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Background App Refresh

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Original poster
Sep 13, 2019
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Hello,

I am trying to figure out what background app refresh is in order to make a decision.

I think Apple is not completely clear on this.

My question is, does background app refresh act when the app is closed? Meaning, the app is quit from the application switcher ?

Does it make much of a difference having it off? Both in terms of user experience and battery drain.

Thanks!
 
virnew said:
Hello,

I am trying to figure out what background app refresh is in order to make a decision.

I think Apple is not completely clear on this.

My question is, does background app refresh act when the app is closed? Meaning, the app is quit from the application switcher ?

Does it make much of a difference having it off? Both in terms of user experience and battery drain.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I always have it off. Never understanded it
 
It will „refresh“ the content in the background. For instance, if you use twitter, it will update the feed in the background so when u open the app again, the latest content is already there instead of loading it as you open the app. I hope that makes sense.

I have had it deactivated for years though as the battery impact is greater than those split mili seconds you gain
 
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contacos said:
It will „refresh“ the content in the background. For instance, if you use twitter, it will update the feed in the background so when u open the app again, the latest content is already there instead of loading it as you open the app. I hope that makes sense.

I have had it deactivated for years though as the battery impact is greater than those split mili seconds you gain
Click to expand...
yea except I've never ever seen an app do it, they ALL have to load when I open the app.
 
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I agree, I also do not get it. Messager can deliver and receive messages when off or on, Uber or Take Away can send you messages about ads.
They really should fix it - background activity off = nothing can be done unless you open app. No related services working in background.
 
addamas said:
I agree, I also do not get it. Messager can deliver and receive messages when off or on, Uber or Take Away can send you messages about ads.
They really should fix it - background activity off = nothing can be done unless you open app. No related services working in background.
Click to expand...

That's Push Notifications which was introduced in one of the early iOS versions and was intended to avoid apps running in the background ala Android and draining the battery. Then Background App Refresh was brought in for some reason.

You can view apps that have been running in the background in the Battery settings page.
 
tomtad said:
That's Push Notifications which was introduced in one of the early iOS versions and was intended to avoid apps running in the background ala Android and draining the battery. Then Background App Refresh was brought in for some reason.

You can view apps that have been running in the background in the Battery settings page.
Click to expand...
I still have apps running in the background with all background refresh off.
the setting still makes zero difference.
 
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I've found that Background App Refresh has a few critical use cases, so I enable it only for a few apps such as:

  • Google Nest - which can switch off the thermostat if it detects that my iPhone is away from home
  • car insurance app - which tracks my driving for policy discounts
  • Sync Solver - which syncs my Fitbit to Apple Health for updated stats

Battery impact seems minimal, with this setup.

Previously, I had always keep Background App Refresh completely off.
 
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I am having issues with iOS16 with background app running time even though apps are closed down with background refresh off. Anyone else experienced this?
 

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LouisMac90 said:
I am having issues with iOS16 with background app running time even though apps are closed down with background refresh off. Anyone else experienced this?
Click to expand...
The 1m background are normal even if you have it off. It's the 21h Waze that's outstanding, unless you use it for live navigation. Otherwise these are normal. For example, if turning off background app refresh is broken your TikTok background would be more than 1m.
 
antiprotest said:
The 1m background are normal even if you have it off. It's the 21h Waze that's outstanding, unless you use it for live navigation. Otherwise these are normal. For example, if turning off background app refresh is broken your TikTok background would be more than 1m.
Click to expand...
This is very true, I am sure I closed Waze only use it on my commute to work in the morning. Background time on Waze is now 12H 52M so within a few days it should not have much background activity, if it does I will update you and remove the app. Never needed to manage battery life before but going from a 13 Pro Max to a 14 Pro is very noticeable especially with iOS16 being so buggy and battery draining.
 
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