Related
I started BetterBatteryStats because I was missing the great battery history that Spare Parts allowed to call on Froyo. It has been a long journey since the first version. BetterBatteryStats provides an insight in following categories:
- General "other stats "overview: Awake, Deep Sleep, Screen On, Phone On, Wifi On, Wifi Running ratios
- Kernel Wakelocks
- Partial wakelocks
- Alarms/Wakeups
- CPU States
- Network stats
- Process stats with User and System CPU time
Use so called references BetterBatteryStats shows data for different samples over time:
- since boot
- since unplugged
- since charged
- since screen off
- custom references
- any combination of the above (e.g. from screen off to screen on)
BetterBatteryStats is calling the "batteryinfo" service of Android to retrieve data already lying there without generating overhead. Since Kitkat Google has revoked the permission for normal apps to access these stats (without valid reasons IMHO). You can read more about that here.
Fortunately and thanks to @Looki75 there is a way to work around the restrictions intruduced by google in Kitkat and run BBS on non-rooted devices. Please see here for more details.
BetterBatteryStats has been tested on Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb (3.1, thanks to daveid), ICS, JB, Kitkat and Lollipop on different ROMs and Kernels.
What are wakelocks and why should you care about them?
When it comes to Android the most discussed and commented topic that I know is battery drain / battery life. I'm a quite heavy user because I spend a lot of time on the train every day reading my mails, surfing and listening to music but still my phone is off for a long time during the day and while I accept the battery being drained while I use the phone I care about it draining slowly while "doing nothing".
Wakelocks or to be more precise partial wakelocks is a pattern than helps devs to make sure that important pieces of their code do not get interrupted. Wakelocks are not bad per se, they are a tool. There are many poor implementations that make use of wakelocks and BBS helps making that transparent.
Caution: do not use and wakelock supressor tools. They will cause an erratic behavior of your phone, causing more harm than good.
Basically the phone has (simplified, kernel devs don't shoot) three states:
1. awake with screen on
2. awake
3. sleeping (that's you phone favorite state)
The transitions are from (1) to (2) and finally from (2) to (3). Now as long as you use your phone it's in (1) and does not leave that state as long as you keep using it interactively. If you stop using it the phone is aiming to go to (3) as fast as possible.
And here's where wakelocks are important: as our phones as smartphones they tend to do background processing. Some of this processing is important like e.g. making a phone call, listening to music or synchronizing your contacts.
As the phone wants to go from (2) to (3) and on the other hand you don't want to hang up while you are in a call the app keeps hold of a wakelock to prevent that transisiton. When you hang up the partial wakelock gets release and here we go (the phone goes to sleep).
So partial wakelocks is a tool and it's not something that we should forbid for obvious reasons. Now there are cases when the design on an app is not real life proven (conditions of poor of no converage) and the wakelocks have negative effects because they are held unnecessarily or for too long.
BetterBatteryStats identifies these wakelocks and using your expertise or the once from our users here you can understand what happens and find a strategy to change that for the better.
And what about wakeups?
Wakeups (alarms) is a pattern to be used when an application should to something after a certain period of time (or at a certain time). Again, an alarm is a tool and is nothing.
On the other hand there are a lot of poor implementations that BBS can help you discover:
- alarms waking up the device when all the app should do is refresh the screen: in such cases the app uses the wrong type of alarm, there are alarms that are specifically to be used only when the screen is on
- to frequent alarms: in case of e.g. poor network conditions some apps may use alarms to repeat failed network operations. Doing this too often will cause too many wakeups (and wakelocks for doing the handling)
- apps that wake up your device when you did not expect any activity while screen is off: you can use the info provided by BBS to contact the dev about such issues
Try it yourself
If you need help
Always add the whole context when asking for help. Most of the times a dumpfile is helpful, sometimes screenshots showing your observations may help as well.
Before posting a dump please make sure that the references for kernel wakelocks and alarms were processed correctly. Reading a dump takes a few minutes and it would be great if you could not waste the time of whomever studies it, aiming at helping you.
Generally a dump "since unplugged" is better than "since charged". When you start your analysis make sure to follow following procedure:
- enable watchdog processing in BBS settings
- verify from/to references is checked under custom views
- full charge device then let it run down to ~95%
- put device to sleep for at least 6 hours (no touchy!)
- wake device and launch BBS
- adjust from/to references to 'screen off' and 'screen on'
- save dumpfile from share menu
- post resulting log to this thread (or provide cloud link)
I will not reply to posts with incomplete dumps
Reporting bugs
If you want to report a bug please make sure:
- that you can reproduce the problem
- explain what the problem is, how you could reproduce it and what is going wrong (a sentence lke "xxxx does not work for me" is a waste of your time and wil be ignored)
- enable debug in advanced prefernces
- post a logcat
A good read about reporting bugs
Translations
Starting with 2.0 BBS is getting multi-language. Currently following languages are included:
- en: main language, maintained by me
- ru: translation thanks to @gaich
- cz: translation thanks to @mag01
- es translation thanks to @vldesco
- it translation thanks to @code010101
- hr translation thanks to @seky2205
- fr translation thanks to @xavihernandez
- de translation thanks to @Minty123
- tr translation and other language improvement by @Eleo
If you want to contribute with a new language please feel free to offer you service and contribute to BBS, by submitting a pull request to the github project with the translated strings.xml. But please be aware of the fact that translation is a continuous work: even if the initial effort is higher there will be unavoidable changes to the english master XMLs that will require regular updates of your translations.
If you have a recommendation for a free croud-translation service that you would prefer I am open for suggestions.
Thanks
To nobnut for donating me a Nexus S for testing
To nobnut and brandall for their support, encouragements, testing and constructive feedback in the early stages of the development.
To @Javinotfound or the new icons / logo
To suku_patel_22, jeremysherriff, Karpfenhai, Tungstwenty, It_ler, Perseus71 and mag01 for their help in this thread and their systematic testing my betas and RCs
To Entropy512 for providing support and insights about kernel wakelocks and helping making BBS a better tool
Release
Edit 2021-06-13: Google has pulled BBS from GPlay. The given reason is that I use a library (HockeyApp) that allows installations by other means than the GPlay; that is correct except that library is a) deprecated and does not have backend anymore and b) the GPlay edition does not use that library, only the xda-edition does. Anyhow, I am working on a fix
BetterBatteryStats is available on Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.asksven.betterbatterystats) for what I believe is a fair price. If you like my work and want to support me please fell free to show your gratitude by buying the app.
Google play users can register to be part of the public beta programme. Selected Release Candidates will be released to google play as part of the beta programm. You can enroll to the beta programme here: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.asksven.betterbatterystats
Follow me on Mastodon to be notified of updates and get insights in new features/developments.
xda edition: for xda-dev members I provide an always free and fully featured version of BBS (please play fair and do not redistribute the app without my consent).
Current test-release:
I have moved to an automated build system (older releases are still attached here) and do the distribution using AppCenter.
Privacy note
Access to the downloads does not require you to register to AppCenter (you still can to benefit from neat features like notifications when new releases are available)
Get release candidates here
Changelog
2.3
- Full android O support
- Unrooted devices now fully supported (with perms added using ADB)
- UI improvements and I18N
- Better support for substratum theming
- Fixes based on crash-reports
- Added application analytics
2.2.2.0
Fixed #791: bugs preventing sensor stats to show properly on pre-lolipop devices
2.2.1.0
Fixed #787, #788: bugs preventing some stats to show properly on pre-lolipop devices
2.2.0.0
Merged translations
same as RC3
Older Changelogs
2.2.0.0RC3
Fixed sensor report
Prep for release
2.2.0.0RC2
#780: Added proper Sensor Stats
2.2.0.0RC1
#659: Renamed "Other" stat to "Summary"
#398: possibility to add a note when saving a dumpfile
#682: Alarms details view is now scrollable
#772: use bolder fonts to comply with design guidelines and make reading on smaller devices easier
#677: added GPS time (sensors) to Summary
#777: folded both Text and JSON representations of the dumpfile into one file
2.2.0.0B6
#675: watchdog sometimes shows awake > 100%
#756: added LG G2 Kernel Wakelocks support and more agressive detection of LG G2, G3, G4
#759: Watchdog toast sometimes get sticky
#760: Kernel Wakelocks do not substract properly on non-root devices (or with API-mode on)
#762: alarm do not show icon on non-root devices (or wirh API-mode)
2.2.0.0B5
#733: Kernel wakelocks parser for LG G4
#753: Added option to select the destination directory for dumpfile/locat/etc. (Requires OI FileManager)
2.2.0.0B4
#715: introduced snackbars instead of many of the toasts
#731: fixed layout issues for "old" widgets with RTL languages
#749: fixed another non-root issue
2.2.0.0B3
#211: add sensor data to "other" stats
#741: improvements on non-root experience (network stats, fixes)
#748: fixed doze mode counters
Added sync time to other stats
2.2.0.0B2
#734: added doze mode stats (Marshmallow)#744, #747: more fixes for non-rooted usage
#745: fixed/more accurate Bluetooth stats for Marshmallow
2.2.0.0B1
#716: experimental: grant required permissions without having to install system app (requires root)
#735: fixed parsing of native alarms and API call for Marshmallow
#736, #737, #738: various FC from gplay crash reports
#741: improve functionality for non rooted devices (having system app installed)
2.1.0.0
No changes from RC6
2.1.0.0_RC6
Some more widget tuning
Merged transations
2.1.0.0_RC5
Some widget tuning
Merged and compacted changelog
2.1.0.0_RC4
#720, #721: "Awake" is now consistently "Awake when screen off"
2.1.0.0_RC3
I18N
More work on widget
2.1.0.0_RC2
#712: Fixed widget real estate
2.1.0.0_RC1
#708: reverted AppOps call back to older working version
#711: fixed process view sort
#713: fixed graph series
See also in-app changelog
2.1.0.0_B5
#673: permissions list scroll issue
Experimental M-preview support
Transition animations
2.1.0.0_B4
#612: kernel wakelocks for LG G3 5.0
#694: added awake ratio to dashclock
#699: merged system app changes
#702: moved to new appcompat
New Icons by Javi
2.1.0.0_B3
#693, 695: fixed crash on 2.3.x devices
#693: reverted back to "old" (small) system app apk to work around CM/LP 5.1.1 installation isuues
#696: fixed behavior of the "back" icon on older Android devices
2.1.0.0_B2
#671: revert to old AppOps calling method
#681: fixed rate dialog
#683: limit widget font size
#686: string mssing leading to @number being displayed
#687: widget opacity can be adjusted
I18N
2.1.0.0_B1
New responsive widget
#510: New System App (no need to update)
#658: Fixed various crash reports from gplay
#679: Fixed graphs being off on 5.1
#405: Fixed widget sometimes not refreshing at screen on
2.0.0.0
No functional changes from RC6
Merged I18Nalized changelogs
2.0.0.0RC6
This is the golden release: release notes have been updated for the upcoming 2.0
#650: semi transparent grey touch feedback for pre-lolipop devices
- Sorry, no fix for the unthemed dialogs: there is a bug in appcompat to that and I could not find a way around that except rewriting all dialogs and that is too much change at this point in time.
2.0.0.0RC5
#632, #633, #634, #635: Fixed package info dialog (colors, label width)
#639: added arabic (testwise)
#626: fix (again) for FC on long press using german language
2.0.0.0RC4
#626: fixes crash when long-pressing a list item
#630: added credits for I18N
#631: hotfix for issue with RC3 on pre-lolipop devices
2.0.0.0RC3
#616: no battery graph when all values are 100%
#617: no changelog showing in RC2
#618: add info to dumpfile is alarms/kernel wakelocks are from API
#621, #624: I18N
#622: material design touch feedback
#625: FC opening dashclock settings
2.0.0.0RC2
#552: fixed wrong style for overflow menu in dark theme
#609: fixed oblique lines in graphs
2.0.0.0RC1
#546: option to force EN-en locale
#569, #582, #588, #595: more translations
#583: move *api* out of the title
#585: optimized load time of graphs
#586: use white icon for watchdog notifications
#597: battery graph always shows same data
#599: FC opening credits screen
#600: clean up debug info from normal logcat
#602: fixed watchdog reporting of awake
2.0.0.0B7
#491: added frature to import/export preferences
#540: System App Dialog now includes link to the recovery ZIP as a workaround is in-app install does not work (links to XDA or gplay, depending on version)
#551: fixed "pinned" battery graph
#553: lighter cicle gauge and font
#554: settings screen and white text on the light background that appears after clean start
#558: make from-to ref spinners suppressable
#563: more I18N (thanks to gaich and mag01 fpr their hard work keeping up with me changing the strings)
#564: alarm details dialog title is too dark for dark theme
#566: add notification bar color for lolipop
#572: pass the su --context for accessing dumpsys alarm (may cause slowdown, please report on that with supersu version you are using)
#574: better performance in graphics
2.0.0.0B6
#521: make icon size and font size adjustable
#522: kernel wakelock using API fail on lolipop
#550: missing strings
#556: fixed native kernal wakelocks on lolipop
#557: no translation of array, mote stuff to strings
2.0.0.0B5
#360, #529, #534, #539: more externalized strings for I18N
#387: use of wakelocks with timeouts, because I can
#511: Themed dialogs
#517: redesigned graphs
#527: add SELinux policy to dumpfile
#532: fixed theme switching issues
#535: added Czeck, thanks to mag01
#536, #537, #538: added russian, thanks to gaich
#531: fixed alarms dialog showing infinite / Hr.
#545: merged new constants that were causing the wrong stats to be processed
2.0.0.0B4
First shot at I18N: implemented german
#495: cleanup ununsed libs
#502: cleanup assets
#518: fixed infinite wakeups per hour in alarms
#519: re-add battery from/to % to screen (optional)
#520: alignment of labele/icons
#523: theme switch only complete after restart
#524: switched back from cards layout as it takes too much real estate
#525: notification area invisible by default
#526: FC after theme switch
#528: Partial wakelocks show wrong values (thank google for changing the constants again)!
2.0.0.0B3
#484, #508: surface information about errors / failures to the UI
#493: avoid retrieving the battery level from battery info API to reduce load (and avoid service unavailable)
#497: added dark theme
#509: added % from/to back to dumpfile
#512: theme preference slider controls
#513: fixed empty release notes
#515: automatically detect SELinux preventing access to dumpsys alarm and fall back to API mode
#516: fixed alarms showing infinity in gauges
2.0.0.0B2
#496: fixed gauges in RAW stats always being 100%
#499: "since" and white header missing in raw stats
#504: failed remot to ro after system app install does not report an error anymore since the app was installed correctly
#505: advanced pref to enable alternate (API) mode for retrieving alarms (and avoid the need for permissive kernel)
#506: alarm details missing in dumpfile
Bigger changes under the hood: externalized all preferences to prepare for I18N
2.0.0.0B1
It's all new and shiny
#487: ability to save JSON format from tasker plugin
New calculation approach to avoid rounding differences
Simplified / removed unused options from settings
Removed google analytics
1.16.1.0B2
#486: watchdog does not warn
1.16.1.0B1
#446, #483: watchdog warns about 100% awake even if reading shows it's not the case
#481, #482: FC conditions from crash reports
#485: addedf more comprehensive info about BATTERY_STATS perm and Xposed setting to dumpfile
1.16.0.0
no changes from RC6 1.16.0.0_RC6
#479: attempt to fix failing system app install process on certain devices
#480: fixed Dashclock settings not opening in xdaedition
1.16.0.0_RC5
#475: more speaking text for XPosed module settings
#476: fixed dashclock API 2 manifest (kudos to DvTonder)
#477: fixed exception in method to obtain other stats from dumpsys (compat mode)
#478: fixed alarm parsing error on pre 4.2 versions
1.16.0.0_RC4
#469: Fixed network stats parsing error
#472: Fixed alarm parsing for L preview
#473: fixed wakelock being expressed in ms on L preview
#474: fixed sorting of CPU states
1.16.0.0_RC3
#470: fixed non null extra passed by certain launchers
#471: fixed batterystats service name on L preview
1.16.0.0_RC2
#464: fixed icon height in list
#466: if xposed modue is checked in advanced prefs do as if all perms were there (use at your own risk)
#467: fixed missing icons in network view
#468: fixed FC condition when creating a logcat
1.16.0.0_RC1
#463: added copy to clipboard on long-press
Merged to master1.16.0.0_B7
#462: fixed antialiasing of pie gauge to avoid pixelation
1.16.0.0_B6
#457: fixed FC on calling permissions
#458: fixed value of "other" stats gauge being off
#459: pie gauge brush too large on low density devices
#460: add setting to disable system app presence (for XPosed module users)
#461: added setting (display section) to use "old" bar gauge instead of "new" pie
1.16.0.0_B5
#452: update to Dashclock API 2.0
#453: fixed "current" reference not getting updated when BBS is called from tasker
#454: fixed network stats "lo" not matched to "Mobile"
#455: merged a few UI changes from the upcoming 2.0 branch
#456: fixed: when only one reference spinner is shown avoid Toast message
1.16.0.0_B4
#426: added occurences per minute/hours in alarms on screen and dumpfile
#450: fix for memory leak
#451: revert from JSON the Java serialization of references for better performance (references will be deleted after installation)
1.16.0.0_B3
#448: if root is available offer full featured alarms using dumpsys
#449 avoid flushing cache, imporving performance
1.16.0.0_B2
#447: system app has wrong signature
1.16.0.0_B1
#427: optimize the root calls for dumpsys if system app installed
#429: replace java serialization of references with a more flexible JSON serialization
#435: avoid crashing when appops not available (4.4.2+)
#437: better resetting of screen counters for non rooted 4.4+ devices
#439: dumpfile chapters comments reflect need for root
#440: better support for root (does not require to be enabled in advanced prefs anymore)
#441: offer to install as system app on 4.4+ is root available
#443: alarm does not require root anymore
#446: watchdog notification should never report more than 100%
1.15.0.0
Same as RC8 except the release notes
1.15.0.0_RC8
#432: make sure to ask for su rights right after enabling root features
#433: hint that the system app should be uninstalled before uninstalling BBS
1.15.0.0_RC7
#430: better fix for blocking root access
#431: fix for install as system app when package comes from gplay
A few changes in the popup for kitkat user at first run
Bump in version number causes references to be deleted at first run
1.15.0.0_RC6
#430: fixed blocking call if trying to install as system app without having root features enabled
1.15.0.0_RC5
#428: force mediascanner after saving files
Recreated icons in all densities
1.15.0.0_RC4
#421: Another attempt to fix the xxxhdpi icon
#426: fied missing process stats on kitkat
Fixed other stats not refreshing properly on kitkat
1.15.0.0_RC3
Fixed the way we manage system apps
1.15.0.0_RC2
Sharpened xxxhdpi icon
Added the ability to install BBS as system app (requires root, usefull only for kitkat right now)
1.15.0.0_RC1
#424: add proper (error) messages to notify about features not available without root on kitkat.
Add timing of screen on time when no stats can be retrieved
1.15.0.0_B6
#421: added xxhdpi assets
#423: fixed alarms parsing on 4.3+
1.15.0.0_B5
#422: fixed account info obfuscation for new account format coming with kitkat
1.15.0.0_B4
#418: re-add process stats to kitkat
Fix for potentially missed partial wakelocks where uid could not be found
1.15.0.0_B3
#419: Package info and icons re-added to kitkat partial wakelocks
#420: fixe from gplay creashreports
Added hires icon
1.15.0.0_B2
#416: readded missing other stats (kitkat)
#417: fix for duplicate partial wakelocks
1.15.0.0_B1
#414: Fixed error at launch (service not available for kitkat)
#415: re-added partial wakelocks and very basic other stats (deep sleep only) to kitkat (requires root)
1.14.0.0
Updated libs
1.14.0.0RC1
#404: Fixed text padding for short time strings
#407: added app ops for 4.3+ users
1.14.0.0B2
#401: added ACCESS_SUPERUSER to manifest permissions
#402: wrong values in wakelocks with hashed account info caused by hash being applied multiple times
1.14.0.0B1
#355: implement a permanent su shell to execute all commands
Various fixes from gplay crash reports
1.13.4.0
Same as B2, no changes
1.13.4.0B2
#391 support all implementations of sqlite
1.13.4.0B1
Refactoring of database access to avoid locking
1.13.3.0
Fix for users having FCs due to database lock problem
1.13.2.0
Fix for users having FCs at start
1.13.0.0
Unchanged from RC2
1.13.0.0RC2
#384: salted the account name before hashing
Fix for stats not reflecting the combo boxes anymore for some users after a reference refresh
1.13.0.0RC1
Fix to make sure spinners do not get out of sync
#383: Fixed battery / voltage level in dumpfile
A few typos
Added timestamp to logcat
1.13.0.0B5
#191, #334: Added "share" option for saving/sharing dumpfiles, dmesg and logcat
#381: fixed database exception occuring sometimes and potentially responsible for the blank stats happening from time to time for some users
#382: dmesg requires root for newer kernels
1.13.0.0B4
Added some logging to debug percentage problem: adb logcat | grep StatsAdapter
#377: refactored KB handling
#379: refactored "raw" stats
Stats row shows interactive areas (glow)
1.13.0.0B3
#236: mask account info
#378: fixed fallback stat in DashClock widget
1.13.0.0B2
#376: no icon in process view
#377: missing KB icon
1.13.0.0B1
#367: added dashclock support
#375: added JSON dumpfile format support
1.12.4.0
#372: Widgets do not update on a fresh install
#373: change default widget fallbacl to "boot"
#374: refresh spinners and user refresh causes the cache of refs to get flushed/reloaded from data
1.12.3.0
#369: small widget uses wrong prefs
#370: Other stat times/total time incorrect
1.12.2.0
#366: fixed FC when creating a dumpfiel from tasker
Improved logging
Fixed concurrency problems potentially leading to weird display
Fixed a caching issue
1.12.1.0
Fix migration issues from 1.11 leading to inconsistent stats
#359: make sure BatteryInfoUnavailableException does not other stats to be shown
#361: a better fix for battery/voltage using current instead of "to" stat
#363, #364, #365: fixed different error conditions from crash reports
1.12.0.2
Skipped 1.12.0.1
#356: bug when migrating from 1.11
#357: to battery % always shows current value
1.12
Same as RC12, no changes
1.12RC12
#356: fixed empty stats after screen being rotated
1.12RC11
#223: active monitoring
#346: save 'unplugged' ref at first use to avoid empty refs
#347: pref to diable widgets to be refreshed at screen on
#344: better fix for errors in parsing network/alarms causing the whole reference to be saved empty
1.12RC10
#302: added credits for used libs in app besides git (under help)
#342, #345: remove log verbosity when debug advanced pref is not enabled for cleaner logcats
#343: fixed alarms parsing of details for flg= and cmp= (both pre- and post 4.2.2)
#344: error in parsing network stats causes the reference to be saved empty (potentially a cause of reference shown as not having been created)
1.12RC9
#323: pref for saving dumpfile to private storage
#337: implement 48dp rhythm
#338: optimize list real estate
#339 (partially): fixed tiny font for widget being same as small
1.12RC8
#341: fixed alarms for android 4.2.2
1.12RC7
#327: spinner refresh issues
#331: sometimes the stats shown do not reflect the spinner selection
#333: charged and unplugged should not be in the "to" spinner as that makes no sense
1.12RC6
#307, #328; widget stops updating and stays blank
#327: spinner refresh issues
#329: fallback ref in 1x1 widget is never loaded
#330: an attempt to fix wakelock issue when su commands are blocked
1.12RC5
#326: fixed rate dialog showing at each start
Some profining
Less intrusive logging if dedug is disabled in prefs
1.12RC4
New readme and rate dialogs
#325: times in wakeup_sources are a factory 1000 to small
1.12RC3
#321: fixed spinner heights
#322: filter "0" cpu states
#324: add marker to dumfile if using wakeup_sources
1.12RC2
#320: added experimental support for wakeup_sources (newer kernels deprecate /proc/wakelocks)
1.12RC1
#318: automatically refresh current when entering the main screen (can be changed in adv. prefs)
#319: "to ref" is shown by default (can be changed in adv. prefs)
1.12B9
#316: FC when calling BBS from watchdog notification
#317: 2x2 widget showing 0 KWL/PWL
1.12B8
#312: Fixed negative CPU percentages
#313: refresh after events creating new references show inconsistent references (from/to)
#314: proper migration of default stat type prefs coming from 1.11
#315: fixed cause of "unknown error"
1.12B7
#310: fixed partial and kernel wakelocks always being the same and icons missing
#311: fixed kb reader thread not retriieving online content
1.12B6
Changed the way su operations are processed
Some fixes regarding the refresh of the spinners
Make sure all root operations are running in an own thread
1.12B5
#308: since boot can not be selected
Fixed callstack when updating a reference
Widget now have a lightweight method for obtaining the current data without causing the cache to be updated
Spinners show references sorted in ascending order
Fixed spinner not showing all existing references
1.12B4
#306: fixed broken dumpfile
Added pref to show/hide the "reference to" spinner
Added screen on reference (saved when watchdog is active)
References are now stored in a database
From/To references are chronogical
1.12B3
#303: invalidate "current" when other refs are saved
#305: dissapearing refs
1.12B2
Some tuning
#298: Fixed FC on raw alarms
#299: Watchdog does not report when awake > threshold
#300: fixed spinner height
1.12B1
#187: freeze current time
#193: add screen brightness states to "other" stats
#274: copy wakelock to clipboard
#279: add option to save dmesg
#286: add mV/h to dumpfile
#290, 292: typo, wording
#296: kbreader is now asynchronous and doesn't block UI thread when github is slow
1.11
no change from RC8
1.11RC8
#289: FC on package info screen for pre-ICS devices
1.11RC7
#288: usability issue in permission view fixed
1.11RC6
#276: another attempt at fixing scheduled dumpfile creation from tasker
#287: fixed ratio calculation for battery drain in %/h
1.11RC5
#280: added legend to permissions tab
#283: unticking watchdog option "Screen off" stops the EventHandler service
#284: added drain per hour to battery drain text on screen and dumpfile
1.11RC4
#281: Fixed bad reference on unplug when 100% charged
#276: fixed dumpfile creation from tasker
removed delimiter till a configurable version can be provided
1.11RC3
A better fix for widgets being updated
Nicer implementation of package info using a tabbed pager (using ActionBarSherlock)
Changed in-app help and messages to make the conect of references clearer
More speaking "missing ref" texts
1.11RC2
#277: more prominent delimiter in listview
fixed calculation of since value
1.11RC1
#229: show autorun and other package info like permissions and services, click on the icons
#279: reverted the time reference for since and calculations back to 1.9.x
#275: widgets do not always refresh: hack to make sure the widget always get the broadcasts from the launcher, even if the lancher is not complying with standards (see http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7390449/widget-notification-when-homescreen-app-is-restarted)
yet another attempt to fix since screen off dump incomplete when created at wakeup from taker plugin
big refactoring (only relevant for the ones reading the code)
1.10.5
No changes from RC1
1.10.5RC1
Make sure app is not installed to SD (watchdog, widgets, detecting boot and unplug won't work properly)
Writing references respect "root features" settings
Fixed error condition in widget (potentially not showing data)
Refactored broadcast handlers
Another attempt to fix dumpfile creation in tasker plugin
1.10.4
Fixed logcat permission
1.10.3
Some changes in widget code
#270: added option to save logcat from app
1.10.2
#263: adv prefs to turn on stats while plugged
#264: error happening when reading other stats should not skip the whole stats
#265: reference summary shows data instead of counts (in dumpfile and log)
#266: difference in "since" time between widget and screen
#268: error when checking charger status causes exception
1.10.1
#261: missing cpu states file causes references to stay empty
#262: battery level handling causes exception
1.10
A few changes in logging
New ?????
1.10RC3
#257: referencea are missing processes
#258: if debug pref is not checked since shows 0s
1.10RC2
#256: silent crash on progress dialog
#252: a better fix for the FC on enabling root features
Typo in prefs
Added drain to on screen battery info
1.10RC1
#251: added batter level from/to to screen (and a pref to enable/disable it)
#252: an attempt to fix the FC on enabling root features
#254: incomplete (ref missing) dump from tasker
#255: not systematic crash on creating custom ref
1.10b7
#248: added raw CPU states
#249: ratio of other stats is calculated against something that is smaller than "since"
#250: when a reference is null all stats should show that there is no reference availble
1.10b6
#247: fixed deep sleep sometimes being substracted twice, causing negative values
1.10b5
#245: source of "since" is now the reference
#246: added battery voltage/level from/to to dumpfile
Removed unneeded API calls (that were to cause to batteryinfo stopping)
New error handling exposes API errors to the user
1.10b4
#243: deep sleep not showing
#244: no stats when plugged (as some internal registers do not count when plugged, leading to inconsistencies)
Removed pre-1.9 migration code that may lead refs to be deleted at start
#235: grey background for bars
1.10b3
#234: show icon for stats providing package info
#8: call application settings when package info is available (click on icon)
Refactored error handling
Workaround to avoid SuperUser to obcess about asking for rights
1.10b2
#240: removed "test" menu
#241: fixed nested menu causing FC on SDK<14
#242: removed froyo specific references as BBS is not depending on Android's implementation of refs anymore
1.10b1
#209: added since boot ref
#227: fallback to since boot if default stat type is not available
#228: pref to control log level
#230: two step save of references to avoid empty references if su request times out
#231, #232: reorganized preferences
#233: reorganized menu
#238: process Siyah "deleted: " kernel wakelocks properly
#239: network stats / alarms are disabled by default, can be turned on in advanced prefs
1.9.2.1
#226: reference info to dumpfile
1.9.2 (|xda only)
Fixed error condition where "no ref since charged" appeared after a while when a reference was present
#224: screen on time is too high in "since screen off"
1.9.1 (@xda only)
Added more logging to references
#213: Tasker plugin does not create dumpfiles / custom refs
#216: more compact CPU state view
#218, 220, 221: various fixes from Google Play logs
I maintain A list of features to be implemented and bugs here.
Below you can find older releases.
If not required I do not recommend using these as they are not up-to-date with the most current development, features and fixes.
How-to and FAQ
How-to
I have created a GitHub project for the Knowledge Base where the online and in-app help will be maintained as well. You can find the information here:
The online help: https://better.asksven.io/betterbatterystats/help/
The how-to: https://better.asksven.io/betterbatterystats/how-to/
A good how-to by Chris Hoffman published by How-to geek
Online Hilfe auf Deutsch: http://asksven.github.com/BetterBatteryStats-Knowledge-Base/help_de.html
How-To auf Deutsch: http://asksven.github.com/BetterBatteryStats-Knowledge-Base/howto_de.html
The repo: https://github.com/asksven/BetterBatteryStats-Knowledge-Base
The Knowledge Base Project: http://asksven.github.com/BetterBatteryStats-Knowledge-Base/
FAQ
1. Q:Will BBS be fixed to support Kitkat (I get "Services could not be contacted" errors?
A: Kitkat is supported by BBS starting from version 1.15
2. Q:Why are partial statitics not available on Kikat?
A: If you have a rooted phone enable the advanced root features and all will be fine. If you have no root unfortunately you are stuck without Partial Wakelocks as Google has made changes to prevent apps to access that data (see also here)
3. Q:Why installing BBS as a system app as everything works with root?
Deprecated: BBS does not require the system app anymore
A: Starting with Kikat BBS has 3 modes: without root a limited mode provides a minimal set of stats. With root the set of stats is complete but some stats (other, partial wakelocks, processes) still use a workaround. Finally with the system app BBS is fully featured without any workaround.
4. Q:I have high wlan_rx kernel wakelock. What is it and how to proceed?
A: This kernel wakelock is caused by Wifi waking up your device. To avoid it you should turn your Wifi off if not using it, use a tool to control your Wifi state or try to find and remove the cause. More here
5. Q: Google Maps is causing a lot of overhead. Must I freeze it?
A: no, Karpfenhai wrote step-by-step instructions on how to configure autostarts and the location service to avoid that
6. Q: Are you aware of the bug in BBS causing SuperUser to ask for su-permissions over and over again
A: As you said, SuperUser is asking over and over again, it's no BBS bug as BBS only requests su rights. More here
7. Q: BBS shows "no ref since unplugged"
A: Starting from 1.9 is is mandatory to plug/unplug after boot to get a "since unplugged" reference to be created. Starting from 1.10 there is anew reference "since boot" and a preference to fall back to that reference if no other is available.
8. Q: Why can't you just skip deleting the references at boot?
A: If I could I would. In a nutshell: BBS is a passive monitoring tool; this means it does not cause any overhead collecting data but compares snapshots. Now the disadvantage of this is that it makes no sense to compare values of counters between two references (e.g. "since unplugged" and "current") if the counters were reset in between. In fact that would potentially cause negative values, in every case wrong values.
9. Q: But is used to work before. Why did you change it?
A: It didn't work, you just didn't notice. The kernel and Android reset their counters at boot. That means that there is no way to compare counters from before the boot with counters from after.
10. Q: What do the widget colors / graphics mean?
A (new round widgets): the legend is displayed if you resize the widget
A (legacy widgets): For the large widget it's pretty simple. The colors represent the values "Since" (blue), "Deep sleep" (green), "Awake" (yellow), "Screen on" (white), "Kernel wakelocks" (magenta), "Partial wakelocks" (cyan). The 100% is the max of those values.
For the small widget see here
11. Q: Where are the dumpfile and logcat saved / how are the files named?
A: Both files are saved to /sdcard, their names are BetterBatteryStats-.txt and logcat-.txt where timestamp is of the format "yyyy-MM-dd_HHmmssSSS" (starting from 1.12 there is an option in advanced prefs to save those files to the private directory /sdcard/Android/com.asksven.betterbatterystats/files).
12. Q: Are you aware of the fact that BBS does not work properly for secondary users (Android 4.2)?
A: BBS works fine for secondary users as long as you don't enable root features. The reason is not BBS but the lack of support of the multiuser feature in the superuser/supersu version you are using.
13. Q: What is *overflow*?
*overflow* is a sign that one stat counter was overrun. This may happen if you have not boote your phone since long or if some wakeup/wakelock is very frequent. The only way to see what is hidden behind *overflow* is to reboot and take a fresh reading.
14. Q: Why is 'screen off' reference not being created?
A: You have to enable the watchdog for that reference to be created
15. Q: Even after plugging/unplugging my phone no reference except 'boot' is shown
A: something is preventing the unplug event to be passed to BBS. You should check for tools like greenify or stamina mode that mask such events and make sure that BBS is whitelisted. On newer Android versions please also make sure that BBS is not "optimized" by Android, under "Settings - Battery Optimization"
16. Q: What is the watchdog and how does it work?
A: The wachdog is a feature to help you in analysing when happens when screen is off. When the watchdog is turned on a reference 'screen off' is created. You can also configure the watchdog to create a reference 'screen on'. Opionally the watchdog will notify you when screen is turned on and the awake ratio was bigger that the configured threshold. In order to avoid too much overhead in processing a threshold can be set to disable the computing for short screen off times.
17. Q: my logcat is empty and says "Unable to open log device '/dev/log/main': No such file or directory"
A: Check if you have a custom kernel that turns off logging. If not some file permissions may be broken: use the repair permissions function from your recovery
18. Q: How can I get rid of GSF wakelocks
A: GSF (google service framework) can not be avoided and in no case it should be frozen. Here are some settings that can help reducing the overhead.
19. Q: The other stat is wrong. It shows "No data connection" and "No or unknown signal" while was online with Wifi all the time
A: "No data connection" and "No or unknown signal" refer to your cell data (2G/3G) service. As you have had Wifi on for some time the cell data was turned off, consistent to what the stats say: work as designed
20. Q: I can not install BBS as a system app. What can I do.
A: BBS does not require the system app anymore
A: If you are on a version older than 4.4 you don't need to install BBS as a system app. If you are on 4.4+ you should first try the in app installer. If for some reason it fails you can use the CWM scripts attached to install / uninstall BBS as a system app
21. Q: I am suffering from a high NLPWakelock time. Is there something I can do about it?
A: Here's a good summary of what NLP is and how it can be positively impacted (thanks to @Perseus71)
22. Q: On CM12 based ROMs the launcher crashes when placing a widget. When will this be fixed?
A: I can not find anything wrong with BBS code and the crash occurs in the launcher, not in BBS. After spending quite some time trying to understand the problem I must conclude that the problem is with CM12 (other ROMs on Lollipop do not have this problem)
23. Q: I can not or do not want to root my devices but would like to use BBS to gain insight. Can this be done?
A: The answer used to be "no" but this has now changed. See post #4 for a detailed description on how to proceed.
24. Q: I can not get BBS to work. How should I proceed to find out the cause
BBS has no dependency to any root-tool and does not require root to work, it only requires specific permissions that can be granted by:
- using ADB as described in the FAQ
- letting the app grant itself the permission if root is available
25. Q: BBS Shows a permanent notification. Can I remove it?
The notification is due to the android app model having changed and now requiring apps that run in the background to show themselves. I have put the "background app" notification into a separate channel named "BBS Event Processing" so you can disable it if it bugs you: no other vital notification will be send to that channel
26. Q: What is this popup saying "Detected problems with API compatibility"?
For Android 9.0 Pie users getting the "Detected problems with API compatibility (visit g.co/dev/appcompat for more info)" popup error please see this post.
When diagnosing / analysing there are a few important things to know:
- the app (advanced settings) shows you whether the permissions were granted or not
- when checking if any acition had a positive result you should always use raw stats as the default view does a diff between two snapshots, i.e. if one snapshot is missing it may show no results
- logcat may give you some info about what is going wrong, e.g. the app not being able to contact the battery_info service
Running BBS on non-rooted devices
This is not an april's fool joke!
TLDR;
This knowledge article describes a method to enable BBS to run on unrooted devices on Android versions starting with Kitkat (on previous versions root is not a must). More about that here: http://better.asksven.org/bbs-systemapp/
As it requires a few tools to be installed on your pc it requires some basic knowledge, understanding, and the readiness to tinker and to learn.
What is describe here is a method to inject according permissions required to access the battery stats using the android debugging bridge to issue commands from the pc. This will allow to grant the needed permissions, that will survive reboots.
Credits
All credits for this brilliant approach go to @Looki75. My special thanks go to @Perseus as well as to the supportive bbs community in general for their tenacity, feedback and constant support and feedback.
Details
Congrats, you made it until here, let's get started.
We will go through all steps of the setup. If you are aware of the tools and techniques please feel free to jump to the appropriate section.
The initial post on this topic as well as the basic steps (for advanced users) can be found in this original post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=67441059&postcount=30632
1. Install necessary ADB drivers and exe on PC
This may be the tricky part but we can leverage some experience in that area. A good read:
The 15 second adb installer
2. Enable USB debugging on phone's developer options
This is pretty straight forward:
http://www.howtogeek.com/129728/how...menu-and-enable-usb-debugging-on-android-4.2/
Congratulations, your are now a developer!
3. Connect phone to PC
The easiest part: connect the usb cable on both ends. When you connect the phone to PC on ADB, some models will throw a authorization message on phone Screen asking if you authorize this pc to access the phone. Its a Android M Thing.
4. Run the commands:
This requires some explanations and some hints about how to check what may have gone wrong.
Once you have connected your phone via usb start by unlocking your phone and by issuing the command: adb devices
If it came back with a Device name instead of waiting for device or "no permissions" (on linux), then you know its safe to go ahead with the real command. Its this adb devices that also triggers the Authorize pc command.
If the "adb devices" command does not return a positive result you may want to look into:
a) on windows the proper installation of the special usb drivers
b) on linux you may need to add some udev rules. This may help: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/32151114/adb-is-not-detecting-my-android-device-on-ubuntu
If the "adb devices" returned a positive result is is safe to proceed:
adb -d shell pm grant com.asksven.betterbatterystats_xdaedition android.permission.BATTERY_STATS
Adapt the package name depending on which version - XDA or PlayStore (without "_xdaedition" extension) - you have installed
Update: starting with 2.3-150 two new permissions are required to support alarms fully on unrooted devices
adb -d shell pm grant com.asksven.betterbatterystats_xdaedition android.permission.BATTERY_STATS
adb -d shell pm grant com.asksven.betterbatterystats_xdaedition android.permission.DUMP
adb -d shell pm grant com.asksven.betterbatterystats_xdaedition android.permission.PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS (needed starting on Lolipop)
Update: starting with SDK28 (Android 11) google has restricted access to the private APIs that BBS uses. Google is fuzzy about the why and arguments in terms of privacy and security.
You will need to run the following (assuming your device is not rooted, otherwise BBS takes care of that for you) for BBS to get access to these APIs:
SDK28 (Android Pie / 9)
adb -d shell settings put global hidden_api_policy_pre_p_apps 1
adb -d shell settings put global hidden_api_policy_p_apps 1
SDK29 (Android 10 and following)
adb -d shell settings put global hidden_api_policy 1
Note: a restart may be required after applying the global settings...
See also here
Voila... congrats for your tenacity, you have earned it!
Ref, Hints and blacklist
Litterature
Article from the Android PDK about Power Management: http://www.netmite.com/android/mydr...s/power_management.html#androidPowerWakeLocks
Other useful tools
The default battery usage (Gingerbread): Settings -> About Phone -> Battery Usage
The most interesting data is shown when clicking on the graph (bars below the graph). Unjustified "awake" times when display is off is an indicator for rogue apps doing stuff in the background when you think your phone is asleep
Battery Monitor Widget
Has a great stat on battery drain over time. I use this tool regularly after leaving my phone alone for 1/2 hour to check how the battery drain looks like against my benchmark of 2-10 mAh average (optimal for my SGS2).
[android backup service]
(http://code.google.com/android/backup/index.html). It is a service that offers cloud backup/restore of your settings and offers an API for other apps to do the same (http://developer.android.com/guide/t...ta/backup.html).
You can turn it off (but will lose the automatic backup) under Setting -> Privacy ->Back up my data.
Backups are useful though but no need to do it in the cloud, I'd recommend scheduling a regular backup using titanium instead (that's my setting).
[DataTracker-FD] is fast dormancy. Find the 'secret' codes for your device to turn FD off. *#*#9900#*#* on an SGSII. (contrib. by nobnut)
[syncmanagerhandlesyncalarm] That service is documented here (http://www.kiwidoc.com/java/l/x/andr.../c/SyncManager) and is responsible for updating the accounts you have under Settings -> Accounts and Sync. High values may come from bad settings (sync too often, huge amounts of data) or poorly written providers.
[reserved for misbehaving apps]
Been looking for something like this since I installed a GB ROM!
So, basically I install this app, and then Spare Parts should work as it normally did? (or dial *#*#4636#*#*, or whatever that is)
thebeardedchild said:
Been looking for something like this since I installed a GB ROM!
So, basically I install this app, and then Spare Parts should work as it normally did? (or dial *#*#4636#*#*, or whatever that is)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No Spare Parts won't be of any help as BetterBatteryStats does not replace com.android.settings.battery_history.BatteryHistory (called by Spare Parts). Installing the app you will get a new icon and will get the stats when starting it
Excellent work! Just what Gingerbread needs. The very best of luck with the app!
Thank you.
Sent from my Motorola StarTac using Voodoo
chamonix said:
No Spare Parts won't be of any help as BetterBatteryStats does not replace com.android.settings.battery_history.BatteryHistory (called by Spare Parts). Installing the app you will get a new icon and will get the stats when starting it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I see, so I use this app instead of Spare Parts. Well awesome, thanks for the clarification, and the useful app!
This is great. What about mimicking the part in spare parts that showed percentage running time? That's valuable info too. I've seen many times where running time was pegged at 100 yet there wewettewere no partial wake locks.
lexluthor said:
This is great. What about mimicking the part in spare parts that showed percentage running time? That's valuable info too. I've seen many times where running time was pegged at 100 yet there wewettewere no partial wake locks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd be happy to look into that. Can you give me the exact name of the option/dialog you are missing to make sure we talk about the same thing?
nobnut said:
Excellent work! Just what Gingerbread needs. The very best of luck with the app!
Thank you.
Sent from my Motorola StarTac using Voodoo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the support and for the testing!
Bug in Network Usage stat
nobnut has reported incomplete stats for network usage (list does not show all apps that have generating network traffic). I reproduced this on Gingerbread where my phone only shows google maps traffic. I could reproduce this on HSDPA as well as on Wifi. The figures that are shown seem ok and increases when I use Maps.
Now interesting is that this problem can not be reproduced on Froyo where reported apps concur with the Network stats from Spare Parts.
As the stat is incomplete I'll remove it from the app till I can find a solution.
When I noticed this, it occurred to me that perhaps user apps were not reporting their data, whereas the system apps were. I can get readings for a number of apps, they are all system apps however.
This may just be concidence.
New version 0.4.0 is out. See second post for download link and changelog
Your blog link still reads 0.3.1
thebeardedchild said:
Ah, I see, so I use this app instead of Spare Parts. Well awesome, thanks for the clarification, and the useful app!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure since I can't get there on spare parts.
It was in battery history and I think it was the default that came up that said "running" and it gives a percent of the time the phone is running.
I've seen that pegged at 100% with no wake locks, so that still indicated a problem.
Very cool, thank you for your efforts. Downloaded and following on twitter/subscribed to the thread.
nobnut said:
Your blog link still reads 0.3.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oops, fixed, thank you
lexluthor said:
Not sure since I can't get there on spare parts.
It was in battery history and I think it was the default that came up that said "running" and it gives a percent of the time the phone is running.
I've seen that pegged at 100% with no wake locks, so that still indicated a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok here's what I have on Froyo going to Spare Parts:
. Battery Information: useless
- Usage stats: it's an poorly formated list of apps with the launch count and CPU time
- Battery History: a list of graphable buttons with following stats: Other usage, Partial Wake Usage, Sensor Usage, GPD Usage, Network Usage, CPU Usage. Each shows a list of apps/processes with blue/red bars.
Maybe you are talking about "Other usages". Here I see % running, %screen on, %wifi on
Hi,
I am trying to put a code together to control the refresh behavior of the e-ink screen. The final goal is to have a drop-in library for app developers to help making their app more e-ink friendly.
The code works already for the PRS-T1, but needs a different driver for the Nook Touch (N2EpdController included).
My one and only beta tester gets the famous "There is a problem parsing the package" error. Pls find enclosed the sources.
I would be grateful if someone could fix possible Eclipse setting or other errors.
Hi,
I have some interest in adapting apps to the eink screen, so I will try to help with this. Unfortunately, I cannot post in the dev forums yet.
When you get error installing apps via android UI, it is useful to do via "adb install" to be able to know the error cause. The message was "INSTALL_FAILED_OLDER_SDK", which I solved by lowering the android:minSdkVersion parameter in Manifest. Then, the app installed and ran fine, but didn't do the desired effect yet. I will check the code now...
---------- Post added at 02:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:53 AM ----------
I see that you're trying to use enterA2Mode() for the nook (btw, there is a typo at NoRefreshEnablerActivity.java:29, it should read EINK_NOOK). I've been playing around with this some time ago when I started developing a fast e-ink drawing app for the NST, you can see it here: https://github.com/marspeople/E-Paper (WIP).
With few testing I've done, I guess the 1-bit mode (A2) setting is not applied globally: it should take effect only in the View from which it is called. I haven't investigated further to try to use it globally.
Hi marspeople,
Thanks for pointing out the type, it should read
} else if (DeviceInfo.EINK_NOOK)
Regarding the global value of mode setting. From what I understand, A2 is a permanent mode, so whatever function or app is setting the updatemode, it is kept. With the PRS-T1, it is reset by calling any stock (Sony) app. For the Nook I don't know..
Good luck in compiling, hopefully we come to a version which works on both devices. Then I can proceed to dynamically change the updatemode within an app.
Yes, the A2 mode is kept until any process resets the EPD. Using logcat, I noticed several epd_reset_region messages appearing automatically when I close your app to go back to the launcher. It seems the system overrides the EPD setting, making impossible to use A2 system-wide (at least by this method).
However, if you want A2 just for an app, calling enterA2mode() will probably work, as I used in my own app above.
Can you send me your apk?
salsichad2 said:
Can you send me your apk?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean the apk for "NoRefresh" or my drawing app?
Hi marspeople,
I would be most interested to know why the initial source code does compile ok, works on the PRS-T1 and does not install on the Nook Touch + the fixes.
With this knowledge I can write either an app to set refresh modes or within apps.
Did you succeed to compile and install on Nook?
Hi again,
in your N2EpdController.java
Code:
83: mtSetRegion.invoke(null, "aarddict", enumsRegion[region], regionParams, enumsMode[mode]);
I would like to replace the hardcoded "aarddict" by something dynamic.
What would be the correct function to infer the wanted name?
Code:
activity.class.getName()
this.getClass().toString()
.. ?
bardo8430 said:
Hi marspeople,
I would be most interested to know why the initial source code does compile ok, works on the PRS-T1 and does not install on the Nook Touch + the fixes.
With this knowledge I can write either an app to set refresh modes or within apps.
Did you succeed to compile and install on Nook?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, sorry about the confusion, but I managed to do it, despite the A2 mode didn't work. What I did was just edit the AndroidManifest.xml, changing the android:minSdkVersion parameter to 7 (since the NST runs Android 2.1).
Good luck finding out how to set A2 mode permanently. I guess you don't have a Nook, so feel free to ask me for testing purposes.
Since the Nook A2 mode seems to be overridden when switching foreground activity, I've tried another approach with a background service which toggles A2 mode when requested by user. This way, the foreground activity isn't switched and "fast refreshing" mode works (until you change activity).
This fast refresh mode (called A2) is only possible because it uses only 1-bit depth, i.e, just black on white, meaning you can't see grayscale pictures but it's good enough for black text on white background and scrolling. I have not "created it", it is built-in from the device (you can test using the stock reader, it is activated when holding a page button). What I implemented is a way to activate and deactivate it at user will from inside any app.
Thanks to dairyknight for his N2EpdController class, which made this possible.
Thanks to bardo8430 for bringing the idea.
Thanks to AndroSS source code for screenshots used in automatic contrast.
Changelog:
01/Mar: Now when you launch the app and it is already running, it will activate NoRefresh mode. So you can also use an activation shortcut to the app using NookTouchTools (i.e. B&N's book icon at top left corner).
02/Mar: Improve activation shortcut to perform toggle between modes. Tap gestures aren't needed anymore (use "-noGestures" apk version if you don't want them).
04/Mar: Got rid of initial ghosting by redrawing the screen after activating A2.
04/Mar (2): Minor improvement of removing ghosting at screen edges.
12/Mar (Beta): Now you can adjust contrast in A2 mode. Images shouldn't be dark or black anymore if you raise the contrast a bit.
22/May: Completely redesigned version 2.0:
- Several options can be customized via settings screen.
- NoRefresh can be toggled by manual app shortcut, tap gestures or automatically according to screen animation (new).
- New App Whitelist to avoid unwanted activation in specific apps (except for manual mode).
- Background service can be launched at boot.
- Small improvements and tweaks.
- Custom app icon (finally )
06/Jun: Fix crash on empty whitelist
08/Jul: (Version 2.1)
- Automatic contrast when activating NoRefresh, according to total "brightness" of the screen (simple algorithm). This should ask you for root permission.
- Also supports manual setting in specific situations (customizable).
- Fix possible crash at startup.
26/Jul: (Version 2.2)
- Fix contrast setting behaviour
06/Dec:
- Alternative version with fixed compatibility for FW 1.2.0 available at https://github.com/marspeople/NoRefreshToggle/downloads
First Video: http://youtu.be/6pBPsyno5PY
Other Video: http://youtu.be/kBbl6egyPsQ
Another demo: http://youtu.be/5b7JjllImjM
Repository: https://github.com/marspeople/NoRefreshToggle
Great to see that it works on the Nook! Good job.
When I try to compile on Eclipse, I have to remove the below Override:
//@Override
public boolean onTouch(View v, MotionEvent event) {
otherwise I get an error: The method onTouch(View, MotionEvent) of type A2Service must override a superclass method
When I compile with this mod and run the app, nothing happens after using your gestures. Except that I tap on other icons which then try to launch other apps.
Should NoRefreshToggle keep the focus?
I have a suspicion: The PRS-T1 needs to call a function of the Sony library with extended parameters to pass the updatemode. ANY function carrying the mUpdateMode parameter would do - but it must be called. Which might be the problem here. In the used EinkListView.java, a lot of "injection" functions like below are defined.
Code:
@Override
public void scrollTo(int x, int y) {
try {
Method invalidateMethod = super.getClass().getMethod("scrollTo",
int.class, int.class, int.class);
invalidateMethod.invoke(this, x, y , mUpdateMode);
} catch(Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
But your code has neither a Listview, nor would any injection function trigger. I am afraid you would have to make the app use a ListView (or WebView).
Can you?
bardo8430 said:
Great to see that it works on the Nook! Good job.
When I try to compile on Eclipse, I have to remove the below Override:
//@Override
public boolean onTouch(View v, MotionEvent event) {
otherwise I get an error: The method onTouch(View, MotionEvent) of type A2Service must override a superclass method
When I compile with this mod and run the app, nothing happens after using your gestures. Except that I tap on other icons which then try to launch other apps.
Should NoRefreshToggle keep the focus?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I noticed that problem of accidentally tapping unwanted widgets, I would recommend tapping on a free area of the screen. I could use an overlay button, but it would occasionally get in the way too. What do you mean by "keep the focus"?
---------- Post added at 09:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:05 PM ----------
bardo8430 said:
I have a suspicion: The PRS-T1 needs to call a function of the Sony library with extended parameters to pass the updatemode. ANY function carrying the mUpdateMode parameter would do - but it must be called. Which might be the problem here. In the used EinkListView.java, a lot of "injection" functions like below are defined.
Code:
@Override
public void scrollTo(int x, int y) {
try {
Method invalidateMethod = super.getClass().getMethod("scrollTo",
int.class, int.class, int.class);
invalidateMethod.invoke(this, x, y , mUpdateMode);
} catch(Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
But your code has neither a Listview, nor would any injection function trigger. I am afraid you would have to make the app use a ListView (or WebView).
Can you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, to capture touch events I've used a dummy View which is added to an overlay (see A2Service.java:43). Despite being an android Service instead of Activity, maybe you can instantiate your ListView there and hopefully it will work.
Thanks for the hint on the dummy view, will try.
"keep the focus"?: window manager speak, I mean that a tap stays within your app and does not act on the icons below.
bardo8430 said:
Thanks for the hint on the dummy view, will try.
"keep the focus"?: window manager speak, I mean that a tap stays within your app and does not act on the icons below.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since I'm using a transparent overlay, I have to let touch events pass through, otherwise only my app would see them.
PS: I've added a demo video at a previous post.
I've been trying to improve the functionality of the app by changing from this manual toggle approach to something like: fast mode is triggered (a bit after) when user starts dragging his finger on the screen and restored when released.
However, I've been searching how to do this with no success so far. The invisible overlay that detects touch events currently is only able to capture MotionEvent.ACTION_OUTSIDE event type, which is useful to detect a tap, but can't deal with a drag. I also need that the drag is passed normally to the app below (to perform scrolling or whatever).
I've found this page (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8073803/android-multi-touch-and-type-system-overlay) in which is proposed a solution that can detect a drag but can't pass it to the app below.
The code is now here: https://github.com/marspeople/NoRefreshToggle . I would appreciate any help from developers.
Maybe it can be run every 1 second when screen is on. I mean nook is not locked. I don't think that changing one parameter would eat battery. Is it worth a try?
Hi marspeople,
thanks again for taking this. My initial intention was to help app developers with no e-ink experience to easily adapt their code. Doing these things inside an app is much easier but needs access to the source.
See the related question on stackoverflow:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9391710/adapt-scrolling-swiping-to-e-ink-screens
The external app was used as a mere demonstrator to have it work on the NST and PRS-T1. Good to have a repository for it now.
marspeople said:
Ok, I think I've got it.
Since the Nook A2 mode seems to be overridden when switching foreground activity, I've tried another approach with a background service which toggles A2 mode when requested by user via a touch gesture. This way, the foreground activity isn't switched and "fast refreshing" mode works (until you change activity).
The activation gestures I'm currently using (unfortunately, it seems you can't use hardware keys using this approach) are:
- 4 "downward-right" taps (each tap must be done to the right and below the previous one) to activate (A2 mode)
- 4 "upward-left" taps to deactivate (Normal mode)
Video: http://youtu.be/6pBPsyno5PY
Here is the source code and a apk. bardo8430, I believe it would be easy to port this to the PRS-T1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Noob question.
So I just install the apk and run it and I have Norefresh.
dark_hawk said:
Noob question.
So I just install the apk and run it and I have Norefresh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, just open the norefresh app, and like the youtube video tap the screen from top left to bottom right 4 point
but i think the trade off is the screen go black&white with no grayscale (at lease for me)
Now I haven't seen this anywhere while trying to find a fix so I may possibly be sharing a new idea.
I know that we already have Greenify and such apps to extend our phones battery life, but what I find is that in some way or another they reduce the overall performance of it.
My idea is to create a Tasker profile where the phone runs at normal performance during screen on but recognises when the display is locked and reduces the CPU speed to its minimum, because surely being at anything more is a waste of CPU energy?
I have created a profile that's activated by a display off event, followed by a System >> CPU task called "Lower CPU" that reduces the max frequency to the value of min frequency.
When activated it does lower the speed while the screen is off, but once I turn the screen back on it takes a reboot to get the cores speed to increase again even if I turn off the Tasker profile.
It won't allow me to create an exit task for an event context so do I need to create a new profile to raise the CPU speed in an event of a screen on? Or is there a way to use a plugin like Trickster Mod to lower and raise it instead?
Apologies for it being so long, I'm not sure if I'm making it more complicated? But help please!
Thank you!
P.s - the images are screenshots of CPU-Z 1. Before locking the screen. 2. Immediately after unlocking the phone 3. About 2 minutes after unlocking the phone and it just doesn't return to normal
AJHylton said:
Now I haven't seen this anywhere while trying to find a fix so I may possibly be sharing a new idea.
I know that we already have Greenify and such apps to extend our phones battery life, but what I find is that in some way or another they reduce the overall performance of it.
My idea is to create a Tasker profile where the phone runs at normal performance during screen on but recognises when the display is locked and reduces the CPU speed to its minimum, because surely being at anything more is a waste of CPU energy?
I have created a profile that's activated by a display off event, followed by a System >> CPU task called "Lower CPU" that reduces the max frequency to the value of min frequency.
When activated it does lower the speed while the screen is off, but once I turn the screen back on it takes a reboot to get the cores speed to increase again even if I turn off the Tasker profile.
It won't allow me to create an exit task for an event context so do I need to create a new profile to raise the CPU speed in an event of a screen on? Or is there a way to use a plugin like Trickster Mod to lower and raise it instead?
Apologies for it being so long, I'm not sure if I'm making it more complicated? But help please!
Thank you!
P.s - the images are screenshots of CPU-Z 1. Before locking the screen. 2. Immediately after unlocking the phone 3. About 2 minutes after unlocking the phone and it just doesn't return to normal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand what you're getting at, but it's really not necessary to do such a thing. CPU cores clock down and all cores except for core0 usually shut down when the phone goes into sleep mode, so the amount of battery you're saving is negligible doing this. If your phone is running hot while the screen is off, then you likely have wakelock issues and that's something separate you need to tackle.
MishaalRahman said:
I understand what you're getting at, but it's really not necessary to do such a thing. CPU cores clock down and all cores except for core0 usually shut down when the phone goes into sleep mode, so the amount of battery you're saving is negligible doing this. If your phone is running hot while the screen is off, then you likely have wakelock issues and that's something separate you need to tackle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohh I see, thank you for explaining. I would have thought that this would be implemented somewhere as otherwise it would have been a clear battery drain but I thought I'd double check lol
Doze Mode
What version of Android are you running? If you're on Marshmallow, adjusting the CPU may not be necessary as it has Doze mode and using either Naptime or Doze Settings Editor and adjusting the settings can defintely increase battery life when the device is sleeping.
If not, I suggest using PowerNap with Xposed and Greenify.
In fact, Greenify has Tasker integration so you can set it to hibernate apps upon screen off situations.
Of course, all the apps I listed need root access...
Another helpful resource to help with power saving can be found at http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x/general/guide-advanced-interactive-governor-t3269557
You will have to adjust it based on your device and kernel of course, but I've experinced great power savings using a combination all I've mentioned
Ozonethegreat said:
What version of Android are you running? If you're on Marshmallow, adjusting the CPU may not be necessary as it has Doze mode and using either Naptime or Doze Settings Editor and adjusting the settings can defintely increase battery life when the device is sleeping.
If not, I suggest using PowerNap with Xposed and Greenify.
In fact, Greenify has Tasker integration so you can set it to hibernate apps upon screen off situations.
Of course, all the apps I listed need root access...
Another helpful resource to help with power saving can be found at http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x/general/guide-advanced-interactive-governor-t3269557
You will have to adjust it based on your device and kernel of course, but I've experinced great power savings using a combination all I've mentioned
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright thank you for that, I'll take a look at those. I'm currently using a Oneplus Two on OxygenOS 2.2 which is based on KitKat. I have been looking at Xposed modules as that's what really made me root this phone but apparently I need to go through steps to make SeLinux permissive because at the moment nothing from Xposed works. And considering yesterday I spent hours unbricking this phone, I'm going to stop fiddling with it for a little while :laugh:
AJHylton said:
Alright thank you for that, I'll take a look at those. I'm currently using a Oneplus Two on OxygenOS 2.2 which is based on KitKat. I have been looking at Xposed modules as that's what really made me root this phone but apparently I need to go through steps to make SeLinux permissive because at the moment nothing from Xposed works. And considering yesterday I spent hours unbricking this phone, I'm going to stop fiddling with it for a little while :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can set SeLinux to permissive using the code below in your terminal app or adb shell (found here):
Code:
su
mount -o remount,rw /system
mkdir /system/su.d
echo "#!/system/bin/sh" > /system/su.d/permissive.sh
echo "setenforce 0" > /system/su.d/permissive.sh
echo "0" > /sys/fs/selinux/enforce
chmod 755 /system/su.d/permissive.sh
Or if that's too much for ya, SeLinuxModeChanger works as well. Keep in mind that Google marks this as harmful but that's only because they don't want to changing SeLinux.
Ozonethegreat said:
You can set SeLinux to permissive using the code below in your terminal app or adb shell (found here):
Code:
su
mount -o remount,rw /system
mkdir /system/su.d
echo "#!/system/bin/sh" > /system/su.d/permissive.sh
echo "setenforce 0" > /system/su.d/permissive.sh
echo "0" > /sys/fs/selinux/enforce
chmod 755 /system/su.d/permissive.sh
Or if that's too much for ya, SeLinuxModeChanger works as well. Keep in mind that Google marks this as harmful but that's only because they don't want to changing SeLinux.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have actually tried the SELinuxModeChanger to change it and when I run 'getenforce' in Terminal it says permissive but Xposed still doesn't work even then. The steps I was told to try are http://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-2/general/guide-disable-selinux-to-allow-xposed-t3331105 which seems a little more intense lol.
I'm going to try the code now and see if that works, if it doesn't is it likely that that's not what's stopping Xposed from working?
Update: I tried the code and running getenforce on the terminal says permissive but the Xposed modules still dont have any effect when activated
AJHylton said:
I have actually tried the SELinuxModeChanger to change it and when I run 'getenforce' in Terminal it says permissive but Xposed still doesn't work even then. The steps I was told to try are http://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-2/general/guide-disable-selinux-to-allow-xposed-t3331105 which seems a little more intense lol.
I'm going to try the code now and see if that works, if it doesn't is it likely that that's not what's stopping Xposed from working?
Update: I tried the code and running getenforce on the terminal says permissive but the Xposed modules still dont have any effect when activated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange. Both worked for me and I've had no problems. Might be the rom you're running. I'm not sure.
this entire thing could be achieved with a init.d script which I used to use back in 2012.
Screen off- powersave governor...
screenon- normal governor
I have set logger.ko module (Logcat) to run automatically on boot. Does keeping Logcat running in the background affect android's performance and battery life?
Logger module use 3 MB of RAM.
I think nobody have tested perfomance and battery life with logger module enabled all the time... because once you get a logcat you can simply deactivate the logger module.
I recently received updated to Android Nougat via OTA update. I am really impressed with Nougat's Multi-Window app support as it is responsive and handy.
The difficulty arises when Multi-Window is functioning some of my previous Tasker Profiles and Tasks do not operate as intended due to the differences in inputs for multi-window.
Is there a method or variable I could create to check if Multi-Window mode is active? I noticed Tasker now has the Toggle Split Screen Action under Apps, which I could use as a fix when error handling to bring the app back to full screen before running the remainder of my scripts.
I am fairly new to Tasker scripting and appreciate all advice and suggestions.