How to Keep One UI from Halting Background Apps and Games on Samsung Galaxy Devices

Multitasking on a Samsung phone is easy, but aggressive battery management can kill your background processes. Smartphones are not yet the ultimate multitasking machines, though significant strides have been made. The Galaxy Z Fold lineup takes great advantage of features like multi-window. Still, the greatest obstacle standing in the way of true mobile multitasking is often background processing and battery management.

Tips & Tricks

Gaming on Galaxy Z Fold 8

Here is what happens: minimize a power-hungry app, such as a mobile game, for even a moment, and it will cease working in the background. If it is an online game, it will likely disconnect you from the servers.

This means your game will restart or log you out any time you minimize it and temporarily switch to a different app, for example, a web browser.

Thankfully, there is a way to prevent this behavior by changing the way the app handles battery management.

And, no, pinning an app to Recents won't prevent it from halting when minimized. Pinning an app will only prevent it from disappearing from the Recents list when you press Clear all. It will not affect background processing.

Here is what you actually can do to keep your apps running in the background and improve multitasking.

Prevent apps from closing in the background on your Galaxy device

Modern One UI offers three battery management profiles for each app:

• Unrestricted: Allows the app to use battery in the background without restrictions.
• Optimized: Optimize based on your usage of the app.
• Restricted: Restrict battery usage while this app is running in the background.

Mihai Matei / SamMobile

One UI app battery management

Optimized is usually the default setting most apps have. However, for more demanding apps and games, this option is not good enough if you want to minimize the app without halting its process.

The setting you want is Unrestricted. When you select it, the app will continue running in the background uninterrupted, even when minimized—similar to a desktop computer.

To change an app's battery management profile:

• Open Settings > Apps > select the desired app > Battery > Unrestricted.

A word of warning: By preventing One UI/Android from halting background processes as it sees fit, you will have to be extra careful and manage background processes yourself.

In other words, if you forget a power-hungry app running in the background in Recents while continuing to use your Galaxy phone normally, the battery might drop severely. You will have to make sure you close the app manually from Recents every time you are done using it.

Does changing the battery profile to Unrestricted drain the battery faster?

Yes, allowing apps to run freely in the background without system optimization can lead to higher battery consumption if power-hungry applications are left open.

Will app pinning keep online games from disconnecting?

No, pinning an app only keeps it locked in the Recents screen and does not stop the operating system from halting background processing to save resources.

Can I apply the Unrestricted setting to all apps?

While you can change the profile for almost any app, it is best reserved for games, messaging tools, or utilities that genuinely require uninterrupted background tasks.

🔎 Managing background processes on your Samsung Galaxy device gives you ultimate control over multitasking and performance, allowing you to tailor your device experience to your exact needs while keeping potential battery drain in check.