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How to: turn off battery optimisations on mobile devices to help Ruuvi Station run optimally

Mobile devices, like phones and tablets, are built for portability and power efficiency. As a result, most operating systems are optimised to limit apps from running in the background to conserve battery. This can be problematic for apps that need to fetch data while minimised, especially those using peripherals like Bluetooth.

Ruuvi Station (iOS, Android) can be affected by these battery optimisations, as it relies on Bluetooth connectivity, and especially when using background scanning to receive and record Bluetooth signals from Ruuvi sensors when the app is minimised and running in the background.

In this article, we’ll highlight common settings to turn off on your device to ensure Ruuvi Station functions optimally.

Every operating system to their own

Each mobile operating system seems to have its own unique approach to maximising battery life. Some were once infamous for their aggressive power-saving features, putting apps to sleep whenever they weren’t actively displayed on the screen. Since those times, it seems things have improved slightly. However, default settings in most mobile operating systems still limit app performance in exchange for better battery life on your device.

iOS and iPadOS

Apple introduced Background App Refresh in their iOS and iPadOS operating systems to manage app resource usage when minimised and running in the background.

  1. Open the Settings app on your device.
  2. Scroll down and select General.
  3. Tap on Background App Refresh.
  4. To allow battery usage for Ruuvi Station, make sure that Background App Refresh is active and Ruuvi Station is set to enabled in the list.

Ruuvi Station requires this setting to be enabled in order to keep collecting Bluetooth advertisement messages from Ruuvi sensor devices when Ruuvi Station app is minimised to background.

Android

Android operating systems can be more complex to navigate due to their manufacturer-specific power management and battery optimisation features. Below you will find the most commonly found options.

Samsung

Samsung, as one of the most popular Android manufacturers, has experienced its own challenges with power management, especially on devices running pre-Android 14 operating systems. If your mobile device is running an older version of Android OS, please refer to manufacturer documentation for device specific instructions.

In Android 13 and 14,

Turn Off Power Saving

  1. Open the Settings app on your Samsung device.
  2. Select Battery.
  3. Tap on Power saving.
  4. Toggle off the Power saving feature.

Background Usage Limits

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Select Battery.
  3. Tap on Background usage limits.
  4. Disable the Put unused apps to sleep feature.
  5. Add Ruuvi Station to the Never auto sleep list.

Adjust Ruuvi Station App Settings

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Select Apps.
  3. Find and tap on Ruuvi Station.
  4. Go to Battery and set it to Unrestricted.
  5. Ensure the Remove permissions if app is unused option is disabled.

In Android 12,

Adjust Battery Settings

  1. Open the Settings app on your Samsung device.
  2. Select Battery and device care.
  3. Tap on Battery.
  4. Choose Background usage limits.
  5. Disable the Put unused apps to sleep option.

Disable Auto-Optimization and Adaptive Power Saving

  1. Go back to Battery and device care in the Settings.
  2. Tap on the three-dot menu at the top right corner of the screen.
  3. Select Automation.
  4. Disable both Auto-optimize daily and Adaptive power saving.

Nokia

Nokia Android devices have both Battery usage and Battery-saver configurations on the operating system, which can limit app performance.

In Nokia devices running Android 12,

Disable Battery Saver

  1. Open the Settings app on your device.
  2. Select Battery.
  3. Ensure that both Battery Saver and Super Battery Saver are switched to OFF.

Adjust Ruuvi Station Battery Settings

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Select Apps.
  3. Find and tap on Ruuvi Station.
  4. Choose Battery.
  5. In the options popup, set the app to Unrestricted.

Google Pixel

Google Pixel devices come with advanced battery management features that may limit background app activity to conserve power.

In Android 12,

Adjust App Power Optimization

  1. Open the Settings app on your Google Pixel device.
  2. Select Apps.
  3. Scroll through the list and tap on Ruuvi Station.
  4. Tap on Battery.
  5. In the popup, select Unrestricted.

In Android 11,

Adjust Battery Optimization

  1. Open the Settings app on your Google Pixel device.
  2. Select Battery.
  3. Tap the three-dot menu in the top corner and choose Battery Optimization.
  4. Find Ruuvi Station in the list and set it to Not optimized.

Disable Adaptive Battery

  1. In the Battery settings, locate and select Adaptive Battery.
  2. Set Adaptive Battery to disabled.

Disable Background Restriction for Ruuvi Station

  1. Return to the Battery page in Settings.
  2. Tap the three-dot menu in the top corner and select Battery usage.
  3. Under Battery usage since full charge, tap More (…) and select Show full device usage.
  4. Find Ruuvi Station in the list.
  5. If Background restriction is enabled, disable it.
OnePlus

OnePlus devices feature robust battery optimisation settings, which can sometimes restrict app performance in the background.

In Android 12,

Adjust Battery Usage Settings

  1. Open the Settings app on your OnePlus device.
  2. Select Apps.
  3. Find and tap on Ruuvi Station.
  4. Tap on Battery Usage.
  5. Ensure the following items are enabled:
    Allow foreground activity
    Allow background activity
    Allow auto-launch
  6. Restart your mobile device to apply the changes.

In Android 11,

Disable Battery Optimization

 

  1. Open the Settings app on your OnePlus device.
  2. Go to Battery.
  3. Select Battery optimization.
  4. Use the drop-down filter to show All apps.
  5. Locate and tap on Ruuvi Station.
  6. Select Don’t Optimize.

Configure Apps & Notifications

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Select Apps & notifications.
  3. Tap on Special app access.
  4. Find and select Ruuvi Station.
  5. Turn Battery optimization OFF.

Adjust Sleep-Related Settings

  1. Open the Settings app and go to Battery.
  2. Select Battery optimization.
  3. Tap the three-dot menu in the top corner and choose Advanced optimization.
  4. Make sure both Deep optimization (or Adaptive battery) and Sleep standby optimization are disabled.

Huawei

While the latest models come with Huawei’s HarmonyOS that doesn’t support Android apps (or Google Play), many older devices remain popular and run a customised Huawei version of Google’s Android OS.

On your Huawei Android OS 9, 10 or 11 device,

Adjust App Launch Settings

  1. Open the Settings app on your device.
  2. Navigate to Battery.
  3. Tap on App Launch.
  4. Switch off Manage Automatically.
  5. Locate Ruuvi Station in the list and enable the app launch toggle.
  6. A Manage manually popup will appear; ensure the following options are enabled:
    Auto-launch
    Secondary launch
    Run in background.

Huawei devices are well-known for aggressively optimising battery usage, often causing issues with apps that need to run in the background, such as Ruuvi Station.

Conclusion and more tips

While we’ve listed the most common features found on Android devices, we recommend visiting https://dontkillmyapp.com/ for specific instructions on managing power settings for your device.