Is it a killer question?

[Zolotoy]

Am I crazy or if I switch from a program that is currently downloading something (updates, new files, etc) the download stops??? I will have to go back to this program and then resume it?

Thanks

 

[lordofthereef]

There are very few apps that actual perform tasks in the background. WIthout knowing what, specifically, you are referring to, it's hard to pass judgment, but I would say it is entirely likely that your downloads are, indeed, stopping.

 

[RuleOfSines]

Am I crazy or if I switch from a program that is currently downloading something (updates, new files, etc) the download stops??? I will have to go back to this program and then resume it?

Thanks

Don't think you're crazy, this is one of the things that caught me by surprise when I switched over from android. Have to babysit downloading Nokia Music streams for offline use is where I first noticed it.

 

[MDak280]

Did you guys try using the home button instead of back? Or, did you try pressing and holding the back arrow instead of just pressing it, so it takes you to the multitasking screen? Maybe those might work.

 

[Zolotoy]

Are we saying here that W8 is indeed a DOS OS?

 

[a5cent]

Are we saying here that W8 is indeed a DOS OS?

No. There are quite a few threads on this forum describing how multitasking works. I'm typing on my phone, so I can't help you look 'em up. In a nutshell: DOS has no concept of a background task. Neither does WP, but WP can execute specific features in the background.

 

[Zolotoy]

No. There are quite a few threads on this forum describing how multitasking works. I'm typing on my phone, so I can't help you look 'em up. In a nutshell: DOS has no concept of a background task. Neither does WP, but WP can execute specific features in the background.

I dont know what you are talking about, but I pressed Home, went back to a program and id says resume download. Ok, funny, for now it is, it starts from 0. Is W8 redefining a meaning of an English word "resume"? Also what is that then?
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/microsoft-brings-true-background-multitasking-to-windows-phone/

 

[CDG]

The app updates do not stop. They continue in the background.
Sent from my Lumia 820 using Board Express

 

[RuleOfSines]

Did you guys try using the home button instead of back? Or, did you try pressing and holding the back arrow instead of just pressing it, so it takes you to the multitasking screen? Maybe those might work.

Just gave that a try in Nokia music, started a download, tapped home and put the phone on the charger to keep the WiFi connected. 15 minutes later when I switch tasks the download hasn't moved, but resumes downloading immediately when I focus on that app.

 

[Zolotoy]

Just gave that a try in Nokia music, started a download, tapped home and put the phone on the charger to keep the WiFi connected. 15 minutes later when I switch tasks the download hasn't moved, but resumes downloading immediately when I focus on that app.

Did it start over or was it "resumed"?

 

[RuleOfSines]

Did it start over or was it "resumed"?

It resumed from the same spot it was at when I first tapped the Home button, I did not lose any download progress.

 

[Zolotoy]

Just gave that a try in Nokia music, started a download, tapped home and put the phone on the charger to keep the WiFi connected. 15 minutes later when I switch tasks the download hasn't moved, but resumes downloading immediately when I focus on that app.

So, in general, if an application needs more data but I switch to another task the first application will never get the data???

 

[RuleOfSines]

So, in general, if an application needs more data but I switch to another task the first application will never get the data???

I don't have enough apps to really say in general, but the Store seems to work with asynchronous downloads, so perhaps it is a feature that the app developers have to build in themselves. Streaming music works fine in the background also, so the OS can definitely do it. There just isn't that centralized downloads area like I'm used to with Android where all downloads from everything are queued up and processed.

 

[philxor]

It depends on the application really. For instance if I'm in Office and I'm downloading a file from Skydrive it will continue to download in the background, probably because it opens up another task for downloading versus the main program. Same goes for stuff in the Xbox Music Store, app updates and installs, etc.

If the download/update process is part of a main program it likely gets suspended when you leave the program.

 

[a5cent]

I dont know what you are talking about, but I pressed Home, went back to a program and id says resume download. Ok, funny, for now it is, it starts from 0. Is W8 redefining a meaning of an English word "resume"? Also what is that then?
Microsoft brings true, background multitasking to Windows Phone 8

In the article you linked to, engadet claims WP8 supports "true background multitasking". That is a false statement.

WP limits multitasking to a specific set of features implemented by the OS. In that same article, engadget mentions two of these features, namely "VoiP" and "Location". These are the features WP8 can process in the background:

- VoiP (continue streaming voice data packets, even if a VoiP app, such as Viber or Skype, is in the background)
- Location (maintain a GPS fix, even if a location aware app, such as Nokia Drive, is in the background)
- File Transfer (continue up- or downloading files, even if the app doing so is in the background)
- Audio (continue playing audio, even if the media player is in the background)

Restricting background processing to these features is an intentional limitation, which is why WP8 can't be claimed to support "true background multitasking" or "real multitasking", as that usually implies multitasking of two or more entire apps.

Although WP apps can transfer files in the background, that doesn't mean they necessarily will. This only occurs if an app explicitly "asks" the OS to process such a file transfer operation in the background. Failing to do so (intentionally or unintentionally) will cause the OS to interrupt the file transfer operation as soon as the app is relegated to the background (any WP app is suspended at that point and no longer has access to the CPU). An app that is suspended in such a fashion will resume file transferal only after it is brought back to the foreground.

The situation you described, where a file transfer is "restarted", sounds like a bug. Possibly the file transfer is resumed correctly but only the progress bar is screwed up?