Android 12 expedited job notification - android

After upgrading my phone to Android 12 I started to some unexpected behavior with the expedited work job. That is the code I had:
val workRequest = OneTimeWorkRequestBuilder<UploadWorker>()
.setExpedited(OutOfQuotaPolicy.RUN_AS_NON_EXPEDITED_WORK_REQUEST)
.build()
WorkManager.getInstance(context).enqueueUniqueWork(UNIQUE_WORK_NAME, ExistingWorkPolicy.REPLACE, workRequest)
And also I had the getForegroundInfo() overrided to return ForegroundInfo instance.
On Android < 12 my work job worked fine: it is long-running and when it got started, the notification was shown in notification trey, and the job was done.
Now, with Android 12 I don't see any notification icon and if I'll turn the screen off, the job is cancelled exactly in one minute. And immediately gets relaunched.
If I explicitly call setForeground() in doWork() method (I don't know what is the difference), it slightly change the behavior: the notification starts to show (not at once for some reason) but it goes away after some time, when the job is still running. The job itself doesn't get cancelled.
What does it all mean? Do I do something wrong? All I want is to launch long-running expedited job with a notification.
Upd: I've noticed that the same thing happens when I just create a foreground service. It gets stopped in exactly one minute if I navigate away from the app (so the app is in background). So, it seems that the problem is in a foreground service itself, since android uses it implicitly when an expedited work is started.

Did you override getForegroundInfo() in your Worker class? According to the docs:
Any ListenableWorker must implement the getForegroundInfo method if
you would like to request that the task run as an expedited job

If I explicitly call setForeground() in doWork() method (I don't know
what is the difference), it slightly change the behavior:
https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/architecture/workmanager/advanced/long-running
ListenableWorker now supports the setForegroundAsync() API, and CoroutineWorker supports a suspending setForeground() API. These APIs allow developers to specify that this WorkRequest is important (from a user perspective) or long-running.
On Android < 12 my work job worked fine: it is long-running and when
it got started, the notification was shown in notification trey, and
the job was done.
To maintain backwards compatibility for expedited jobs, WorkManager might run a foreground service on platform versions older than Android 12. Foreground services can display a notification to the user.
When targeting Android 12 or higher, foreground services remain available to you through the corresponding setForeground method.
https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/architecture/workmanager/how-to/define-work#worker
https://developer.android.com/static/images/guide/background/workmanager_main.svg
Workers don't know whether the work they're doing is expedited or not. But workers can display a notification on some versions of Android when a WorkRequest has been expedited.
To enable this, WorkManager provides the getForegroundInfoAsync() method, which you must implement so WorkManager can display a notification to start a ForegroundService for you where necessary.
Long story short - there is a lot of might, can, etc. What you need to do is debug the JobScheduler and figure out what exactly is happening and then try to figure out why.
https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/architecture/workmanager/how-to/debugging#use-alb-shell0dumpsys-jobscheduler
Check what exactly Constraint is satisfied or not.
What is your Quota and Internet usage(you have an amount in
milliseconds)
What is your PowerBucket(you might ask the user to exempt you from
battery optimization)
History of executed jobs

Related

Best way get GPS Location in background for Android API level 30 and higher

My application determines the speed limit by the user's location and tells the user if he has exceeded it.
Starting with Android API level 30 and higher, Google has defined IntentService as deprecated and suggests using WorkManager or JobIntentService and also states that it is necessary to migrate from Firebase JobDispatcher to WorkManager. I see two ways to solve this problem:
Start OneTimeWorkRequest and specify to restart this method periodically in this method while the application is running in the background.
Run PeriodicWorkRequest with a minimum allowed interval of 15 minutes. In this method, run the JobIntentService method, which runs for up to about 10 minutes, but the method may not run or may be destroyed by the system before it is complete.
I'm worried about:
potential memory leaks;
potential problems with WorkManager or JobIntentService when going from foreground to background and vice versa
the ability to use the MVVM pattern
I would prefer going with second option, it gives you more time between each rescheduling of the Worker.
Regarding your concerns:
Only possible leak is misconducting location callbacks. This can be easily tracked down, you shouldn't worry too much about it.
Scheduled Worker are put in the database and are executed independently of the application. Which means, user-visibility of the application has no effect. In your case, I presume you want to cancel your scheduled work once the user resumes the application, that being said you can assign a tag to the Worker and purge any scheduled or on-going once visible to the user.
I prefer to keep Workers isolated from the MVVM and just inject Use cases/interactors in the worker and do execute the use case/query the interactor. WorkerManager offers fine APIs to query the Worker status, you might need to write common ground between your previous implementation and for API >= 30. Treat the Worker as different execution container for your use case.

Difference between Foreground Service and JobScheduler

I have an app where I use a foreground service to start a number N of threads that sleep most of the time and sometimes wake up to do some measurements.
I used foreground services because I need that these measurements must be done at specific and exact time without background limitations introduced by Android 8.0.
This seems to work and from documentation seems that there are no problem, but I read also about JobScheduler.
There is an advantage to use Jobs to schedule work at specific accurate time or my solution can be used without problems.
First a fact
In JobScheduler, the System execute your Job(Task) in application's JobService
and the JobService class also extend the same Service class that we use to define Foreground Service. So by using the both, we can execute code in background
Now the main difference is, Foreground Service is always running(by showing notification to user) and consuming the battery and memory of the user even, if your threads are sleeping and no code is executing.
As it's running always you can do whatever you want precisely at any moment of time. maybe it's good for your app's point of view but it's bad for user. your app draining the battery unnecessarily and consuming the RAM.
To address this problem we got JobScheduler. you can Schedule a job to be executed based on some criteria. Your app will only wake when the criteria is met, but it's not precise.it depends on many factors like doze mode etc.
you can look more about that here
The conclusion is
If your task is not needed to be execute at exact time then you should use JobScheduler (recently WorkManager is better as it use JobScheduler internally and more advance) to save your user's battery
and according official document
WorkManager is intended for tasks that are deferrable—that is, not
required to run immediately—and required to run reliably even if the
app exits or the device restarts.
For your use case, you will be better off using a WorkManager which according to the android documentation, uses JobScheduler on API 23+ and a combination of BroadcastManager and AlarmManager on API 14 - 22.
With a WorkManager your jobs will run reliably even if your app exits or the device restarts.
https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/architecture/workmanager

what is the best practice to use for background tasks?

I have a use-case where, whenever a transaction is completed or failed, I have to wait in background(not going to freeze the UI) for 5 minutes and call a piece of code without user intervention. So AFAIK I need to implement Background Service for this.
I want to know which would be better for my scenario.
Workermanager ( JetPack )
Jobscheduler ( for API 14 - 21, Firebase JobDispatcher)
IntentService
And in Oreo and above, if I run background service will it show in the notification that the App is running in the background?
Now the recommended way to do background processing would be Jetpack WorkManager API. I will cite official documentation for the reasons:
WorkManager chooses the appropriate way to run your task based on such factors as the device API level and the app state. If WorkManager executes one of your tasks while the app is running, WorkManager can run your task in a new thread in your app's process. If your app is not running, WorkManager chooses an appropriate way to schedule a background task--depending on the device API level and included dependencies, WorkManager might use JobScheduler, Firebase JobDispatcher, or AlarmManager. You don't need to write device logic to figure out what capabilities the device has and choose an appropriate API; instead, you can just hand your task off to WorkManager and let it choose the best option.
In addition, WorkManager provides several advanced features. For example, you can set up a chain of tasks; when one task finishes, WorkManager queues up the next task in the chain. You can also check a task's state and its return values by observing its LiveData; this can be useful if you want to show UI indicating your task's status.
So instead of worrying every time which background processing to choose (as every task has it's recommended and appropriate way), you can simply use WorkManager and it will do it's job.
This is considering the following gotcha:
WorkManager is intended for tasks that require a guarantee that the system will run them even if the app exits, like uploading app data to a server. It is not intended for in-process background work that can safely be terminated if the app process goes away; for situations like that, we recommend using ThreadPools.
P.S. As WorkManager API is using JobScheduler, Firebase JobDistpacher or AlarmManager under the hood, you must consider minimum API levels for used functionality. JobScheduler requires minimum API 21, Firebase JobDispatcher requires minimum API 14 and Google Play Services.
For the full documentation check: https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/architecture/workmanager
For your second question: as far as I know you will always see that notification, as it is notifying user that your app is consuming battery. The notification may be disabled by the user from settings in Android Oreo 8.1.
Going forward, the official android documentation suggests that you use a JobScheduler in place of a background service.
In many cases, apps that previously registered for an implicit broadcast can get similar functionality by using a JobScheduler job. For example, a social photo app might need to perform cleanup on its data from time to time, and prefer to do this when the device is connected to a charger. Previously, the app registered a receiver for ACTION_POWER_CONNECTED in its manifest; when the app received that broadcast, it would check whether cleanup was necessary. To migrate to Android 8.0 or higher, the app removes that receiver from its manifest. Instead, the app schedules a cleanup job that runs when the device is idle and charging.
https://developer.android.com/about/versions/oreo/background#services
WorkManager is probably (eventually) the solution you are looking for. It acts as an abstraction, deciding whether to use JobScheduler (if it's available) Firebase JobDispatcher (if it's available) or falling back to a default implementation otherwise. This way, you get the best of all worlds. It's still in alpha, however, so you may want to at least consider other options.
If you choose not to use WorkManager, a combination of JobScheduler and JobDispatcher is probably appropriate (see here).
However, if you target devices without Google Play Services below API 22, you will need to use another solution. In that case AlarmManager may be what you are looking for, since you need a delayed task with guaranteed execution. Using an IntentService for this is possible, but not as easy. It involves introducing a delay mechanism of some kind, of which there are several choices.
Note that since you are using a batching mechanism if you use one of the Job APIs or WorkManager, you will not see a notification in Oreo. AlarmManager/IntentService based solutions may show a notification, but likely not for very long, since the tasks are fairly short. This is especially true for AlarmManager.

Android. Is WorkManager running when app is closed?

I want to schedule nightly database updates. So I use new Android WorkManager. My understanding is that once scheduled it will always run in the background independently from the app's lifecycle.
Is that right? My first tests show that Work is only being performed when the app is running.
val locationWork = PeriodicWorkRequest.Builder(UpdateDatabaseWorker::class.java, 24, TimeUnit.HOURS)
.addTag("DATABASE_UPDATE_SERVICE")
.build()
WorkManager.getInstance().enqueue(locationWork)
Based on various issues reported on the WorkManager bugtracker, their documentation is not completely precise about the exact behavior of the WorkManager in such edge cases.
On certain devices, apps are force stopped when the app is cleared from task manager, so that part is expected. ... source
Unfortunately, some devices implement killing the app from the recents menu as a force stop. Stock Android does not do this. When an app is force stopped, it cannot execute jobs, receive alarms or broadcasts, etc. So unfortunately, it's infeasible for us to address it - the problem lies in the OS and there is no workaround. source
The only issue that we have come across is the case where some Chinese OEMs treat swipe to dismiss from Recents as a force stop. When that happens, WorkManager will reschedule all pending jobs, next time the app starts up. Given that this is a CDD violation, there is not much more that WorkManager can do given its a client library. source
To add to this, if a device manufacturer has decided to modify stock Android to force-stop the app, WorkManager will stop working (as will JobScheduler, alarms, broadcast receivers, etc.). There is no way to work around this. Some device manufacturers do this, unfortunately, so in those cases WorkManager will stop working until the next time the app is launched. source
With intense testing of a OneTimeWorkRequest (without constraints) on a Pixel 2 XL with stock android the behavior is the following:
Task manager close:
Work continues (after a bit)
Reboot device (work running):
Work continues after reboot done
App info "Force stop":
Work stops, will only continue when app is started again
Reboot device (work was "Force Stopped"):
Work does not continue until the app is started again
You can find a complete list of different OEM behaviors on dontkillmyapp.com. It seems the Android team also acknowledges this issue and added a test for this into their CTS test for Android Q. source
My understanding is that once scheduled it will always run in the
background independently from the app's lifecycle. Is that right?
Yes. Based on the documentation
The task is still guaranteed to run, even if your app is force-quit or
the device is rebooted.
WorkManager chooses the appropriate way to run your task based on factors such as the device API level and the app state. If WorkManager executes one of your tasks while the app is running, WorkManager can run your task in a new thread in your app's process. If your app is not running, WorkManager chooses an appropriate way to schedule a background task--depending on the device API level.
WorkManager might use JobScheduler, Firebase JobDispatcher, or AlarmManager depending on the API level. It will repect the Doze and conaider all other constraints before executing the Work. You can expect some delay in Doze mode since it could wait for maintenance window.
Note:
WorkManager is intended for tasks that require a guarantee that the system will run them even if the app exits, like uploading app data to a server. It is not intended for in-process background work that can safely be terminated if the app process goes away; for situations like that, we recommend using ThreadPools.
This is what documentation is saying:
Note: WorkManager is intended for tasks that require a guarantee that the system will run them even if the app exits, like uploading app data to a server. It is not intended for in-process background work that can safely be terminated if the app process goes away; for situations like that, we recommend using ThreadPools.
But there must be some condition. if that condition meet then WorkManager will run the task (this is important). Conditions like "only while device is charging and online"
Read this carefully, The WorkManager attempts to run your task at the interval you request, subject to the constraints you impose and its other requirements.
Here I found a good tutorial about how to use WorkManager for scheduling tasks : https://android.jlelse.eu/how-scheduling-work-with-new-android-jetpack-component-workmanager-852163f4825b

Android - JobScheduler or BroadcastReceiver?

In my Android app I need to do some work every time the user plugs their device. For this purpose right now I use a BroadcastReceiver, which starts my IntentService to do the work when the user plugs the device and stops it when the device becomes unplugged.
Right now I'm thinking of using JobScheduler for Android 5.0+, but what I'm seeing is that with JobScheduler, I would have to schedule my job within the app, by calling
JobScheduler.schedule(JobInfo);
But this is a problem to me, because I want my job to run every time the user connects their device to the charger, even without the user having to open my app.
For this reason, I think one way would be to schedule it the first time the user opens the app, and then always force reschedule, since I cannot trust on the user opening my app every day (which, due to the nature of my app, certainly won't happen).
So, should I stick with BroadcastReceiver or use JobScheduler for Android 5.0+?
And in the case of using JobScheduler, should I schedule my job only once and then always return true in order to force rescheduling?
Thank you.
So, should I stick with BroadcastReceiver or use JobScheduler for Android 5.0+?
Use JobScheduler, this can improve your app’s performance, along with aspects of system health such as battery life. Also, JobScheduler persists through device reboots and supports batch scheduling by which the android system can combine pending jobs thus reducing battery usage. Moreover, you can do distinguish between android versions thus using JobScheduler on Lollipop and up, and AlarmManager on older versions.
And in the case of using JobScheduler, should I schedule my job only once and then always return true in order to force rescheduling?
Now, there are 2 ways to do this :
As you guessed, scheduling your job only once and always returning true in jobFinished() - this should do the trick.
Upon completing a job (originally scheduled by you by calling JobScheduler.schedule(JobInfo)), you schedule another job by calling the same. This will schedule consequent jobs once each job is about to be completed.
Jobscheduler runs in the background and persists through reboots so you should be fine.

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