iPhone iOS 13.5.1 Battery drain - "Background Activity" - extreme usage

[sjstar]

My dilemma...

Background App Refresh is and has been OFF on this phone, but is possibly functioning anyway.
Battery info shows "Background Activity," - don't know if it's BAR.

There are news apps (WNEP - northeast & central Pennsylvania news) uses an exorbitant amount of battery, considering the actual screen time. In the last 24 hrs, screen time = 2 minutes, but background activity = 10 hrs, 45 mins; for a total of 51% battery usage. Stats for the last 10 days are: 35 minutes on screen; 121 hrs, 47 minutes background, for a total of 44% battery usage.

Several other apps, including FoxNews, CNN, ESPN and local news - all use in the 4-6% battery each, with similar proportions of on screen time vs. background activity. For example:

• #1 app = 5% battery in last 24 hrs, with 1 minute on screen; 7 hrs, 12 minutes background
• #2 app = 6% battery in last 10 days, with 36 minutes on screen; 14 hrs, 53 minutes background
• #3 app = 6% battery in last 10 days, with 8 minutes on screen; 14 hrs, 17 minutes background
• #4 app = 5% battery in last 10 days, with 52 minutes on screen; 47 hrs, 27 minutes background

If background app refresh is and has been set to OFF, I'm guessing these effects should not be occurring. Am also wondering about the interplay between Background App Refresh, Cellular Data - ON/OFF, and Location Services - ON/OFF. And, if not any of these offenders, what types of background activities are running that use up so much battery?

Cellular Data was ON for the apps above, as well as many others, so it is now OFF for all but 4 apps. Location Services are and have been set to OFF. Before bedtime every night AND a couple of times during the day, I clear Safari history and website data. I clear apps by hitting home button twice and swiping all open windows. Have been doing this long before installing current update. Battery Health is at 89%.

While it's helpful to identify the offending function, I am still puzzled. Are there other background functions that would be tagged as "Background Activity" in battery app settings?

 

[C DM]

There are other background use functionalities beyond background app refresh. Seems like there have been some people reporting similar things in relation to various news apps for the most part. Hard to say what might be behind it.

A few similar threads:

Battery drain across devices

Hi guys, I recently noticed that my iPhone X suffers from severe battery drain issues (details here). In short: I lose 40-50% overnight. I then decided to check the battery life on my 10.5 iPad Pro. Normally I always turn it off during the night but I left it on yesterday to do the battery...

forums.macrumors.com

iPhone XR - CNN and Wash Post apps draining battery in background

This just started happening... my XR battery drains far faster than it ever has... and the "Battery" view in settings shows it is almost entirely due to CNN and Washington Post apps in background... 41% and 39% respectively. But... I have always had background refresh turned off on those and...

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background energy usage in iOS apps

Have noticed that sometimes iOS apps use lots of energy in the background. Like today the "Oxford English Dictionary" used up 32% of energy in the "background" and all I did was look up one word in it!!!! The app does have advertising in it. At the same time "Background App refresh" is set to...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Graham Caracas]

I’m having the same issue with random third party apps. Seems to help if you swipe up and pause from the bottom of the home screen and close all open apps (swipe them up). Then check battery usage. Should be back to normal, but it’s a huge pain to constantly close apps and check usage. A better way?

 

[posguy99]

Should be back to normal, but it’s a huge pain to constantly close apps and check usage. A better way?

Sure. Find the misbehaving app and publicly bash the offending developer.

 

[sjstar]

There are other background use functionalities beyond background app refresh. Seems like there have been some people reporting similar things in relation to various news apps for the most part. Hard to say what might be behind it.

A few similar threads:

Battery drain across devices

Hi guys, I recently noticed that my iPhone X suffers from severe battery drain issues (details here). In short: I lose 40-50% overnight. I then decided to check the battery life on my 10.5 iPad Pro. Normally I always turn it off during the night but I left it on yesterday to do the battery...

forums.macrumors.com

iPhone XR - CNN and Wash Post apps draining battery in background

This just started happening... my XR battery drains far faster than it ever has... and the "Battery" view in settings shows it is almost entirely due to CNN and Washington Post apps in background... 41% and 39% respectively. But... I have always had background refresh turned off on those and...

forums.macrumors.com

background energy usage in iOS apps

Have noticed that sometimes iOS apps use lots of energy in the background. Like today the "Oxford English Dictionary" used up 32% of energy in the "background" and all I did was look up one word in it!!!! The app does have advertising in it. At the same time "Background App refresh" is set to...

forums.macrumors.com

Thanks for posting those.
I did the following today on the iPhone: 1. disabled the Battery Optimization feature - this appeared to help a bit, but there was still a lot of "background activity" in those third party apps. Then we just deleted the offenders. If apps can cause that much trouble, we are better off without them.
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I’m having the same issue with random third party apps. Seems to help if you swipe up and pause from the bottom of the home screen and close all open apps (swipe them up). Then check battery usage. Should be back to normal, but it’s a huge pain to constantly close apps and check usage. A better way?

I did the following today on the iPhone: 1. disabled the Battery Optimization feature - this appeared to help a bit, but there was still a lot of "background activity" in those third party apps. Then we just deleted the offenders. If apps can cause that much trouble, I can live without them.
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Sure. Find the misbehaving app and publicly bash the offending developer.

What you said.