Mobile application reloads after switching to a different app and then immediately back to obsidian

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1

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Initially after clearing the data in the obsidian mobile app, doing a factory reset, or starting from a fresh vault, I am able to switch to other applications and back to obsidian reasonably.
Using the mobile application over time, it stays open less and less in the background. To an extent to just switching to a single app and then immediately back to obsidian, it reloads.

Steps to reproduce

  • Use obsidian with sync enabled
  • switch to a different application
  • switch back to obsidian

Did you follow the troubleshooting guide? [Y/N]

Y
It does not make sense to use a sandbox vault for this issue. I have done factory resets on my phone, have battery optimization off, bought a new phone, pixel 6a → pixel 8 .

Expected result

Obsidian does not reload

Actual result

Obsidian reloads

Environment

SYSTEM INFO:
Operating system: android 14 (Google Pixel 8)
Obsidian version: 1.4.16 (114)
API version: v1.4.16
Login status: logged in
Catalyst license: none
Live preview: on
Legacy editor: off
Base theme: dark
Community theme: none
Snippets enabled: 0
Restricted mode: on

RECOMMENDATIONS:
none

Additional information

2

I’m not 100% sure on this but it seems like it could be a RAM issue where the phone is clearing out high RAM usage apps when they are not in use.

Does this also happen with games on your phone? I ask because games are also high RAM usage apps.

3

I don’t play games. I did notice the pixel 6a seemed to have this issue more with apps besides obsidian that were somewhat memory hungry. The pixel 6a has 6 GB of of ram. Pixel 8 has 8 GB. I have a support ticket with google to try to get a bug opened for the more general issue, but it also seems like there are things obsidian could do to keep the app running for users that want it. If it is really all android’s or pixel’s fault, then the obsidian team could be helpful in getting a bug open to address this.

As it stands, I need to use a second markdown editor on mobile because obsidian is takes over 30 seconds to load and closes in the background.

The weirder thing here is that it is more aggressively closed after weeks of use. I would expect the opposite as the things I use should be prioritized by the OS to stay open.

When I have looked at max use of obsidian memory on mobile, the most I have seen is 800MB. I don’t see a good reason why that couldn’t stay open in the background on a device with 8GB of ram.

4

This is due to the OS killing what it perceives as memory intensive applications. I think mobile OS are stricter than you might think in that regard.

I believe Samsung phones have the option for force keeping an app in memory.

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