If you're trying to improve your iPhone's battery life, you've probably come across the same recommendation:
Turn off Background App Refresh.
But does Background App Refresh actually drain your battery?
The answer is yes, it can—but that doesn't mean you should immediately disable it for every app on your iPhone.
Background App Refresh allows supported apps to update information while you aren't actively using them. That can make apps feel faster and ensure newer information is available when you open them.
The tradeoff is simple:
Background activity requires resources, and resources require power.
Here's what Background App Refresh actually does, how to determine whether it's affecting your battery, and which apps you should consider disabling.
What Is Background App Refresh on iPhone?
Background App Refresh allows apps to perform certain updates while they aren't actively displayed on your screen.
Instead of waiting until you open an app before retrieving new information, supported apps may periodically update some content in the background.
For example, depending on how an app is designed, background activity may help prepare newer information before you open it.
The goal is convenience.
You open an app and the information you want may already be waiting for you.
But that convenience can require some battery power.
Does Background App Refresh Use Battery?
Yes.
Any process that uses your iPhone's processor, network connection, location services, or other hardware requires energy.
However, that doesn't mean Background App Refresh is automatically responsible for poor battery life.
The impact depends heavily on:
- Which apps you have installed
- How those apps behave
- How frequently they're allowed to perform background tasks
- Network conditions
- Location usage
- Your normal iPhone usage
One well-behaved application performing occasional background updates may have very little noticeable effect.
A poorly optimized or unusually active application can be different.
That's why you should diagnose before disabling.
Check Which Apps Are Actually Using Your Battery
Don't guess.
Your iPhone already provides battery-usage information.
Open:
Settings → Battery
Review the apps and system activities consuming battery power.
Depending on your version of iOS, you can view battery usage across recent periods and see additional information about app activity.
Look for an app showing significant Background Activity.
That tells you the application has been consuming power while it wasn't necessarily active on your screen.
This is much more useful than randomly turning off features and hoping battery life improves.
What Does "Background Activity" Mean in Battery Settings?
If Battery settings show Background Activity beneath an app, much of that application's battery usage occurred while it was operating in the background.
That can happen for legitimate reasons.
Examples may include:
- Playing audio
- Tracking location
- Uploading or downloading information
- Synchronizing content
- Performing supported background tasks
So don't immediately assume:
Background Activity = bad app.
Instead ask:
Does the amount of background activity make sense for what this app does?
A music app playing audio for two hours while your screen is locked?
That makes sense.
A rarely used app somehow accumulating large amounts of background activity?
That's worth investigating.
How to Turn Off Background App Refresh
Open:
Settings → General → Background App Refresh
You'll see apps that can use the feature.
You can configure Background App Refresh globally or adjust access for individual apps.
The exact options available can vary depending on your iOS version and configuration.
Should You Turn Background App Refresh Off Completely?
Usually, I wouldn't start there.
Turning the entire feature off is certainly one way to reduce background activity, but it's a broad solution.
A better approach is often:
Disable it for apps that don't need it.
Go through the list and ask yourself:
Do I care if this app updates information before I open it?
If the answer is no, that's a good candidate for disabling Background App Refresh.
Apps You May Not Need Refreshing in the Background
This depends entirely on how you use your iPhone, but common candidates may include:
Games
Most games don't need to constantly prepare information while you're doing something else.
Shopping Apps
Do you really need every retailer on your phone performing background updates?
Probably not.
Apps You Rarely Use
If you open an application once every three months, background convenience probably isn't particularly valuable.
Social Apps You Barely Use
If you don't regularly use a social platform, there may be little reason to give its app additional opportunities for background activity.
Old Apps You've Forgotten About
This is also a good opportunity to review whether you need the application installed at all.
Apps You May Want to Leave Alone
Don't turn settings off simply because an online battery guide told you to.
Some apps provide functionality where background operation is genuinely useful.
Depending on your needs, this can include apps related to:
- Navigation
- Communication
- Audio
- Cloud services
- Work applications
- Frequently used information services
The correct configuration isn't identical for every iPhone owner.
Your settings should reflect how you use your phone.
Will Apps Stop Working If I Disable Background App Refresh?
Generally, disabling Background App Refresh doesn't mean you can never use the app again.
You can still open the application normally.
The difference is that some information may need to refresh after you launch it instead of being prepared beforehand.
Exactly how an app behaves depends on the application.
That's why disabling Background App Refresh selectively is usually better than blindly turning off everything.
Does Background App Refresh Affect Notifications?
This is where people often get confused.
Push notifications and Background App Refresh aren't exactly the same thing.
Turning off Background App Refresh doesn't necessarily mean you'll suddenly stop receiving every notification from that application.
Notifications use their own mechanisms and permissions.
If notifications themselves are contributing to battery usage because they're constantly waking your display, review:
Settings → Notifications
and decide which apps actually deserve your attention.
Does Low Power Mode Turn Off Background App Refresh?
Yes.
Low Power Mode reduces several types of activity to extend battery runtime, including Background App Refresh.
That's one reason Low Power Mode can be so effective when you're trying to stretch the remaining battery through the rest of the day.
If your battery is running low and you don't need maximum background activity, enable:
Settings → Battery → Low Power Mode
Depending on your iPhone and iOS version, Power Mode controls may appear slightly differently.
Does Turning Off Background App Refresh Save a Lot of Battery?
Sometimes.
But don't expect it to magically double your battery life.
If an application is performing excessive background activity, restricting that app could make a noticeable difference.
If your apps are already behaving normally, the improvement may be relatively small.
Battery consumption is the combination of many things:
- Screen usage
- Apps
- Cellular signal
- Wi-Fi
- GPS
- Background activity
- Gaming
- Video
- Camera use
- Temperature
- Battery condition
Background App Refresh is only one piece.
That's why our broader guide covers:
25 Ways to Improve iPhone Battery Life and Stop Battery Drain
Background App Refresh vs. Background Activity
These terms shouldn't always be treated as interchangeable.
Background App Refresh is a specific iOS feature.
Background Activity in your battery information is a broader description of app activity that occurred while an application wasn't being actively used on screen.
For example, an app performing location-related activity or playing audio can appear as background activity even though your troubleshooting may involve more than simply toggling Background App Refresh.
That's an important distinction.
What If One App Is Using Huge Amounts of Battery in the Background?
Now you've found something worth investigating.
Try this process.
Step 1: Update the App
Check the App Store for an available update.
A developer may have already fixed a bug causing excessive battery consumption.
Step 2: Restart Your iPhone
A temporary software problem can occasionally cause abnormal behavior.
Restarting is simple and worth trying.
Step 3: Disable Background App Refresh for That App
Use the phone normally for a day or two.
Then check Battery settings again.
Step 4: Review Location Permissions
Go to:
Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services
See whether the application has more location access than it genuinely needs.
Step 5: Reinstall the App if Necessary
If one application continues behaving abnormally, reinstalling it may help eliminate corrupted local data or another app-specific problem.
Just make sure any important information stored inside the app is backed up or synchronized first.
What If Battery Drain Continues After Turning It Off?
Then Background App Refresh probably wasn't the primary problem.
Move on to other likely causes.
Check:
- Display brightness
- Cellular signal
- Location Services
- Battery Health
- Recently installed apps
- Recent iOS updates
- Notifications
- Excessive heat
Our main troubleshooting article walks through this systematically:
iPhone Battery Draining Fast? Here's How to Fix It
Don't keep disabling random features once you've determined they aren't responsible.
What About Battery Drain After an iOS Update?
This deserves special attention.
After installing a major iOS update, your iPhone may continue performing tasks in the background.
That can temporarily increase:
- Battery consumption
- Processor activity
- Device temperature
So if battery life becomes worse immediately after updating iOS, Background App Refresh may not be the actual cause.
We're covering this separately in:
Why Is My iPhone Battery Draining After an iOS Update?
That's another reason diagnosing battery usage is better than immediately changing dozens of settings.
Can Poor Cellular Signal Make Background Activity Worse?
Network conditions can have a significant effect on battery life.
If your iPhone or an application repeatedly needs network access while you're in an area with poor cellular coverage, maintaining connectivity may require additional power.
This is one reason battery life can suddenly seem terrible in:
- Basements
- Rural areas
- Large buildings
- Elevators
- Parking garages
- Areas with weak carrier coverage
Your apps may not have changed at all.
Your environment did.
Should You Disable Background App Refresh When Traveling?
It can be worth reviewing.
When traveling, you may experience:
- Poorer cellular coverage
- Roaming
- Longer periods away from chargers
- Heavy navigation use
- Increased camera usage
If preserving battery life is important, restricting unnecessary background activity can help.
Low Power Mode is also useful in these situations because it automatically reduces several power-consuming behaviors.
Does Background App Refresh Damage Battery Health?
This requires an important distinction.
Battery life means how long your iPhone lasts before you need to recharge it.
Battery health refers to the battery's long-term ability to hold and deliver power as it chemically ages.
Background App Refresh primarily affects power consumption.
If background activity causes you to consume more battery, you'll need to recharge more frequently.
But Background App Refresh isn't some special feature that directly "damages" the battery.
For more information about long-term battery aging, read:
How Long Does an iPhone Battery Last?
What If My Battery Health Is Already Low?
Settings can reduce power consumption.
They cannot restore lost chemical battery capacity.
If your battery has significantly degraded, disabling Background App Refresh may help squeeze additional runtime from the capacity you have left—but it doesn't make the battery physically new again.
Check:
How to Check iPhone Battery Health and What It Really Means
And if you're deciding whether replacement makes sense:
Does Your iPhone Need a New Battery? Signs It's Time to Replace It
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Background App Refresh drain iPhone battery?
It can consume battery because apps may perform supported tasks while you're not actively using them. The real-world impact depends on the apps and how much background activity they're performing.
Should I turn Background App Refresh off?
Consider disabling it for apps that don't need to update in the background. You don't necessarily need to disable the feature for every app.
Will turning it off make my iPhone faster?
Not necessarily. Its primary purpose is controlling certain background behavior, not acting as a general performance switch.
Will I still get notifications?
Background App Refresh and push notifications aren't the same feature. Disabling Background App Refresh doesn't automatically disable all notifications.
Does Low Power Mode disable Background App Refresh?
Yes. Background App Refresh is one of the features reduced or disabled while Low Power Mode is active.
Why does an app show Background Activity even after I disabled Background App Refresh?
Because Background Activity can represent other types of permitted activity, such as audio or location use. Background App Refresh is only one form of background behavior.
Should I disable it for every app to maximize battery life?
You can, but selective configuration is usually more practical. Disable unnecessary activity while preserving features that are genuinely useful to you.
Continue Troubleshooting Your iPhone Battery
This article is part of the iPhone4Idiots iPhone Battery Help collection.
Continue with:
- 25 Ways to Improve iPhone Battery Life and Stop Battery Drain
- iPhone Battery Draining Fast? Here's How to Fix It
- How to Check iPhone Battery Health
- How Long Does an iPhone Battery Last?
- Does Your iPhone Need a New Battery?
- Why Is My iPhone Getting Hot While Charging?
- Is It Safe to Charge Your iPhone Overnight?
- Do You Need to Calibrate Your iPhone Battery?
- What Is Optimized Battery Charging?
- iPhone Fast Charging Explained
Final Thoughts
Yes, Background App Refresh can use battery power.
But that doesn't make it something every iPhone owner needs to completely disable.
The smarter approach is to use the information your iPhone already provides.
Open Settings → Battery.
Look for apps performing significant background activity.
Then decide whether that activity makes sense.
If an application you rarely use is constantly consuming battery in the background, restrict it.
If an app provides functionality you rely on, don't disable useful features just to chase an extra percentage point.
Battery optimization works best when you eliminate unnecessary activity—not useful functionality.
And if disabling Background App Refresh doesn't improve your battery life, that's valuable information too.
It means it's time to keep troubleshooting instead of blaming the wrong feature.
