I am trying to minimize my battery drain, and am aware of all the tips on my iPhone 6s. One of the things I've done is set my "Background Activity Refresh" to off. However, although I did this many days ago, I still see several apps performing background activity under the battery stats page. You can see on the following two screenshots. How can this be?
iPhone 6s, iOS 10.0.2
Hi - Background refresh is different than battery usage. The battery usage stats are showing how much time is spent in the applications you use. It doesn't mean they are running in the background. From your screenshot you do have background app refresh off, so you are all set as far as saving battery power.
Hope that helps. 🙂
Thanks. But why does it say things like "3 min background" under Lightroom, and the same for the top three apps in my screenshot? What then does it "background" mean on the battery stats screen?
Background activity here includes more than background app refresh. Background app refresh allows scheduled execution of app code while it is not the active app and this can have a significant impact on battery life depending on how a developer implements it. For example, a social media app might load new content periodically while you are not using it so that you don't have to wait for it to load when you come back. This is the setting you have control over. Background activity in the Battery section includes all forms of background activity over which you have little control, which may include, among other possibilities, an app finishing up tasks when you leave it. Apps have a small amount time to complete tasks when you leave the app, so if you visit the same app multiple times a day this can add up to a few minutes of background activity over the course of 24 hours.
Good question. I found this online:
"To save battery, apps running in the background refresh at certain times, like when your device is connected to Wi-Fi, plugged into a power source, or being actively used. iOS learns patterns based on how you use your device and tries to predict when an app running in the background should refresh. It also learns when the device is typically inactive, like at night, to help keep apps from refreshing when you’re not using your device. Apps can also schedule background refreshing based on your location.”
So it could be that it's not an all or nothing switch. It may depend on the app specifically.
I'm not sure about that, as it doesn't say anything about the ability to override Background Refresh.
It was mentioned in another post I read.
Thank you. That explains it all to me.
Background refresh off, yet battery stats still show background activity
