Prevent the OS from terminating SuperCycle in the background (Android & iOS)

One of the most frustrating experiences in cycling telemetry occurs when you start recording a ride, put your phone in your jersey pocket or handlebar bag with the screen turned off, and later unlock your phone only to find that your tracking stopped miles ago or the app restarted unexpectedly.

This behavior is almost never caused by a crash in the app. Instead, it is caused by modern mobile operating systems (both Android and iOS) actively terminating or suspending background processes to preserve battery power and reclaim system RAM for other applications.

This comprehensive guide explains why operating systems kill background GPS apps and provides step-by-step instructions to configure your phone so SuperCycle records continuously and uninterrupted from start to finish.

Why Mobile Operating Systems Terminate Background Apps

A dedicated bike computer continuously performs high-intensity background operations while recording:

• High-Rate GPS Satellite Polling: Querying location coordinates every second to calculate speed, distance, elevation, slope, and heading.
• Persistent Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Radio Streams: Maintaining active bidirectional connections with power meters, heart rate chest straps, radar sensors, speed/cadence sensors, and smart trainers.
• Real-Time Metric Computation: Calculating Normalized Power (NP), Training Stress Score (TSS), Anaerobic Work Capacity (W'bal), and calorie expenditure.

Because these operations demand continuous CPU and radio activity, phone operating systems prioritize battery longevity and foreground apps by using aggressive background killing mechanisms:

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Android Configuration: Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Set Battery Optimization to "Unrestricted"

By default, Android applies battery optimization to every installed app. When SuperCycle is optimized, Android throttles or halts its background foreground service when the screen turns off.

1. Direct In-App Check: Open SuperCycle and tap Settings → Advanced → Phone → Battery optimization settings.
   • If you see a green checkmark, SuperCycle is already exempted from battery optimization.
   • If you see an amber warning icon, tap the tile to bring up the system battery optimization dialog and select Allow or Don't optimize.
2. Via Android System Settings:
   • Open your phone's Settings → Apps → SuperCycle.
   • Tap Battery (or App battery usage).
   • Select Unrestricted (do not choose "Optimized" or "Restricted").

Step 2: Configure OEM Manufacturer Power Managers

Many smartphone manufacturers layer proprietary "battery managers" or "device cleaners" on top of stock Android. You can tap Settings → Advanced → Phone → Power manager inside SuperCycle to jump straight to your device's manager, then follow the instructions for your brand below:

Samsung (One UI)

1. Open Settings → Battery (or Device care → Battery).
2. Tap Background usage limits.
3. Ensure SuperCycle is not listed under Sleeping apps or Deep sleeping apps.
4. Tap Never sleeping apps → tap the + icon → select SuperCycle → tap Add.
5. Go back to Settings → Apps → SuperCycle → Battery and verify it is set to Unrestricted.

Xiaomi, Redmi & POCO (HyperOS / MIUI)

1. Open Settings → Apps → Manage apps → SuperCycle.
2. Enable the Autostart toggle.
3. Scroll down and tap Battery saver → select No restrictions (do not use the default "Battery saver (recommended)").
4. Tap App permissions and confirm that Location is set to Allow all the time (or Allow only while using the app if all the time is unavailable on your MIUI version) and Nearby devices is granted.

OnePlus, Oppo & Realme (OxygenOS / ColorOS)

1. Open Settings → Battery → More settings → Optimize battery use. Find SuperCycle and choose Don't optimize.
2. Open Settings → Apps → App management → SuperCycle → Battery usage.
3. Turn ON Allow background activity and Allow auto-launch.

Google Pixel & Motorola (Stock Android)

1. Open Settings → Apps → See all apps → SuperCycle.
2. Tap App battery usage.
3. Choose Unrestricted. This exempts SuperCycle from Adaptive Battery restrictions.

Huawei & Honor (EMUI / MagicOS)

1. Open Settings → Battery → App launch.
2. Find SuperCycle and toggle Manage automatically to OFF.
3. In the prompt that appears, turn ON all three options: Auto-launch, Secondary launch, and Run in background. Tap OK.

Step 3: Lock SuperCycle in the Recent Apps Tray

When you switch apps or clear your recent apps tray, tapping "Close All" or "Clear All" will forcefully kill all running apps, including active tracking services. You can lock SuperCycle in the multitasking tray so it survives:

1. Swipe up from the bottom of your screen to open the Recent Apps (multitasking) screen.
2. Locate the SuperCycle card.
3. Tap and hold the SuperCycle icon at the top of the card (or tap the 3-dot menu icon on some devices).
4. Select Lock (indicated by a small padlock icon).
5. Once locked, SuperCycle will remain open even if you tap "Close all".

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iOS (iPhone) Configuration: Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Set Location Permissions to "Always" and "Precise Location: ON"

Apple restricts background GPS tracking strictly based on app location permissions:

1. Open your iPhone Settings → SuperCycle.
2. Tap Location.
3. Select Always.

   Why "Always" is required: If set to "While Using the App", iOS only considers the app active while SuperCycle is displayed on the screen. The moment you lock your iPhone or open another app, iOS flags SuperCycle as inactive and will pause or terminate GPS tracking.

4. Ensure the Precise Location toggle is turned ON. (If disabled, iOS only delivers approximate city-block coordinates, producing inaccurate ride maps and jagged speed readings).

Step 2: Enable Background App Refresh

1. In iPhone Settings → SuperCycle, ensure Background App Refresh is toggled ON.
2. Also verify system-wide settings: Open iPhone Settings → General → Background App Refresh and confirm it is set to Wi-Fi & Cellular Data (not "Off").

Step 3: Beware of the iOS "Jetsam" Daemon and Camera Memory Spikes

Unlike desktop computers and Android devices, iPhones do not have virtual memory swap space on their flash storage. When total device RAM runs low, the iOS kernel daemon called Jetsam terminates background processes with the largest memory footprint or lowest priority without any warning.

The Camera App Hazard: When you stop during a ride to capture photos or video at a scenic overlook, the native iOS Camera app allocates hundreds of megabytes of RAM for computational photography (Smart HDR, 48-megapixel ProRAW, Night Mode stacking, and 4K ProRes encoding). This sudden spike in RAM usage frequently forces Jetsam to terminate background cycling and fitness apps.

Step 4: Keep Low Power Mode OFF During Active Rides

When your iPhone battery drops below 20%, iOS offers to activate Low Power Mode. While Low Power Mode conserves battery, it does so by:

• Halting all Background App Refresh.
• Throttling CPU performance.
• Drastically reducing the polling frequency of the GPS hardware receiver.
• Aggressively suspending background audio and location updates.

Keep Low Power Mode disabled during rides. If you need to extend battery life on long centuries or all-day rides, see our dedicated guide: Maximizing Phone Battery Life on Long Rides.

Step 5: Do Not Force-Quit in the App Switcher

If you swipe up from the bottom of your screen to open the iOS App Switcher and swipe SuperCycle off the screen, iOS registers this as an explicit user instruction to kill the app. iOS will not allow the app to run in the background or process GPS updates until you physically reopen it.

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SuperCycle Safety Nets: How Your Data is Protected

Even with perfect configuration, unforeseen events can still occur—such as your phone running completely out of battery, extreme summer heat causing thermal phone shutdown, or a hard OS crash. SuperCycle protects your recorded telemetry through continuous local database checkpointing:

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Pre-Ride Quick Verification Checklist

Review this quick checklist before embarking on an important ride or race: