Setup Guide 2026 · Android Settings
How to Set Up Android Phones for Guard Tour Patrols
When the Phone Goes Quiet Mid-Patrol
An officer starts the patrol, puts the phone in a pocket and walks the route. In the morning, the commander opens the record and finds a gap. The officer says he walked every checkpoint. He may be right.
Android can pause or slow down apps that run in the background. It does this to save battery, and it does not ask anyone first. This is an industry-wide issue, not a quirk of one app: other guard tour vendors note in their own support pages that battery optimization and power-saving modes can interrupt background location.
The good news: in most cases, a few settings prevent it. This guide walks through them step by step, with brand-specific settings for the phones security teams use most.
Three Layers That Decide Whether the App Keeps Running
1. Android's own power modes. When the screen is off and the phone is not charging, Android gradually moves into a deep idle state and lets background work run only in short windows. It also sorts apps by how often they are used. Rarely used apps get less background time, and apps in the lowest, restricted group get almost none.
2. The app's battery setting. On current Android versions, every app has its own battery setting:
- Restricted: the app can barely run in the background.
- Optimized: the default. Android decides when to hold the app back.
- Unrestricted: the app can run freely in the background. This is the setting a guard tour app needs.
3. The manufacturer's own layer. Most phone makers add their own power manager on top of Google's rules. These can be more aggressive, carry different names and sit in different menus. That is why no single recipe works on every Android phone.
Newer Android versions are also stricter with background apps than older ones. A phone that worked fine on an older version may need adjustment after an upgrade or when an officer switches to a newer device.
Step-by-Step: Set Up an Android Phone for a Full Shift
Step 1
Allow location access all the time
Open Settings → Apps → Trinity Guard → Permissions → Location and select Allow all the time. Keep Use precise location turned on. Without it, the phone can report only an approximate position.
Step 2
Keep notifications on
While a patrol is running, the app shows an ongoing notification. If notifications are blocked for the app, Android is more likely to stop it in the background. Check Settings → Apps → Trinity Guard → Notifications and make sure they are allowed.
Step 3
Set battery usage to Unrestricted, then check the manufacturer's settings
On most phones: Settings → Apps → Trinity Guard → App battery usage → Unrestricted. Many manufacturers add a second layer on top of that. Menu names and locations vary by model and software version; if you can't find an item, type "battery" into the Settings search bar.
| Manufacturer | What the phone does | What to set |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung (One UI) | Puts unused apps to sleep automatically. Uses three lists: sleeping, deep sleeping and never sleeping apps. | Settings → Battery and device care → Battery → Background usage limits → Never sleeping apps: add the app. Make sure it is not on the Deep sleeping list. |
| Google Pixel | With the default Optimized setting, Android can pause the app in the background. | Settings → Apps → the app → App battery usage → Unrestricted. Turn Battery Saver off during the shift. |
| Motorola | Runs close to stock Android and handles apps much like a Pixel. | Settings → Apps → the app → App battery usage → Unrestricted. Menu names can vary by model. |
| OnePlus (OxygenOS) | Holds back background apps through battery optimization. | Battery optimization → the app → Don't optimize. |
| Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO (HyperOS / MIUI) | Autostart is off by default, and the battery saver restricts background apps heavily. | Turn Autostart on. Set the app's battery saver to No restrictions. Lock the app in the Recents screen (padlock icon). |
| Oppo, Realme (ColorOS) | Manages background activity app by app. | In the app's battery settings: Allow background activity, battery usage set to unrestricted. |
| Vivo | Limits apps with high background power use. | Battery → High background power consumption → allow the app. In App manager: Allow background activity. |
| Huawei, Honor | Manages app launch automatically by default. | Battery → App launch: turn off automatic management for the app and enable Auto-launch, Secondary launch and Run in background manually. |
| Nokia (HMD) | Has been known as one of the strictest at stopping background apps. | Set the app's battery usage to Unrestricted. If the phone has a separate battery protection app, exclude the guard tour app there too. |
Step 4
Turn Battery Saver off during the shift
Battery Saver tightens background limits for every app on the phone, including the guard tour app. Officers should switch it off when the shift starts. A phone that drops to a low charge may switch it on by itself, so keep a charger or power bank available on long shifts.
Step 5
Start the patrol, then go back to the task list
After starting the patrol, there is no need to keep the map view open. Return to the task list or the home screen; the patrol keeps running in the background, and a constantly redrawn map only adds load on the phone. Turning the screen off is fine. Swiping the app away from the Recents screen is not, because a closed app can stop.
If the phone starts acting up or GPS seems stuck, restart the phone, not just the app. A full restart clears more than reopening the app does.
Step 6
Run the two-minute test before the first round
- Start a patrol.
- Check that the ongoing notification appears in the notification shade.
- Turn the screen off and walk for a few minutes.
- Turn the screen back on and check that the route is continuous.
If the route shows a gap, go back to Step 3 and check the manufacturer's settings.
The Ongoing Notification Means the Patrol Is Running
While a patrol is in progress, Trinity Guard® shows an ongoing notification in the phone's notification shade, even when the officer switches to another app. It signals that the patrol is active, and Android treats the app as a higher priority because of it. Officers should not dismiss or disable it.
Trinity Guard® records location only during a patrol the officer has started. Outside an active patrol, it does not track the phone.
iPhone: One Platform, One Set of Settings
On iPhone, there is one manufacturer and one operating system, so the same settings apply to every device. There are no brand-specific power managers and no hard-to-find menus.
Trinity Guard® runs reliably on iPhone, and no special battery setting is needed. One thing to watch: keep Low Power Mode off during the shift, because it can hold back apps in the background. Our iOS compatibility guide covers the pre-update checklist in more detail.
If your company issues phones to officers, iPhone is the option with the fewest settings to manage.
Company Phones or BYOD?
When officers use their own phones, every device is different and each one needs its own setup. When the company issues phones, keep a short list of tested models whose settings you know and have verified. Watch the Android version as well, because newer versions are stricter.
Trinity Guard® runs on phones with iOS 16 or later and Android 11 or later. For the day-to-day patrol workflow on both platforms, see how the guard tour app works on Android and iOS, and for officers' first steps in the app, how to use the Trinity Guard app.
Key Facts
- Android can restrict apps running in the background to save battery, and how strictly it does so varies by manufacturer and Android version.
- Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Huawei and other manufacturers add their own power managers on top of Google's rules.
- Each Android app has a battery setting of Restricted, Optimized or Unrestricted; a guard tour app needs Unrestricted.
- On iPhone, one platform means one set of settings; officers should keep Low Power Mode off during the shift.
- A two-minute test at the start of the shift shows whether a phone is set up correctly.
FAQ
Android can restrict background apps to save battery. If the app's battery setting is Optimized or Restricted, the system may pause it. Set it to Unrestricted and check the manufacturer's own battery settings.
Yes. Unrestricted is the right setting for a guard tour app. On some brands, such as Samsung and Xiaomi, you also need to add an exception in the manufacturer's own power manager.
Phone makers use their own power managers, and newer Android versions are stricter. The same app can need different settings on different phones.
No special battery setting is needed. Keep Low Power Mode off during the shift.
GPS uses power, but a correctly set up phone can handle a normal shift. For long shifts, keep a charger or power bank available.
No. It records location only during a patrol the officer has started.
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Start your pilot →About the author: Gyula Györfi is the founder of Trinity Guard® and a former police commander with 26 years of police service, 18 of them in command. He builds patrol software that has to work where security work actually happens: on the phone in an officer's hand, on a night shift.
