Facebook to Release Fix for iOS App Battery Drain Problem
Facebook is reportedly working on a fix for the problem with its iOS app that causes the battery of the device to drain excessively.
The social media giant received complaints about its iOS app consuming too much battery because it apparently still runs in the background even though the background app refresh has already been disabled. Facebook announced that it is looking into the problem and plans to roll out a fix for the issue soon, according to TechCrunch.
"We have heard reports of some people experiencing battery issues with our iOS app," a Facebook spokesman told TechCrunch. "We're looking into this and hope to have a fix in place soon."
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Among the first to note the Facebook app's battery draining issue is Circa co-founder Matt Galligan. Earlier this week, he wrote a blog entry calling out Facebook for the "ridiculous" amount of power that its iOS app consumes, which is about 15 percent within a week. He also said the app continued to eat up battery life despite disabling the background app refresh, PC Mag reports.
Galligan further explained that the Facebook iOS app does not "sleep" properly when he exits from it, so it continues to use up battery. This problem doubles the battery usage of the said app, the report relays.
Another blogger named Nick Heer also wrote about the problem, saying Facebook continues to pursue app refresh in the background even though users clearly say they do not want the app to do so.
The problem may lie in a Facebook feature that auto-plays videos and audio in the background when a device connects to either WiFi or cellular networks. Because people nowadays mostly do not turn off their Internet connection, Facebook automatically finds a way to keep the video and audio posts playing, consuming excessive energy, the report explains.
Meanwhile, Facebook has not released any explanations for the battery draining issue. But the social network confirmed that it is fixing something in the app and will roll out the patch soon. For now, those who want to do away with Facebook's background app activity can opt to log in via mobile web.
