Apple iPhone owners can stretch battery life by turning off Background App Refresh, a setting drawing fresh attention as iOS 27 users report faster power drain.
Key Points:
- Background App Refresh lets idle apps fetch new content, which uses power even when the phone is not in use.
- The setting has three modes, Off, Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi & Cellular Data, plus a separate toggle for each app.
- Apple names the switch in its own battery tips, and Low Power Mode turns the feature off automatically.
Background App Refresh
A how-to guide published Oct. 3 called the feature one of the biggest causes of rapid battery drain on the iPhone. Background App Refresh updates apps with new information before a user opens them. A weather app pulls the latest forecast and social feeds download new posts, all while the phone sits idle.
The control sits in the Settings app under General, where a main switch offers three choices: Off, Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi & Cellular Data. Selecting Off stops the feature across the whole phone, while the Wi-Fi option saves mobile data but still uses power.
Owners can also decide app by app. The same page lists every app that requests background access, and the guide suggests cutting off social media apps while keeping navigation apps active. Apps keep working with the feature off and simply update once opened, though the guide gives no measured figure for the savings.
Apple Battery Guidance
Apple lists the same switch among its own battery tips, saying owners can turn off background refresh to improve battery life.
The company’s Low Power Mode turns the feature off automatically, along with email fetch and automatic downloads, until the phone charges to 80% or higher.
Apple’s support pages say apps in a suspended state are not open or taking up system resources. Background App Refresh is the exception, letting those apps check for updates and new content. The company adds that closing every app does not improve overall performance when a phone runs slowly or its battery drains too quickly.
The Battery menu in Settings flags apps that used power in the background.
iOS 27 Drain
Battery complaints have followed iOS 27 since its September release, with users reporting higher drain on models including the iPhone Air and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Early coverage attributed the drop to background work after installation, such as rebuilding search indexes, and said it is usually most noticeable in the first 24 to 48 hours. A separate guide pointed to Connectivity Assist, the iOS 27 replacement for Wi-Fi Assist that can keep the cellular radio working alongside Wi-Fi, though Apple has not directly acknowledged a battery problem tied to it.
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