I want to implement Push Notification for an App (both iOS and Android) and need clarifications on the following scenarios.
I understand how the Push Notification works in general and the limitations. I did read the docs but that just got me confused and didnt answer all my questions.
How are the following scenarios handled in iOS and Android:
When the device is turned off
When the device is not connected to 3G or Wifi networks
When the device has crashed and need restart
When the App is in foreground
When the App is in the background
When user is currently using the App
When my app is closed (not opened / launched)
When a push notification is user specific and both users share the same device and app. Example: If a husband and wife share same device and use a bank App with Push notification.
Can you send User specific notification if device is shared by multiple users?
When user has installed App on multiple devices
Can you send a notification to all devices registered by a user at once?
Do you store the device type (iOS or Android) with the registrationID in the User table or is there a way to differentiate the type of device by inspecting the token or registrationID?
Can you cancel a previously sent notification which is not read yet and send a new one?
Is it still true that Android Push Notifications does not work on Kindle Fire and will need to implement Amazon Device Messaging
Anything else that I need to think of or plan? I am aware of handling un-registering and feedback service
I would answer some of your questions, specific to android thought. Don't know about iPhone, If its of similar kind or not.
The device receives notification from Google Cloud server as and
when the notification is triggered by the server and it doesn't have
any relation with application state (Running, Closed, Background or
foreground).
If the notification is sent to a device when its not connected to
the internet ( switched off or not connected to the net) , it gets
notification only when it connects to the network. However, if the device
is crashed and restarted after the notification is received, you
won't get the notification again.
Is it user specific?
It depends on the individual servers implementation.
Do we store device type?
Yes we can.
Can we differentiate the IDs of iPhone and android?
Yes, android Device IDs are longer in length than iPhone's.
Can we cancel an already sent notification?
No, it is a one way communication channel as far as I know.
When the device is turned off:
Answer:
IOS/Android Server (Not your Server) will handled when to send the Push Notification. It checks that device is reachable or not. We can define that how many times IOS/Android Server should try to send Push Notification.
When the device is not connected to 3G or Wifi networks
Answer:
Nothing related to 2G/3G/Wi-Fi. Device should be connected to Internet via any network.
When the device has crashed and need restart
Answer:
IOS/Android Server checks that device is reachable or not.
When the App is in foreground
Answer:
Nothing related to app in foreground.
When the App is in the background
Answer:
Nothing related to app in background.
When user is currently using the App
Answer:
Nothing related to app being used currently.
When my app is closed (not opened / launched)
Answer:
Nothing related to app is closed.
When a push notification is user specific and both users share the same device and app. Example: If a husband and wife share same device and use a bank App with Push notification.
Answer:
It depends on how you have implemented on YOUR Server. You will be managing Device Id for each user. So it's upto your implementation logic to send to same device for multiple users.
Can you send User specific notification if device is shared by multiple users?
Answer:
It depends on how you have implemented on YOUR Server. You will be managing Device Id for each user. So it's upto your implementation logic.
When user has installed App on multiple devices
Answer:
It depends on how you have implemented on YOUR Server.
Can you send a notification to all devices registered by a user at once?
Answer:
Yes again as per your implementation logic.
Do you store the device type (iOS or Android) with the registrationID in the User table or is there a way to differentiate the type of device by inspecting the token or registrationID?
Answer:
Yes you need to store the device type, to identify to which Server (IOS/Android), you need to send request for Push Notification.
Can you cancel a previously sent notification which is not read yet and send a new one?
Answer:
No you cannot cancel the request.
Is it still true that Android Push Notifications does not work on Kindle Fire and will need to implement Amazon Device Messaging
Answer:
Need to google it around.
Anything else that I need to think of or plan? I am aware of handling un-registering and feedback service
Answer:
Need to google it around.
Related
Scenario: Suppose I have set up some WiFi and have one server in it. When android user connect to that WiFi area then I want to send notifications to those devices which is connected with WiFi. I don't want user, to install any app in their devices to receive notifications.
Can I use any system service to receive notification which is already running in the device? or something else which help me in this.
You can create a login page to force users to allow notifications. After the user allows the notification, internet is free to use.
That way, you can send notifications without installing any app.
I am trying to figure out how to push a received notifications from one android device to another one. Example: someone sends you a message on your android phone. You receive a notification on your watch that this happened. Any suggestions?
If I understood correctly what you want is to receive a notification on the android watch when you receive a notification on the phone is that right?
Well this happens automatically so if you don't want to add anything extra or custom to a notification you don't have to do anything.
If you want to produce custom notification for wearable with specific actions, icons or other thing you need to follow the android guidelines at https://developer.android.com/training/wearables/notifications/creating.html
You might need to intercept the notification you receive on the phone and handle it like this and then send it again to both phone and watch.
This is solely for communication between Android devices that each have Google Play Services installed and valid registration IDs:
You will need a bidirectional implementation of GCM, one that allows devices to both receive and send messages to the server. The HTTP GCM server setup will only allow downstream communication (server -> device). For your needs you can use the XMPP implementation of GCM.
I am creating a application in android similar to Device Policy Administration that can remotely clear the data on the Android device.I have followed the sample in the android docs here http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/admin/device-admin.html
I need some assistance on how this is implemented.I have come across some apps that perform such tasks of remotely accessing the device(like clear data on the device,Ring the device to full volume).My doubt is
1.How did they implemented this functionality in android what concept have they used to send request to the app to ring the device?Is it via Push notification?
2.Also even if i mark Settings->Security->Device administrators->Android Device Manager(ADM)->Deactivate and from the console (https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager?u=0)
I Ring the Device...the device Rings.Shouldnt it not ring until and unless i dont activate the ADM.
3.Also even if i do not launch(start) the app ,I am still able to Ring my device.Does it mean that whenever i start my device my Device Administration App gets launched automatically?
Any help will be highly appreciable.
How did they implemented this functionality in android what concept have they used to send request to the app to ring the device?Is it via Push notification?
The Android Device Manager is a proprietary service and piece of software. You will need to get a job at Google, join the ADM team, and then learn how it is done.
That being said, a GCM-style push notification is a likely solution.
Does it mean that whenever i start my device my Device Administration App gets launched automatically?
No. Device administration != always running. Device administration status simply gives you access to other APIs that normal apps cannot use.
Note that a GCM-style push notification can be delivered to an app that is not already running.
The rest of your question has nothing to do with programming and everything to do with the proprietary implementation of ADM, which makes it off-topic for StackOverflow.
1) If a user mobile device is registered with GCM, then will the user mobile get a notification from GCM, if user has changed his SIM?
Or
2) Is it possible to link a SIM with GCM, so no matter how any android phones he upgrades but still recieve the notifications.
GCM definitely does not require a SIM card to be present at all. I just setup up a notifications app on an intl Note 3 with no SIM.
A notification developer can use multiple unique identifiers to link a user to a notification, but the user doesn't normally have any input as to which the developer chooses to use. In many cases you may be registered anonymously as a class, especially if the notifications are not personalized and broadcast to all users of an app.
Keep in mind that GCM notifications are finicky as to when they start arriving after the app is registered. For example, with the Note 3 I just setup, even after rebooting none of the 6 test pushes I sent were received. I also checked/unchecked the app's notification box in application manager (Samsung). I also installed 'Push Notification Fixer' (don't let you dissuade from using this, as it does work to keep notifications prompt after the first).
In this case, it wasn't until I changed Wifi connections that the queue was immediately triggered and flushed to the device. It's annoyingly arbitrary and a pain to debug.
If a user mobile device is registered with GCM, then will the user
mobile get a notification from GCM, if user has changed his SIM?
Yes, user will get GCM Notification. GCM Notification Flow has nothing to do whether there is any SIM in Device or not.
Also if user has not any SIM in device, Device can registered to the Server and will get GCm Notification.
Is it possible to link a SIM with GCM, so no matter how any android
phones he upgrades but still recieve the notifications.
Possible, Your app needs to be installed on the devices and register the device and sim id with your server.
Check TelephonyManager for getting the information you need and then create a database on your server with the relationship between user/sim/whatever(phonenumber?) <-> gcm notification id.
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/telephony/TelephonyManager.html
Basically most apps that send User specific notifications register the user with some identification additional to the device, your sim id can be that identification. you should take into consideration that if a sim is lost then you won't get the same sim id again (it's not your number).
I am developing a package manager application which shows checkboxes to turn off notifications from different applications installed on the Android device.
Since Android 4.1, users can turn off notifications of an app from application manager. Can I turn on/off notifications from an app programatically? Is there an API for doing that?
No, you cannot do that from your code. Perhaps on rooted devices you could do some magic, but that shall not really count for wider audience.
If you are App dev, you should manage that on server side, having a webservice (REST API) allowing the user to unsubscribe to the notifications.
Then implement a Settings section in your App where user can uncheck a notification box and that call this service.
Then, your server will not send the notification to this user.