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How to increase android virtual device max heap size?

I would like to increase the android virtual device map heap size with Eclipse. I tried to set the Max VM application heap size to 128 in the Eclipse AVD Manager, but it does not work, the line Runtime.getRuntime().maxMemory()/(1024*1024); always returns 48, no matter the set heap size. Device ram size is set to 512. Selected target is Android 4.1.2 (API Level 16). Moreover, I have set android:largeHeap="true" in the manifest file.
Is there a limit to max heap size (is 128MiB to much ?), or is there another file to edit or parameter to set ?

add large heap in Manifest file
<application
android:icon="#drawable/example"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:largeHeap="true">
......
......
</application>

To do that, in Eclipse, go to "Debug Configurations". You can find that in the drop-down under the "debug" icon. Select "target", and select a preferred emulator target to launch. Then under "additional emulator command line options," add this:
-partition-size 128
Then CLOSE the emulator (and remove any devices), and click the debug icon, which will launch the preferred emulator you selected. This is important: Eclipse needs to launch the debugger, not AVD.
Note that the size (128) is in megabytes.
Take a look also here: http://viralpatel.net/blogs/jvm-java-increase-heap-size-setting-heap-size-jvm-heap/
Or: increase the AVD RAM and the max VM application heap size in VM options:
Go to Window-->AVD Manager-->Virtual Devices-->Edit.

Use the following code. I think it would be help you:
VMRuntime.getRuntime().setMinimumHeapSize(4 * 1024 * 1024);

you can't increase the heap size dynamically.
you can request to use more by using android:largeHeap="true" in the manifest, but you might not get any more heap size than normal, since it's only a request.
also, you can use native memory, so you actually bypass the heap size limitation.
here are some posts i've made about it:
How to cache bitmaps into native memory
JNI bitmap operations , for helping to avoid OOM when using large images
and here's a library i've made for it:
https://github.com/AndroidDeveloperLB/AndroidJniBitmapOperations

Android 4.0.3 emulator crashes: Failed to allocate memory: 8

The problem started when I changed the skin built-in display setting to WXGA720.
Then everytime I'm trying to run the emulator it says the following message:
Starting emulator for AVD 'android403'
Failed to allocate memory: 8
This application has requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way.
Please contact the application's support team for more information.
I already tried to lower down the RAM size to 800 MB and then 512 MB (or even 256) but it didn't work either...
I don't know what to do...
Here's a screenshot of the emulator settings window:
Thanx upfront.

I do sometimes have the same problem. Maybe my solution works for you as well: Instead of choosing the WXGA720 skin preset, manually set the resolution to 720*1280, and manually set the RAM to 768 or even 512.
Seems stupid, but it makes a difference if the skin preset is uses or a manual resolution configuration.

I had the same problem. I have set the resolution manually to 720 X 1280. Set the RAM size as 128MB and SSD to 16 MB. The app came up without any problems after that

This may sound silly, but I resolved the issue by adding "MB" after the RAM setting, changing (for example) 1024 to 1024MB.

I figured it out. The problem was in the amount of ram I had specified for the virtual machine, and it was 1024MB, now I have 512MB and it is ok. enjoy ;)

I also faced the same problem for x86 emulator for android 4.0.3. This problems happens to me only when i try to launch emulator from eclipse. But works fine when i launched the emulator from command line. Try to launch the emulator from command line.
Go to android tool directory and use "emulator -avd " to launch your emulator.

I had the same problem, trying to emulate the Galaxy S3. Setting the resolution to 720 x 1280 and dropping ram from 1024 to 700 worked for me. Could't get it to work at all on the built in wxga720 settings.

I was with the same problem today, but I manage how to solve it ( at least for me, because I was doing it in the wrong way), hope that it can be usefull for you too.
I was trying to change de Device RAM memory direct by Eclipse via Android Virtual Device Manager. I don't know why, but this changes does not affect the "hardware.ini" file that is present in : \android-sdk\platforms\android-16\skins\WXGA800-7in , for example.
To change the device RAM, or just to add MB you need to change this file.

Setting Application Specific Max Heap Size for the Android Dalvik VM

Is it possible to set an application-specific max heap size (the dalvik.vm.heapsize property) instead of using the same maximum heapsize for all VM's running on an Android device? I know I can set a new dalvik heapsize by modifying the device's AndroidRuntime.cpp as root, but based on what I have read, because Android only initializes the VM once and then forks subsequent VM instances all VM's running on the device have the same dalvik.vm.heapsize property. Am I understanding this correctly, and is there any way around it?

The only built-in way to change heap size of an app is by setting android:largeHeap="true" in the Manifest.xml. This will generally increase heap size from 48 to 128.
Keep in mind this approach will only work on 3.0+ devices.

Using this App u can increase Heap memomry of required Application
http://www.freeware4android.net/lg-c660-optimus-pro-device-2140/hacks-tweaks-tag/vm-heap-tool-download-27936.html
keep in mind that to use this app u need to root your device, use SuperOneClick App to root ur device.. Click below link for Reference
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/root-android-phone-superoneclick-2/

Out of memory error on android emulator, but not on device

On the Android Emulator, when I exit my app and run it again immediately, I get
OutOfMemoryError: bitmap size exceeds VM budget.
But on the device itself, this does not happen. Why?

On a emulator the default max heap size is around 13MB.
On a device, it depends of the phone and of the android version. On my Motorola Droid, the max heap size is around 21-22MB and on my HTC Desire it's around 32MB.
That's why you have a crash on the emulator and not on your device.
If you want to monitor the heap size of your application you can call a similar method:
protected void displayMemoryUsage(String message) {
int usedKBytes = (int) (Debug.getNativeHeapAllocatedSize() / 1024L);
String usedMegsString = String.format("%s - usedMemory = Memory Used: %d KB", message, usedKBytes);
Log.d(TAG, usedMegsString);
}

Increase the AVD RAM and the max VM application heap size in VM options.
To do that, go to
Window-->AVD Manager-->Virtual Devices-->Edit.

You need to increase heap size for the emulator - it worked for me
i increased it from 16 M to 32 M

Here is a lazy for how to find the options to manipulate heapsize for emulator from Andriod studio 1.2.0
Menu Tools->Android->AVD Manager
edit the virtual device of choice
click advanced settings and scroll down

Probably it is because you're device has more memory than your emulator. This SO question shows you how to increase the size on your emulator.
Additionally you could increase the Java VM Heap size.

Increase the size of memory allocated...

Android memory allocation

I am getting a "bitmap size exceeds VM budget" error. I have read that there is a 16MB memory limit. In this thread Romain Guy says that "you can only allocate 16 MB
of memory for your entire application".
However, my app must be running out of memory long before it reaches that limit. So my question is: how do I allocate memory to my application ... how can I get the allocation to my app increased (within the 16MB maximum)?

As with any Java VM, the heap memory will automatically grow to the max size. But, bitmaps are allocated outside the VM, so you don't "see" them easily in the stats. The best thing you can do is make sure you don't use large bitmaps, or scale them down using
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/graphics/BitmapFactory.Options.html
From Eclipse you can generate a heap dump when you are on Android 1.6 or up and you can analyze the dump with Eclipse MAT.
Generally you can't control the max heap size on a real device, unless you are working with custom hardware or firmware.
There should be an article at developer.android.com on dumping the heap on 1.6, but I'm unable to find it. :(
Edit
Also, I have to mention that you can request more memory for applications by using
android:largeHeap="true"
in the manifest. But this is highly ill-adviced as most applications do not need this.

Note that the heap limit is device-dependent. On a Droid or Nexus One, that limit is 24 MB (to accommodate the larger graphic resources.)

If you're using threads, then the debugger might be the source of the problem. If you run the app under the debugger, then any threads created will still be retained by the debugger, even when they're finished running. This leads to memory errors that won't occur when the app is running without the debugger.
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=7979
https://android.googlesource.com/platform/dalvik/+/master/docs/debugger.html

I found the answer for your question recently.
Go to Android SDK Directory and
run sdk manager (Tools->android run this file)
In SDK manager go to Tools-->Manage AVDs
Now Android Virtual Device Manager Dialogue box is open..
in that window select your AVD and click Edit
Now in SD card section select SIZE and set 1024 MiB
in Hardware section click New and select property " Maximum VM application heap Size"
Now set 100 (based on your app requirement)
Finally click "Edit AVD"
After edit click refresh button on sdk Manager
Now run your app in AVD your problem is solved.