On 2024-08-26 Rob Dyck wrote:
My phone is warm and battery charge is dropping too fast. Is there a way to scan an Android smartphone for virus? I can mount my phone as a storage device on my desktop computer.
More often this is just dumb/bad apps. There is something in Android somewhere that lets you see exactly what app is using the most battery. Can never remember how to get to it, but searching in settings should be easy. You should check that out. Also make sure all background apps are closed, usually with the hamburger option in the 3-option Android nav menu -- click Close All. If you do all that and nothing is revealed/fixed, then... someone else will have to help: I've never tried an A/V program on Android.
On 2024-08-27 Rob Dyck wrote:
Thank you. The Ignite TV app refuses to close after opening, it continues to run in the background. I noticed that the first time I used it. Have to force-stop after every use. I don't know what the "hamburger" option is, or the "3-Option Android nav menu".
At the bottom of most Android screens (though it is customizable) is the back arrow nav button, the "home" circle button, and the 3-vertical lines "what apps are open" button... The "hamburger" one is the 3 lines, though I didn't realize it was vertical lines, so therefore it's not really a hamburger icon! So call it a hamburger someone has propped up on its side :-) So once you force-stopped Ignite, did your battery problem go away?
On 2024-08-28 Rob Dyck wrote:
I have a triangle, circle, and square.
That just means your Android is either fairly newer or older than mine, but they do the same function regardless of icon.
The square shows all running apps, not background.
Technically all apps in Android not currently focused are "in the background". But I know what you mean, you're talking about "service" type programs which run without any UI attached. Yes, one of those could be your problem, though let's hope not because they may be harder to figure out.
It lists "Recently opened apps". I selected Ignite and "FORCE STOP". It's the only app refuses have to do that with. There is no setting in Ignite to tell it not to remain after close.
You could do a simple test to eliminate Ignite as the culprit by just uninstalling it and seeing if the problem goes away. Yes, drastic, but it might be the only way to be sure. You should find the battery report by app page that is on every recent Android. It was a real pain to find it on mine as they seem to have moved it around and you still have to drill down a fair ways to get to it. I eventually found it in Device Care - Battery & scroll down and you'll see graphs (maybe) and a list of apps. Each app will tell you the % of battery it used up. I'm really curious what your list looks like. If something seems abnormal there, that might be your problem. However, I don't think "services" are listed there, only actual "apps"... so if something is running like a service you may still not be able to figure out what is to blame. Also, I will add that if your phone is older (4+ years), lithium batteries will start to degrade and hold less charge and die faster. Though you usually wouldn't get a heat increase like you described. Last thing I can think of: restart Android completely with the power button & reboot. I have had the same thing happen before and a reboot solved it completely. Maybe happens once a year? The heat thing is the big tip off. Something in the system just gets messed up and eats up cycles, causing your symptoms.
Those two screenshots are quite revealing. Your Gmail is quite greedy, and itself would exhaust your battery in about 7 hours (unusual for Gmail). Your Firefox is similar, but hey, a whole browser does a lot more. As I think Trevor may have suggested, this (the Gmail especially) points to a deteriorating battery that simply holds a lot less charge than originally. Remember, 100% means the intelligent circuits deem it to be fully charged to its current capacity, not its original capacity. BTW, don't you like having the battery percentage showing all the time on the top line of the phone? The first screenshot shows that option turned off. Hartmut On Wed 28 Aug 2024 at 11:53:02 -05:00, Rob Dyck <rbdyck2@shaw.ca> wrote:
My phone is an Essential PH-1 with Android 10. Ah... I did look at Settings - Battery, but there is no "Device care". However, looking more closely at Battery there is those 3 dots at the top beside battery. That gave me Battery usage. Thank you.
_______________________________________________ Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.ca https://muug.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable
*Attachments:* • Screenshot_20240828-113618.png • Screenshot_20240828-113426.png
I had to find the battery on eBay (I think it was around $30?), but I then had a local cell repair shop replace the battery on my PH-1 for about $60, I think. -Adam Get Outlook for Android<https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg> ________________________________ From: Roundtable <roundtable-bounces@muug.ca> on behalf of Hartmut W Sager <hwsager@marityme.net> Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2024 7:38:12 PM To: Rob Dyck <rbdyck2@shaw.ca>; MUUG - Round Table <roundtable@muug.ca>; Trevor Cordes <trevor@tecnopolis.ca> Subject: Re: [RndTbl] Android virus scan Those two screenshots are quite revealing. Your Gmail is quite greedy, and itself would exhaust your battery in about 7 hours (unusual for Gmail). Your Firefox is similar, but hey, a whole browser does a lot more. As I think Trevor may have suggested, this (the Gmail especially) points to a deteriorating battery that simply holds a lot less charge than originally. Remember, 100% means the intelligent circuits deem it to be fully charged to its current capacity, not its original capacity. BTW, don't you like having the battery percentage showing all the time on the top line of the phone? The first screenshot shows that option turned off. Hartmut On Wed 28 Aug 2024 at 11:53:02 -05:00, Rob Dyck <rbdyck2@shaw.ca<mailto:rbdyck2@shaw.ca>> wrote: My phone is an Essential PH-1 with Android 10. Ah... I did look at Settings - Battery, but there is no "Device care". However, looking more closely at Battery there is those 3 dots at the top beside battery. That gave me Battery usage. Thank you. _______________________________________________ Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.ca<mailto:Roundtable@muug.ca> https://muug.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable Attachments: * Screenshot_20240828-113618.png * Screenshot_20240828-113426.png
On 2024-08-28 Rob Dyck wrote:
The phone was manufactured in the spring of 2017, I bought it in
Ya, by 7 years most phones will have batteries that are on a steep decline in terms of battery life each day. Your app batt usage chart looks pretty normal, comparing it to mine right now. I don't use gmail, though. But if you were hammering gmail during that time, it's not outside the realm of normality. Adam has the right idea: you can replace the battery. Watch out, though, lots of the "kiosk" places will just give you a used one they have around which may not be any better than the original. Maybe stress you want "new" only, and ask to keep the packaging. However, also consider that you aren't getting any sec updates on the OS, and that could leave open security holes. Which leads us full circle back to your original thought that you might be hacked/virused -- better odds of that if your OS hasn't been updated in years. However, my money is on the battery. Note: a lot of new devices (all?) have a feature to prolong battery longevity by only charging to 80% (if enabled). If I got a new device tomorrow I'd totally have that on unless I'm going traveling or something.
The square that shows all running apps became a vertical hamburger in recent Android versions. I hate those endless icon updates, usually to something less intuitive than before. The gallery icon became a huge asterisk (or is that a stylized flower?), and the distinct camera icon became something that looks like a kid's rubber toy. The triangle (points to the left?) is an "improved" backarrow. Hartmut On Wed 28 Aug 2024 at 00:48:50 -05:00, Rob Dyck <rbdyck2@shaw.ca> wrote:
I have a triangle, circle, and square. The square shows all running apps
participants (4)
-
Adam Thompson -
Hartmut W Sager -
Rob Dyck -
Trevor Cordes