# Steps only update when I open the app

**Updated:** 2026-10-21  
**Applies to:** iPhone · Android 14+ · Android 9–13 · Samsung · Pixel · Xiaomi · OnePlus, OPPO · Other Android phones  
**Canonical:** https://www.stepsclubapp.com/help/steps-only-update-when-i-open-the-app

## Quick answer

> Background updates are off, so the app only catches up when opened. iPhone: Settings › General › Background App Refresh. Android: Health Connect › App permissions (Samsung: Your health apps) › the app › allow background access.

**Quick check:**
**iPhone:** is the battery icon yellow? That's Low Power Mode: see [Battery saving](#battery). If not, open **Settings** › **General** › **Background App Refresh**. Off, or off for the app? Go to [Turn on background updates](#background-updates). All on? Check [your watch's app](#step-app).

**Android:** open Health Connect › **App permissions** (on Samsung phones, **Your health apps**) › the app. Background access not allowed? Go to [Turn on background updates](#background-updates). Allowed, but steps still arrive late? Your phone is saving battery: see [Battery saving](#battery), then [your phone maker's settings](#by-maker). All set? Check [your watch's app](#step-app).

_Where's Health Connect?_ Android 14 and up: in Settings (search "Health Connect"). Android 13 and older: it's its own app.

Your phone and watch keep counting either way. What stops is the app's chance to pick up new steps while it's closed, so it shows the latest only when you open it. Below, "the app" is the one that runs behind: Steps Club, or any app that shows your steps.

## Turn on background updates

On iPhone it's **Background App Refresh**. On Android it's two things: Health Connect's background access, which lets an app read your steps while it's closed, and the app's battery setting.

**iPhone:**

1. Open **Settings** and tap **General**, then **Background App Refresh**.
2. Tap **Background App Refresh** at the top and choose **Wi-Fi & Cellular Data** (or **Wi-Fi**), so it isn't **Off**.
3. Back on the list, turn on the switch for the app. Do the same for your watch's app.

**Android:**

1. Open Health Connect and tap **App permissions** (on Samsung phones, **Your health apps**), then the app.
2. Under **Additional access**, allow access in the background. Don't see it? Update Health Connect: Android 14 and up, install the latest Google Play system update; Android 13 and older, update it in the Play Store.
3. Then open the app's info page: **Settings** › **Apps** › the app. Go to **Battery** (Pixel: **App battery usage**, and turn on **Allow background usage**) and choose **Unrestricted**. Some phones call it **No restrictions**.

## Battery saving holds updates back

### Low Power Mode (iPhone)

Low Power Mode turns off Background App Refresh while it's on. Nothing is lost: your iPhone keeps counting, and your steps catch up when Low Power Mode goes off or you open the app. To turn it off: **Settings** › **Battery** › **Low Power Mode** (iPhone 15 and later: **Settings** › **Battery** › **Power Mode**), or tap the battery icon in Control Center.

### Battery limits (Android)

Android can hold an app back to save battery, down to about one background run a day (Android 12 and later). Step 3 above sets it to **Unrestricted**. Then turn off battery saver if it's on all the time. Many phone makers add limits of their own, below.

## Settings by phone maker

Menus move between versions. If yours doesn't match, search Settings for "battery" or the app's name, and pick the least limited option: **Unrestricted**, **No restrictions** or **Allow background activity**.

### Samsung Galaxy

**Settings** › **Apps** › the app › **Battery** › **Unrestricted**. Then **Settings** › **Battery** › **Background usage limits** (older phones: **Battery and device care** › **Battery** › **Background usage limits**). Make sure the app isn't under **Sleeping apps** or **Deep sleeping apps**, and add it to **Never auto sleeping apps**.

**On Android:**

  

  

### Pixel and stock Android

**Settings** › **Apps** › **See all apps** › the app › **App battery usage**. Turn on **Allow background usage**, then choose **Unrestricted**.

### Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO

Set the app's battery saver to **No restrictions** (HyperOS: **Settings** › **Battery** › the app). Turn on autostart: **Settings** › **Apps** › **Background autostart** › the app. Then lock the app in your recent apps, so cleaning them doesn't close it.

### OnePlus, OPPO and realme

Search Settings for **App battery management** and pick the app. Turn on **Allow background activity**, and **Allow auto launch** if you see it.

### Motorola

**Settings** › **Apps** › **Show all apps** › the app › **App battery usage** › **Unrestricted**. Then restart your phone.

### vivo

**Settings** › **Battery** › **High background power usage**, and allow the app.

### Huawei and Honor

Open **Phone Manager** › **App launch**, or search Settings for **App launch**, and find the app. Set it to **Manage manually**, then turn on **Auto-launch**, **Secondary launch** and **Run in background**. Honor phones may show only **Auto-launch** and **Run in background**.

## Your watch's app needs the same

Your steps pass through your watch's app before any other app sees them. If Samsung Health, Google Health, Garmin Connect or Oura is held back, it sends late too, and every app that reads your steps runs behind. Give it the same settings: background refresh on iPhone, **Unrestricted** battery on Android.

## Why this happens

Phones ration background work to save battery. An app that's closed doesn't run whenever it likes: the phone wakes it now and then, and decides how often. An app you swipe away from your recent apps may not be woken at all until you open it again, on iPhone and on some Android phones. On iPhone, Background App Refresh is the switch for those wake-ups, and Low Power Mode turns it off. On Android, an app also needs Health Connect's permission to read your steps while closed, and the battery setting decides how often it gets the chance.

So with these off, an app can only catch up when you open it. Your phone's count is fine the whole time, and opening the app brings everything in at once.

**In Steps Club:**
**Settings › Step sync** checks this for you. On Android, its "Updates while the app is closed" and "Battery use" rows show what's holding Steps Club back, with a button to the right setting. On iPhone, it tells you when Background App Refresh or Low Power Mode is the cause. When background updates are off, you'll also see a card on Home.

## Common questions

- [How do I keep my steps syncing in the background on iPhone?](https://www.stepsclubapp.com/help#ios-background)
- [Does Low Power Mode stop my steps syncing?](https://www.stepsclubapp.com/help#low-power-mode)
- [Steps Club says my phone is limiting it to save battery](https://www.stepsclubapp.com/help#battery-limiting)
- [Does swiping Steps Club away stop my steps?](https://www.stepsclubapp.com/help#force-quit)

## Still off?

- [Apple: Switch apps on your iPhone](https://support.apple.com/118408)
- [Apple: Use Low Power Mode to save battery life on your iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/101604)
- [Google: Keep Adaptive Battery & battery optimization on](https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/7015477)
- [Samsung: Sleeping apps on Galaxy phones](https://www.samsung.com/ca/support/mobile-devices/galaxy-phone-sleeping-apps/)

## Sources

- [Switch apps on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch](https://support.apple.com/118408) (Apple)
- [Use Low Power Mode to save battery life on your iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/101604) (Apple)
- [Get started with Health Connect](https://support.google.com/android/answer/12201227) (Google)
- [How do I use Health Connect with the Google Health app?](https://support.google.com/googlehealth/answer/14506680) (Google)
- [Background optimization](https://developer.android.com/topic/performance/background-optimization) (Google)
- [Manage connected apps in Health Connect](https://support.google.com/android/answer/12201230) (Google)
- [Keep Adaptive Battery & battery optimization on](https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/7015477) (Google)
- [App standby buckets](https://developer.android.com/topic/performance/appstandby) (Google)
- [Audio stops playing on Galaxy mobile device or accessory](https://www.samsung.com/us/support/troubleshoot/TSG10001337/) (Samsung)
- [Sleeping apps on Galaxy phones](https://www.samsung.com/ca/support/mobile-devices/galaxy-phone-sleeping-apps/) (Samsung)
- [Sleeping apps on your Galaxy device](https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS10003442/) (Samsung)
- [Xiaomi Smart Band 10 FAQ](https://www.mi.com/global/support/faq/details/KA-579104/) (Xiaomi)
- [App battery usage troubleshooter](https://en-us.support.motorola.com/app/mcp/troubleshooter_page/g_id/8008) (Motorola)
- [Setting background protection for HUAWEI (EMUI 9.0 or later)](https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/content/en-us15850065/) (Huawei)
- [Allowing background activities on Honor phones](https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/content/en-us15848660/) (Huawei)
- [Allowing background activities on OnePlus phones](https://consumer.huawei.com/ph/support/content/en-us15848666) (Huawei)
- [High background power usage](https://bbs.vivo.com/in/thread/11952) (vivo)