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iPhone 12 Pro Max Background Refresh - On or Off?

BR4DOKYBrazil

BR4DOKYBrazil

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 25, 2018
838
2,070
Londrina - PR / Brazil
Even with the Background Refresh option totally disabled, my device continues to show that Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp apps are having background activities in the Battery session. Does it happen to you too?

Another question would be whether, if I activate only for WhatsApp, will there be such excessive battery consumption compared to Background Refresh totally disabled? My WhatsApp receives messages very slowly when I leave this option disabled.
 

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BR4DOKYBrazil said:
Even with the Background Refresh option totally disabled, my device continues to show that Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp apps are having background activities in the Battery session. Does it happen to you too?

Another question would be whether, if I activate only for WhatsApp, will there be such excessive battery consumption compared to Background Refresh totally disabled? My WhatsApp receives messages very slowly when I leave this option disabled.
Click to expand...
That is wierd. Have you tried rebooting your phone?
 
now i see it said:
I've never been able to quantitatively determine with absolute certainty that turning off Background Refresh did anything to noticeably improve my battery run time.
Click to expand...
The problem is that I always read that this activated option consumes more battery, but I believe that only with this option enabled for WhatsApp should it make no difference. My messages take a long time to load with it disabled.
 
BR4DOKYBrazil said:
Do you use WhatsApp? With Background Refresh turned off, does WhatsApp from your device receive delayed messages?
Click to expand...
I've never used WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, etc. so I have no feedback for you. The apps I use don't seem to make a difference in notifications with it on or off but I'm sure there are apps that do so hopefully someone else can chime in with some info for you
 
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I have Background App Refresh on for all apps. I noticed every time I would tinker with the settings, it would end up giving me worse battery life.
 
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Off. I’ve noticed no difference/benefit with having it on, having it on allows apps to collect more data/invade your privacy more, and it ruins battery life.
 
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BR4DOKYBrazil said:
Do you use WhatsApp? With Background Refresh turned off, does WhatsApp from your device receive delayed messages?
Click to expand...

I use WhatsApp with Background Refresh and no delays here either.
I believe all apps with notifications/IMs go through a particular Apple notifications serve or something like that? Please correct me if I am wrong though, but WhatsApp does not have delays I believe due to that reason.
 
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Those 3 apps in general are the worst for battery drain wether you have background refresh on or off. I just use safari for those apps.
 
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Tsepz said:
I use WhatsApp with Background Refresh and no delays here either.
I believe all apps with notifications/IMs go through a particular Apple notifications serve or something like that? Please correct me if I am wrong though, but WhatsApp does not have delays I believe due to that reason.
Click to expand...
I sent feedback to WhatsApp support and they informed me about going through an Apple server or some kind of APN (I don't know what it is). Even with Background Refresh, when I open WhatsApp, I see some messages loading little by little, being on 4G and/or WiFi. With Background Regresh disabled, the problem gets worse.
 
now i see it said:
I've never been able to quantitatively determine with absolute certainty that turning off Background Refresh did anything to noticeably improve my battery run time.
Click to expand...

I always turn it off bc ive never been able to quantitatively determine it does anything beneficial and could ostensibly drain battery
 
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Background Refresh (technical name is Background Fetch) is just one of nine background modes that apps can use to run in the background. Background Refresh allows an app to quickly update itself so you aren't looking at old news when you open it. Apple polices this pretty heavily, Apple decides how long often your app can refresh, and if you are a hog about it the less likely you're app will get the ability to update. So your app needs to update and send a completion handler as fast as possible. Because of that plus the fact the user can turn it off the enhancements to an app are VERY subtle.

Some apps would be useless without being able to run in the background though, you aren't even given the choice. Its just assumed when you download the app you'll understand that.

So for example, Pandora/Spotify/etc have an Audio background API that keeps the music playing if the app is in the background or the screen is locked.

Google Maps has a location background API (and audio?) so if you get a phone call or text message the navigation doesn't end.

Whatsapp will likely have a couple background api modes. Since WhatsApp is a VOIP app they will be using a VOIP background API, Remote Notification background API and Background Fetch just because why not? The more up to date their app is the better the experience, its not like you aren't going to look at those messages. So WhatsApp will send a JSON (small message) to Apple, Apple uses there APNs (Apple Push Notification servers) to push data to your phone, WhatsApp having entitlements for VOIP background api can wake their app up and quickly negotiate the phone call. Thats assuming it was a VOIP call, if it was a message its handled differently for more efficiency but still promptly.

Facebook Messenger app will have similar permissions for background modes as WhatsApp. Facebook app itself likely using Remote Notifications and Background Fetch.

Personally I leave background fetch on when connected to Wifi only.
 
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cynics said:
Background Refresh (technical name is Background Fetch) is just one of nine background modes that apps can use to run in the background. Background Refresh allows an app to quickly update itself so you aren't looking at old news when you open it. Apple polices this pretty heavily, Apple decides how long often your app can refresh, and if you are a hog about it the less likely you're app will get the ability to update. So your app needs to update and send a completion handler as fast as possible. Because of that plus the fact the user can turn it off the enhancements to an app are VERY subtle.

Some apps would be useless without being able to run in the background though, you aren't even given the choice. Its just assumed when you download the app you'll understand that.

So for example, Pandora/Spotify/etc have an Audio background API that keeps the music playing if the app is in the background or the screen is locked.

Google Maps has a location background API (and audio?) so if you get a phone call or text message the navigation doesn't end.

Whatsapp will likely have a couple background api modes. Since WhatsApp is a VOIP app they will be using a VOIP background API, Remote Notification background API and Background Fetch just because why not? The more up to date their app is the better the experience, its not like you aren't going to look at those messages. So WhatsApp will send a JSON (small message) to Apple, Apple uses there APNs (Apple Push Notification servers) to push data to your phone, WhatsApp having entitlements for VOIP background api can wake their app up and quickly negotiate the phone call. Thats assuming it was a VOIP call, if it was a message its handled differently for more efficiency but still promptly.

Facebook Messenger app will have similar permissions for background modes as WhatsApp. Facebook app itself likely using Remote Notifications and Background Fetch.

Personally I leave background fetch on when connected to Wifi only.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for all the explanation! I could learn a little more about the behavior of apps and understand how it works. Thank you very much!
 
Turn Background Refresh off but also go through every setting available in iOS and disable everything else not necessary for your needs. Turning off Location Services for nearly everything (including most system services) will go a long way towards both privacy and battery.
 
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Turning it off for WhatsApp doesn't really affect notifications/receiving messages. However, it prevents the app from backing up your chats automatically, I believe.
 
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boak said:
Turning it off for WhatsApp doesn't really affect notifications/receiving messages. However, it prevents the app from backing up your chats automatically, I believe.
Click to expand...

What is the reason my WhatsApp is organizing and receiving messages when opening the app? I get the notification on the Apple Watch, I see its content, but when I open the app on the iPhone, I see messages loading and being sorted in order of arrival. And it gets worse if I disable Background Refresh. I've already tried uninstalling and installing the app again. I've tried turning the iPhone off and on by shutting down all open apps, but the problem persists. When I bought the iPhone 12 Pro Max, it was working normally, even with the Background Refresh disabled, but I don't remember if it was after an update of the app itself or iOS, that the problem started to occur. And, if I leave the Background Refresh disabled, I get a warning, when I open WhatsApp, to enable it, if I want to receive faster messages. This same issue is happening on my wife's (iPhone 11 Pro Max) and sister-in-law's iPhone 11 Pro Max. And I saw some users complaining about the same problem in the App Store itself. Could it be a problem in Brazil?
 
BR4DOKYBrazil said:
What is the reason my WhatsApp is organizing and receiving messages when opening the app? I get the notification on the Apple Watch, I see its content, but when I open the app on the iPhone, I see messages loading and being sorted in order of arrival. And it gets worse if I disable Background Refresh. I've already tried uninstalling and installing the app again. I've tried turning the iPhone off and on by shutting down all open apps, but the problem persists. When I bought the iPhone 12 Pro Max, it was working normally, even with the Background Refresh disabled, but I don't remember if it was after an update of the app itself or iOS, that the problem started to occur. And, if I leave the Background Refresh disabled, I get a warning, when I open WhatsApp, to enable it, if I want to receive faster messages. This same issue is happening on my wife's (iPhone 11 Pro Max) and sister-in-law's iPhone 11 Pro Max. And I saw some users complaining about the same problem in the App Store itself. Could it be a problem in Brazil?
Click to expand...
It sounds like an issue beyond your control, shouldn't be a problem with your phone nor iOS.
 
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