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iPod touch My iPod Touch always runs out of ram / memory

M

marker227

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 29, 2004
349
5
I use a program called Battery. It tells a user if their IOS device needs to perform a memory clear, battery usage, etc. I've noticed that with my (1 gen old) iPod Touch 64gb my ram is always running out. I don't know why, but it's really frustrating me.

I've done 3 restores on my iPod and have set it up as a "New iPod". I've carefully put back the absolute necessary apps on it. I have no music, photos, etc. I only have 36 apps total. I've set every app's location request to "Disallow" and have turned off most "Background Refresh" on each app.

I know the battery app is telling the truth when it comes to having my memory hogged. I've even have had Apple take a look at it. My iPod gets very responsive after the refresh is performed.

I'm completely out of ideas on how to fix my iPod. Do I need to have less apps on it? Are there certain apps that are known for taking up a large amount of ram? I can list the apps I have if that helps.

Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
 
Is this an iPod touch 5th generation running iOS 8.4? I know it's not what you want to hear, but this iPod touch only has 512MB of RAM in a year where many apps are optimized for devices with double that RAM. Do you leave apps running in the background?
 
Yes, it's 5th gen with IOS 8 or whatever is the latest. No I don't run apps in the background. I'm very good with closing them out.
 
Yeah, 512mb really is too low these days. I was hoping that ios 9 might use less system ram, but that doesn't seem to be the case so far.
 
I'm wondering what is eating up the ram? I only open like 1 or 2 apps at a time and then close it immediately.

I may just switch to an iPhone 5S which has more ram and a faster processor. I'm very disappointed about the performance of the iPod Touch now.
 
Ios uses a lot more ram itself than in earlier versions. It leaves less free ram for applications.
 
marker227 said:
I'm wondering what is eating up the ram? I only open like 1 or 2 apps at a time and then close it immediately.

I may just switch to an iPhone 5S which has more ram and a faster processor. I'm very disappointed about the performance of the iPod Touch now.
Click to expand...
Might be worth considering the 6th generation iPod touch that is rumored to be released on Tuesday. If it's released, it should be significantly less expensive than an iPhone 5s.
 
You can reduce ram usage by turning off background refresh, automatic updates, transparency etc as they all contribute to ram usage. I'd also suggest notifications widgets also use ram...
 
I've turned off 99% of that... I seriously have already streamlined my iPod.

I'm going to wait till Tuesday comes around.
 
marker227 said:
I've turned off 99% of that... I seriously have already streamlined my iPod.

I'm going to wait till Tuesday comes around.
Click to expand...
That's a wise decision. I used to have an iPod touch 5th generation running iOS 7 and I never experienced any memory issue, so my best guess would be that iOS 8.x is not very well optimized for 512MB devices. The final release of iOS 9 could change that.
 
marker227 said:
I use a program called Battery. It tells a user if their IOS device needs to perform a memory clear, battery usage, etc. I've noticed that with my (1 gen old) iPod Touch 64gb my ram is always running out. I don't know why, but it's really frustrating me.
Click to expand...

Why are you frustrated? What kinds of problem symptoms are you having? You didn't mention any problems.
 
I can't speak for the original poster but, for me, I'm annoyed that multi tasking doesn't really exist on the ipod touch any longer. With some apps, even going back to the home screen and then back into the app causes it to reload.
 
chabig said:
Why are you frustrated? What kinds of problem symptoms are you having? You didn't mention any problems.
Click to expand...

The ram is running out. That is the problem. I stated that in the title. The iPod is also slowing down and not being as responsive.
 
Last edited:
This is a 4th generation iPod touch then (one gen old)?

That model only had 256 MB of RAM, latest OS is iOS 6.1 something.
 
No, I have 512mb and I am running IOS 8.1. I said I was running IOS 8 in my earlier posts.
 
Is it causing problems for you though (other than multi tasking)? When ipods run out of memory they just dump other applications out of memory.
 
nifta said:
Is it causing problems for you though (other than multi tasking)? When ipods run out of memory they just dump other applications out of memory.
Click to expand...

I am not multi-tasking when the issues are occurring. The iPod is just slow and sluggish.

I usually only ever have 1 app open. When I am done with an app, I close it and then either lock the iPod or I open something else I want to use.
 
kfury77 said:
The iOS multitasking bar does not contain "a list of all running apps". It contains "a list of recently used apps". The user never has to manage background tasks on iOS. You do not need to force close apps there unless they have become unresponsive.
http://www.speirs.org/blog/2012/1/2/misconceptions-about-ios-multitasking.html
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201330
Click to expand...


That's good to know.

This still doesn't really help the large amounts of ram usage I am experiencing.
 
marker227 said:
This still doesn't really help the large amounts of ram usage I am experiencing.
Click to expand...
The iPod Touch is really a computer in disguise. It's always going to use RAM. That's how it works. I'm sure it's working as it should. The operating system is engineered a certain way, and there is no reason to think your particular iPod Touch is acting differently that every other iPod Touch.
 
I don't think you're understanding my point. The problem is the iPod becomes SLOW and unresponsive when the ram is used up. After I clear the ram, it runs very smoothly. I'm saying, this is an obvious problem.
 
I understand that it's a three year old machine that's feeling dated with the latest OS. I am sorry it feels slow and unresponsive to you but the RAM cannot be expanded so there is nothing you can do to change that. The OS has just become more demanding over the years and your hardware is falling behind the times. You assume it's a RAM issue, but correlation does not mean causation. Perhaps you will see improvement with iOS 9 this fall.
 
chabig said:
I understand that it's a three year old machine that's feeling dated with the latest OS. I am sorry it feels slow and unresponsive to you but the RAM cannot be expanded so there is nothing you can do to change that. The OS has just become more demanding over the years and your hardware is falling behind the times. You assume it's a RAM issue, but correlation does not mean causation. Perhaps you will see improvement with iOS 9 this fall.
Click to expand...


My iPod isn't even 2 years old. That's besides the point. I was seeing if anyone else here was experiencing similar issues. I do hope the next gen comes out soon!

I know it's ram. I had the iPod tested at the Apple store. They confirmed it. I'm very familiar with Apple products, and I know this isn't normal. I understand the hardware limitations, etc.
 
All iPod 5s running recent versions of iOS have this. They don't have enough ram. Also, the cpu is too slow for these versions of iOS. If I could roll back to an earlier version I would.
 
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