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Background Mode

BioSDK supports continuous biosignal streaming while your app is in the background. This is essential for overnight monitoring, extended research sessions, and clinical data capture.

Setup​

Ensure your Info.plist includes the required background modes (see Installation):

<key>UIBackgroundModes</key>
<array>
    <string>bluetooth-central</string>
    <string>processing</string>
    <string>remote-notification</string>
</array>

<key>BGTaskSchedulerPermittedIdentifiers</key>
<array>
    <string>io.anybio.upload</string>
    <string>io.anybio.session.maintenance</string>
</array>

AppDelegate Integration​

For reliable background BLE operation, initialize the BLE subsystem early in your app's lifecycle:

class AppDelegate: NSObject, UIApplicationDelegate {
    func application(
        _ application: UIApplication,
        willFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?
    ) -> Bool {
        // Initialize BLE manager early for state restoration
        _ = BioBLEManager.shared
        return true
    }

    func application(
        _ application: UIApplication,
        didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?
    ) -> Bool {
        // Check if launched for BLE state restoration
        if let centralIds = launchOptions?[.bluetoothCentrals] as? [String] {
            // App was relaunched by the system to restore BLE connections
        }
        return true
    }
}

Background Recovery​

If your app is terminated by the system (e.g., due to memory pressure), the SDK can restore its state on relaunch:

// In your AppDelegate, restore SDK state on background launch
if let sdk = try? BioSDKClient.restoreIfNeeded(isBackground: true) {
    // SDK restored with previous session context
    self.sdk = sdk
}

The SDK persists session state, device mappings, and buffered data across app terminations. Unuploaded biosignal data is preserved and will resume uploading when connectivity is restored.

Idle Timer​

During active streaming, the SDK disables the device idle timer to prevent the screen from dimming. This is automatically managed — the idle timer is restored when streaming stops.

Best Practices​

  • Initialize BioBLEManager.shared in willFinishLaunchingWithOptions — this is required by CoreBluetooth for state restoration
  • Use streaming profiles with auto-reconnect for unattended sessions — the SDK will reconnect and resume streaming if the BLE connection drops
  • Enable auto-stream on devices that should resume streaming on reconnection
  • Test on real devices — the iOS Simulator does not support BLE background modes