Taking Control of Your Battery and Data
If you pick up your iPhone in the morning and immediately open the news app, you will notice that the latest headlines are already waiting for you, fully loaded. You do not have to wait for the app to connect to the internet and download the day’s stories. This convenience is made possible by a core iOS feature called Background App Refresh.
Background App Refresh allows apps to periodically wake up while they are suspended in the background, connect to Wi-Fi or cellular data, and download new content. While this ensures your apps are always up-to-date the moment you open them, it comes with two significant costs: battery life and cellular data usage.
If you have dozens of apps (like social media feeds, weather apps, and news aggregators) constantly waking up in your pocket to refresh data you might not even look at that day, your battery will drain noticeably faster. Furthermore, if you are on a limited data plan, these silent background updates can eat through your monthly allowance without you ever realising it. Turning off Background App Refresh is one of the most effective troubleshooting steps for fixing severe iPhone battery drain.
How to Turn Off Background App Refresh Completely
If you are travelling, away from a charger for a long weekend, or simply want to maximise your device’s battery life, you can disable the feature entirely for all apps simultaneously.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down slightly and tap on General.
- Tap on Background App Refresh (located near the middle of the screen).
- At the very top of the next screen, you will see a master toggle labelled Background App Refresh. Tap it.
- You are now presented with three options:
- Off: This completely disables the feature for every app on your phone. Apps will only update when you actively open them on your screen. This saves the maximum amount of battery.
- Wi-Fi: Apps will only refresh in the background when your phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network. This saves your cellular data but still uses battery.
- Wi-Fi & Cellular Data: The default setting. Apps will refresh constantly regardless of your connection type.
- Tap Off to disable the feature entirely.
Note: Turning this feature off does not stop you from receiving push notifications. You will still receive WhatsApp messages, email alerts, and breaking news notifications immediately. The only difference is that when you tap the notification to open the app, you may have to wait one or two seconds for the actual content to load.
How to Manage Background App Refresh Per App
Disabling the feature entirely is a heavy-handed approach. A much better strategy for daily use is to leave the master switch turned on, but manually revoke the permission for apps that do not genuinely need it.
For example, you might want your navigation app to refresh in the background so it can update traffic data, but you almost certainly do not need a mobile game or a fast-food ordering app constantly downloading data while you are asleep.
- Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh.
- Ensure the master toggle at the top of the screen is set to Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi & Cellular Data.
- Look at the long alphabetical list of apps located below the master toggle.
- Every app has a green toggle switch next to it. Go through this list and turn the switch Off (grey) for any app that you do not need constantly updated.
Be aggressive here. Most apps function perfectly fine without background refresh. By turning off the majority of the apps in this list and leaving it enabled only for critical services, you strike the perfect balance between convenience and battery longevity.
