To those dissapointed with iOS4 Multitasking

[sOwL]

Yeh, i am one of those. The thing that apps ran on background even if i didn't want them to, and then having to quit them via the app switcher (which contained much more clutter than the actual backgrounded apps) was so frustrating. Having an older device that originally shouldn't be able to have multitasking, things were kinda slow. So, I thought i'd share with you my current setup which makes my iPod work just like prior to iOS4, with the official app switcher instead of utilities like proswitcher (which i really loved ).

So, let's begin. Ofc you need to be jailbroken. You will need 2 cydia apps: Backgrounder (obviously) and Remove Recents.

Remove Recents:
Saves you from the trouble of identifying which apps actually run in the background and which not. After installing it, the apps that appear in the app switcher are only the ones that are backgrounded (native or via backgrounder)

Backgrounder:
I won't be talking about what it does or how does it work, you should be all knowing it if you're here. I will talk about how to set the settings to make it behave like prior iOS4. So here we go:

On global settings, have all apps to use Backgrounder method. Also have 'Enable at Launch' turned off. So whichever app you use will quit when u hit the home button and will only be backgrounded when you hold it.

So what about apps that support native backgrounding like Apple's apps? We can manually add an Override for each of these apps and set it to use the native backgrounding. Also, turn 'Enable at Launch' off on these too.

So now here's how this will result: Any app won't be automatically backgrounded, even those with native backgrounding. They all need you to hold the home button and manually background them. Depending on the application (and your override settings), it will either use the native backgrounding method or Backgrounder's. Ofc if there are few apps that you always background, you can turn 'Enable at launch' on for these (and add an override for those that weren't added for their native support). No need to have it pre-enabled for everything and then manually quitting them. This wastes tons of memory.. Many applications that are natively backgrounded by default don't even need to be backgrounded on first place (calculator for instance, will still keep the information of your last input even if its not backgrounded, it will just take a couple of seconds to show it). And whenever you double-press your home button you will only see the backgrounded apps, both native and backgrounder.

I hope this helped confused people out there

 

[Shoesy]

Was performance really so bad that you needed to do all that?

 

[sOwL]

Was performance really so bad that you needed to do all that?

I'd say its more of a combination of low performance and annoyance. No, the performance wasn't that bad, but why waste it for no reason? Also i really really hate not having control over what runs and what not.. Apple blew it on this one if you ask me, because someone not having a jailbroken device is in the dark; in the switcher he/she gets a list of crapload with any app opened recently. He/she can't tell which app is actually running, or if it is 'safe' to switch onto another app while he/she isn't sure the current running app supports multitasking. After opening few apps like calendar, calc, notes, safari, mail etc, he/she realizes that the phone is running slow, so starts manually deleting one by one all the crapload in the app switcher trying to free up some memory. And what about the one thing most people complain about? The fact that you might actually like the application to quit when you hit the home button? I was fed up by having to double-press the home button, tap-hold in the switcher and then tapping again to quit the app i just stopped using. It makes more sense to do an extra step (like holding the home button longer to activate backgrounder) to have an app run int he background if you want it to, than doing 3 extra steps to quit it. I just don't need every single app i used to continue running, i want to choose which and when, i think it makes sense

lol long answer, i might have had too much coffee

ps: imagine the day when most of the apps support iOS4 multitasking... any app you open stays on, so every X apps opened one will have to start deleting stuff from the switcher. And theres no choice of disabling backgrounding for any app.... this would be a nightmare and so unconvinient

 

[Dale Sorel]

So how does your setup improve on what you get with redsn0w? I currently have my iPod running the standard redsn0w setup i.e. multitasking, homescreen wallpaper and battery percentage. With that setup I am seeing a hit in performance, as well as Pandora randomly quitting.

And yes, I've already tried Remove Recents and felt it was too aggressive about removing apps from the switcher.

 

[sOwL]

First, I'm just proposing a setup that works for me and provides similar functionality with the past. I'm not saying that anyone MUST have it.. it's mostly about personal taste isn't it? My device is jailbroken with redsn0w too. The thing is, if you leave everything with the default settings you get this:

Any app that supports native backgrounding is automatically backgrounded so when you quit it it still runs. Even if you hold the home button when trying to quit it, you get 'Backgrounding Enabled' instead of disabled. WIth the setup I'm proposing all apps quit when you hit the home button except if you don't want them too. If Pandora randomly quits, it's possibly because at some point there's no memory left so the iPod kills it. Also, i don't understand what you mean about Remove recents, it will show you any running app and nothing more, how is that aggressive? Proswitcher, kirikae, circuitous, multifl0w and even sbsettings proccesses menu worked that way all that time until now. I find it aggressive to actually have everything there, if i wanted a 'recents' list, i would get a recents list. The app switcher is meant for switching between open apps, if i want anything else then thats what the springboard exists for, right?

Anyway, as i said, im just sharing this in case other people feel like me - and I'm sure there are many out there.

 

[Dale Sorel]

Also, i don't understand what you mean about Remove recents, it will show you any running app and nothing more, how is that aggressive?

What I meant by that is sometimes I have an app open that doesn't restart everytime I access it and I would rather keep it in the app switcher than not. If an app remembers exactly where you left it how is that considered to be not running?

 

[sOwL]

What I meant by that is sometimes I have an app open that doesn't restart everytime I access it and I would rather keep it in the app switcher than not. If an app remembers exactly where you left it how is that considered to be not running?

yeh thats like my calendar example.. Im not sure how iOS does this but there are few apps that preserve information without running on the background. I consider that as a plus, but still dont want those there if theyre not currently running

edit: well its all about personal preference isnt it?

 

[Dale Sorel]

yeh thats like my calendar example.. Im not sure how iOS does this but there are few apps that preserve information without running on the background. I consider that as a plus, but still dont want those there if theyre not currently running

edit: well its all about personal preference isnt it?

I guess it is all about personal preference, as if an app preserves information then I consider it to be running, which is why I ditched Remove Recents. By the way, Remove Recents took Safari out of my task bar, and I'm pretty sure it multitasks.

By the way, I'm gonna try emptying out my task bar and see if that helps keep Pandora from crashing. Thanks for your suggestion

 

[goodscoolwf]

good

Indeed, we often encounter these questions. what you writing above is really useful.

 

[Dale Sorel]

Indeed, we often encounter these questions. what you writing above is really useful.

Cool... anything I can do to help the jailbreaking community

 

[Dale Sorel]

By the way, I'm gonna try emptying out my task bar and see if that helps keep Pandora from crashing.

Darn...I just did exactly that and Pandora still acted up. First it skips, then it eventually just quits. All I know is my iPod never did this prior to my running redsn0w on it.

 

[Meconio]

So if I want to uncheck multitasking cause I really never like it and I think it's the reason why my iPod feels soooo slow, and just leave the wallpaper I have to do a restore to ios 4 unhacked and then jailbreak it again? Or I can just run again redsnow and turn it off?

 

[sOwL]

Indeed, we often encounter these questions. what you writing above is really useful.

Thnx. I was sure I wasn't alone @Meconio: I'm not sure dude.. You might need to re-install iOS4 and then re-apply the Jailbreak

 

[Meconio]

Thnx. I was sure I wasn't alone @Meconio: I'm not sure dude.. You might need to re-install iOS4 and then re-apply the Jailbreak

Well I did it, I used the new version of redsn0w_win_0.9.5b5-5, I just left unchecked the install Cydia and the Multitasking, I didn't have to restore it to the original OS4 firmware, and everything its working quite fine and without the Multitasking.

I got wallpaper, It didn't uninstall my previous version of Cydia, so all the themes and SBsetting config I had is still there, I still got my music and stanza books, but I lost the blocking rotation option.

I just need to test it a little further to see if the multitasking was making it run slow and the battery draining problem. At first the redsnow got stuck but i just unplugged the iPod and run it again with the same options unchecked and it worked.
I'll post if something new happens.

 

[Dale Sorel]

Darn...I just did exactly that and Pandora still acted up. First it skips, then it eventually just quits. All I know is my iPod never did this prior to my running redsn0w on it.

Nevermind... I just restored my iPod and ran Pandora with no jailbreak and it still skips and quits. So it's nothing to do with the redsn0w jailbreak, rather it's something they need to fix within Pandora.

 

[tdream]

Was performance really so bad that you needed to do all that?

Yes, it turns the 3g from a unuseable phone to maybe I'll wait for the iphone 5.

 

[visible horizon]

Thank you

This was very helpful. Although I wish I could just have my multifl0w on os4!!!

 

[csglinux]

Possible slight problem with "Remove Recents"...

I read this thread with great interest... I'd independently found the exact same setup sOwL suggests. I like the choice this gives me - sometimes I want to background an app (e.g., listening to Pandora while doing something else) and sometimes I don't (e.g., I've found my way back to the 101 freeway and know the way home from here, so I don't need Navigon to keep wasting battery & CPU by telling me where to go, even after I've pressed the button that used to mean "quit", but now thanks to Apple's flavor of multi-tasking, means something else).

I don't know whether there's a fault with Navigon or "Remove Recents", but as another poster hints, there's a possibility "Remove Recents" might be a bit too aggressive in removing apps that haven't done anything for a minute or two. E.g., if I leave Navigon backgrounded (using its native iOS implementation, of course) for too long, it gets killed, which isn't what I want :-(

 

[cyrax83]

great post. I agree on all points that apple's multitasking sucks.

 

[Night Spring]

I don't know whether there's a fault with Navigon or "Remove Recents", but as another poster hints, there's a possibility "Remove Recents" might be a bit too aggressive in removing apps that haven't done anything for a minute or two. E.g., if I leave Navigon backgrounded (using its native iOS implementation, of course) for too long, it gets killed, which isn't what I want :-(

Did you try using the "regular" backgrounder backgrounding method -- the "non-native" one?

 

[csglinux]

Yes, regular Backgrounding works, but there's a problem with selectively using the native method. If we're forced to use pre-iOS4 Backgrounder, then we might as well disable Apple's multitasking altogether.