iOS 11 Brings New Background App Refresh Option

The 11th iOS generation is packed with changes and new features. After reviewing the most important ones like revamped Control Center, redesigned App Store app, unified Notifications, Screen Recording and many others it’s time to also look at the smaller changes, that are very important too. One of them is the addition of a new Background App Refresh option. This feature handles the ability of recently used apps to refresh in the background and be ready to provide updated information when you bring them back in the foreground from the App Switcher.

Until iOS 11 this function could have been configured as enabled or disabled. When the setting is ON you can also determine which applications you allow to update in the background and which not. Selecting only the important ones will help you preserve battery life. The less refreshes the more energy your iOS device saves. Due to the fact that Background App Refresh requires Internet connectivity, in order to update the apps, a third status option has been added in iOS 11. Now you can turn off app refresh in the background, enable it only when a Wi-Fi connection is available, or turn it out for both Wi-Fi and Mobile Data.

How To Configure Background App Refresh in iOS 11
1. Open Settings from the Home screen of your iPhone/iPad.
2. Tap on General and scroll for Background App Refresh.
3. Tap the Background App Refresh label and select one of the available options: Off, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi & Mobile Data.
4. Tap the Blue arrow available in the top-left corner of the screen to save your selection and return to the previous menu.

Tip: To allow only a select number of apps to refresh in the background, use the knob available next to the app’s name.