By the beginning of 1916, Active was assigned to the Grand Fleet and played a minor role in the Battle of Jutland later in the year.

By the end of the year, the ship was assigned to the Dover Patrol and was present during two battles with German destroyers, but was not engaged in either.

[1] The main armament of the Active class consisted of ten breech-loading (BL) four-inch Mk VII guns.

[4] Ordered as part of the 1910 Naval Programme, Active was the tenth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy.

When not escorting the capital ships of the Grand Fleet, the flotilla spent much time on anti-submarine patrol off the entrances to Scapa Flow.

In mid-October, multiple reports of submarines in the Minch caused Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet, to send Active and some of her destroyers there to hunt them down, but nothing was found.

After their search was concluded, they joined a large part of the Grand Fleet at Lough Swilly, Ireland, on 22 October.

The German objective was to bombard Sunderland the following day, based on extensive reconnaissance conducted by Zeppelins and submarines.

[20] Active was present, but was not engaged, when German destroyers attacked the Dover Patrol on the nights of 25/25 February and 20/21 April.