14ers.com app burning significant power on IPhone when I think it should be dormant

[jrbren_vt]

Hi,

I noticed from the Settings --> Battery --> Battery usage by App on my IPhone that 14ers.com is burning as much power as all other apps combined. It says, "background activity". I shouldn't be using it at all. I assume I have some under the covers process running that I turned on by mistake. So I tried "Clear App Data & Cache". From there if I try to list the peaks or trailheads by clicking "14ers", it says "Please close and re-open the app". This appears to be something beyond swiping low to high such that the app iconizes, then reopening. That doesn't change the behavior, I tried this several times. Does this mean delete and reinstall the app ? Is there a separate "close" button somewhere ? How should I have found out what was burning the power if clearing the data and cache was wrong ? Overall, this is a great app, thanks for all the work that must go into it. It looks the work of a whole team of engineers. Just not sure what is going on here.

I have iOS 17.5.1, iPhone 13 Pro
14ers.com app v3.1.4

Thanks.

[BillMiddlebrook]

If you’re leaving Location Services ON in the mapping tab of the site, it will eat resources, just like any mapping app. When you are done using LS, turn it off. Beyond that, the app will consume minimal resources and can be swiped to suspended mode.

If the app is terminated (closed completely), it's can't do any work at all.

[jrbren_vt]

I think I broke it. When I hit "Map" I get a blank screen with no options. When I hit either "14ers" or "Trailheads" , I get the "Please close and re-open the app" pop up window. Which I hit OK & close and reopen, but it makes no difference. I am guessing I should not have done "Clear App Data & Cache". I am OK with just removing the app and reinstalling. Then I can pay more attention to location services next time. Thanks.

[BillMiddlebrook]

Did you try restarting your device? If reinstalling the app doesn't fix the problem, it could be a device problem, so try rebooting.

[jrbren_vt]

My settings were/are:
Settings --> 14ers.com app icon --> "allow 14ers.com to access"
--> location --> "while using"
--> Siri & Search --> all are selected
--> cellular data --> selected

I am not sure what "while using" means. Since most of my hikes are not 14ers, I am regular user of All Trails and Gaia as well. Both of the those have a distinct start and finish button that I have to assert to note the start and finish with tracking for each trip. I am not sure what that is with the 14ers.com app, which could be the root of my problem. I don't think it was in use, but my battery would say that it was in use. My last known use was for Columbia on July 27. The battery problem didn't start until yesterday into today. I have looked stuff up on the app, my guess is I accidentally tripped something. Should I change the location field to "never" when not using it as a tracker ?

I restarted the device (phone). With that, the 14ers.com app looks normal again. I will leave it unplugged over night and see what happens with the battery. I did NOT need to reinstall the app.

Thanks again for your prompt response and all the work on this website & app !

[BillMiddlebrook]

I don't know why your phone did that, but your 14ers app settings look ok.

Unlike GAIA and AllTrails, the map page on the .com app does not automatically start the device location services to show your location. It is only activated when you choose to do so, by tapping the ARROW button on the top right of the map. Once Location Services are ON, a toolbar is displayed that has a red button to start tracking, if you choose. Whether you track or not, leaving location services ON will eventually deplete the battery, just like any other app. Additionally, if you do choose to record a track, when you're finished it turns of Location Services.

So, what could cause the app to drain the battery:
- Leaving Location Services ON when you're not using the app.
- Worse, leaving tracking ON when you're not using the app.

I don't know if either of these happened but those would be the two normal reasons. I hope this helps!

Also, here's the Mobile App FAQ, which covers a bunch of stuff.

[jrbren_vt]

I see the arrow in the top right of the map screen. When I tap it, it becomes solid and a solid blue circle appears on the map marking my current location. I interpret this to mean tracking is on. When I tap it again, the solid circle marking my location disappears, and the arrow becomes an outline rather than solid. I take it to mean tracking is off. I don't see a red button with any of this. Now I know what to look for for. The battery did start draining again before I went to bed so I changed to Settings --> 14ers.com --> Location --> Never for overnight, which stopped the drain. My guess is I had tracking on and didn't know what to look for. This thread has been very helpful, thanks again !

[BillMiddlebrook]

Yeah, sorry for the confusion, the “Record Track” button turns red after activating. Tracking requires 2 steps as I mentioned previously: 1) Turn on location services (arrow), 2) tapping the “Record Track” button on the LS toolbar.

But, yeah, sounds like you left LS or tracking on.

[jrbren_vt]

No apologies necessary, thanks again for everything.