Do the Pixels have a memory management issue? And if so, can't it just be fixed via update?

[AKFL3TCH3R]

I can confirm that the Pixel 3 does have memory issues.

I'm guessing that since other phones operate with 4gb of ram fine, it's a software issue and can be fixed. I was using the phone to navigate while playing music, and the phone would constantly quit navigating if I switched to a different app. I missed a couple of turns because of this. A friend of mine also experienced extreme lag while watching high def Netflix. And from the getgo, there have been reports from the major reviewers of the music app randomly quitting if you switched over to the camera app. These all seem to be memory related issues. I've never seen memory issues so blatantly show themselves on an Android phone. How the hell did google miss this?

I'm not here to be apologetic for Google and the Pixel 3, and I haven't been too critical of any "flaws" or "issues" people have reported thus far. I can get over:
-The vibrating in the phone from the speakers
-The dim screen (relative to the galaxy S9 and iPhone)
-The refreshing of apps
-Wonky gestures
-They notch (fixed this by just not getting the XL)
-The easily scratched back glass (I understand that some "scratches" can be cleaned with water, but even with that, the back glass is still more scratch prone than the gorilla glass 5 front glass.

But this memory issue is too much. If this isn't resolved quickly, I will swallow the $35 restocking fee and get the OP6t instead.

The back isn't scratching. It's all the same glass. It's just collecting residue.

 

[Itsa_Me_Mario]

Suggest a quick break so we can reflect on the need for civility and integrity. Ok?

 

[Almeuit]

Re-opened the thread. You don't have to agree but you can be civil.

 

[Caezar07]

See the video below for an example of the memory management issue. It makes me a little nervous that the issue occurs only on the Pixel 3 and not the Pixel 2...does this imply that it's a hardware issue and not software? I would like for Google to comment on this and indicate that it is fixable, otherwise I may return the phone for the 1+6t. There is only a 15 day return period on the Pixel 3 after your delivery date and that's with a $35 restocking fee unless I'm able to convince them that the memory issue counts as a hardware defect.

 

[Mike Dee]

See the video below for an example of the memory management issue. It makes me a little nervous that the issue occurs only on the Pixel 3 and not the Pixel 2...does this imply that it's a hardware issue and not software? I would like for Google to comment on this and indicate that it is fixable, otherwise I may return the phone for the 1+6t. There is only a 15 day return period on the Pixel 3 after your delivery date and that's with a $35 restocking fee unless I'm able to convince them that the memory issue counts as a hardware defect.

https://youtu.be/f232bbINWiM

My gut says it is not hardware but I can't prove it.

 

[vzwuser76]

See the video below for an example of the memory management issue. It makes me a little nervous that the issue occurs only on the Pixel 3 and not the Pixel 2...does this imply that it's a hardware issue and not software? I would like for Google to comment on this and indicate that it is fixable, otherwise I may return the phone for the 1+6t. There is only a 15 day return period on the Pixel 3 after your delivery date and that's with a $35 restocking fee unless I'm able to convince them that the memory issue counts as a hardware defect.

https://youtu.be/f232bbINWiM

The thing is I Can Be Your Hero said it happened on his 2XL.

 

[Mike Dee]

The thing is I Can Be Your Hero said it happened on his 2XL.

I think the video shows the 3XL reloading apps more often

 

[vzwuser76]

I think the video shows the 3XL reloading apps more often

I was responding to his assertion that it happens on the the 3 and not the 2. Considering that they essentially use the same hardware, that should mean it happens all of them unless they coded the the XL series different than the regular Pixels, which I seriously doubt.

 

[Caezar07]

I've found a workaround that fixes the issue for me!! See here. Basically, whitelist everything, or at least your important apps under adaptive battery, and I would suggest that if you have adaptive battery off, turn it on, and begin whitelisting apps as they appear.

Interestingly, I actually turned off adaptive battery as soon as I got the phone thinking I would get better performance, but I was still having RAM management issues. I think that with adaptive battery on, any app that is whitelisted will have full access to RAM and the processor, but if you turn adaptive battery off, there must be a "light" version of adaptive battery that is still throttling everything. Turning adaptive battery on gives you full control of what is actually being throttled or kicked out of memory. Because I just turned adaptive battery on, no apps are currently listed as "misbehaving" and so nothing is being throttled. As apps begin to get on this list, I will just whitelist all of them.

So, I turned adaptive battery on, and the performance of my phone actually improved. I ran a test cycling through the camera w/pictures taken, instagram, chrome, instagram, and gmail, and nothing is being kicked out of memory! It's back to being a really fast and snappy phone without the constant reloading of apps.

I'm just glad to know that this is definitely a software issue. In the video above, it's possible that the guy who made the video had a fresh install on the Pixel 2 or already whitelisted everything on the Pixel 2 and so nothing was blacklisted under adaptive battery and being kicked out of memory.

 

[Mike Dee]

I was responding to his assertion that it happens on the the 3 and not the 2. Considering that they essentially use the same hardware, that should mean it happens all of them unless they coded the the XL series different than the regular Pixels, which I seriously doubt.

I know but the video does show the 3 reloading more frequently

 

[Mike Dee]

I've found a workaround that fixes the issue for me!! See here. Basically, whitelist everything, or at least your important apps under adaptive battery, and I would suggest that if you have adaptive battery off, turn it on, and begin whitelisting apps as they appear.

Interestingly, I actually turned off adaptive battery as soon as I got the phone thinking I would get better performance, but I was still having RAM management issues. I think that with adaptive battery on, any app that is whitelisted will have full access to RAM and the processor, but if you turn adaptive battery off, there must be a "light" version of adaptive battery that is still throttling everything. Turning adaptive battery on gives you full control of what is actually being throttled or kicked out of memory. Because I just turned adaptive battery on, no apps are currently listed as "misbehaving" and so nothing is being throttled. As apps begin to get on this list, I will just whitelist all of them.

So, I turned adaptive battery on, and the performance of my phone actually improved. I ran a test cycling through the camera w/pictures taken, instagram, chrome, instagram, and gmail, and nothing is being kicked out of memory! It's back to being a really fast and snappy phone without the constant reloading of apps.

I'm just glad to know that this is definitely a software issue. In the video above, it's possible that the guy who made the video had a fresh install on the Pixel 2 or already whitelisted everything on the Pixel 2 and so nothing was blacklisted under adaptive battery and being kicked out of memory.

Do you're saying this is a workaround to mitigate the problem for now?

 

[vzwuser76]

I've found a workaround that fixes the issue for me!! See here. Basically, whitelist everything, or at least your important apps under adaptive battery, and I would suggest that if you have adaptive battery off, turn it on, and begin whitelisting apps as they appear.

Interestingly, I actually turned off adaptive battery as soon as I got the phone thinking I would get better performance, but I was still having RAM management issues. I think that with adaptive battery on, any app that is whitelisted will have full access to RAM and the processor, but if you turn adaptive battery off, there must be a "light" version of adaptive battery that is still throttling everything. Turning adaptive battery on gives you full control of what is actually being throttled or kicked out of memory. Because I just turned adaptive battery on, no apps are currently listed as "misbehaving" and so nothing is being throttled. As apps begin to get on this list, I will just whitelist all of them.

So, I turned adaptive battery on, and the performance of my phone actually improved. I ran a test cycling through the camera w/pictures taken, instagram, chrome, instagram, and gmail, and nothing is refreshing!

I'm just glad to know that this is definitely a software issue.

I thought the point of adaptive battery was to limit apps' functionality while the phone was in sleep mode, not for apps running in the background while the phone's active. Perhaps I was mistaken.

 

[Caezar07]

Do you're saying this is a workaround to mitigate the problem for now?

Yeah, it definitely works for me. I imagine that Google will still come out with a fix for this though. Obviously something in the way they set up ram management isn't working as intended.

 

[vzwuser76]

Here's an article on the matter, but I don't think guy is very knowledgeable. For instance, he said that the Pixel 2/2XL were completely different internally. I was under the impression that other than the battery and display, they were the same, like they were on the original Pixels.

Anyways, here's the link:

https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/android/189234/googles-reliability-issues-continue-with-pixel-3

 

[vzwuser76]

I know but the video does show the 3 reloading more frequently

I get that, but he wasn't saying it happened less on the Pixel 2, he said it didn't happen at all on it. That's the only reason I posted.

 

[Mike Dee]

Yeah, it definitely works for me. I imagine that Google will still come out with a fix for this though. Obviously something in the way they set up ram management isn't working as intended.

Good find....I noticed that it required a reboot just like listed in XDA thread. The music apps no longer crash while using the camera in high memory functions. I only whitelisted my music apps. I don't care as much about reloading. Now I'm wondering if after a couple of days of using the music apps it would have whitelisted them automatically.

 

[Mike Dee]

I get that, but he wasn't saying it happened less on the Pixel 2, he said it didn't happen at all on it. That's the only reason I posted.

OK

 

[Mike Dee]

Yeah, it definitely works for me. I imagine that Google will still come out with a fix for this though. Obviously something in the way they set up ram management isn't working as intended.

I whitelisted the camera app too

 

[Mike Dee]

Yeah, it definitely works for me. I imagine that Google will still come out with a fix for this though. Obviously something in the way they set up ram management isn't working as intended.

I went back and looked at my Pixel 2XL and it only has the original apps whitelisted.....I guess it didn't learn much.

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

The thing is I Can Be Your Hero said it happened on his 2XL.

I was responding to his assertion that it happens on the the 3 and not the 2. Considering that they essentially use the same hardware, that should mean it happens all of them unless they coded the the XL series different than the regular Pixels, which I seriously doubt.

Not really what I said. Here's what I actually said:

It absolutely is a real issue - it happens with my Pixel 2 XL all the time. I believe it would be one or a combination of these 3 causes:

I didn't make the assertion that it only happens to the Pixel 3 and not the Pixel 2. I was saying that frequent app reloads is something that occurs on my Pixel 2 XL. But according to that video, it seems that there are (worryingly) even more app reloads on the Pixel 3.

For an $800 phone, people should be expecting much better. Hope Google come out and fix this.