HiiKER records your hike by saving your location as you walk. It keeps recording in the background, even with your phone locked.
On some Android phones, battery optimisation stops apps working in the background to save power, thinking they’re not in use. That can stop a recording early or leave gaps in it, and we know how frustrating it is to reach the end of a hike and find it wasn’t all recorded. It affects lots of apps that work in the background, not just HiiKER.
The fix is to turn off battery optimisation for HiiKER. HiiKER may use a little more battery while it records, but your whole hike will be tracked.
In this article: The quick fix in HiiKER · Battery Saver · Samsung · Google Pixel · Huawei · Motorola · OnePlus · Oppo · Xiaomi / Redmi · Other Android phones
The quick fix: let HiiKER turn it off
HiiKER checks whether battery optimisation is on for the app and offers a shortcut:
- On the Record tab, tap Start.
- If you see Battery optimization is enabled., tap Disable.
- When Android asks whether HiiKER can always run in the background, tap Allow.
HiiKER only asks once. If you tapped Continue anyway, or want to check the setting, follow the steps for your phone below.
- While battery optimisation is on, the Record screen shows a battery icon. Tap it to open this guide.
- After a hike, if you tell HiiKER your recording was inaccurate or had GPS issues, it offers Disable battery optimization too.
- You may also have seen Disable battery optimization when you first set up the app.
Turn off Battery Saver while you record
Battery Saver (called Power saving mode on some phones) limits how often your phone updates its location, so your recording may lose accuracy or have gaps.
- If it’s on when you tap Start or Resume, HiiKER shows Low power mode is on. Tap Battery settings to turn it off, or Continue anyway to record regardless.
- If Battery Saver comes on during a hike, HiiKER pauses your recording when you next open the app and shows the same message. Tap Continue anyway to carry on recording.
- Once you’ve tapped Continue anyway, HiiKER won’t ask again for two weeks.
Turning it off yourself: the steps differ between phone makers. Find yours below. Menu names also vary between models and Android versions, so if you can’t find a step, search your phone’s Settings for “battery optimisation” or “background”.
Samsung
- Open the Settings app on your Samsung device.
- Scroll down and tap Apps.
- Find HiiKER in the list and tap it. You can also use the search bar at the top to search for HiiKER.
- Tap Battery.
- Tap Optimize battery usage.
- You’ll see a list of apps with battery optimisation settings. By default, it may only show apps that are currently optimised. If you don’t see HiiKER, tap the dropdown menu at the top and select All apps.
- Find HiiKER and tap the switch next to it to turn off battery optimisation (on some phones this option is called Unrestricted).
More options on Samsung:
- Allow HiiKER to always use location: go to Settings > Apps > HiiKER > Permissions > Location and choose Allow all the time.
- Turn off Adaptive Battery: go to Settings > Battery and device care > Battery > More battery settings and turn Adaptive Battery off.
- Remove HiiKER from sleeping and background limits: go to Settings > Battery and device care > Battery > Background usage limits, turn off Put unused apps to sleep, then tap Sleeping apps and Deep sleeping apps and remove HiiKER.
- Lock HiiKER in Recent Apps: open HiiKER, swipe up for Recent Apps, long-press HiiKER and tap Lock this app (or Keep open).
- Turn off Power saving mode: go to Settings > Battery and device care > Battery > Power saving and make sure it’s off.
Google Pixel
- Open Settings and tap Apps.
- Tap See all apps, then HiiKER.
- Tap Battery (called App battery usage on newer versions of Android).
- Choose Unrestricted. On newer versions of Android, turn on Allow background usage first.
Huawei
- Open the Settings app on your Huawei device.
- Scroll down and tap Apps or Apps & notifications.
- Tap Apps again to see the full list of installed apps.
- Find HiiKER and tap it. You can also use the search bar at the top to search for HiiKER.
- Tap Battery or Power Usage Details.
- Tap App launch or Launch settings (depending on your Android version).
- You’ll see options like Manage automatically and Manage manually. Select Manage manually.
- Make sure Auto-launch, Secondary launch and Run in background are all switched on.
- Press back to save your settings.
Motorola
- Open the Settings app on your Motorola device.
- Scroll down and tap Apps & notifications.
- Tap See all apps to see the full list of installed apps.
- Find HiiKER and tap it. You can also use the search bar at the top to search for HiiKER.
- Tap Battery, then Battery optimization.
- You’ll see a list of apps with battery optimisation settings. By default, it may only show apps that are not optimised. If you can’t see HiiKER, tap the Not optimised dropdown at the top and select All apps.
- Tap HiiKER, select Don’t optimize and tap Done or OK.
OnePlus
- Open the Settings app on your OnePlus device.
- Scroll down and tap Apps & notifications.
- Tap See all apps to see the full list of installed apps.
- Find HiiKER and tap it. You can also use the search bar at the top to search for HiiKER.
- Tap Battery. If you see a list of apps that aren’t optimised, change it to All apps, find HiiKER and select Battery or Battery optimisation.
- Select Don’t optimize and tap Done or OK.
Oppo
- Open the Settings app on your Oppo device.
- Scroll down and tap App management or Application management.
- Tap App list to see the full list of installed apps.
- Find HiiKER and tap it. You can also use the search bar at the top to search for HiiKER.
- Tap Power usage or Battery usage, then Allow background running.
- Go back to HiiKER’s app settings and tap Permissions.
- Find Battery saver or Battery optimization and turn it off for HiiKER.
Xiaomi / Redmi
Xiaomi and Redmi phones have some of the most aggressive battery management of any Android phones, and often need a few extra steps beyond the standard No restrictions setting.
- Turn off “Clear memory”: in your Battery settings, make sure Clear memory 10 minutes after locking device is off, or exclude HiiKER from it.
- Lock HiiKER in your Recent Apps: open your recent apps (swipe up and hold from the bottom of the screen), find the HiiKER card and either swipe down on it or tap the small padlock icon. This tells MIUI not to close the app when it clears memory.
- Turn on Autostart: go to Settings > Apps > Manage apps > HiiKER and make sure Autostart is on.
- Check the Security app: open the Security app, go to Battery > App battery saver, find HiiKER and set it to No restrictions.
- Exclude HiiKER from battery suggestions: if your Battery screen lists “apps that drain battery”, make sure HiiKER isn’t targeted there.
After making these changes, restart your phone and try a short test recording.
Other Android phones
- Open Settings > Apps and tap HiiKER (you may need to tap See all apps first).
- Tap Battery or App battery usage.
- Choose Unrestricted.
On older versions of Android:
- Open Settings and tap Battery or Battery & performance.
- Select Battery optimization or Optimize battery usage.
- If the list only shows optimised apps, tap the dropdown at the top and select All apps.
- Tap HiiKER, choose Don’t optimize or Allow background activity, and tap Done or OK.
Good to know
- Turning off battery optimisation may increase HiiKER’s battery use.
- During a recording, don’t force-close HiiKER or use “cleaner” or “booster” apps. These can stop a recording too.
- You can open this guide from any of your saved recordings: open the recording, tap More, then Optimize battery settings.
Related: Recordings stopping unexpectedly while on trail · How to record a hike on HiiKER · My download progress disappeared on Android
