Skip to content

Installing on Android

Jump to bottom
David Anderson edited this page Jun 23, 2024 · 5 revisions

How do I participate?

Download the BOINC app here. When BOINC starts, it will ask you to select the research projects that you want to support. That's it!

Owners of the Amazon Kindle Fire (which is based on Android) can also participate - download BOINC from the Amazon Appstore.

Using BOINC with Android 9+

Starting with version 9, Android has policies that can cause problems with BOINC.

  1. Android kills BOINC if it is running in the background. For BOINC to run, you much open it when you leave your phone to recharge at night.

  2. Android kills BOINC if the display is turned off. For BOINC to run, you must either

  • use a screensaver (but this may cause BOINC to be killed because it's in the background) or
  • configure your phone not to go to sleep (Settings / Display / Sleep). Note: on some phones the longest no-sleep option is 30 minutes.

You can also try:

  1. Go into the window manager (right button from Home), scroll to BOINC, press the 3 dot options on the top right, and lock it.

  2. Disable battery optimization.

Will it reduce my battery life?

BOINC only computes when your device is plugged into a power source (AC or USB) and your battery is charged 90% or more. So it won't significantly reduce your battery life or your recharge time.

<h3 id="data_plan>Will it use up my cell-phone data plan?

No. BOINC transfers data only when your device is connected to a WiFi network.

Is it secure?

Yes. BOINC and the programs it runs can access only their own files, not any of the other files on your Android device. More information is here.

What science projects can I support?

See the list of BOINC projects, and look for ones with the Android logo.

Where can I get help?

Try the BOINC Help page.

In some cases you may want to email the contents of BOINC's "event log". To do this:

  1. Enable "advanced preferences and controls" in the preferences
  2. Click the menu button and select "EventLog"
  3. When you see the log, Click the menu button again and select "Email to"
  4. Add your device name and model to the email.

Home

Clone this wiki locally