management and will free up memory on the fly in real time as needed to run new apps that aren't cached.

Also don't expect the Cache to work perfect the second you start using your device it could take days for it to map out what you do day to day and when you do it. But after you give it the time to construct a proper cache and log files of your usage you will see much better functionality from your device.

 

[electricpete]

I agree with most of what you've said. If you'll read near the end, he indicated he knows how it's supposed to work, but he's seeing something different. So, I'd suggest to tone down on words like "ocd" when referring to others.

for op - I would get rid of memory booster. I'm not sure why anyone with an S4 would need that program.
Then post some screenshots of memory screens if you think you're having a problem with memory.
Also try watchdog lite. It tells you when background processes have gone rogue and are sucking up cpu.

 

[zedorda]

I am sorry I should not of said OCD. I should of just said stop checking it so much.

I am sorry if I offended I had no intention to. I just wanted to say to get it out of your mind that it is an issue and just enjoy your device.

 

[graysonk95]

No offense taken, however there IS a correlation between RAM/cache filling up and performance dropping, which I really don't understand.
I have always heard Android works best when there is a lot of RAM being used (so apps can pull up resources faster since they're stored in RAM), however, my situation is exactly the opposite.
A RAM/cache clear noticeably boosts my performance, not just immediately, but the effects of the "boost" last until the RAM fills up again and I can barely even use the home screens they're so unresponsive.
A boost will keep the phone running smooth for hours typically. If I left the RAM full it would pull up recent apps quicker, but scrolling would be laggy beyond belief, the home screens would be almost unresponsive, and not-recently-opened apps would take noticeably longer to launch. It just gets slow.

The only thing I have correlated to my horrendous performance is the RAM filling up, which like I said, makes no sense according to what I've read.

I've been with Android since 2011 and know a problem with my phone isn't necessarily a problem with yours, or his, or hers.
My Galaxy SII gains hardly any performance from a RAM clear. I never clear the RAM on it and it performs just fine for it's age.
For some reason my S4 needs the RAM cleared. :-\

 

[tvouge]

My guess is that you have a memory leak with a specific app or process--- it's eating up ram space and eventually becoming critical at or around 7 days. At least that's what I suspect is going on. What the other posts on this tread is mostly true- free ram is wasted ram. That being said, android as I understand it still needs some free ram to function smoothly-- and that's probably when you're having the issue, as the system is figuring out what to dump to free up (but not the app or process that's causing the problem, because it's constantly active) and it does this by last used. It frees up ram from the cache that you really need, leaving the bloated app because it thinks you're using it.

But like I said that's my guess. Good luck!

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[graysonk95]

I ran Watchdog for a week, but I believe it only monitors CPU usage, which really doesn't help.
Does anyone know of any apps that could show me specific app/process RAM usage?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[tvouge]

Did you try a factory reset? Because if you haven't I'd bet you a steak dinner that would fix it--- OTA updates are essentially dirty flashes. It may be a redundant setting or orphaned process that's causing this.

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