How to debug Android support?

[fph]

Recently I have had problems with the Android support crashing and then getting stuck in a “failed to start” state.

How do I go debugging issues in this area? What log files can I check, or what commands can I use, to try and find out the cause?

Thanks!

[demislition]

Check this helpful wiki:

[wiki] Collecting debug information

This wikis intention is a work-in-progress to provide a handy and up-to-date list on how to collect debugging information (mainly logs). Everyones contributions are welcome! This is maybe better placed in the sfos docs. If something like this already exists, please let me know. The official wiki page is sometimes more up to date: Testing Advice | Sailfish OS Documentation Basics: Enable developer mode Show failed services: systemctl list-units --failed Collect logs for a specific systemd …

Android

• systemctl status aliendalvik and journalctl -u aliendalvik

Android apps

• /system/bin/logcat
• devel-su lxc-attach -n aliendalvik /system/bin/logcat or appsupport-attach after sfos 4.5

[nephros]

@demislition

/system/bin/logcat

That one gives the logs of the base system i.e. the Android binaries running below SFOS itself. It’s unrelated to Android Support.

[thigg]

it is a wiki post, you should be able to edit it.
the wiki is also no added to he official sfos wiki, see links in the comments below the wiki post

[nephros]

Will do, but not this weekend

[demislition]

@nephros

That one gives the logs of the base system i.e. the Android binaries running below SFOS itself. It’s unrelated to Android Support.

Yes, but. If it is some particular Android app that crashes the Android Support while Android Support has been on for a while, then that too could log some useful information. I can’t tell from fph’s post whether his Android Support now completely refuses to start or if the Android Support fails repeatedly when using it.

I know that sometimes I have had hard time re-starting Android Support after a failure until I turn the whole system off and then on again. I guess some specific Android app may have run my system out of memory or somesuch.

edit: On a quick read I failed to understand what you meant about Android binaries vs. Android Support. Sorry.

[fph]

@demislition

I can’t tell from fph’s post whether his Android Support now completely refuses to start or if the Android Support fails repeatedly when using it.

After some time using it (hours, often with mapping/GPS apps), it randomly fails, and then it refuses to start again until I reboot the phone.

Thanks everyone for the useful info; I’ll try this the next time this failure happens!

[demislition]

@fph

After some time using it (hours, often with mapping/GPS apps), it randomly fails, and then it refuses to start again until I reboot the phone.

This looks a lot like what I have experienced. In my own user case I use kind of lot Android apps and having had too many resource-intensive ones open at the same time I have ended up with all the Android apps going dim and unresponsive on the Sailfish OS main view. Any attempt to restart Android Support from Sailfish OS Settings fail until rebooting the phone.

I’m purely guessing, but maybe either Alien Dalvik or a particular Android app runs out of memory when that happens and maybe some cache is too full even after that and prevents restarting Android Support.

@fph

Thanks everyone for the useful info; I’ll try this the next time this failure happens!

I think you maybe should start active live-logging of Android from Terminal before the failure and then heavily use mapping/GPS apps to try intentionally cause the failure. The logging would catch the failure real-time and the errors should be easier to find from the output in Terminal than from going through any saved logs afterwards.