How to Turn Off Background App Refresh on iPhone
Background App Refresh lets iPhone apps check for new content when you are not actively using them. It can make apps feel ready when you open them, but that convenience may use battery, mobile data, or both. If your iPhone loses charge faster than expected, disabling this feature is a simple setting worth testing.
You can turn off Background App Refresh for every app, limit it to Wi-Fi, or choose individual apps that do not need to update in the background. The best option depends on whether you care more about maximum battery life or having the latest content immediately available.
This guide explains where to find the setting, what changes after you disable it, which apps are usually safe to restrict, and what other iPhone settings may be affecting battery performance. The steps apply to modern iPhone models, although menu wording can vary slightly between iOS versions.
Why Background App Refresh Uses Battery
An app does not need to be visible on your screen to perform certain tasks. With Background App Refresh enabled, it can periodically connect to the internet, download new information, update feeds, refresh headlines, or prepare content before you open it. Each activity may be small, but repeated checks can add up over the course of a day.
The feature can also use mobile data when your iPhone is away from Wi-Fi. This is more noticeable with apps that frequently retrieve images, videos, social posts, or location-based information. Cellular activity generally requires more power than a similar task performed over a stable Wi-Fi connection.
Background App Refresh is only one part of iPhone battery usage. A bright display, weak cellular signal, GPS activity, video streaming, gaming, and push notifications can have a larger effect. Turning off background updates may help, but it should be viewed as one practical adjustment rather than a complete battery repair.
Find The Background App Refresh Setting
Open the Settings app, then tap General. Choose Background App Refresh near the middle of the page. At the top of the next screen, tap Background App Refresh again if your iPhone displays a separate mode selector.
You will see three main choices: Off, Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi & Mobile Data. Selecting Off disables background updating across the device. Choosing Wi-Fi allows apps to refresh when your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi but prevents this activity over cellular data. The final option permits background updates over both connection types.
Below the main selector is a list of installed apps with individual switches. You can leave the feature enabled generally and turn it off only for selected apps. This approach often provides a useful balance because apps that benefit from fresh content can continue updating while less important apps stop using background resources.
If the setting is already disabled, individual switches may be unavailable. Turn the main feature back on temporarily if you want to review or change app-specific permissions, then select the option that matches your preferred battery and data behavior.
Turn Off Background App Refresh On iPhone
To disable the feature completely, follow this path:
- Open Settings.
- Tap General.
- Select Background App Refresh.
- Tap Background App Refresh at the top of the screen.
- Choose Off.
The change takes effect immediately. You do not need to restart your iPhone, close open apps, or wait for a scheduled maintenance period. When you launch an app later, it can still connect to the internet and retrieve current information in the normal way.
For a less restrictive option, choose Wi-Fi instead of Off. This prevents background refresh while using mobile data, which can protect both battery life and your data allowance. Apps can still perform background checks when the phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network.
You can also use the switches beside individual apps. For example, you might keep Background App Refresh active for a calendar or news app while disabling it for shopping, games, food delivery, or social media apps that you do not need updated before opening them.
Choose Which Apps Should Refresh
There is no universal list of apps that must have Background App Refresh enabled. The right choice depends on how you use your iPhone. An app that you open frequently may feel more responsive with the feature active, while an app you use once a week gains little from checking for new content throughout the day.
Social networking, shopping, retail, recipe, travel, and game apps are often reasonable candidates for restriction. Their content can usually load when you open the app. Disabling background refresh for them may reduce unnecessary network activity without affecting your ability to use their main features.
Productivity apps require more thought. A task manager, cloud storage app, note-taking service, or calendar may use background activity to prepare updates. However, important alerts commonly rely on push notifications or other services rather than Background App Refresh alone. Turning off the setting should not automatically be treated as a way to silence every notification.
| Setting | Battery and data effect | What you can expect |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Lowest background activity | Apps generally update when opened |
| Wi-Fi | Reduces cellular use while allowing some background activity | Apps can refresh on Wi-Fi networks |
| Wi-Fi & Mobile Data | Most background access | Apps can update over Wi-Fi or cellular connections |
| Individual app switches | Targeted reduction | Selected apps refresh; others follow the main setting |
Before disabling an app, consider whether you need information ready when you launch it. If you do not notice a difference after turning off its switch, leaving it disabled is usually sensible. You can return to the same menu at any time and restore background access.
For a clearer understanding of practical iPhone behavior, you can also review my testing approach, which focuses on explaining everyday technology through hands-on use rather than technical jargon.
What Changes After You Disable It
The most obvious change is that some apps may show a loading indicator when you open them. Instead of having downloaded recent information in advance, the app fetches it at that moment. On a fast Wi-Fi connection, the difference may be barely noticeable. On a slow connection, it can be more apparent.
Disabling Background App Refresh does not stop an app from working when you use it. You can still browse, search, send messages, upload files, and refresh a feed manually. The setting controls automatic background updating; it does not remove the app’s internet access while it is open.
It also does not necessarily turn off notifications. Messages, calls, calendar alerts, and other time-sensitive notices often use Apple’s push notification system. A particular app may handle alerts differently, so check its notification settings if you stop receiving an alert. Background App Refresh and notifications are separate controls.
Some Apple features and app functions can continue through other background mechanisms. Location services, media downloads, iCloud activity, mail fetching, Bluetooth connections, and live activities may have their own settings. If an app continues to use battery, inspect the specific feature rather than assuming Background App Refresh is responsible.
Check Battery Usage Before Making Changes
Before and after changing the setting, open Settings, tap Battery, and review the activity list. iPhone typically shows which apps used the most battery over the selected period. Tapping an app can provide more detail, including whether usage occurred on screen or in the background.
Look for patterns rather than focusing on a single percentage. An app with high background activity may be a good candidate for restriction. An app that uses most of its power while on screen may continue to drain the battery when you use it, even after Background App Refresh is disabled.
Battery Health & Charging can also provide useful context. If maximum capacity has declined significantly, the iPhone may have less usable battery life than it did when new. Software settings can reduce unnecessary consumption, but they cannot restore lost battery capacity.
Low Power Mode is another option under Settings > Battery. When enabled, it temporarily reduces or disables several background activities, including Background App Refresh. This is useful when you need the battery to last longer, but it changes more behavior than turning off background refresh for one or two apps. Background App Refresh normally returns to its previous state when Low Power Mode is turned off.
Use A Balanced Battery-Saving Setup
A targeted configuration is often easier to live with than disabling every background feature. Start by checking battery usage, then restrict apps that show frequent background activity without providing a clear benefit. Test the phone for a day or two before making additional changes.
These choices can create a practical starting point:
- Set Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi if you want to reduce cellular activity without disabling the feature entirely.
- Turn it off for games, shopping apps, social networks, and other apps that do not need to prepare content in advance.
- Keep it enabled for apps where timely background updates are genuinely useful, such as selected calendars or productivity tools.
- Review Settings > Battery after several days to see whether the change made a measurable difference.
- Use Low Power Mode when you need temporary battery savings during travel, commuting, or a long day away from a charger.
If your iPhone still loses power quickly, inspect display brightness, Auto-Lock, location permissions, cellular signal strength, and recently installed apps. A weak signal can make the phone work harder to maintain a connection, while a demanding app may consume significant power during active use.
Avoid repeatedly force-closing every app from the App Switcher as a battery strategy. iOS manages suspended apps automatically, and reopening them from scratch can sometimes require more work than allowing them to remain suspended. Close an app when it is frozen or malfunctioning, then use battery data to identify recurring causes of drain.
Turning off Background App Refresh is a low-risk adjustment because it does not delete data or uninstall anything. If you dislike the delayed loading behavior, return to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and enable the feature for the apps that matter most. If the change improves endurance without affecting your routine, keep the restricted settings and combine them with sensible display and connectivity controls.