Background App Refresh, Good or Bad?

Ledsteplin

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When iOS 7 came out, most tech writers began bad mouthing BAR, adding turning it off to their guides on how to save battery life. Many still do. But some, like Scotty Lovelace, say otherwise. He says this:
"It allows apps to temporarily open in the background, receive an update, and then freeze again so it cannot use system resources or drain your battery." In other words, it helps apps run in the background more efficiently. Yet many here still swear it drains the battery and they turn it off for all their apps. I've tested it both ways. On and off. I don't see any difference in battery use either way. So what's the truth scoop here? Do you have BAR on for your apps, or off? And why?
 

TwitchyPuppy

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I turned it off because I don't really need it but I noticed it uses more battery when the app needs to run from scratch than just "wake up" in the background.
 

anon(9602380)

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I have it on. I notice no difference in my battery life. I agree with your statements. Apple is about battery life and I can't see them adding a feature that would sacrifice your battery life.
 

mark-d

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For years I had it turned off, I now have it on. I've not really noticed much difference with it on in terms of my battery
 

kazp3r17

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For me I only keep the main apps that I use turned on for back ground. When I use to you social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, etc. I had those turned off for back ground sense they weren't a high priority for me.
 

Ecm

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For me I only keep the main apps that I use turned on for back ground. When I use to you social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, etc. I had those turned off for back ground sense they weren't a high priority for me.

This is what I do as well. Facebook, in particular, seems very greedy. Everything else is on.
 

Quis89

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I keep it on. Not too concerned with battery life as my phone lasts a full day and I've got access to a charger at work if I need to charge it. I went a while without using it and personal didn't notice much of a difference.
 

Rene Ritchie

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Like most things, the answer is nuanced. Background App Refresh itself is fine. It lets apps that use it pre-fetch data so you don't have to wait for it when those apps launch.

If you don't care about waiting for refresh on launch, you can turn it off and save yourself some cycles.

The bigger problem was bad apps that either did it wastefully or, like Facebook, circumvented it by abusing the background audio API.

I typically leave it on but if an app seems like it's being particularly resource intensive, I'll squash it for that app. I think the last app I did that for was Snapchat :)
 

cwbcpa

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I have never felt the need to mess with it on iOS. Android is another story. Like Rene said, if I notice that rare bad app, I'll turn it off. I just don't see that happen very often on iOS.
 

Not Quite Right

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I try not to cripple my smartphones in the least ... if somethings been there since iOS7 I think Apple pretty much feels its a necessary feature.
 

SprSynJn

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Has anyone else had a problem with this function automatically activating apps that you did not choose? For years I've had it activated only on apps I use regularly, however there are instances where I check the settings and iOS will have activated it on every app without me doing a thing. What gives?
 

cuttheredwire

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Kill everything that isn't essential. You'll only gain small amounts of battery or speed, but add up that extra avoided battery wear over a couple years.

Also, audit you apps with cell acccess. Same reason plus reduced data.
 

Ledsteplin

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Why does Apple even put in there "turn off may help preserve battery life" if it has no effect?

Because with some apps that don't run in the background much it may use more battery than it saves. It's most effective with those that run in the background a lot. Call it a cost/benefit ratio. BAR will use a little battery. But enabled with the right apps, it actually saves battery usage. I've tested it with all apps off and with all apps on. I don't see any difference in battery usage. So I keep all apps on for BAR. That way I know those running in the background do so more efficiently.
 

Ledsteplin

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Pro Tip: The battery section of settings will mention if an app's power usage was from background usage. I found that out recently.

Most apps do run in the background to a varying extent. That's a good thing. Not all of an app's battery usage would be from background activity. It just shows that there was some.
 

jrdatrackstar1223

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Pro Tip: The battery section of settings will mention if an app's power usage was from background usage. I found that out recently.

I actually have a question about this.....

I've turned off BAR for all apps (the main switch), but for some reason apps still show background activity. For example, the Xbox One application shows 2 min onscreen usage and 16 mins background activity. I thought the main switch turned off BAR for all apps?

I am on 10.3.1
 

cuttheredwire

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Not sure. My best guess would be that some activities are allowed (like, checking for messages), or other access has been enabled (like, location services).

Honestly, I don't really know, but I am very curious. I'm hoping someone else will know. :)
 

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