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How to turn off Background App Refresh on an iPhone
Background App Refresh lets apps fetch new content while you're not using them, so a news app or social feed is already up to date when you open it. That costs battery and mobile data, and most apps don't need it. This guide shows you how to switch it off for every app, limit it to Wi-Fi, or turn it off for the apps that drain the most and leave the rest alone. Notifications, phone calls, music and sat-nav directions don't rely on it, so they carry on as before.
What you'll need: An iPhone. The wording below matches iOS 26; the setting has lived in the same place since iOS 7, so older versions differ only in small details.
Open General in Settings
Open Settings, scroll down and tap General.
Tap Background App Refresh
Tap Background App Refresh. The screen that opens has a row of the same name at the top and, below it, a list of every app that is allowed to refresh in the background, each with its own switch.
Tap the Background App Refresh row at the top
Tap the top row, Background App Refresh. It shows the current overall setting, which is Wi-Fi & Mobile Data on a new iPhone.
Choose Off, or Wi-Fi
Three options are listed. Off stops every app refreshing in the background. Wi-Fi keeps it on, but only when the phone is connected to Wi-Fi, which protects your mobile data allowance and saves some battery. Wi-Fi & Mobile Data is the default and allows it everywhere.
Tap the one you want. The change applies straight away, with no confirmation.
Switch off the apps you don't need refreshing
Tap Back to return to the app list. Turn off the switch next to each app you don't want working in the background. Apps you open constantly, such as Mail or Messages, are fine to leave on; games, shopping apps and anything you open once a week are the ones to turn off.
Variations
Open Settings, tap Apps near the bottom, then tap the app's name. Its page has a Background App Refresh switch along with its other permissions. This is the same switch as the one in the list in step 5, so changing it in either place changes both.
Open Settings and tap Battery. The usage list shows how much battery each app has used, and apps with a lot of background activity say so under their name. Those are the first ones to switch off in step 5.
Low Power Mode suspends Background App Refresh for every app, along with other battery-hungry features, without changing any of the settings above. Open Settings, tap Battery, then tap Power Mode and choose Low Power Mode. Your per-app choices come back untouched when you turn it off again, or when the phone charges past 80% and turns it off for you.
Troubleshooting
Low Power Mode is on. While it's active, the iPhone overrides the individual switches, so they can't be changed. Turn Low Power Mode off (Settings → Battery → Power Mode), make your changes, then turn it back on if you want it.
Only apps that ask iOS for background refresh appear. If an app isn't listed, it never refreshes in the background, so there is nothing to turn off.
That's expected. Notifications are pushed to the phone by Apple's servers and don't depend on Background App Refresh. To stop an app's notifications, open Settings, tap Notifications, tap the app and turn off Allow Notifications.
That's the trade-off. With refresh off, the app fetches new content the moment you open it instead of having done so already. For most apps that's a second or two. If one app annoys you, turn its switch back on in step 5 and leave the others off.
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