What systems apps are safe to not allow to run in the background?

[swanlee]

In order to preserve battery life I'm going through apps allowed to run in the background and am wondering what system apps are safe to turn off from running in the background.

Things like

Gestures + touch
Lumia motion data
Microsoft People
Store
Voice recorder

Do system apps like this need to run in the background.

 

[gpobernardo]

"Safe" might not be the right word, since security in Windows Phones are good, if not the best. However, all those apps may be disabled depending on the user's preference in order to preserve battery - that's the only result you will get from disabling them: more battery life, but not increased safety.

As a guide, disable all apps that you don't expect to notify you automatically. For example, you don't want to disable chat apps because if you do then you won't receive messages automatically. If you disable gestures+touch, then it may not work properly when you receive a call. On the other hand, you may disable voice recorder if you don't want to record something while running a different app.

 

[swanlee]

When I say "safe" I mean will turning off these system apps from running in the background break the functions of the phone or make the experience alot worse for normal use. If turning off these does not hamper the normal functions of the fun then I'll turn them off

 

[srikanth reddy4]

Hey i don't have that Gestures app. Is this app also comes depending on the hardware ???

 

[gpobernardo]

When I say "safe" I mean will turning off these system apps from running in the background break the functions of the phone or make the experience alot worse for normal use. If turning off these does not hamper the normal functions of the fun then I'll turn them off

These are some of the things that may happen if you disable them:

Gestures+touch: flipping the phone over to silent the phone may not work, placing the phone by the ear may not automatically answer your call

Lumia motion data: if your phone supports this (SensorCore), then SensorCore won't be able to collect data in the background - your apps that rely on it won't work.

Microsoft People: you won't see updates to your contacts in the live tile, if any

Store: you won't get app updates automatically, and the store tile won't update automatically

Voice recorder: the app will stop recording as soon as you switch apps.


The first four are part of "normal" phone functions for me, and are not recommended to be turned off.

 

[swanlee]

What type of stuff uses sensor core? I do not use any fitness apps or fitness equipment with my phone

 

[srikanth reddy4]

Gestures+touch: flipping the phone over to silent the phone may not work, placing the phone by the ear may not automatically answer your call

.

i have that app. But it says that app is not compatible with the windows 10 mobile. Did we got an update?

 

[sleeve22]

It would be nice if they added a short description of what you might lose when you turn each of them off instead of always having to guess.

 

[Joe920]

It would be nice if they added a short description of what you might lose when you turn each of them off instead of always having to guess.

Agreed, and it would be nice if they had a separate list for system/first party components.

 

[920Walker]

Run a test overnight with all but the most necessary apps allowed to run in the background (if you don't need to check email or texts overnight, turn them off for that one night, and the next below), including turning off the system apps you listed. Charge the phone before going to bed so it is at 100% at lights out, unplug it and don't use it while in bed. Remember the battery percentage when the morning alarm goes off. The next night, allow only the addition of the system apps to run in the background. Follow same as above for charging and checking battery percentage. Compare if there is any substantial benefit of having those apps turned off. I doubt there will be, probably less than 5 minutes of display on time worth of battery usage.

The more apps disabled from running in the background during the test the more you'll be able to determine the system app usage, when the phone is not in use. The only caveat is if the system apps use much more battery while the phone is in use, but that would also be limited as they have never appeared showing more than 1% of use in Battery Usage.