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Battery Optimization on Samsung Devices

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Paola
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For background on how these settings could relate to the performance of the Bark for Kids app, see here.

Samsung has its own unique take on Android that among many things, attempts at optimizing battery life at the cost of performance, so there may be some settings you can adjust to ensure Bark for Kids isn't affected by aggressive optimization.

Samsung Devices (Android 9-13)

Turning off battery optimization for Bark:

  • Android 12-13
    Settings > Apps > Bark > Battery > tap on Unrestricted.
  • Android 9-11
    Settings     > Apps > Bark > Battery > Optimize Battery Usage > tap on Apps not optimized to instead select All from the dropdown menu > Find Bark in the list > tap on the slider so that it disables battery optimization for the Bark for Kids app, as seen below!
samsungbfksetting.png
  • Android 9-13
    You may also need to check the following setting: Settings > General Management > Language and Input > Text-to-speech > Preferred engine > Ensure it is set to Google. If you don't see Google as an option, you can download Android Accessibility Suite from the Google Play Store.
  • Double-check that Accessibility for Bark is enabled.

Turning off Adaptive power saving:

  • Open the device's Settings app > select Device Care> tap Battery > tap on the (⁝) menu > Automation > turn off Adaptive power saving and turn off Auto optimize daily.


  • On some devices, the route may instead be: Settings app > select Device Care > tap on the (⁝) menu > Advanced > disable Auto-optimization and disable Optimize settings.

Turning off Adaptive battery:

  • Open the device's Settings app > Battery > scroll down > tap on More Battery settings > disable Adaptive battery.

Turning off app sleep for Bark:

  • Open the device's Settings app > select Device Care > tap Battery > open App Power Management > select Apps that won't be put to sleep > add Bark.
  • On some devices, the route may instead be: Settings app > tap Battery > select Background usage limits > turn off Put unused apps to sleep > then, tap on Apps that won't be put to sleep or Never sleeping apps > make sure the Bark Kids app is set to never be put to sleep.

Samsung Devices (Android 7 and 8)

Turning off battery optimization for Bark:

  • Settings > Applications > select three dot menu (top right corner) > Special Access > Optimize Battery usage > Find Bark on the list and make sure that it is not selected.
  • Check to see if you have App Battery Optimizer in Samsung Smart Manager app enabled. Please disable this as it is known to disable Bark's Accessibility Service. 
  • Lastly, double-check that Accessibility for Bark is enabled.

Turning off app power monitor for Bark:

  • Settings > Device maintenance or Device care > Battery > Scrolling further — all the way to the very bottom — you’ll find and tap on Unmonitored apps > tap the 3-dot menu (top right corner) to add the Bark app to this whitelist
  • Alternatively, you can just turn off the App power monitor feature completely
  • Lastly, double-check that Accessibility for Bark is enabled.

 

Need help?

Check out our Android Troubleshooting Guide. Bark Support is also here for you! Please reach out to us if you need additional assistance.