Just switched from iPhone to Galaxy S6, can I get some help?

[EricandSuebee]

Just switched from iPhone to Galaxy S6

I just switched to a Galaxy S6 from an iPhone 6 Plus. I really like the change. I do have a couple questions. How can I figure out which apps are keeping the phone awake? It just says it's been held awake for a time but doesn't tell me what was causing it to be awake, I did find one app that was causing some awake time and i've removed it but still getting more awake time then I'd like. Also I installed Nova Prime and really enjoying that and making my phone "mine". With that being said is there a site or anyone here that can tell me what are the best settings to enable to make Nova really shine? My last question is on "themes" is there a trusted "dark" theme? I am using custom icons in a steampunk style but want to go with a dark theme to compliment but not sure about themes and compatibility.

thanks

 

[Jamez Avila]

Re: Just switched from iPhone to Galaxy S6

I just switched to a Galaxy S6 from an iPhone 6 Plus. I really like the change. I do have a couple questions. How can I figure out which apps are keeping the phone awake? It just says it's been held awake for a time but doesn't tell me what was causing it to be awake, I did find one app that was causing some awake time and i've removed it but still getting more awake time then I'd like. Also I installed Nova Prime and really enjoying that and making my phone "mine". With that being said is there a site or anyone here that can tell me what are the best settings to enable to make Nova really shine? My last question is on "themes" is there a trusted "dark" theme? I am using custom icons in a steampunk style but want to go with a dark theme to compliment but not sure about themes and compatibility.

thanks

With regards to the dark theme, go to the Theme Store and there are a couple of dark themes. With any of these themes, you can use your own icon pack.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Re: Just switched from iPhone to Galaxy S6

Hi. It would depend greatly if the phone is kept awake (aka a wakelock), as opposed to being awakened numerous times but in short intervals. A good place to start looking if you think you have a wakelock is to go to settings>battery. There should be a bar graph that shows the device being awake.

You can look at this: http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...how-s/441906-how-read-your-battery-stats.html

Can you show screenshots of the battery stats so we can see what you are concerned about?

 

[cpaight]

Re: Just switched from iPhone to Galaxy S6

And for more themeing/customizing ideas, check out mycolorscreen.com

 

[jcp007]

Re: Just switched from iPhone to Galaxy S6

Once you get your homescreens the way you want. Lock them down.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[jcp007]

Re: Just switched from iPhone to Galaxy S6

Backup and name the setup.

Then, you can switch between different backups using the Manage Backup function.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[jcp007]

Re: Just switched from iPhone to Galaxy S6

Try the Wipe scrolling effect on homescreens and app drawer. Set your icons size to 110%.

Download Tesla Unread for badge notification of emails.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[drone3]

For dark themes try 'old time' or 'dark material' You can still change the wallpaper and Icons once the theme is applied. For icon pack Glim is great.

For Nova I removed the app tray icon and have two finger swipe down gesture to get to the app tray. I removed the Google search bar and have the double tap gesture to open Google search. I removed all the names of the Icons and set the Icons at 90% (i don't like large Icons) Add Tesla unread badges from the app store, and activate it in Nova.

Some other things worth trying - Google Keyboard (dark theme) and Google messenger for texting.

Also, there is an app called CCleaner that you can run to quickly wipe the cache if your phone is slowing down at all.

The biggest thread on this forum is the battery saving and adjustments thread by Erasat, you should read through it, it's really helpful.

dreaming of electric sheep

 

[cpaight]

I removed all the names of the Icons

^THIS

 

[Jamez Avila]

For dark themes try 'old time' or 'dark material' You can still change the wallpaper and Icons once the theme is applied. For icon pack Glim is great.

For Nova I removed the app tray icon and have two finger swipe down gesture to get to the app tray. I removed the Google search bar and have the double tap gesture to open Google search. I removed all the names of the Icons and set the Icons at 90% (i don't like large Icons) Add Tesla unread badges from the app store, and activate it in Nova.

Some other things worth trying - Google Keyboard (dark theme) and Google messenger for texting.

Also, there is an app called CCleaner that you can run to quickly wipe the cache if your phone is slowing down at all.

The biggest thread on this forum is the battery saving and adjustments thread by Erasat, you should read through it, it's really helpful.

dreaming of electric sheep

Thanks for the tip on CCleaner. Just downloaded.

Posted from my Samsung Galaxy S6

 

[EricandSuebee]

Thank you to all for the great tips & ideas, I do have one more question, should I be closing out of the apps once I'm done? Or is it ok to keep it active and switch back to it if need be? Ie keep phone screen open or keep messages open in background?

 

[jcp007]

Thank you to all for the great tips & ideas, I do have one more question, should I be closing out of the apps once I'm done? Or is it ok to keep it active and switch back to it if need be? Ie keep phone screen open or keep messages open in background?

Personal preference. I typically close apps after I am done.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[drone3]

Thank you to all for the great tips & ideas, I do have one more question, should I be closing out of the apps once I'm done? Or is it ok to keep it active and switch back to it if need be? Ie keep phone screen open or keep messages open in background?

RAM management and battery life are much better if I close apps after I have finished with them.

dreaming of electric sheep

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Thank you to all for the great tips & ideas, I do have one more question, should I be closing out of the apps once I'm done? Or is it ok to keep it active and switch back to it if need be? Ie keep phone screen open or keep messages open in background?

It's typically good practice to close all apps once you're done with them to free up some available RAM.

Oh, and welcome to the world of Android!

 

[EricandSuebee]

Thank you, yeah I've been closing all the apps once i'm done using them. I think I'm getting great battery life, taking off the charger around 6:30am and putting on charger lastnight at little after 12:15am and still had 12% left to go

 

[erasat]

Check this thread I just created, it may be of some interest for you.

http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s6/555450-what-s-new-5-1-1-some-interesting-battery-related-stuff.html#post4557714

 

[EricandSuebee]

I just got done reading that thread Erasat seems really interesting

 

[edubb256]

It's typically good practice to close all apps once you're done with them to free up some available RAM.

That is true for Windows, but GENERALLY not true for Android. When RAM gets low in Windows, it creates virtual memory using the hard drive, which is much slower than RAM. When RAM gets low in Android, it automatically kills apps to make space for new ones when need. You don't need to close them yourself. Doing so only reduces performance, since apps need to be reloaded into memory. In fact, a big criticism of the S6/Edge is that Samsung tweaked Android to close apps more aggressively than needed.

I said GENERALLy, because there are a couple considerations:
- If you are running a app like Maps that uses GPS, shutting it down will help ensure GPS is not draining battery when you are finished
- Android 5.0 had a memory leak (this is separate from the S6 memory management problem mentioned above). Closing apps can help alleviate the impact of the leak. However, reports are that the leak is mostly fixed in 5.1.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

That is true for Windows, but GENERALLY not true for Android. When RAM gets low in Windows, it creates virtual memory using the hard drive, which is much slower than RAM. When RAM gets low in Android, it automatically kills apps to make space for new ones when need. You don't need to close them yourself. Doing so only reduces performance, since apps need to be reloaded into memory. In fact, a big criticism of the S6/Edge is that Samsung tweaked Android to close apps more aggressively than needed.

I said GENERALLy, because there are a couple considerations:
- If you are running a app like Maps that uses GPS, shutting it down will help ensure GPS is not draining battery when you are finished
- Android 5.0 had a memory leak (this is separate from the S6 memory management problem mentioned above). Closing apps can help alleviate the impact of the leak. However, reports are that the leak is mostly fixed in 5.1.

Those are all great points. I actually did mention how differently Android manages RAM compared to a Windows PC in a separate thread I made about why I personally think apps like Du Battery Saver and Clean Master are worthless junk, though I didn't mention how Android kills apps automatically when RAM is running low, like you said. You learn something new every day, even when using Androids for 4 years now.

However, I only said that because, for some reason, when I leave some apps open in the recent apps screen on my LG G4, my battery drained overnight. Once I shut them off, it doesn't.

Possibly a wakelock gone wrong or who knows, but closing all recent apps seems to have solved it, so I do that every night.

What I DON'T want people to do is to download crap like Clean Master and using it to free up RAM.
No, seriously. Don't. Just use the recent apps screen if you wanna close some apps. Don't use crap like CM (Clean Master, not CyanogenMod).