Code Room
Vibe codingHardvc-g255
Subject Ai code reviewLevel Senior–Staff~18 minCommon in Algorithms & data structures interviewsIndustries Software development

Question

An AI wrote this Android background sync to keep data fresh, taking a wake lock 'so it doesn't get killed'. It works, but users complain the app destroys their battery overnight and Play Console flags excessive wakeups. What's wrong and how would you fix it?

kotlin
fun startSync() {    val wl = powerManager.newWakeLock(PARTIAL_WAKE_LOCK, "app:sync")    wl.acquire()                       // no timeout, never released    thread {        while (true) {            syncEngine.pull()            Thread.sleep(60_000)        // every minute, forever        }    }}
What a strong answer looks like

Treat the AI’s output as a draft to verify, not an answer to trust. Name the specific flaw and the input that triggers it, say how you’d catch it — tests, edge cases, reading critically — and how you’d re-prompt or decompose to get it right.

Describe your solution

Vibe coding: describe the solution in plain language (or narrate it) and the coach grades your approach. Generating runnable code from your description is coming next.

Run or narrate your approach, then ask the coach.