Power Saving Modes

This topic is to collect what we know about the power saving modes on Android and how they affect BackCountry Navigator. You are welcome to contribute your own knowledge.

Users are asking for help if they come across a situation where track recording died on its own, or another condition where they see a track that is missing many points in the middle. In this case, it may look like you have traveled in a straight line where it is not

We usually do ask users about power saving modes in these cases. Power saving modes can be different on every device and are often vague about what exactly they do in order to save battery.

It usually involves not letting apps run or use resources. Sounds great unless you want to create a complete track or finish a download.

The following are some that are fairly common, though they may look different on different devices.

This is a screen on a device with Android. It has a power saving mode. You reach this screen by going to settings and choosing Battery. One of the options.

Power Saving Mode 6.0.1

Not all power saving modes tell us what they do, but this one specifically mentions restricting location services and background data.

In testing on devices, when this power saving was activated, track recording continued but did not receive any locations during the time the device was in power saving mode. This resulted in a straight line where there should have been more points. Set this to OFF for good tracking data. 

Power Saving Modes 7.0

On my Samsung Phone with 7.0, the settings look more like this.

It is notable that the descriptions for these power modes say nothing about location updates. Nonetheless, it makes a difference.

In testing on devices, when this power saving was at MID, track recording continued but did not receive any locations during the time the device was in power saving mode. This resulted in a straight line where there should have been more points. Set this to OFF for good tracking data. 

Battery Optimization

Phones often have settings for "battery optimization" of apps. Sometimes this is referred to as App power monitor. The "optimized" apps are put to sleep or restricted from running.

 It has some unmonitored or whitelisted apps. You could add other apps to this list that would presumably avoid these restriction.

In our testing, we found no difference when BCN was placed in the exclusion list here. Track Recording behaved normally with or without it.

Other Settings

Devices are not consistent in what settings they have and not always clear about what they do.

One user found a setting called "Aggressive Hybernate" on a ONEPLUS A3. Exempting BCN in this case resolved problems he had with a track that stopped recording repeatedly.