Should you occasionally reboot your phone?

PsychDoc

Well-known member
May 28, 2011
1,402
7
38
Visit site
We all know that computers need to be rebooted for updates to take effect and for overall computer health.

What about our phones?

Most people never shut their phones down.

Sent from my SM-G900V using AC Forums mobile app
 

ibcop

Trusted Member
Mar 9, 2011
3,572
37
0
Visit site
I restart once a day but I have no idea if it would be required. I'd like to think it keeps everything in check and would close any apps that may be running that I'm not aware of.
 

theonlybuster

Well-known member
Jul 1, 2014
149
0
0
Visit site
From all the reports I've read, and speaking to a few phone techs, I've roughly come to the conclusion that you should power down your phone once a week OR as needed. This falls under the same rational thinking as with your desktop computers.

The main reason to power them down daily would be to not waste energy. Along side that it allows your RAM to flush itself as well as "rest" when fully off, this gives the RAM some extra longevity. Diagnostics are often ran during the time of booting, so small errors are often automatically fixed. And of course the obvious reason; for updates requiring reboots.

Here's where things get interesting. Because the S5 has Ultra Power Saving, using it will practically negate the first argument of conserving power. Also you don't use nearly as much RAM resources in Ultra Power Saving mode which also pushes back the second point. So basically you're left with the last point; rebooting for updates

All that being said, you really only need to reboot when necessary OR you feel your phone needs a quick reboot. Aside from that, there's not much other reason unless you're clearing cache or simply want to give your phone a break. Again, the same reasoning can be expressed on desktop computers.

Again, this is assuming your phone isn't over-heating or anything of that nature.
 

Evilnut

Well-known member
Oct 9, 2012
738
0
0
Visit site
My Moto X has over 680 hours of uptime right now. It runs smooth & battery life is great. This is the only device I've ever had that I don't feel I need to shut down. Does the S5 seem to get sluggish or act up if you don't shut it down occasionally?

Posted via a beautiful Ebony backed Moto X on Verizon or the amazing Nexus 10 using the Android Central App
 

Jon Jackson

Well-known member
Apr 21, 2014
800
0
0
Visit site
My Moto X has over 680 hours of uptime right now. It runs smooth & battery life is great. This is the only device I've ever had that I don't feel I need to shut down. Does the S5 seem to get sluggish or act up if you don't shut it down occasionally?

Posted via a beautiful Ebony backed Moto X on Verizon or the amazing Nexus 10 using the Android Central App

Nope not at all, I don't think it's needed but for updates. The phone runs better and is smoother is all of y our apps are running in the background and RAM is full.
 

Jon Jackson

Well-known member
Apr 21, 2014
800
0
0
Visit site
It seems like it would be the exact opposite...

"seems" being the key word. It is on other OS, but android works best if everything is open, RAM is full as all get out etc. In other words, the stuff that would crash other OS is what keeps android running smooth, and quick.
 

Aglet

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2014
190
0
0
Visit site
I shut down if I am updating files or folder by connection to a PC -- adding a bunch of music mp3s to the phone's memory, for example, or saving the backup file to the PC hard drive. There seems to be a persistent bug in Android that doesn't recognise new files or folders on the phone in Windows Explorer without a device reboot. I've lost count of the number of times this has tricked me (the "Wait a minute why is that file not in that folder, I know I just put it there....?" frustration).
 

PainFX

Well-known member
May 2, 2014
852
0
0
Visit site
I only restart the phone if an app or phone is going malfunction.

Otherwise I just clear memory/cache

Posted via Android Central App
 

Woody15045

Member
May 8, 2014
5
0
0
Visit site
This may be a dumb slightly off topic question but if it runs better when ram is full or at least the apps you use are running is it necessary to have an app like clean sweep to clear the ram?

Posted via Android Central App
 

Aglet

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2014
190
0
0
Visit site
This may be a dumb slightly off topic question but if it runs better when ram is full or at least the apps you use are running is it necessary to have an app like clean sweep to clear the ram?
No app needed, the OS does a really good job of managing RAM. It's actually likely that a RAM cleaner app will slow down your phone.
 

IBMJunkman

Well-known member
May 10, 2014
113
0
0
Visit site
I believe the biggest problem with an OS is memory allocation. When an app asks for some memory the OS allocates it to the app. When the app is done or crashes the OS should return the memory to the pool. The IBM mainframes starting with the S/360 in the 60s did an excellent job of cleanup. Early Windows did not which is why I shut it down every night. Now I shutdown just to not waste electricity. The question is how does Android handle memory allocation on app shutdown, normal or otherwise?
 

darlene24

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2014
58
0
0
Visit site
We all know that computers need to be rebooted for updates to take effect and for overall computer health.

What about our phones?

Most people never shut their phones down.

Sent from my SM-G900V using AC Forums mobile app

I restart my phone everyday, to clean up all the files or others that might not help the phone..
 

Members online

Trending Posts

Forum statistics

Threads
943,195
Messages
6,917,738
Members
3,158,870
Latest member
RandyRoyalty