Hedy Background Operation Optimization Guide

Long Hedy sessions can stop unexpectedly when your device’s power management or background-app rules get in the way. iPhone and iPad rarely need any changes. Android phones, especially from Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo, and Huawei, add their own battery rules on top of Android, and those sometimes need adjusting.

Hedy is designed for individual conversations: a meeting, a class, a call, an interview. It isn’t an all-day or always-on recorder, so start a session when the conversation begins and end it when it’s over. In this guide, a long session means something like a multi-hour meeting or lecture.

None of the settings below can guarantee that a session survives everything. They remove the restrictions that most often stop Hedy, so work through them in order and test after each change.

First, Check What Stopped

Different symptoms have different causes. Before changing any device settings, check which one you’re seeing:

Battery settings won’t change Auto-Pause or the cloud speech-recognition time limit. Both are Hedy settings and are covered in the guides linked above.

Quick Setup for Reliable Sessions

These habits help on every device:

• Open Hedy and start the session before you lock the screen or switch apps. Android only lets an app start using the microphone while the app is open, so a session started from the background may never begin capturing.

• Keep the device plugged in for long sessions. Many battery savers relax their rules while charging.

• Keep Hedy up to date. Background handling improves between releases.

• Use Do Not Disturb during important sessions so a call doesn’t interrupt the audio.

iPhone and iPad

Hedy can keep recording with the screen locked or while you use another app, and iPhone and iPad need no special setup for that. While a session is active, Hedy also keeps the screen from auto-locking, so the display stays on unless you press the side button yourself.

On iPhone and iPad, a gap in a session usually comes from a call or another audio interruption.

If a Session Was Interrupted

A phone call, FaceTime call, Siri, an alarm, or another app that takes exclusive audio access can interrupt Hedy’s audio capture. Hedy usually recovers automatically once the interruption ends, and recording continues.

If recovery fails, Hedy shows “Audio Recovery Failed”. Stop and restart the session to continue recording. Audio captured before the interruption is kept. See Recording Phone Calls for details.

Low Power Mode

You don’t normally need to turn off Low Power Mode for Hedy to record in the background. Low Power Mode does reduce some background activity, though, so if sessions are cutting off, try turning it off as a troubleshooting step:

• iPhone 15 and later: Settings > Battery > Power Mode > turn off Low Power Mode

• iPhone 14 and earlier: Settings > Battery > turn off Low Power Mode

• iPad: Settings > Battery > turn off Low Power Mode

If Low Power Mode keeps switching itself back on, check Adaptive Power in the same Battery settings on supported iPhones. It can turn on Low Power Mode automatically when the battery reaches 20%.

Android: Start Here

Do these on every Android phone, whatever the brand.

1. Permissions

1. Long-press the Hedy app icon > App info > Permissions

2. Microphone: required. Set it to allow access while the app is in use.

3. Notifications: recommended. While a session runs, Hedy shows a notification so you can see it’s active, and Hedy also uses notifications to warn you about Auto-Pause and interruptions.

Hedy doesn’t need the “Display over other apps” permission to record in the background.

2. Allow Hedy to Run in the Background

When you start a session, Hedy may ask whether it can always run in the background. Tap Allow. If you dismissed that prompt, set it manually:

1. Settings > Apps > Hedy > App battery usage (called Battery on some phones)

2. Set it to Unrestricted. On some phones you need to tap Allow background usage first to see the options.

3. Make sure Background restriction is not turned on, if your phone shows that option.

3. Check Your Phone’s Own Battery Rules

Many manufacturers add a second layer of battery management on top of Android. Find your phone’s brand below and apply the steps there.

Important: Some phones reset these settings after a system update. If Hedy starts stopping again after an update, re-check the settings for your phone.

Optional: Lock Hedy in Recent Apps

On some phones you can lock Hedy, or choose Keep open, from the Recent Apps screen. This protects Hedy from Clear all and can reduce the manufacturer’s own background cleanup. It doesn’t guarantee that Android keeps the app running, and many phones don’t offer it. If yours doesn’t, skip this step.

This is different from Android’s screen pinning feature, which you don’t need.

Samsung

On recent Galaxy models (One UI 8 and later), the battery options below are under Settings > Battery. On older models, look under Settings > Battery and device care > Battery.

Some Hedy users have reported sessions stopping after roughly 10 minutes on certain Galaxy phones. If that matches what you see, the background usage limits in steps 2 to 4 are the place to look.

1. Set Hedy to Unrestricted

1. Settings > Apps > Hedy > Battery

2. Set it to Unrestricted

2. Remove Hedy from Sleeping Apps and Deep Sleeping Apps

1. Settings > Battery > Background usage limits

2. Open Sleeping apps. If Hedy is listed, long-press it and tap Remove.

3. Open Deep sleeping apps. If Hedy is listed, remove it the same way.

Samsung doesn’t let deep sleeping apps run in the background, so make sure Hedy isn’t on that list.

3. Add Hedy to Never Sleeping Apps

1. Settings > Battery > Background usage limits > Never sleeping apps

2. Tap + and select Hedy

Samsung doesn’t automatically put apps on this list to sleep. Together, steps 1 to 3 reduce the restrictions Samsung applies, but they can’t guarantee uninterrupted recording.

4. Power Saving

If Power saving is on, turn it off while you test (Settings > Battery > Power saving). Some phones offer extra controls inside Power saving, but the options vary between models, and an exception there may not lift every restriction.

5. Data Saver (Cloud Speech Recognition Only)

If you use cloud speech recognition, allow Hedy to use mobile data while Data saver is on:

1. Settings > Connections > Data usage > Data saver

2. Open Allowed to use data while Data saver is on and turn on Hedy

Data saver can block background mobile data, which affects features that need the internet. If the transcript stops updating but the session is still running, audio capture may still be working; see Transcription Stopped Mid-Session.

Older One UI Versions

Older Samsung phones had an Auto optimization option (Battery and device care > three-dot menu > Automation). If your phone still shows it and sessions keep stopping, try turning it off. Recent One UI versions don’t have this menu.

Xiaomi / POCO / Redmi

Xiaomi phones (including POCO and Redmi) have some of the strictest battery rules.

1. Set Battery Saver to No Restrictions

1. Settings > Apps > Manage apps > Hedy

2. Tap Battery saver

3. Select No restrictions

2. Allow Background Autostart

• HyperOS and recent versions: Settings > Apps > Permissions > Background autostart > turn on Hedy

• MIUI 14: Settings > Apps > Manage apps > Hedy > App permissions > enable Background autostart

• Older MIUI versions: Open the Security app > Permissions > Auto-start > turn on Hedy

3. Optional: Lock Hedy in Recent Apps

Open Recent Apps, then drag Hedy’s card down or long-press it and tap the padlock. A locked app is protected from Clear all.

4. Avoid Ultra Battery Saver

Ultra battery saver restricts almost every app. Leave it off during sessions. On some MIUI versions, locking Hedy in the Security app (Security > Boost speed > settings > Lock apps) may give Hedy some extra protection.

OnePlus

OnePlus menus have changed a lot between OxygenOS versions. If a path below doesn’t match your phone, search Settings for “battery optimization”.

1. Turn Off Battery Optimization for Hedy

• Recent OxygenOS: Settings > Apps > Hedy > Battery usage > Allow background activity (or Don’t optimize)

• Older OxygenOS: Settings > Apps > gear icon > Special access > Battery optimization > switch to All apps > Hedy > Don’t optimize

2. Older OxygenOS: Advanced Optimization

On older OnePlus phones, Settings > Battery > Battery optimization > three-dot menu > Advanced optimization has Deep optimization and Sleep standby optimization. If your phone shows these and sessions keep stopping, try turning them off.

3. Optional: Lock Hedy in Recent Apps

Open Recent Apps, long-press Hedy, and tap Lock. This can help Hedy survive cleanup, but it isn’t fully reliable on OnePlus.

Oppo / Realme

Menu paths differ between ColorOS and Realme UI versions, so start with a search:

1. Open Settings and search for App battery management

2. Find Hedy and turn on Allow background activity (and Allow foreground activity, if shown)

3. If your phone has an Auto launch or Auto start-up option for Hedy, turn it on

Optional: Open Recent Apps and lock Hedy’s card, if your phone offers it.

Huawei / Honor

These paths vary by EMUI and MagicOS version.

1. Settings > Battery > App launch

2. Find Hedy and set it to Manage manually

3. Turn on Auto-launch, Secondary launch, and Run in background

On older devices, also check Settings > Advanced Settings > Battery Manager > Protected apps and turn on Hedy.

Vivo / iQOO

These paths vary by Funtouch OS and OriginOS version.

1. Settings > Battery > Background power consumption management (called High background power consumption on some phones) > allow Hedy

2. If your phone has an Autostart list (Settings > Apps > Autostart, or i Manager > App manager > Autostart), turn on Hedy

Google Pixel / Stock Android

Pixel phones usually need only the Android steps at the top of this guide:

1. Settings > Apps > Hedy > App battery usage

2. Tap Allow background usage if needed, then select Unrestricted

Test Your Setup

A short test won’t show a problem that appears after 10 minutes or more. After changing settings:

1. Open Hedy and start a session.

2. Lock the screen and keep a conversation going, or play recorded speech near the device, for 15 to 30 minutes. Use real speech, because a silent room can trigger Auto-Pause and look like a failure.

3. Open Hedy again and check that the session is still running and the transcript covers the whole test.

4. Before an important multi-hour event, run a longer test under similar conditions: same place, same charging setup, same speech recognition settings.

If issues continue, turn off any third-party battery saver or “RAM booster” apps, since they can override the settings above. dontkillmyapp.com collects community-reported workarounds for many phone models; some of its advice applies to older software only.

Contact Support

If sessions still stop, contact us through the chat widget with:

• Your phone’s brand and model

• Android or iOS version, plus the manufacturer software version (for example One UI 8 or HyperOS 2)

• Your Hedy version

• Whether you use local or cloud speech recognition, and which provider

• Roughly how long the session ran before it stopped

• Whether the screen was locked and whether the device was charging

• Whether the session ended, paused, or kept running without new transcript text

• Whether a call, Siri or Google Assistant, or a headphone change happened around that time

• Any error message you saw

Menu names and options vary by manufacturer, model, region, and software version. If a path in this guide doesn’t match your phone, search Settings for the setting’s name.