title: On Android 5.0 is it acceptable to continuously scan for BLE advertisements?
body: <p>Suppose I need to detect a BLE advert that is only transmitted at 1 Hz for 60 seconds, and I don't know when in the day that will be. For this I need to scan continuously.</p>
  
  <p>The <a href="https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/connectivity/bluetooth-le.html" rel="nofollow">official docs say</a></p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>Because scanning is battery-intensive, you should observe the following guidelines:</p>
    
    <ul>
    <li>As soon as you find the desired device, stop scanning.</li>
    <li>Never scan on a loop, ...</li>
    </ul>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>But this excludes my use case.</p>
  
  <p>The latest BLE chips (e.g. CC2560) use about 5 mA while scanning, which I assume is reduced on a duty cycle when using <a href="https://developer.android.com/reference/android/bluetooth/le/ScanSettings.html#SCAN_MODE_LOW_POWER" rel="nofollow"><code>SCAN_MODE_LOW_POWER</code></a>. My question is, if I use that mode, is it ok to just scan 24/7 (and inform the user)?</p>
  
  <p>Also how does iOS do it for iBeacons?</p>