I'm creating an activity logging app, Where it's user can explicitly set a series of time first. On those set times I want to launch one of the activity which need to popup & collect data from user and go away.
(Data like how much you drink today, How many km jogged, What foods you ate, Did you exercise today etc...).
These are the constrains
The app is very much dependent on precise user defined dates and times. So I think I
had to use setExactAndAllowWhileIdle() with AlarmManager
User can be fully aware that the app need to run always. I've no issues running my tracker as a HIGH_PRIORITY Foreground service if that can offer reliable explicit data collection from user. In that case how to change this code?
For this purpose, I tried using AlarmManager. But it is triggering only when the app is in forground. How can I call the activity even if the app is not running on precise timings?
fun setAlarm()
{
val myIntent = Intent(this, MainActivity::class.java)
val pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0, myIntent, 0)
val alarmManager: AlarmManager = getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE) as AlarmManager
val calendar: Calendar = Calendar.getInstance()
calendar.timeInMillis = System.currentTimeMillis()
calendar.add(Calendar.SECOND, 5)
alarmManager.setExactAndAllowWhileIdle(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, calendar.timeInMillis, pendingIntent)
Toast.makeText(baseContext, "Alarm Set", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show()
}
Or should I use start an always running foreground service and later on set times throwing an Intent to OS for starting an activity? Is it a good approach?
Related
I have been coding an app on my phone, a xiaomi with MIUI 12.0.3 and android 10, and the alarm triggered normally, but recently I changed to another phone, a realme with android 12, and the alarm doesn't trigger anymore.
Instead of the application opening itself when the alarm triggers and the new activity starting, I need to open the app and then the activity starts, the alarm never opens the app by its own, which is what I am looking for since this is essentialy an alarm app.
I tried changing all the battery settings and background restrictions on the phone but still it doesn't work. Is there something that have changed on the android version that has made this stop working? Here's the code of the alarm.
#RequiresApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP)
private fun prepareNextAlarm() {
alarm = getSystemService(ALARM_SERVICE) as AlarmManager
val intent = Intent(applicationContext, Pedometer::class.java)
intent.flags = Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK
intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TASK)
intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP)
val pi = PendingIntent.getActivity(applicationContext, 0, intent, 0)
val nextAlarmTime = getNextAlarmTimestamp();
val alarmInfo = AlarmManager.AlarmClockInfo(nextAlarmTime, pi);
saveNextAlarmTime(nextAlarmTime)
alarm!!.setAlarmClock(alarmInfo, pi);
}
Thank you so much for everyone in advance for the help!
Following code works perfectly for Activity:
Intent intent = new Intent(context, MyActivity.class);
PendingIntent operation = PendingIntent.getActivity(context,
0,
intent,
PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
alarmmanager.setExact(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP,
startTime.getTimeInMillis(),
operation);
However, when I do the same thing for IntentService, It works only if startTime and time I set alarm are on the same day. e.g. If I set the alarm today for 5 PM, it will be executed but when I set the alarm today for 5 PM tomorrow, it will not be executed. If this was Activity then it works for both cases.
Intent intent = new Intent(context, MyService.class);
PendingIntent operation = PendingIntent.getService(context,
0,
intent,
PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
alarmmanager.setExact(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP,
startTime.getTimeInMillis(),
operation);
How to solve this?
The goal here I am trying to achieve is to execute IntentService every day at the exact time.
The goal here I am trying to achieve is to execute IntentService every day at the exact time.
Google has made this progressively harder from release to release. See Android AlarmManager setExact() is not exact. There could be two ways to solve this for your case:
you start an activity, which starts the service (as starting an Activity seems to work for you)
you use either setExactAnd... or setAlarmClock. setAlarmClock also triggers in the new "doze" mode, see https://stackoverflow.com/a/47049705/1587329.
Another way would be to re-think why and if you really need this... or if a JobScheduler could not fit your purpose more easily.
add replace your line with this line :
alarmmanager.setRepeating(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP,
startTime.getTimeInMillis(),
operation);
it will repeat on specific interval you set in alarm manager
Replace the AlarmManager with this code:
alarmManager.setRepeating(AlarmManager.RTC,
timeMills,
AlarmManager.INTERVAL_DAY,
pendingIntent);
Worked for me.
HERE IS a DETAILED ANSWER check link in the bottom for more details.
Hope this will help. Your issue can be probably related to android versions too so do check the link for more details
app gets an instance of the AlarmManager and sets an alarm using a PendingIntent. More on usage and setting alarms is coming in the next section. The AlarmManager is the app side interface to the backing AlarmManagerService. It abstracts the details of the Binder interface, used to communicate with the system process (system_server) hosting the AlarmManagerService. These two components manage the alarm(s) the app has set and will send the PendingIntent correctly. This manager/service architecture is used throughout Android framework and is done for security and isolation purposes. The system_server process is running with privileges which normal apps do not have. If you are unfamiliar with Android’s use of permissions, see this article for more details on app processes and user IDs. These extra permissions are what allows system_server to access the underlying kernel alarm driver. The alarm driver is what manages setting alarms to wake up the device regardless of the sleep state of the SoC.
When the alarm is triggered the device is awakened (if asleep) and the AlarmManagerService is notified of an alarm expiring. It will then send the PendingIntent accordingly. This will cause the appropriate component within MyApp to be activated. If MyApp has not been started or its process is not cached, it will be started so the component can be activated.
basic usage will be as
public class MyActivity extends Activity {
...
private AlarmManager mAlarmMgr;
...
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstance) {
...
mAlarmMgr = (AlarmManager)getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
...
}
...
}
let’s create a PendingIntent for our MyActivity using the component name.
Intent alarmIntent = new Intent(context, MyActivity.class);
PendingIntent pend = PendingIntent.getActivity(context,
0,
alarmIntent,
PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
Now that we have our PendingIntent and the AlarmManager, we can set our alarm so our Activity is triggered when the alarm has expired. To do this, we need to figure out when we want our alarm to go off and whether it should wake up the device or just be delivered the next time the device is awakened. Remember, we have two different ways of specifying time for our alarms: elapsed time or calendar (RTC) time. So our options are ELAPSED_REALTIME, ELAPSED_REALTIME_WAKEUP, RTC or RTC_WAKEUP. The _WAKEUP variants are our “aggressive” alarms where we want the device to come out of low power to call our app back. For our sample app, let’s set this up in a custom BroadcastReceiver and have it trigger our Activity about 30 seconds after the device is booted
public class MyBootReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
public void onReceive(Context, context, Intent intent) {
...
AlarmManager alarmMgr =
(AlarmManager)context.getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
long wakeTime = SystemClock.elapsedRealtime() + 30000;
alarmMgr.set(AlarmManager.ELAPSED_REALTIME_WAKEUP, wakeTime, pend);
}
}
Now when our device boots and the BOOT_COMPLETED broadcast is sent, our app’s process will be started and our receiver will set an alarm to trigger our Activity to be launched about 30 seconds later. Note that on Android 3.1 devices or newer, you must first manually launch your app before the BOOT_COMPLETED.
CREDIT GOES to writer of this BLOG
if you want to set the repeated alarm using SetExact you are bound to stop all other pending intents on the same time check this link for that here are many examples of how to do it! again credit goes to this writer
I know there are dozens of similar threads on SO about this topic but I just couldn't find one that really solves the problem / or identifies the root cause.
First of all, I'm targetting SDK 22 (Android 5.1) which means I could use the AlarmManager + WakefulBroadcastReceiver + IntentService even if this is not the latest way of doing things.
I'm not interested in the JobScheduler etc solutions, I just want to understand what is happening and why.
The phone I'm testing on has Android 8.0, but it shouldn't matter as I'm targeting Android 5.1.
So the code I'm dealing with sets the alarm for the next day, 06:00.
private fun setupAlarm() {
val calendar = Calendar.getInstance()
calendar.timeInMillis = System.currentTimeMillis()
calendar.add(Calendar.DAY_OF_YEAR, 1)
calendar.set(Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY, 6)
calendar.set(Calendar.MINUTE, 0)
val alarmIntent = Intent(this, AlarmReceiver::class.java)
val alarmPendingIntent = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(this, 1221, alarmIntent, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT)
val alarmManager = getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE) as AlarmManager
alarmManager.setRepeating(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, calendar.timeInMillis, AlarmManager.INTERVAL_DAY, alarmPendingIntent)
}
The AlarmReciever only starts a service:
class AlarmReceiver : WakefulBroadcastReceiver() {
override fun onReceive(context: Context?, intent: Intent?) {
startWakefulService(context, Intent(context, DownloadingIntentService::class.java));
}
}
This Service then tries to download a file, when finished it calls the completeWakefulIntent(intent) method letting know the system that it's done with its job.
I could not figure out when it is working and when it is not. One morning it did what it should have, on the other, it didn't.
I set up a remote LogCat feature to see whether the IntentService is started but so far I can't see any logs from it, so it means that the alarm is not triggered.
If I set up an alarm for the next minute, even repeating one whatever it works like it should. But when I set back the time for tomorrow morning then it's very unreliable.
Thanks for your help.
I've faced this exact issue myself. See what happens is that setRepeating method let's the android system adjust the time when the alarm should get fired. It will most likely try to batch different alarms in order to optimise battery usage. But in regular cases, if the phone isn't dozing... It generally fires the alarm at correct times.
However if the phone has been idle for a time, the phone goes into doze mode and due to this the alarm gets delayed. I have personally observed delays of upto 1 1:30 hours.
If you want it to fire exactly, you'll have to use the setExactAndAllowWhileIdle method or setAlarmClock method. In this case, you will have to handle the scheduling of your next alarm on your own. The methods work well with doze mode and do fire the alarms at exact times.
There are cons to these methods too. The setExactAndAllowWhileIdle method can only be used to schedule alarms Max once per nine minutes or so. The setAlarmClock method will mostly show a notification like a regular alarm to the user and will indicate the details of the alarm ( this behaviour varies with different os versions )
I used this code to trigger a backup every day. It is working for me, Give it a try.
AlarmManager alarmMgr = (AlarmManager)context.getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
Intent intent = new Intent(context, MyReceiver.class);
intent.setAction("CUSTOM_INTENT");
alarmIntent = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(context, 0, intent, 0);
Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();
calendar.setTimeInMillis(System.currentTimeMillis());
calendar.set(Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY, 06);
calendar.set(Calendar.MINUTE, 00);
// setRepeating() lets you specify a precise custom interval--in this case,
// 1 day
alarmMgr.setRepeating(AlarmManager.RTC, calendar.getTimeInMillis()/1000,
AlarmManager.INTERVAL_DAY, alarmIntent);
Try this:
Calendar now = Calendar.getInstance();
Calendar alarm = Calendar.getInstance();
alarm.set(Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY, hourOfDay);
alarm.set(Calendar.MINUTE, minute);
long alarmMillis = alarm.getTimeInMillis();
if (alarm.before(now)) alarmMillis+= 86400000L; //It will add 1 day if your time selected before now
//set alarm method of yours\\
settingAlarmManager(requestCode, alarmMillis);
private void settingAlarmManager(String requestCode, Calendar calendar) {
AlarmManager alarmManager = (AlarmManager) getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
Intent notificationIntent = new Intent(AddTaskActivity.this, AlarmReceiver.class);
PendingIntent broadcast = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(AddTaskActivity.this,
Integer.valueOf(requestCode), notificationIntent, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
alarmManager.setInexactRepeating(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, calendar.getTimeInMillis(), AlarmManager.INTERVAL_DAY, broadcast);
}
My Receiver class:
public class AlarmReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
//do your stuff here\\
}
}
Manifest:
<receiver android:name=".utils.AlarmReceiver" />
I have tried above code for setting alarm and do my custom task. Maybe this will help you.
A few things:
The further in time an Alarm is scheduled, the less precise it will be.
Although you are targeting API Level 22, deprecated elements in higher Android version may not fully work, which is the case of the WakefulBroadcastReceiver
You are trying to run a background job in Android 8.0. It's worth exploring the Foreground Service:
It can be started from the background
Correctly notify users that you are indeed doing something while the phone should be idle.
Do not fear running tasks that might take a few seconds to complete.
You might have killed your application. When a user manually kills an app, in most devices all Alarm's and PendingIntent's are killed as well.
A scheduling strategy many developer use is not to set a repeating Alarm, yet have two single Alarms that reschedule each other continuously ( #Kushan mentioned something similar in his answer).
In short:
Have a Scheduler start as soon as possible during the day (even when a user opens your app, it can be fired multiple times). Check if the desired PendingIntents already exist (your background jobs). If they do not, just schedule them. As well, schedule another Alarm around 11.55.
All this midnight scheduler has to do, is to re-schedule the main AlarmManager in 5 minutes, which is then going to schedule the jobs and the midnight alarm for the next days.
This method allows you to:
schedule exact alarms, since repeating ones do not have the exact option.
reduce the time distance of your scheduled alarms, which will then generally be treated with more precision by the OS.
avoid alarms that trigger immediately because scheduled in the past
Also, try to get the most from the API version you are using:
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.M) {
this.alarmManager.setExactAndAllowWhileIdle(
AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP,
rtcStartingTime.getTimeInMillis(),
pendingIntent
);
} else if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.KITKAT) {
this.alarmManager.setExact(
AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP,
rtcStartingTime.getTimeInMillis(),
pendingIntent
);
} else {
this.alarmManager.set(
AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP,
rtcStartingTime.getTimeInMillis(),
pendingIntent
);
}
I'm usign an Alarm Manager to update a widget with a Service. I've two different questions.
First question: I'm calling the service with Alarm Manager's intent. Like this:
alarmManager = (AlarmManager) context.getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
Intent i = new Intent(context, MyService.class);
pi = PendingIntent.getService(context, 0, i, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
context.startService(new Intent(context, MyService.class));
Long repeat = Long.parseLong(prefs.getString("update_preference", "600"));
alarmManager.setInexactRepeating(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, Calendar.getInstance().getTimeInMillis(), 1000*repeat, pi);
Is it wrong?
It looks and works right. But when I have looked at working services, I can't see my service name in the list. Perhaps it's not running as a single/seperate service. Just saw application name (not as a service). I'm not sure how to seperate or does it matter?
Another question: Over long time, running application, which controls widgets update, is closed somehow (manually or by a task killer). Of course Alarm Manager gonna stop and widget's functions gonna stop too. For example button clicking.
But, Twitter solved this problem. While the widget is active, if I close the main application (Twitter) -which controls widget- than click the widget, somehow widget triggering application and it starts again well. So buttons work properly. How is that possible?
Any help would be appreciated.
You dont need to do context.startservice that what the pending intent is for, if you want the service to run right away the first time just set it to run at the current time then set the interval from the current time.
You are also setting 2 different types of repeating when you don't need to setRepeating is strict where setInexact is not and can be adjusted by the OS when it gets fired hence the inexact in it. You want one or the other not both.
Also those intervals are very small and its going to kill the battery significantly.
It should just be this
alarmManager = (AlarmManager) context.getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
Intent i = new Intent(context, MyService.class);
pi = PendingIntent.getService(context, 0, i, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
Long repeat = Long.parseLong(prefs.getString("update_preference", "600"));
alarmManager.setInexactRepeating(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP,
Calendar.getInstance().getTimeInMillis(), 1000*repeat, pi);
It's good that your application/service isn't running all the time.
In fact it doesn't need/has to run all the time for updating a widget. If you schedule an Intent with AlarmManager the application will be started when the intent is fired if it has been closed.
When setting a service to go off at particular time, I use the AlarmManager system service.
Everything goes off without a problem, service is called and actions take place.
When the alarm time is reached, the service starts, and at this point I get the system time (System.currentTimeMillis()). I'm guessing this wont be the actual time the service start. Is there a way to get the time that was set for this PendingIntent?
ie
Set alarm for 9am.
DoStuffService starts at 9am.
DoStuffService knows it was supposed to start at 9am, and uses this value for future functions.
When you create an intent for your alarm, you could put extra data, including time of the alarm, into it like this:
Intent intent = new Intent("action name");
//put extra data into the intent:
intent.putExtra("alarm_time_hours", hours);
intent.putExtra("alarm_time_minutes", minutes);
PendingIntent sender = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(getApplicationContext(), 0, intent, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
AlarmManager am = (AlarmManager) getSystemService(ALARM_SERVICE);
am.set(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, cal.getTimeInMillis(), sender);
Then in your receiver or service you need to get this extra data from received intent. Use something like this:
Bundle bundle = intent.getExtras();
if(bundle.containsKey("alarm_time_hours")) {
int hours = bundle.getInt("alarm_time_hours");
}
if(bundle.containsKey("alarm_time_minutes")) {
int minutes = bundle.getInt("alarm_time_minutes");
}
Is there a way to get the time that was set for this PendingIntent?
No, sorry.
However, it should not be terribly difficult for you to determine it yourself. Following your example, if your service reports that it is now 09:00:02.36, you should be able to round down to determine that this is the 9am alarm.