iPhone Application to keep alive another, backgrounded app?

[Cubytus]

Hi there,

I'd like to know if there's a hack present in Cydia that would allow the iPhone to keep alive a backgrounded application at all times, and keep it connected to the 3G network. Only one application needs to be kept alive.

Application: when driving, the GPS is the foremost application, but I need the SIP client to keep on running. So far, it seems to disconnect from the 3G network when backgrounded, and I miss calls.

I know it will likely increase power draw, but this is unimportant as I keep it plugged.

 

[atlawson]

Would background manager work for what you need. You can force backgrounded apps to remain active with it.

 

[Cubytus]

Would background manager work for what you need. You can force backgrounded apps to remain active with it.

Is it in Cydia? I'llhave to try it.

 

[atlawson]

Yes it's in cydia. I use it to keep an alarm app from closing and a video feed from security computer active at night so it stays connected to a server. I also use it to force kill apps to save battery such as the native photo and camera apps and the kindle app as it drains the battery faster when in background. hope this helps

 

[Cubytus]

Oh yeah I know it drains the battery like mad. But since only one or two applications need to be kept alive, and the iPhone is usually plugged in when doing so, this shouldn't be an issue. However, what is occurring when the phone runs out of memory? Normally it would unload backgrounded applications.

Bought the Background Manager application, but it seems to have put a blue dot right next to some applications. As the manual is lacking (as usual), what do they mean?

 

[atlawson]

Oh yeah I know it drains the battery like mad. But since only one or two applications need to be kept alive, and the iPhone is usually plugged in when doing so, this shouldn't be an issue. However, what is occurring when the phone runs out of memory? Normally it would unload backgrounded applications.

Bought the Background Manager application, but it seems to have put a blue dot right next to some applications. As the manual is lacking (as usual), what do they mean?

As far as I can tell it indicates the app is active in the background. I didn't like it and turn the badge off in the settings of background manager. The settings I use for something I want to keep active is forced for primary mode then native for secondary. then forced native mode on. and auto launch as default and auto relaunch is off. for something I don't want to background I do none on primary mode and just leave the others as is. I don't have any gestures assigned in the settings app and no status
bar icon set.

I haven't ever ran out of memory that I know of so couldn't tell you about that part.

 

[Cubytus]

Ok, it apparently gives two kind of badges. A blue one, and a grey one. On top of the screen there's either a or a [N]. I just don't get what they mean, neither do I "Native", "Forced", "Background" or "Activator required" for "secundary mode".

What are the "primary mode", "secondary mode"? The badges are confusing since even when no app is running in the background, they remain present.

All I know is I set up only one application to remain active in the background, and even when I closed it, the battery emptied in no time, from 90% to 4% in about 4 hours.

 

[blakkout]

This is my understanding of the Background Manger Settings...

Primary mode: Mode the app opens/starts in
Secondary mode: Mode the app switches to if using an activator gesture

Native: Standard iOS
Forced: App runs like its open in the foreground after closing or switching apps
None: Exits app after closing or switching apps

Force Native mode: Not sure exactly but I find if forcing apps to background it is best to have this off

Auto launch/relaunch:
Default: Standard iOS
Launch: Can force an app to run after reboot or reopen after exiting (like how Mail.app always restarts up)
Don't launch: Can prevent an app from restarting after reboot or exiting (so Mail.app could be prevented from always restarting)

Minimize at Toggle (only matters if using an Activator gesture):
On: Sends home button press after using the Activator gesture which closes the app with the mode that it is toggled to
Off: Allows you to toggle between the primary and secondary modes before manually closing or switching apps (If using an Activator gesture I recommend this in case you accidentally invoke it)

Badge (allows you to see the background mode of running apps from the home screen) and StatusBar Icon (allows you to see the background mode of the currently opened app):
Blue and [N]: Corresponds to native
White/Grey and : Corresponds to forced
No badge and no statusbar icon: Corresponds to none

 

[Cubytus]

This is my understanding of the Background Manger Settings...

Primary mode: Mode the app opens/starts in
Secondary mode: Mode the app switches to if using an activator gesture

Native: Standard iOS
Forced: App runs like its open in the foreground after closing or switching apps
None: Exits app after closing or switching apps

Force Native mode: Not sure exactly but I find if forcing apps to background it is best to have this off

Auto launch/relaunch:
Default: Standard iOS
Launch: Can force an app to run after reboot or reopen after exiting (like how Mail.app always restarts up)
Don't launch: Can prevent an app from restarting after reboot or exiting (so Mail.app could be prevented from always restarting)

Minimize at Toggle (only matters if using an Activator gesture):
On: Sends home button press after using the Activator gesture which closes the app with the mode that it is toggled to
Off: Allows you to toggle between the primary and secondary modes before manually closing or switching apps (If using an Activator gesture I recommend this in case you accidentally invoke it)

Badge (allows you to see the background mode of running apps from the home screen) and StatusBar Icon (allows you to see the background mode of the currently opened app):
Blue and [N]: Corresponds to native
White/Grey and : Corresponds to forced
No badge and no statusbar icon: Corresponds to none

Thanks for these details. As is mostly the case with jailbroken apps, developers are always happy to make you pay, but forget about setting proper instructions!

At the Background Manager home screen, when pressing "Gesture", I get a small popup with "Activator required" popup. I don't know what this means, as I thought it would prompt me to program a gesture. From your empirical guide, I assume the badges can inform the user on which app is actually draining the battery.

Is it an expected behavior that applications appearing at the bottom of the screen when double-pressing the Home button are actually closed, according to your guide? At the moment, the Mail application is active natively in the background, but doesn't actually update unread count until I open it (That's an expected behavior I set up in order to save on battery life). Is there a good reason why it remains active in the background?

Overall, it would be simpler if the iPhone supported a "Work" vs "Home" mode, much like old Nokia phones did.