What's a good way to kill jobs that persist in the background (without having to reboot)?

[Arlen Holder]

What's a good way to kill jobs that persist in the background (without
having to reboot)?

I am testing out mapping programs, many of which seem to persist in the
background, even after a "square-icon" press and swipe left in Android Pie
(Android 9) to ostensibly kill all running tasks.

But these jobs persist, just as VLC seems to persist, even _after_ you've
pressed the square box and swiped right to hit the "CLEAR ALL" button.

In only about half the cases the notifications swipe down shows the job
even running; the rest of the time you can't seemingly tell that the job is
running until it does something (like give you directions).

All this is fine when you WANT to multitask; but how do we do a 'kill all'
(aka "kill -9") on Android without having to resort to a reboot process?

[Joe Beanfish]

There are app killing apps that will continuously kill all or specified
background apps. But IME and anecdotally, they don't really do any good
and actually may backfire because those apps that want to run in the
background will just keep relaunching, making things worse than if they
were just sitting there quietly.

Also, a lot of apps these days contain "services" that don't show up
in standard "resident apps" lists and run in the background regardless
of whether you ever launch the app (think of linux daemons). IDK if
there's anything to be done with those except to uninstall the app.

[Arlen Holder]

On Mon, 17 Feb 2020 14:22:24 -0000 (UTC), Joe Beanfish wrote:

> There are app killing apps that will continuously kill all or specified
> background apps. But IME and anecdotally, they don't really do any good

Yeah. That's exactly what I am worried about.
<https://i.postimg.cc/HkmSks4V/permission12.jpg>

Maybe it's just simpler to restart the phone, than to kill the background
apps I started (mostly mapping apps, and audio-playing apps for now).

There seem to be two basic approaches:
a. Prevent the app from _ever_ running in the background, and,
b. Once it's running in the background, kill the app (if you can find it).

Here's how to kill a running app in Android Pie:
o Settings > System > Advanced > Developer options > Running services
o {Select the app} > Stop

This article seems to suggest "Greenify" as the main related app:
o Greenify, by Oasis Feng (no ads, free)
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oasisfeng.greenify>

I've installed Greenify and am testing it as we speak:
<https://i.postimg.cc/HkmSks4V/permission12.jpg>

o *How to stop an Android app from running in the background*
<https://www.theandroidsoul.com/how-to-stop-background-app/>

This explains other ways to close down apps running in the background:
o *How to Close Apps on Android*
<https://www.lifewire.com/close-apps-on-android-4164116>
--
Usenet is a potluck where adults publicly share useful items of interest.

[Arlen Holder]

On Tue, 18 Feb 2020 02:21:51 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> I've installed Greenify and am testing it as we speak:
> <https://i.postimg.cc/HkmSks4V/permission12.jpg>

UPDATE:
I have not found "Greenify" to be useful for killing silently running apps.
<https://i.postimg.cc/ydJJGkxw/pskill01.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/NFmKgS1D/pskill02.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/X7KrtMN7/pskill03.jpg>

Hence, the technical question remains unsolved:
o *Is there a graceful way to view & kill running apps in Android 9*?

Today, yet again, I ran into this problem of not having a good way to run a
"ps" process status & then "kill -9 <PID>" to kill any specific app running
in the background that won't die of normal means by its own GUI.

Here's the scenario of today:
a. Earlier I ran the "Open Tracks" program to create a GPX track.
b. Then I swiped (many times during the day) to kill all running apps.
c. Yet Open Tracks is _still_ running (it says it's "Paused").

Well, I want to _kill_ Open Tracks (not just "Pause" it)!
o There's no exit in the program itself anywhere!
<https://i.postimg.cc/ydJJGkxw/pskill01.jpg>

When I longpress on the notification that OpenTracks is running,
o The only choices are to "Stop notifications", but that's just cosmetic.
<https://i.postimg.cc/NFmKgS1D/pskill02.jpg>

Of course, I can hit the (i) information icon in that notification
o And then press the Android Draconian "Force Stop" button
<https://i.postimg.cc/X7KrtMN7/pskill03.jpg>

But that only works for apps that bother to notify us they're running.
o And, it clearly warns that this is not the right way to kill an app.

So what _is_ the right way to kill an app anyway?
o Isn't there a graceful way to view & kill running apps in Android 9?
--
Usenet is so much more valuable, and pleasant, when people share ideas.

[Joe Beanfish]

On Thu, 12 Mar 2020 04:38:44 +0000, Arlen Holder wrote:
...

> So what _is_ the right way to kill an app anyway?
> o Isn't there a graceful way to view & kill running apps in Android 9?

For Android 10

Settings->Apps->[choose the app]->Battery->Force stop

It was similar or the same for Android 9.

For apps that keep restarting themselves, you're actually using more
power to keep killing and relaunching them than to just let them
sit there quietly.

[Ned Latham]

Joe Beanfish wrote:
> Arlen Holder wrote:
> ...
> > So what _is_ the right way to kill an app anyway?
> > o Isn't there a graceful way to view & kill running apps in Android 9?
>
> For Android 10
>
> Settings->Apps->[choose the app]->Battery->Force stop

Better yet:
Settings->Apps->[choose the app]->Battery->Uninstall
(Android 9)

> It was similar or the same for Android 9.
>
> For apps that keep restarting themselves, you're actually using more
> power to keep killing and relaunching them than to just let them
> sit there quietly.

Getting rid of it should fix that. And the update bullshit.

[Yakker]

Ned Latham <nedl...@woden.valhalla.oz> wrote in
news:slrnr6kdpe.a...@woden.valhalla.oz:

>> Settings->Apps->[choose the app]->Battery->Force stop
>
> Better yet:
> Settings->Apps->[choose the app]->Battery->Uninstall

The OP wanted to kill jobs in the background, not give them a funeral.

Try the app Force Stop Apps. It generates a list of background apps. You
can choose apps to add to an ignore list. You then workk through what you
do want closed on app at a time. All it does from there is open settings at
the choice to Force Stop or uninstall. The only advantage over the manual
method is you don't need to check for what is running. Whey you finish and
Exit, The App give you the option to stop itself.

--
Steve (--)

I filter using XNEWS.
If you expect a response and don't see it,
don't take it personally.

[Robert Baer]

Except when an app runs itself (ie: 2 identical versions at same time).

[Arlen Holder]

UPDATE:

This question today from "The Real Bev" appears to be a similar question:
o REALLY kill various apps
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/ScA7PlwKeYs>

They should ALL be required to have an easy way to kill them
deliberately. I wondered why my Pixel2 was such a heavy battery-user
even in airplane mode with location and bluetooth turned off and NO
RECENT ITEMS (I flicked everything 'up' that I had been using) showing
in the <little square> window.

It takes the phone minutes to turn off and then on, but RESTART goes
pretty quickly and seems to kill whatever was running in the background
invisibly and eating battery.

When I want something off I want it OFF. I don't care how long it takes
to restart an app -- generally only a few seconds.

[Arlen Holder]

What if you only have _one_ app you want to kill?

Like Open Tracks?
o <https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.dennisguse.opentracks/>

Or like OSMAnd~ sometimes?
o <https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.osmand.plus/>

Given I use GPS only when necessary, both have a tendency to live longer
than I want them to, in terms of me closing down the app (but they live on
until reboot).

How would you close just those specific apps?
--
Usenet allows normal people to pool our resources to solve issues.

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 12 Mar 2020 13:12:01 -0000 (UTC), Joe Beanfish wrote:

>> So what _is_ the right way to kill an app anyway?
>> o Isn't there a graceful way to view & kill running apps in Android 9?
>
> For Android 10
>
> Settings->Apps->[choose the app]->Battery->Force stop
>
> It was similar or the same for Android 9.
>
> For apps that keep restarting themselves, you're actually using more
> power to keep killing and relaunching them than to just let them
> sit there quietly.

UPDATE:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/JzrfLbpb/pskill01.jpg> Kill a running service
o <https://i.postimg.cc/sD3JTyf2/pskill02.jpg> App info force stop
o <https://i.postimg.cc/KYTLZscV/pskill03.jpg> Recent apps force stop

I just tried this purposefully helpful suggestion from Joe Beanfish:
o How to Stop Android Apps Running in the Background
<https://www.maketecheasier.com/stop-android-apps-running-background/>

Which basically suggests we can kill a background running app using:
o This is 7 steps!
Android10:Settings > Apps & notifications > See all 331 apps >
...or...
o Android10:Settings > Apps & notifications > Recent apps >
(find the app) > Force stop > [OK]
<https://i.postimg.cc/sD3JTyf2/pskill02.jpg> App info force stop

It seems Android 10 gives lots of ways to get to that "Force stop"
o This is 8 steps!
Android10:Settings > Storage > Internal shared storage >
Music and audio > [Select the name of the app] >
(longpress on the app name) > Force stop > [OK]

But it would be nice if there was a simpler (shorter) way, like:
o ps -aux | grep appname
o kill -9 PID

Today I was testing audio players for "The Real Bev" on this thread:
o Samsung Galaxy S5
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/qTMDmHP9ToI>

Where the audio played in the background even when I swiped away the app!
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/qTMDmHP9ToI/m/AH0VklKWAQAJ>

Googling, I found this, which works (it's a few more steps than I like):
o How to kill Android apps and tasks running in the background
<https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/android-apps-background-kill/>

o This is 7 steps!
Android10:Settings > System > Advanced > Developer options >
Running services > {select running background process} > Stop
o <https://i.postimg.cc/JzrfLbpb/pskill01.jpg>
Note: You have to have developer options turned on previously.
<https://i.postimg.cc/JzrfLbpb/pskill01.jpg> Kill a running service

Another way is to shorttap the "home" button in Android 10:
o This is 6 steps!
Android10:Homescreen > shorttap the Home button >
(this brings up the "search apps" GUI)
Tap on "Recent" (versus "Frequent" or "New/Updated")
longpress on the app icon that you wish to kill
Press on the "App info" (i) icon" (in Nova free launcher)
Press "Force stop" > [OK]
<https://i.postimg.cc/KYTLZscV/pskill03.jpg> Recent apps force stop

All these work; but I think they're all too many steps, don't you?
o What's a good way to kill jobs that persist in the background
--
It's pretty surprising it takes this many steps to just kill an app.

[123456789]

Arlen Holder wrote:

> It seems Android 10 gives lots of ways to get to that "Force stop"

> This is 8 steps! Android10:Settings > Storage > Internal shared
> storage > Music and audio > [Select the name of the app] > (longpress
> on the app name) > Force stop > [OK]

> But it would be nice if there was a simpler (shorter) way...
On my Android 10 devices I just hold the home screen icon for a few
seconds until a menu pops up. I choose 'App info' from the menu. Then I
hit 'Force Stop' in the lower right corner. 3 steps...

[Arlen Holder]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 18:05:17 -0700, 123456789 wrote:

>> But it would be nice if there was a simpler (shorter) way...
> On my Android 10 devices I just hold the home screen icon for a few
> seconds until a menu pops up. I choose 'App info' from the menu. Then I
> hit 'Force Stop' in the lower right corner. 3 steps...

I think yours is more steps than you're counting (e.g., you have to hit
"OK") where I counted _every_ step and I think you skipped counting a few
steps, whereas when I counted, I didn't skip any touch steps at all.

If you think it's actually as few steps as you claimed, let's see the
screenshots proving, for example, you don't get an "OK" button query.

Nonetheless... I did even better (without cheating, like I think you did).
:)

I just figured out the _fewest_ steps yet for killing a background app.
o Where I have Android 10, with the "nova free" app launcher running.

Here's my test:
A. Play a song using any media player, e.g., AIMP
B. Press the "square" (rightmost) of the 3 bottom buttons]
C. Sweep the AIMP image up and off the screen

Now it's gone! But it's _still_ playing (in the background).
o Pressing the square (rightmost) button won't bring it back.
<https://i.postimg.cc/qvjN7kxQ/audio07.jpg>

Yet I can swipe down and the notifications have an "X" which stops it.
o So that's _two_ actions to kill a running app (using notifications)
a. Sweep up to see the notification
b. Tap the "X" to kill the running app
<https://i.postimg.cc/mrnhQ8qH/audio08.jpg>

In contrast, hitting the "home" (round, middle) button is more steps.
o <https://i.postimg.cc/KYTLZscV/pskill03.jpg>

[Arlen Holder]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 18:05:17 -0700, 123456789 wrote:

Notice the difference between "Stop" & "Force Stop" is an extra step.

I think yours is more steps than you're counting (e.g., you have to hit
"OK") where I counted _every_ step and I think you skipped counting a few
steps, whereas when I counted, I didn't skip any touch steps at all.

<https://i.postimg.cc/sD3JTyf2/pskill02.jpg>

If you think it's actually as few steps as you claimed, let's see the
screenshots proving, for example, you don't get an "OK" button query

(which, for example, I do NOT get when I use the "Stop" button here)
o <https://i.postimg.cc/JzrfLbpb/pskill01.jpg>

Nonetheless... I did even better, reducing it to two steps, I think. :)

I just figured out the _fewest_ steps yet for killing a background app.
o Where I have Android 10, with the "nova free" app launcher running.

Here's my test:
A. Play a song using any media player, e.g., AIMP
B. Press the "square" (rightmost) of the 3 bottom buttons]
C. Sweep the AIMP image up and off the screen

Now it's gone! But it's _still_ playing (in the background).
o Pressing the square (rightmost) button won't bring it back.
<https://i.postimg.cc/qvjN7kxQ/audio07.jpg>

Yet I can swipe down and the notifications have an "X" which stops it.
o So that's _two_ actions to kill a running app (using notifications)
a. Sweep up to see the notification
b. Tap the "X" to kill the running app
<https://i.postimg.cc/mrnhQ8qH/audio08.jpg>

In contrast, hitting the "home" (round, middle) button is more steps.
o <https://i.postimg.cc/KYTLZscV/pskill03.jpg>

--
Notice the difference between "Stop" and "Force Stop" is an extra step.

[Arlen Holder]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 18:05:17 -0700, 123456789 wrote:

>> But it would be nice if there was a simpler (shorter) way...
> On my Android 10 devices I just hold the home screen icon for a few
> seconds until a menu pops up. I choose 'App info' from the menu. Then I
> hit 'Force Stop' in the lower right corner. 3 steps...

I think yours is more steps than you're counting (e.g., you have to hit

"OK") where I counted _every_ step and I think you may have accidentally

skipped counting a few steps, whereas when I counted, I didn't skip any

touch or sweep steps at all (even obvious steps I didn't skip when I
counted, nor did I skip steps that come up a second time to the same last
position, where I assumed the prior position wouldn't always be perfect):
<https://i.postimg.cc/sD3JTyf2/pskill02.jpg>

If you think it's actually as few steps as you claimed, just post the
screenshots showing, for example, you don't get an "OK" button query

(which, for example, I do NOT get when I use the "Stop" button here)
o <https://i.postimg.cc/JzrfLbpb/pskill01.jpg>

Nonetheless... I did even better, getting it down to fewer steps!

:)

I just figured out the _fewest_ steps yet for killing a background app.
o Where I have Android 10, with the "nova free" app launcher running.

Here's my test:
A. Play a song using any media player, e.g., AIMP
B. Press the "square" (rightmost) of the 3 bottom buttons]
C. Sweep the AIMP image up and off the screen

Now it's gone! But it's _still_ playing (in the background).
o Pressing the square (rightmost) button won't bring it back.
<https://i.postimg.cc/qvjN7kxQ/audio07.jpg>

Yet I can swipe down on the homescreen and the notifications show up.
o That notification has a big white on black "X" which kills the app!
<https://i.postimg.cc/mrnhQ8qH/audio08.jpg>

o So that's the fewest steps to kill a running app (using notifications)
Step 1. Sweep down on the homescreen to see the notification
Step 2. Tap the "X" to kill the running app
Step 3. (Arguably you have to sweep up to get rid of the notifications)

[123456789]

Arlen Holder wrote:
> 123456789 wrote:

>>> But it would be nice if there was a simpler (shorter) way...

>> On my Android 10 devices I just hold the home screen icon for a few
>> seconds until a menu pops up. I choose 'App info' from the menu.
>> Then I hit 'Force Stop' in the lower right corner. 3 steps...

> I think yours is more steps than you're counting (e.g., you have to
> hit "OK") where I counted _every_ step and I think you skipped
> counting a few steps, whereas when I counted, I didn't skip any
> touch steps at all.

Lemme try it again:

1. Hold home screen app icon for a few seconds until menu appears.

2. Touch 'App info' on the menu.

3. Touch 'Force stop".

> If you think it's actually as few steps as you claimed, let's see the
> screenshots proving, for example, you don't get an "OK" button
> query.

No need. You're correct. I did get an OK button. Forgot about that.
That's 4.

And I suppose if you count getting back to the home screen that's 5.

But I was answering your post that said you were looking for something
better than 8 steps. I still provided...

You're quote:
"It seems Android 10 gives lots of ways to get to that "Force stop".

This is 8 steps! Android10:Settings > Storage > Internal shared
storage > Music and audio > [Select the name of the app] > (longpress
on the app name) > Force stop > [OK]

But it would be nice if there was a simpler (shorter) way..."

> Nonetheless... I did even better (without cheating, like I think you
> did). :) I just figured out the _fewest_ steps yet for killing a
> background app. o Where I have Android 10, with the "nova free" app
> launcher running.
>
> Here's my test: A. Play a song using any media player, e.g., AIMP B.
> Press the "square" (rightmost) of the 3 bottom buttons] C. Sweep the
> AIMP image up and off the screen
>
> Now it's gone! But it's _still_ playing (in the background). o
> Pressing the square (rightmost) button won't bring it back.
> <https://i.postimg.cc/qvjN7kxQ/audio07.jpg>

I just open the player and hit the stop button. Easy peasy. That's 2
steps. 3 if you count heading back home. And the advantage is if the app
hasn't been kicked out of memory by the next time you use it, it's
instant on and playing right where it left off. My phone has 8G and even
my elcheapo Fire HW8+ tablet has 3G. It's not like the player's gonna
take up much of that room. And as proof, neither of my loaded players has
been kicked out of memory on any of my devices in recent memory...

[Arlen Holder]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 20:07:28 -0700, 123456789 wrote:

> I did get an OK button. Forgot about that.

Thanks for confirming (although I actually knew you skipped that step since
I tested it out before I posted my pictures which showed the step is
there).

It helps others to confirm what we both see, since they may not be testing
things as completely as you and I seem to be doing - and that's good.

Like you, every time I get a "Force Stop", there's also a required "OK".
o But when I get a plain old "Stop", then there's nothing else afterward.
<https://i.postimg.cc/JzrfLbpb/pskill01.jpg>

Since that menu tree is only under "developer options", I guess they don't
need to bother "developers" with what amounts to a worthless additional
"OK" step every single time they kill a background app. :)
<https://i.postimg.cc/sD3JTyf2/pskill02.jpg>

> I just open the player and hit the stop button. Easy peasy.

Yes. Some players do that. In fact, almost all apps do that.
o *The problem is _only_ when the app does _not_ do that*. :)

> Hold home screen app icon for a few seconds until menu appears.

Just for clarity, I "think" I set up my home button (the center circle) in
Android 10 to be a "screenshot" program (because it's useful to take
screenshots of things that are otherwise ephemeral, like, well, like the
process of taking screenshots!). :)
o <https://i.postimg.cc/jq1KVPBk/screenshot01.jpg>

That was a while ago that I set that up (perhaps by "accessibility
menus"?), so I think that's why when I longpress on my Android 10 center
circle "home icon", mine takes a screenshot and yours does not.

When I single tap that same button, then, in Android 10 with Nova free
launcher, get what looks like the default "app drawer" app, as a widget or
something like that since it only contains three tabs:
o Frequent apps
o Recent apps
o New/Updated apps

Notice the homebutton tap doesn't contain "All apps" for whatever reason.
o <https://i.postimg.cc/KYTLZscV/pskill03.jpg>

Anyway, I think this is the best method, but it may only work for me:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/mrnhQ8qH/audio08.jpg>

Notice that last method is the fewest steps, but it makes use of
notifications, which may be different depending on the version of Android
(mine is Android 10) and the launcher (mine is Nova free) and the
notification settings (mine are pretty much the default settings).
--
Usenet is a great place to see how each of us sets Android up differently.

[Arlen Holder]

Woo hoo!
o I found a simple way to kill background audio in a couple of steps!
<https://i.postimg.cc/2yz3rw2N/pskill05.jpg>

Most apps die gracefully when you hit the square button & sweep them away.
o And almost all apps will die when you expressly press its "exit" command
<https://i.postimg.cc/wTj3rw1h/pskill04.jpg>

Yet some still run (e.g., nav) or play (e.g., audio) in the background.
o Either because you can't exit - or you background it as shown above

That's nice when you _want_ navigation or audio playing in the background.
o But sometimes you want _kill_ those background apps (sans rebooting)

It turns out there are _plenty_ of ways to kill background apps, e.g.,
o Developer options <https://i.postimg.cc/JzrfLbpb/pskill01.jpg>
o App info <https://i.postimg.cc/sD3JTyf2/pskill02.jpg>
o Home button <https://i.postimg.cc/KYTLZscV/pskill03.jpg>
o Notification X <https://i.postimg.cc/mrnhQ8qH/audio08.jpg>
etc.

For more information, please see these related threads:

o REALLY kill various apps
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/ScA7PlwKeYs>

o What's a good way to kill jobs that persist in the background (without having to reboot)?
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/Did0Rd3mRmo>

o Samsung Galaxy S5
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/qTMDmHP9ToI>

--
Together we can find the simplest solutions to all issues we want to solve.

[123456789]

Arlen Holder wrote:
> 123456789 wrote:

>> I just open the player and hit the stop button. Easy peasy.

> Yes. Some players do that. In fact, almost all apps do that. *The

> problem is _only_ when the app does _not_ do that*. :)

If you have a music player that doesn't stop the music when hitting the
stop button the player has a BIG problem.

> when I longpress on my Android 10 center circle "home icon", mine
> takes a screenshot and yours does not.

A long press on the home button used to get me the Google app. She would
call me by name and ask how she could help. But I turned her ass off... ;)

[Carlos E.R.]

Wow, thanks. Works on Android 9 too. Not on all apps, though: on Chrome
or Firefox I get "new private tab / new tab". But there is a tiny "i" at
the top bar which gets the app information section. Another tiny icon
shows the available widgets of the app. Cute.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

[123456789]

Carlos E.R. wrote:

> 123456789 wrote:

>> On my Android 10 devices I just hold the home screen icon for a few
>> seconds until a menu pops up. I choose 'App info' from the menu.
>> Then I hit 'Force Stop' in the lower right corner. 3 steps...

> Wow, thanks.

You're welcome. I'm sure the feature is written down somewhere but I
discovered it quite by accident. I usually never read the manual unless
I have to, do you... ;)

> Works on Android 9 too.

Yes, I forgot that. But unfortunately it apparently only works on real
Android 9 tablets. My new toy, a Fire HD8+ tablet, is supposed to have
all the latest stuff (for an Amazon tablet anyway: USB-C, wireless
charging, 3G memory, Android 9) but when you press and hold an app the
only thing that pops up for all apps is...Uninstall???

> Not on all apps, though: on Chrome or Firefox I get "new private tab
> / new tab".

Different apps = different stuff on my devices. Some examples: Gmail, you
can go direct to compose, Play books has your downloaded book list to
tap and read, the PhoNews Usenet newsreader has my subscribed servers to
choose from.

> But there is a tiny "i" at the top bar which gets the app
> information section.

Yup. some would say I cheated again. If that "i" is there that adds
another (gasp) step in the process and that would be terribly, awfully,
horrifying... 8-O

> Cute.

I use it mostly to stop an errant app and start over. Or to
permanently kill surprise news notifications from new news apps. Your "Cute"
covers it very very well... :)

[Yakker]

123456789 <12...@12345.com> wrote in news:roebte$8hq$1...@dont-email.me:

> I
> discovered it quite by accident.

Almost ditto. When I strike a problem, I try press and hold on anything
that looks remotely like it may react to the method. Different version of
Android may have different options so, even when you think you know, it is
still worth trying.

[Arlen Holder]

On Sun, 6 Sep 2020 00:25:54 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> This question today from "The Real Bev" appears to be a similar question:
> o REALLY kill various apps
> <https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/ScA7PlwKeYs>

We found new solutions, one of which is Android 10 Notifications, which
seem to allow us to kill some (many? all?) running in the background jobs.

In addition, this shows how to put _any_ system setting on the homescreen:
o Is there a way to make an Android homescreen shortcut to any given settings page such as the battery status?
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/_1oTdgCIpkc>

Now we can easily put shortcuts to "kill -9 PID" options on our homescreen:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/rFgM7bmb/battery01.jpg> Battery setting results
o <https://i.postimg.cc/vTmRGghz/settings01.jpg> Native widget results
o <https://i.postimg.cc/T2Szy9dt/settings02.jpg> SettingsCreator results

As described in that thread, the native widget method works fine for
top-level settings; but it doesn't work for _deeper_ settings, such as:
o Settings > System > Advanced > Developer options > Running services

Luckily, Shortcut Creator, by AlexTernHome app works for deeper settings
o <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alextern.shortcuthelper>

Here's how to make a shortcut to those "kill -9 PID" Android settings:
(1) ShortcutCreator
(2) Shortcuts: Settings
(3) Settings Activities: Observe activities
(4) (Scroll down to select "Running services"
(.Settings$RunningServicesActivity)
(5) Press the big "+" key at the top right, & then "To Launcher"

That puts a "Running services" shortcut icon on your homescreen.
o <https://i.postimg.cc/T2Szy9dt/settings02.jpg>
(If you like, you can change the icon name to "kill -9".)

To kill a running job:
a. Press that newly created "kill -9" homescreen shortcut
b. Find your running process in the list of running processes
c. Kill it
--
Thanks to kelown & 123456789 for their excellent on-topic test suggestions.

[Arlen Holder]

On Tue, 17 Nov 2020 01:41:01 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> To kill a running job:
> a. Press that newly created "kill -9" homescreen shortcut
> b. Find your running process in the list of running processes
> c. Kill it

Here is an example of the "kill -9 <PID>" shortcut in action:
<https://i.postimg.cc/vTkv7Grh/settings03.jpg> ps -aux | kill -9 <PID>

[Arlen Holder]

Update regarding:
o What's a good way to kill jobs that persist in the background (without having to reboot)?
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/Did0Rd3mRmo>

I just now found yet another freeware method that isn't too many steps
(although all these "ps-auxww|kill-9" apps are more steps than I'd like).

o SuperFreezZ App Stopper, Freeze all background activities of apps.
<https://f-droid.org/en/packages/superfreeze.tool.android/>

It is _different_ from the prior solutions in that it can kill _every_
background job in a single button press (if you set it up to do that).

However, to kill any specific app, I tested it by playing a song in AIMP
o And then swiping away Aimp (the song still played in the background).

Then I opened SuperFreezZ and unfortunately had to search for "Aimp"
o Once found, then tapping the lightning bolt once, really kills Aimp.

SuperFreezZ has a few settings which might make this fewer steps
o For example it has a few different sorting lists

And SUperFreezZ can ignore some apps if you tell it to.

But the one feature I didn't see was a sorting of the currently
backgrounded apps listed by the most recently backgrounded.

That would most likely have put AIMP at the top of the list
o Which would have negated the need to run the "ps" search

[Arlen Holder]

On Fri, 20 Nov 2020 21:40:24 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> Update regarding:
> o What's a good way to kill jobs that persist in the background (without having to reboot)?
> <https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/Did0Rd3mRmo>

Update.
o <https://i.postimg.cc/GhQcYjVV/shortcut09.jpg> Net icon, before & after
o <https://i.postimg.cc/43KZDRyR/shortcut10.jpg> Copy net icon to Android
o <https://i.postimg.cc/JzFCcYq6/shortcut11.jpg> Select & edit custom icon

This thread talked about creating custom "kill -9" commands, which, when
turned into a homescreen shortcut, need to have a visibly obvious icon.

In this tutorial I wrote today, I show how to change the "kill -9" icon:
o Quick tutorial for creating Android homescreen shortcuts using custom icons
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/if4FD2NFEnk>

See also:
o Is there a way to make an Android homescreen shortcut to any given settings page?
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/_1oTdgCIpkc>
--
I update threads so that they serve as a single-source quickref for others.