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I've noticed something strange which seems to drain my battery faster when it happens.
Some apps that use sensors seem to leave the sensor active after closing the app itself (even with force close from app manager).
I've first noticed this problem with the app "GPS Essentials", then "GPS Status" the next day, they left the "Magnetic Field" sensor active after manually force closing them.
After a few hours, in Badass Battery Monitor, I could see that the Apps were eating about 75% of the battery, and when looking at the details, "GPS Essentials" was using about 45%, more than the kernel and android system), and it said that it had been using the "Magnetic Field" sensor for more than 5 hours, although the app was manually force closed about 20 minutes after I've started it.
That was in the stock ROM.
Since then, I've installed a custom ROM (CheckROM V2, so it's still based on Samsung's base ROM), and the problem is appearing again.
This time, I've had the same problem with Sygic that left the "Orientation" sensor active, and continued using it according to Badass Battery Monitor, even after force closing Sygic.
Did anyone else notice that or is it a problem with my phone?
Is there a solution besides rebooting every time after using any of these apps?
Thanks!
I've found a similar problem, and explanations on why it's happening, but it says that it appeared in Gingerbread but has been corrected in Honeycomb and ICS.
It does seem like the exact same problem with the same symptoms though, so I wonder if it really is gone...
Here is the page where I found the info :
http://fivasim.pcriot.com/androsensor.html
And here is a quote from that page :
Update: After many months of testing and debugging I haven't found a way to fix the battery issue for good. Perhaps I shouldn't... It's not really my issue but a general android problem (just google for "gingerbread battery drain"). And it happens with EVERY app that makes use of the sensors that are the root of the problem.
The battery leakage comes from android sensors that are not well supported by the kernel or the android OS. Most usually the accelerometer sensor causes the issue but sometimes the light sensor and the proximity sensor can cause this issue as well. Other sensors seem to have nothing to do with battery drain.
However I have found what's causing it and ways to `patch` over it (unfortunately, no way to permanently fix it).
Trying to invoke a sensor with such a problem, will cause the sensor to stay open even after the app is stoped and disposed of memory.
Another common issue is a conflict. Two apps register the same sensor, then one app unregisters but fails because the sensor is in use by the other app. The sensor stays in use by one of the two apps and this will remain even after both apps are killed.
In most cases there is a way to fix this:
- In the first case, you may just find which sensor is misbehaving (strange readings, very slow response or 'Failed to start' error etc.). Go to AndroSensor's settings and disable that sensor. Then reboot, run AndroSensor once and wait to see if the problem persists. Most usually the light and the proximity sensors are to blame for this issue. Sometimes the issue is caused only if both light and proximity are enabled, but disappears after disabling any of the two.
- If you don't have a misbehaving sensor then there is probably some conflict. Conflicts can be caused (usually in Gingerbread) when having auto-rotate (accelerometer use) or auto-brightness on.
Solution: Go to your device's display settings and disable auto-brightness and auto-rotation. Then reboot, run AndroSensor once and wait to see if the battery drain continues. If the problem persists then there is probably a conflict with some hidden/system service. Most usual is the conflict with SGS and SGS2 secret menu ( by dialling "*#0*#" on the dialer ). I have found no way to bypass this and it can only be solved by disabling the accelerometer and orientation sensors in AndroSensor, then reboot (orientation sensor makes seemless use of the accelerometer).
The only good thing about this, is that in HoneyComb and ICS the issue seems to have disappeared for good!
Am I really the only one with the problem?
Mithrandir007 said:
I've noticed something strange which seems to drain my battery faster when it happens.
Some apps that use sensors seem to leave the sensor active after closing the app itself (even with force close from app manager).
I've first noticed this problem with the app "GPS Essentials", then "GPS Status" the next day, they left the "Magnetic Field" sensor active after manually force closing them.
After a few hours, in Badass Battery Monitor, I could see that the Apps were eating about 75% of the battery, and when looking at the details, "GPS Essentials" was using about 45%, more than the kernel and android system), and it said that it had been using the "Magnetic Field" sensor for more than 5 hours, although the app was manually force closed about 20 minutes after I've started it.
That was in the stock ROM.
Since then, I've installed a custom ROM (CheckROM V2, so it's still based on Samsung's base ROM), and the problem is appearing again.
This time, I've had the same problem with Sygic that left the "Orientation" sensor active, and continued using it according to Badass Battery Monitor, even after force closing Sygic.
Did anyone else notice that or is it a problem with my phone?
Is there a solution besides rebooting every time after using any of these apps?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does CPU Spy confirm that problem, showing awake instead of deep sleep?
chamonix said:
Does CPU Spy confirm that problem, showing awake instead of deep sleep?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does seem to go to deep sleep, but I still see a big difference in battery life between when it happens (around 7-10%/hour), and after I reboot (~ 1%/hour).
Before I start applications using those sensors, the battery life is normal as well, so I don't think it's something else.
I've just made a few screenshots to show what's happening.
Last night, before going to bed, I've rebooted the phone, then started Sygic and AndroSensor, exited the apps, then manually force closed them to make sure.
Then I left the phone charging for the night.
This morning, I remove the phone from the charger, and Badass Battery Monitor starts from that point to calculate the battery drain from everything (so I'm sure neither Sygic nor AndroSensor have been running at all since I unplugged the phone).
Since then, a bit less than 2 hours have passed (I've barely used my phone during that period since I was getting ready then driving to work).
There was a 5% discharge (which is strangely not as much as I had yesterday, but still more than the usual 1%/hour when in standby) and we can clearly see what's eating the battery the most in Badass Battery Monitor.
The "Orientation", "Pressure", "Magnetic Field" and "Accelerometer" sensors have been running the whole time since it was unplugged.
What do you think, is this normal behavior?
I've now installed another custom ROM (Omega 8, with the new samsung firmware update), and the problem seems to remain..
If I'm the only one with the problem, I'm starting to think it might be something hardware (or an app I've installed every time maybe), since I've had the problem with every ROM I've installed...
Switching to another kernel didn't seem to help either.. I'm really starting to wonder if this is something I can fix.
Does no one else have the problem?
I think I've found the reason but now I wonder why no one else seems to have the problem (or maybe I'm the only one who actually cares ).
It looks like it's a battery usage reporting bug in the Samsung firmwares, not an actual drain.
Whenever you run an app which uses sensors (like GPS Status, AndroSensors, Sygic, ...), there is a good chance that when quitting the app, Android will not register the sensors as "stopped", even though they are not running anymore.
This means that the current battery life calculation takes those sensors into account as if they were still running, and the battery % drops faster than it should.
Here's a post from the creator of GPS Status, explaining the problem :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23106668&postcount=491
There is also a small explanation from the author on the Google Play page for GPS Status, I'll quote :
"KNOWN FIRMWARE ISSUES (please do not report them):
- Samsung phones: Because of a firmware bug those phones may report extreme battery consumption for GPS Status (and for other programs using sensors) even if it is not running. This is harmless and no power is consumed! Just ignore it and let's hope that a future firmware upgrade will fix this."
So I'm still wondering if this is something we can fix, or if we have to wait for Samsung to correct that bug?
Mithrandir007 said:
I think I've found the reason but now I wonder why no one else seems to have the problem (or maybe I'm the only one who actually cares ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I care. Thanks very much for posting this. I've noticed exactly the same thing and it's been driving me crazy. Good to know it's just a false alarm. With ICS 4.0.4 coming to the Galaxy S2 soon, maybe it will be fix there.
Mithrandir007 said:
I think I've found the reason but now I wonder why no one else seems to have the problem (or maybe I'm the only one who actually cares ).
It looks like it's a battery usage reporting bug in the Samsung firmwares, not an actual drain.
Whenever you run an app which uses sensors (like GPS Status, AndroSensors, Sygic, ...), there is a good chance that when quitting the app, Android will not register the sensors as "stopped", even though they are not running anymore.
This means that the current battery life calculation takes those sensors into account as if they were still running, and the battery % drops faster than it should.
Here's a post from the creator of GPS Status, explaining the problem :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23106668&postcount=491
There is also a small explanation from the author on the Google Play page for GPS Status, I'll quote :
"KNOWN FIRMWARE ISSUES (please do not report them):
- Samsung phones: Because of a firmware bug those phones may report extreme battery consumption for GPS Status (and for other programs using sensors) even if it is not running. This is harmless and no power is consumed! Just ignore it and let's hope that a future firmware upgrade will fix this."
So I'm still wondering if this is something we can fix, or if we have to wait for Samsung to correct that bug?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If this is really the problem that would be an deep in Android or between the hardware and android as it is the 'batteryinfo' service reporting sensors data.
Indeed, I don't think there is an easy fix for this one, unless someone has already worked on that part ((un)registration of sensors from the battery measurement service).
Hopefully it'll be fixed in a future version of the firmware, or in Jelly Bean.
XDA-Usr : maybe it'll be fixed in that version, indeed..
It is just a false alarm, although it still leads to inaccuracy of the battery level.
Mithrandir007 said:
I think I've found the reason but now I wonder why no one else seems to have the problem (or maybe I'm the only one who actually cares ).
It looks like it's a battery usage reporting bug in the Samsung firmwares, not an actual drain.
Whenever you run an app which uses sensors (like GPS Status, AndroSensors, Sygic, ...), there is a good chance that when quitting the app, Android will not register the sensors as "stopped", even though they are not running anymore.
This means that the current battery life calculation takes those sensors into account as if they were still running, and the battery % drops faster than it should.
Here's a post from the creator of GPS Status, explaining the problem :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23106668&postcount=491
There is also a small explanation from the author on the Google Play page for GPS Status, I'll quote :
"KNOWN FIRMWARE ISSUES (please do not report them):
- Samsung phones: Because of a firmware bug those phones may report extreme battery consumption for GPS Status (and for other programs using sensors) even if it is not running. This is harmless and no power is consumed! Just ignore it and let's hope that a future firmware upgrade will fix this."
So I'm still wondering if this is something we can fix, or if we have to wait for Samsung to correct that bug?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now 1 year has past since your original post. I'm still experiencing the same problem on my Galaxy Note 2. :silly:
luzok said:
Now 1 year has past since your original post. I'm still experiencing the same problem on my Galaxy Note 2. :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my Galaxy S4, the problem seems to be gone, so hopefully it'll be gone on your device as well once Samsung releases the 4.2.2 update.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda app-developers app
I have a specific problem that has persisted through multiple android devices, through all ROMs and builds.
Currently I am on a Verizon galaxy nexus with cyanogen 10.1 (background in case it's more relevant than I believe).
When a timer or alarm goes off on my device, or when I receive a call or text, my screen wakes automatically. I think this may be considered a "feature" in android. However, since my phone is nearly always in my pocket, it means that the screen turns on and often receives enough of a false signal in my pocket to disable an alarm or decline/accept a call. It is very inconvenient and would be alleviated if I could specify that I want my device to turn on the screen ONLY when I press the power button.
I know that others have the same problem from searches on xda and elsewhere, but I don't see solutions (except what looks like a registry hack on some specific devices)
Note: I am not looking for a suggestion to get a cover to stop screen interactions while in my pocket, nor do I want to hear about a more elaborate lock screen to keep said interactions from interfering with alarms/calls. The problem is simply that the screen comes on at all with seemingly no way to change the behavior.
Thanks for reading and (hopefully) for helping with this problem.
I'm not sure it does what you need but you might try IntelliCover: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dragonnis.intellicover2
I can't find on its description that function but I read someone solved with that.
good luck
no dice
I installed the recommended app (a neat app, by the way), but it doesn't fix the problem in question. Alarms and communications still wake the screen.
Thanks anyway.
Hi,
Did you manage to disable screen wakeup ?
Thanks
Has anyone figured out a solution to this? I'd really wish the screen would only turn on with the power button... Even when phone calls come in, I always have to CAREFULLY drag it out of my pocket so I don't accidentally hang up or answer.... This and a thousand other scenarios
As many of you may know, for newer version of TS (at least for 4th List, May version devices), it's NOT possible to flick your wrist to show watch face since the Accelerator is DISABLED whenever screen is OFF!!!
What an oversight! A smart watch needs you to push a button to see time? What if when you are driving or have both hand full and cannot spare even a finger!?
(My Pebble, on the contrast, works great here!)
I tried to force the screen always on with watch face, it's great, except it kills my battery in around 6 hrs (airplane mode!) Not acceptable!
Thus, Here comes "Tasface". With this, you could achieve:
1. Let TS shows you time WHENEVER you LOOK at the watch! (well, actually when the watch is face up) or when you flick your wrist (You can modify this!)
2. Reduce using your button (if you have an Shortcut supported launcher like Smart Launcher 2)
Details here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2764787
maybe I'm seeing it right but how do you import the Taskface into Tasker?
When I tried I got told it cannot do such?
Cannot Import
dj898 said:
maybe I'm seeing it right but how do you import the Taskface into Tasker?
When I tried I got told it cannot do such?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same with me, I can't see the xml when trying to import on my TS.
I did something else,I installed the app' shake' and it does almost the same thing without root..
The only minnus is that when you make sudden moves it opens and the battery drains a bit faster...
At this point I am happy Though
I use Awesome on/off with my late model TS, with generally good results, although sometimes it stops working for no obvious reason. It can happen when the watch has been awake very recently. And other times, when it has not been on my wrist for an hour or so, it still works and the clock appears as soon as I pick it up. I've not yet been able to pin down why it behaves the way it does.
Ozpeter said:
I use Awesome on/off with my late model TS, with generally good results, although sometimes it stops working for no obvious reason. It can happen when the watch has been awake very recently. And other times, when it has not been on my wrist for an hour or so, it still works and the clock appears as soon as I pick it up. I've not yet been able to pin down why it behaves the way it does.
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Click to collapse
I can't get this to work at all, did you change the default settings?
death_entry said:
I can't get this to work at all, did you change the default settings?
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Click to collapse
No (as I recall it) just tinkered with the degree setting for personal preference. But I get the impression that on some TS models the sensors work better than on others.
If you have a card on the screen, swiping down removes it temporarily, so you can swipe up to get it back. However, I've found that at odd times cards are disappearing on their own- I can get them back by swiping up, but it's irritating all the same. Is there any way to avoid this, or is it just a bug?
markyboy81 said:
If you have a card on the screen, swiping down removes it temporarily, so you can swipe up to get it back. However, I've found that at odd times cards are disappearing on their own- I can get them back by swiping up, but it's irritating all the same. Is there any way to avoid this, or is it just a bug?
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Click to collapse
Seems to be a 5.1.1 thing, happens to me too, but it's rare. Also seem to have a problem whereby i put my hand over my watch (to put it to sleep) and sometimes it will wake back up thinking i have held the screen down to change the watch face even though i havn't
manor7777 said:
Seems to be a 5.1.1 thing, happens to me too, but it's rare. Also seem to have a problem whereby i put my hand over my watch (to put it to sleep) and sometimes it will wake back up thinking i have held the screen down to change the watch face even though i havn't
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This depends on the type of card. If it's a notification card (from Apps other than Google), make sure you're not dismissing it on your handset. If the notification disappears on the handset for any reason (application crashes, closes, or user dismisses the notification), it disappears on the watch. For Google cards such as Now's Weather card, I've never run into this problem.
I'm a technician, i'm not that silly :silly:
Thanks for the suggestion - it only happens from time to time, and often the notification/card is still left on the phone even if it disappears from the watch, though a restart usually fixes that. Even on google's cards i get a problem. Never happened before 5.1.1
ShadowEO said:
This depends on the type of card. If it's a notification card (from Apps other than Google), make sure you're not dismissing it on your handset. If the notification disappears on the handset for any reason (application crashes, closes, or user dismisses the notification), it disappears on the watch. For Google cards such as Now's Weather card, I've never run into this problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could this be the new feature that was introduced - wrist gestures? I can't say for sure as I had to send my LG Watch back for a non charging fault and have the SW3 instead, but I'm keeping that option unchecked just in case.
Hi all, is there a way with 5.1.1 to disable the persistent Gnow cards on the bottom of the screen?
As far as I remember, before this update I was able to choose whether the cards "preview" (the small rectangle) would stick or not...
@ Radagast82
This can be done in the Wear App. Click the gear, then click your connected watch shown in the App. There you can change the settings to appear or disapear the Google Now cards in the watchface.
Sorry that I can't give the exact english names, but my system language isn't english.
manor7777 said:
Seems to be a 5.1.1 thing, happens to me too, but it's rare. Also seem to have a problem whereby i put my hand over my watch (to put it to sleep) and sometimes it will wake back up thinking i have held the screen down to change the watch face even though i havn't
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this too. I HAD "show touches" turned on and I noticed it was going to ambient mode and showing the 2 touch points (from my palm) and would freeze that way.
It was also launching the watch face changer.
It seems the "Touch Hold" timer is too short. If I quickly palm slap my watch, it'll go into ambient mode without any issues. If I normally cover it, it'll launch the watch face changer.
Seems the timer should be longer... like double. It is short enough to keep trying to change face.
Just received my phone today, and I was very susprised first that it didn't embed any gyro sensor (as it is very common in todays' phones) but only accelerometer and magnetic sensors. You can see that notably trying to play with google cardboard VR program which doesn't let you navigate in it..
But even more worrying, I noticed that the geomagnetic field sensor which can determine phone orientation (even without gyro) wasn't working properly..
Indeed, whyle trying to use google sky map app I noticed after 1 or 2 min that orientation started to completely mess up...
It seems sensor is loosing calibration anytime (usually in a few minutes).... I tryed many sensors app to be sure it wasn't software issue but they all fail the same way..
For instance if you try "Phone Tester" and go to sensors status, you can see in compass that there are 3 orientations:
- rotation which points directions (North -Est-West-South)
- pitch which is a rotation on 2nd axe (range going from -90° to +90°; 0° when phone laying on flat surface)
- roll rotation on 3rd axe (range going from -180° to + 180°; 0° when phone laying on flat surface)
As soon as you play with these rotations, you can see they are all okay for some minutes, but after a whyle, one of them remains stucked (for instance compass pointing South all the time) no matter how you rotate the phone...
This is really annoying as all apps relying on 3d orientation (Virtual Reality for instance) aren't able to work for decent time without going crazy. What is strange is that sometimes you just need to restart the app without calibrating sensor again to have it work again but only for 1 minute or so..
It is like if sensor needed to be reset all the time.
I don't know if this is firmware or faulty hardware?
Does anyone has encountered the same issue? I don't know if I need to send it back to store...
If anyone is willing to test using google sky map to see if he has the same issue as me, I'd be glad
I have the same issue using Google Sky Map. In my case, the effect is like the sky in the app vibrate. It happens to me from the beggining, when I start the app.
ok thanks for trying,
well maybe if it does this right at the begining is because you need calibration first? it would be interesting to see if you loose calibration then as I do..
But vibration is normal, it does this also with my galaxy note 8. What is abnormal is that at some point you don't see the sky moving as it should, e.g. there is one direction which is stuck. For instance, you look at south, and then you move your phone to the north, but it stays on the south.. we
but this might be a hint that this phone has an issue with magnetic sensors... maybe firmware issue...
Finally, I have observed that Sky Maps doesnt work as smooth as expected. I tried it in several phones (Xperia S, S4 mini) and i can check that it doesn't work as well as in the other devices. Also, it appears that sometimes one direction is stuck (as you say) but it isn't very noticeable and after move some times the device finally works. I think that is a firmware issue (I have the vodafone spain firmware 26.1.A.1.112).
I hope that my experience can help you
Indeed, your feedback seems quite similar.
I'm still thinking about returning it to shop and take z3 compact instead even if i would loose dual sim... Because im also bothered by the usb OTG issue reported.
Will see...
False alert?
To correct what i reported before. After further successful attempts seems like device isn't faulty and is behaving as expected when used properly . I think mistake was trying to use Google's Cardboard VR kit which simply doesn't work with this device because it doesn't have gyro. I think cardboard's magnet prevent compass from working as expected and might uncalibrate device as well. I don't know why cardboard exclusively use gyro and doesn't support compass as a way of moving head because it should works too...
Just in case someone would have the same issue.