New on Android, need some tips

[Rodrigo Mendes]

I was a WP user for almost 5 years and now I'm on Android. Hope you guys can help me here.

1. Is possible to lower the vibration power on Zenfone 2 or at least choose what apps can use this or not?

2. In the first days, battery life was fine. Really good. But now, after several of apps installed, it's draining really fast. On Windows there's a option to choose what every app can do on background and I can't find it on Android.

3. Is there a option to block GPS for some apps or any other trick to save battery? Would be nice allow only Waze to use GPS and only when it is opened.

4. I had a LG G3 for a couple of months before Zen 2. Whatsapp heads up notification with expanding option (swipe down to see the content of messages) worked fine, but not on Zen2. I have heads up notification, but when I swipe down, the notification bar is showed, not the message content. Is there a way to solve this? It's very annoying need to Notification to see the messages or even enter on Whatsapp.

5. On turbo charge the charge is really fast. But on normal charge devices, even with high amperage specs like 2a, the charging is really slow. I'm getting only 800mah on 2000mah charges. On G3 I could get 1500mah! Huge difference. Is it normal?

6. CM13 is that good? I see a lot of people that are happen with Cm13. But what are the advantages? For me Asus stock Tom is really responsive and fast.

7. I see that Android have Huge difficulties on choose between WiFi and Data. On Windows Phone it is perfect. The user don't feel any change and it's very smooth. Is there a way to make things better on Android? It's really annoying since sometimes WiFi signal is poor and the system don't change do Data immediately without loosing signal.

I'm really happy with Zen2 device, but would be even more with some helps about these things.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central!

1. Is possible to lower the vibration power on Zenfone 2 or at least choose what apps can use this or not?

I believe that you'd have to root the phone for this. There are a few apps on Google Play that say they can adjust vibration strength, like Vibration Intensity, but it doesn't get very good reviews. For most apps that give you notifications, you can select whether it vibrates or not by opening the app, tapping Menu>Settings, and looking for Notification options.

2. In the first days, battery life was fine. Really good. But now, after several of apps installed, it's draining really fast. On Windows there's a option to choose what every app can do on background and I can't find it on Android.

To determine what's using battery drain, it can be useful to see battery stats. Charge up to 100%, then let it drain to 20-30% with normal usage, without charging in between. Then show us:

1. The main Settings>Battery screen.
2. The fullscreen battery graph screen (which shows Awake time and Cell Signal Strength).
3. The Screen category (to see total Screen On time).
4. The Cell Standby category, if present (to see Time Without Signal).

http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...ide-how-post-screenshots-android-central.html

You might have to install a 3rd party battery monitor, like GSam Battery Monitor, to get the Cell Signal Strength graph.

There's no native option in Android to control what an app does in the background. There are 3rd party apps that will force close apps in the background to "clean RAM," but this is unnecessary and often detrimental to how the system works. Android is designed to keep RAM mostly full of open apps, so that apps can be opened or switched to quickly and efficiently. If the app you want isn't already open, the system will close an app on its own to clear up enough RAM for the new app. So do yourself a favor and stay away from apps like Clean Master!

3. Is there a option to block GPS for some apps or any other trick to save battery? Would be nice allow only Waze to use GPS and only when it is opened.

If your phone is on Marshmallow, then you can go to Settings>Apps, select the app, tap Permissions, and turn off Location or GPS permission. Personally, I always keep my Location service set to Battery Saving (i.e., using wi-fi and mobile data only), and only change it to High Accuracy (i.e., with GPS) when I need precise location, like when using the Navigation feature in Maps.

5. On turbo charge the charge is really fast. But on normal charge devices, even with high amperage specs like 2a, the charging is really slow. I'm getting only 800mah on 2000mah charges. On G3 I could get 1500mah! Huge difference. Is it normal?

Have you tried different USB cables and charging plugs?

Hopefully others can weigh in on your other questions. Enjoy!