Tips

[DIY] Galaxy Note 5 RAM mod fixes memory leak and helps prevent redraw of apps recently opened

If you are a user of shiny new Galaxy Note 5, then chances are that you are quite perplexed by its management of apps. The Note 5 would…

If you are a user of shiny new Galaxy Note 5, then chances are that you are quite perplexed by its management of apps. The Note 5 would…

by Kapill M MalaniKapill M Malani
Kapill M Malani

Kapill M Malani A die-hard Liverpool FC fan, Kapill is a big fan of Batman, Android and street Cricket. In that order, probably. Email: [email protected]

If you are a user of shiny new Galaxy Note 5, then chances are that you are quite perplexed by its management of apps. The Note 5 would note keep previously opened apps in memory as you would expect from a 4GB RAM device, and would force even the recently opened apps to redraw/relaunch when you select them from recents menu.

Well, this is a problem that all Samsung’s recent devices suffer from. I myself was astonished to see it happen on 3GB-toting Galaxy S6 Edge, but that’s that from Samsung. Luckily we have a fix for Galaxy Note 5, like the memory leak fix for S6 and S6 Edge we covered previously.

What’s required?

Know that you would need root access for this. Check out this page of ours for Galaxy Note 5 Root — you would find root download and guide for all Galaxy Note 5 variants for which root is available.

Once you have root access, see the guide below to check what changes you need to make how and where to be able to fix memory leak on your Galaxy Note 5, and get improved experience out of your device.

Warning: You only will be responsible for making changes to your device using the procedure listed below. We won’t be liable for anything if anything bad happens. Proceed at your own risk.

Backup important files stored on your device before proceeding with the steps below, so that in case something goes wrong you’ll have backup of all your important files. Sometimes, Odin installation may delete everything on your device!

Supported devices

  • Samsung Galaxy Note 5
  • Don’t try on any other device whatsoever!

Step-by-step Guide

Make sure your Galaxy Note 5 is rooted as said above. For help with root, check our Galaxy Note 5 root page here.
Setup a root explorer app.
  1. Download ES File Explorer android app.
  2. Open the app, and then swipe from left edge to right, to get options menu.
  3. Tap on Root button under the Tools section.
  4. Important! Provide root access to app by tapping on OK when pop-up shows up.
Open build.prop app for editing and making the required changes.
  1. Now, go to root folder of your phone, and then into System folder.
  2. Find the build.prop file there. Copy it to any folder on your internal storage or external sdcard, or even better, on PC.
  3. Edit the build.prop file as said below.
  4. Tap on the build.prop file, and then select ES Note Editor to open the file for editing.
  5. Tap on 3-dot button at top right, and then select ‘Edit’. Now we will edit the build.prop file. Make sure your editing is correct letter to letter, word to word. A mistake of one character here is enough to send your phone to bootloop, and you will be required to either restore the build.prop file via ADB from recovery, or install a new system/firmware again.
Now, copy the lines given below and paste them to the end of your build.prop.
ro.config.fha_enable=true
ro.sys.fw.use_trim_settings=true 
ro.sys.fw.empty_app_percent=50 
ro.sys.fw.trim_empty_percent=100 
ro.sys.fw.trim_cache_percent=100
ro.sys.fw.bservice_enable=true 
ro.sys.fw.bservice_limit=5 
ro.sys.fw.bservice_age=5000
ro.sys.fw.trim_enable_memory=2147483648

The last line indictaes the amount of RAM in bytes. The value we are providing approximates to 2GB.

Now find each of the line provided below and delete them from youthe build.prop. You can also add the # sign before these line so that system ignores them, this is as good as deleting them. And helpful in case you want them back.
ro.config.dha_cached_max=
ro.config.dha_empty_max=
ro.config.dha_th_rate=
ro.config.dha_lmk_scale=

If you don’t find a line, then ignore and skip it.

Find each of the line mentioned below, and change its value to that stated below.dalvik.vm.heapstartsize=8m
dalvik.vm.heapgrowthlimit=256m
dalvik.vm.heapsize=512m
dalvik.vm.heaptargetutilization=0.50
dalvik.vm.heapminfree=4m
dalvik.vm.heapmaxfree=16m
Also:
ro.hwui.texture_cache_size=72
ro.hwui.layer_cache_size=48
ro.hwui.r_buffer_cache_size=8
ro.hwui.path_cache_size=32
ro.hwui.gradient_cache_size=1
ro.hwui.drop_shadow_cache_size=6
ro.hwui.text_small_cache_width=1024
ro.hwui.text_small_cache_height=1024
ro.hwui.text_large_cache_width=2048
ro.hwui.text_large_cache_height=2048
Confirm and save the build.prop file.
  1. Double check everything. All changes that you made and all lines you inserted or deleted/disabled. The smallest of error here could send the pone into bootloop.
  2. Tap on the back arrow button in top left. And then on Yes button to confirm the save.
Set right permission of the build.prop file.
  1. Tap on back button again to come back to system folder.
  2. Long press on build.prop, then 3-dot menu in bottom right, then select properties, and now tap on change button besides Permissions. Select all 3 rows for Read column, while only Owner row for Write column. Leave all other checkboxes blank. It should be as shown in image below.
  3. Tap on OK, and then back button two times, to reach system folder again. Exit the app.
Reboot your device now to apply the changes. If you edited build.prop correctly, then it should reboot all fine we hope you see significant improvements in using your phone. Good luck!

Need help? Let us know if you need any help with this, just give a shout via comments below. And do feedback us on how this trick works out for you and your Galaxy Note 5.

Via Chord_Hugo87

Keep reading

More from Tips

All Tips guides →