[Answer] Android phone: do background apps always get closed automatically?

[Answer] Android phone: do background apps always get closed automatically?

I’ve run into this issue before, though I’m not sure whether the cause is the same as yours, so please take this only as a reference. I’ll use location services being turned off automatically as an example.

One possibility is that battery saver mode is enabled, and turning off location has been included among its power-saving options. This may not necessarily have been set manually—on some phones, entering power-saving mode will automatically disable location services. There are two ways to solve this. The simplest is, of course, to turn off battery saver mode, which you can usually find in the phone’s settings. One thing to note is that battery saver may be scheduled to turn on automatically, so if you do not need that feature, you should disable the schedule as well. Of course, this will increase battery consumption. A better option is to add location services to the whitelist under battery saver mode, so the power-saving function does not disable location. If there are other apps you also need to keep running, you can handle them the same way—just not too many, otherwise battery saver mode loses its purpose.

Another similar possibility is that the phone’s system management, which usually has high-level permissions, is preventing location services from running in the background. In that case, you need to add location services to the background-service whitelist.

The two possibilities above are only meant as general guidance, because the exact steps vary a lot depending on the phone model. Still, the underlying principle is the same. Besides those, there are two other possible causes.

One is a fault in the GPS module: if the system cannot detect the module, then naturally it will not be able to turn location on. The other is a software compatibility issue, where some app is disabling location services. These two problems are usually harder to deal with on your own. If restarting the phone does not fix the issue, you can try restoring the phone to factory settings (be sure to back up your data first before doing this). If that still does not help, your only option may be to contact after-sales support or a professional repair technician.