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WakefulBroadcastReceiver intent not starting only in some cases (strange)

I have a very strange bug happening in my app. I am building an Alarm APP and I am using SQLite to store alarm data and broadcast receivers to manage the alarm manager calls.
The code of onReceive strangely does not behave in the same way in some cases. I try to start an Activity when the receiver receives a broadcast, nearly 90% of cases everything goes well and I manage to start the Activity, but in some cases strangely enough the receiver executes the instruction "startActivity(i)" but nothing happens.
It is really hard to reproduce the BUG and during my debugging I have learned what I have mentioned, but more than this is really difficult for me to understand how a call to startActivity() in most cases works and in some cases does not work. I have searched through the Stack community but no one seamed to have this kind of problem, everybody just had problems in starting the activity because they had not set the flag or because they had not registered the receiver in the manifest. Below I am posting the code.
public class AlarmReceiver extends WakefulBroadcastReceiver {
// The app's AlarmManager, which provides access to the system alarm services.
private AlarmManager alarmMgr;
// The pending intent that is triggered when the alarm fires.
private PendingIntent alarmIntent;
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
Utils.logToFile("Received Alarm ,I am in onReceive(), ALARM ID: "+intent.getExtras().getInt(Constants.ALARM_ID));
Intent intent = new Intent(context, StopAlarm.class);
Bundle b = new Bundle();
b.putInt(Constants.ALARM_ID, intent.getExtras().getInt(Constants.ALARM_ID));
if(intent.getExtras().containsKey(Constants.SNOOZE_ALARM)){
b.putString(Constants.SNOOZE_ALARM, intent.getExtras().getString(Constants.SNOOZE_ALARM));
}
i.putExtras(b);
//this flag is needed to start an Activity from a BroadcastReceiver
intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
context.startActivity(intent);
//this method reads from the DB and sets the next alarm
//I tried commenting this method so that no DB action is
//performed and still the bug happened
setAlarm(context.getApplicationContext());
//this method just logs data into a file that I have created to keep track of events
//since not always the device is connected with LogCat
Utils.logToFile("Received Alarm, Intent(context, StopAlarm.class);");
}
Do I need to set any other flag and how is it possible that startActivity(intent) behaves incorrectly in some cases?
EDIT
<activity
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:name="package.activity.StopAlarm"
android:windowSoftInputMode="stateAlwaysHidden"
android:screenOrientation="sensorPortrait">
</activity>
<receiver android:name="package.receivers.AlarmReceiver" />

I have finally solved the issue by creating an IntentService and by starting the activity from the IntentService and setting two flags to the Intent. After doing this I placed the code which reads from DB in the activity that is started from the IntentService. I have tested nearly 60 times the behaviour and in all the tests the app behaved correctly. I am posting the code below.
public class MyAlarmReceiver extends WakefulBroadcastReceiver {
// The app's AlarmManager, which provides access to the system alarm services.
private static AlarmManager alarmMgr;
// The pending intent that is triggered when the alarm fires.
private static PendingIntent alarmIntent;
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
Intent i = new Intent(context, AlarmIntentService.class);
Bundle b = new Bundle();
b.putInt(Constants.ALARM_ID, intent.getExtras().getInt(Constants.ALARM_ID));
if(intent.getExtras().containsKey(Constants.SNOOZE_ALARM)){
b.putString(Constants.SNOOZE_ALARM, intent.getExtras().getString(Constants.SNOOZE_ALARM));
}
i.putExtras(b);
i.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
startWakefulService(context, i);
}
This is the IntentService I needed to implement
public class AlarmIntentService extends IntentService {
public AlarmIntentService() {
super("AlarmIntentService");
}
#Override
protected void onHandleIntent(Intent intent) {
Intent i = new Intent(this, StopAlarm.class);
Bundle b = new Bundle();
b.putInt(Constants.ALARM_ID, intent.getExtras().getInt(Constants.ALARM_ID));
if(intent.getExtras().containsKey(Constants.SNOOZE_ALARM)){
b.putString(Constants.SNOOZE_ALARM, intent.getExtras().getString(Constants.SNOOZE_ALARM));
}
i.putExtras(b);
//THESE ARE THE FLAGS NEEDED TO START THE ACTIVITY AND TO PREVENT THE BUG
//(CLEAR_TASK is crucial for the bug and new task is needed to start activity from outside of an activity)
i.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK|Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TASK);
startActivity(i);
MyAlarmReceiver.completeWakefulIntent(intent);
}
}
This is the activity started by the IntentService. Here I set the next alarm.
public class StopAlarm extends Activity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.stop_alarm);
//this method reads from the DB and sets the next alarm
MyAlarmReceiver.setAlarm(getApplicationContext());
...

I had a similar issue. From my experience the problem is,that startActivity(i) is asynchronous. So in this case the program will simultaneously call activities onCreate(),onStart(), etc. but also call QlokAlarmReceiver.completeWakefulIntent(intent) (without waiting for the activity to be closed), which will release the wakeLock. Because of that the device can go to sleep during executing the activities onCreate() or onStart().
Rubin, I know, that my answer is a contradiction of your solution, but my logs clearly indicated such order of events:
- startActivity called
- onCreate of the activity called
- completeWakefulIntent(intent); called in between logs from onStart of the activity
My workaround this is to start a wakelock with a timeout of eg 20 seconds just before calling startActivity and then start another wakeLock in the activities onCreate, which will be released in the onDestroy method.
I'm not sure if my solution goes along with best practises, but I haven't found a better solution so far.

How to add listener on a button in a notification (custom layout)

I have a notification layout which is something like this:
My service is ongoing. I want a notification/event sent to my service when stop button is pressed. Click event on notification view is not required.
When the button is pressed, I want my service to stop.
Currently, I'm trying to do this by sending broadcast to an activity (as I did not find a way to directly inform service of the button press).
My current code is:
Intent intent = new Intent(this, MediaEventsReceiver.class);
PendingIntent pending = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 1, intent, 0);
contentView.setOnClickPendingIntent(R.id.btnStop, pending);
I've also added the reciver in my manifest:
<receiver android:name=".activities.SplashActivity$MediaEventsReceiver" />
Please use code example(s) to explain.

I'm developing a music player app using SINGLE activity. You can add listener to your button like this:
Bind intent
Intent intent = new Intent("ACTION_NAME");
PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(this, 0, intent, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
views.setOnClickPendingIntent(R.id.previousImageView, pendingIntent);
Implement a custom BroadcastReceiver
private class ActionBroadcastReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver
{
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent)
{
switch (intent.getAction())
{
case "ACTION_NAME":
{
doSomething();
break;
}
}
}
}
Register your BroadcastReceiver
IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter();
filter.addAction("ACTION_NAME");
ActionBroadcastReceiver actionBroadcastReceiver = new ActionBroadcastReceiver();
registerReceiver(actionBroadcastReceiver, filter);

SOLVED:
I've used another activity which is called on button click by PendingIntent.
The new activity binds the service and sends it a stop message.
Right after it, it unbinds itself and finishes.
STILL:
I want a solution which does not involve a third activity. There SHOULD be a way where the button click in notification directly informs service and service stops itself. There is NO NEED of an activity for this task.

Android Notification Action is not fired (PendingIntent)

I am trying to add an Notification action item in my app which is a music player. When a stream is started a notification should be triggered and an stop button for the stream should be displayed in the notfication. The notification working fine so far, I am having trouble with the stop action item. Here is how it is declared in the service starting the stream:
Intent stopIntent = new Intent(this, MusicPlayerNew.class);
stopIntent.putExtra("STOP", "STOP");
PendingIntent stopPendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0,
stopIntent, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT, null);
mBuilder.addAction(R.drawable.ic_stat_stop, "Stop", stopPendingIntent);
Now in the onResume()-method of my activity I check with getIntent().getStringExtra() for the "STOP" extra, but the intent I retrieved via getIntent() has no extras set :(
I also tried to check to send an broadcast (i have a broadcast receiver working to communicate from the service to the activity)
Intent stopIntent2 = new Intent(MusicPlayerNew.STOP_MEDIAPLAYER);
PendingIntent stopPendingIntent2 = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(this, 0,
stopIntent2, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
mBuilder.addAction(R.drawable.ic_stat_stop, "Stop", stopPendingIntent2);
Now this works if the activity is currently in the foreground. If the activity is in the background the stop button does nothing :(
EDIT:
I have the BroadcastReceiver in my Activity as a private class
private class DataUpdateReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
..
}}
In the onResume() register my app for this receiver:
intentFilter = new IntentFilter(STOP_MEDIAPLAYER);
registerReceiver(dataUpdateReceiver, intentFilter);
onPause()
unregisterReceiver(dataUpdateReceiver);
Now if I remove the unregistering from the onPause()-method the broadcast is received even if the app/activity is not in the foreground anymore. But is this the right way to do it? I got this register/unregister-stuff from a tutorial on the web i think..

This is very late answer but it may help someone:
You should choose the right kind of Pending intent based on the intent you want to run. Here are some Examples:
For Activity use below:
Intent i = new Intent(this, YourActivity.class);
PendingIntent pi = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0, i, 0);
For Service use below:
Intent i = new Intent(this, YourService.class);
PendingIntent pi = PendingIntent.getService(this, 0, i, 0);
For Broadcast Receiver use below:
Intent i = new Intent(this, YourReciver.class);
PendingIntent pi = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(this, 0, i, 0);
You may need to change the request code and Flags if required

I find solution in this thread on google code https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=61850
To fix it you must add PendingIntent.FLAG_CANCEL_CURRENT flag to your PendingIntent.
PendingIntent stopPendingIntent2 = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(this, 0,
stopIntent2, PendingIntent.FLAG_CANCEL_CURRENT);

I ran into this problem today. In my case it was using cached intent extras from a previous instance of the intent as all the parameters for the pendingIntent constructors was same. I found two solutions for this...
Using FLAG_CANCEL_CURRENT as mentioned by Nik.
Passing an unique requestCode to the pendingIntent as follows
PendingIntent pi = PendingIntent.getService(this, UNIQUE_ID, pi, 0);
In my case, the second method solved the problem as I need to keep the previous notifications alive. May be this will help someone with similar issue.

I ran into this problem today and it was caused by the activity not being registered or added to AndroidManifest.xml. I thought I had it in there but it wasn't. Also, no errors were being logged by trying to invoke the action with its intent.
I figured this out by creating an intent and then calling startAcitivty(intent) without using a notification. It then gave me an error stating the activity was likely missing from the manifest.
If none of the other answers solve your problem then hopefully this will. Usually tricky problems are the result of something simple and silly.

Do not use explicit Intent
In my case, I created a dynamically context registered BroadcastReceiver within my Service class for listening the notification actions.
class MyService:Service(){
private val receiver: BroadcastReceiver = NotificationActionReceiver()
...
inner class NotificationActionReceiver : BroadcastReceiver() {
override fun onReceive(context: Context, intent: Intent) {
...
}
}
override fun onStartCommand(intent: Intent?, flags: Int, startId: Int): Int {
...
registerReceiver(receiver,IntentFilter("SOME_ACTION"))
return super.onStartCommand(intent, flags, startId)
}
override fun onDestroy() {
...
unregisterReceiver(receiver)
super.onDestroy()
}
PendingIntent with explicit Intent
val nextIntent = Intent(this, NotificationActionReceiver::class.java) //Explicit Intent
val nextPendingIntent: PendingIntent= PendingIntent.getBroadcast(this,0x11,nextIntent, PendingIntent.FLAG_CANCEL_CURRENT)
However with this setup, the BroadcastReceiver never triggered.
In order to make it work I need to replace my explicit intent with the implicit one
So all I did was,
val nextIntent = Intent("SOME_ACTION") //Implicit Intent
val nextPendingIntent: PendingIntent= PendingIntent.getBroadcast(this,0x11,nextIntent, PendingIntent.FLAG_CANCEL_CURRENT)
NOTE: Since the BroadcastReceiver is dynamically context registered, you don't have to worry about restrictions on implicit intents

More than using broadcast receiver, you should use a service and declare a new action in your service this way:
public final String ACTION_STOP = "yourpackagename.ACTION_STOP";
And then create your intents like this:
Intent stopIntent = new Intent(this, YourService.class).setAction(YourService.ACTION_STOP);
PendingIntent stopPendingIntent = PendingIntent.getService(this, 0, stopIntent, 0);
Of course, stop playback in your service's function startCommand, if the intent's action equals ACTION_STOP.
This should do the trick ;)

You do not receive the broadcast when it is in the background because you are unregistering in onPause. Move the unregisterReceiver code to onDestroy function. This will be called only when the activity is destroyed. Or you can unregister once the expected event has occurred.

There are multiple questions here:
Part 1: Why is your intent not receiving the "STOP" extra?
Though it is not seen in the code you have provided, I wanted to confirm if you are using the flag FLAG_ACTIVITY_SINGLE_TOP for the notification intent ? If so, the intent you receive in your activity would be the intent that started the activity and hence the "STOP" extra will not be available. You will need to extend the onNewIntent() is this case (where the new intent is sent). More info here.
If you have not used FLAG_ACTIVITY_SINGLE_TOP, then it means that a new activity is created when notification is tapped, in which case the Intent must have the "STOP" parameter. If you can provide me all relevant code, I can help you better.
Part 2: Using Broadcast Receiver
This is not straight forward, as you already discovered. You would need to unregister in onDestroy and if your activity is closed by the user, the onDestroy may be called and your broadcast receiver may not active at the time the notification is tapped by the user. If you dont unregister at all, it may seem to be working, but this is a memory leak, GC may clean up anytime which could lead to a crash in your program, ie., you MUST unregister. If you need to go with broadcast receiver approach, you need to have a service to do this and service comes with its own pitfalls -> restart by system, battery drain etc. I would strongly recommend you go with your first approach.

I had a very similar issue but a very different solution. Pending intent is also not fired if you have declared <service android:enabled="false"></service> in your manifest.xml file.
Replace from android:enabled="false" to android:enabled="true"
This might not be a direct issue of the problem. But if you create the service in android studio using default template it automatically adds these properties to the service.

For me, the solution was to set the flags of the intent :
resultIntent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK |
Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TASK);

Is there a straightforward way to stop a service in response to a user clicking a notification?

I'd like the following behavior:
The user clicks a notification and Android stops my Service.
The problem is that stopping a Service requires a call to stopService and I cannot easily create a PendingIntent that does that.
So the only way I found to do this is to have my Service receive a special Intent extra that causes the Service to call stopSelf and stop.
Is there a simpler way to directly cancel a Service from a notification click?

Thanks CommonsWare.
Here is a quick illustration of your solution for those who are interested.
Code is in the service class.
// Create Notification
private void initNotification() {
//Register a receiver to stop Service
registerReceiver(stopServiceReceiver, new IntentFilter("myFilter"));
PendingIntent contentIntent = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(this, 0, new Intent("myFilter"), PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
notification.setLatestEventInfo(context, contentTitle, contentText,contentIntent);
mNotificationManager.notify(NOTIFICATION_ID,notification);
...
}
//We need to declare the receiver with onReceive function as below
protected BroadcastReceiver stopServiceReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
stopSelf();
}
};

You could create a simple BroadcastReceiver that does the stopService() call, and use a getBroadcast() PendingIntent to trigger it. That BroadcastReceiver could be registered in the manifest or via registerReceiver() by the Service itself (in the latter case, it would do stopSelf() rather than stopService()).
That's probably not any simpler than what you have, though, and there is no way to directly trigger a stopService() call from a PendingIntent.

How do you start an Activity with AlarmManager in Android?

I've poured through a dozen tutorials and forum answers about this problem, but still haven't been able to get some working code together. I'll try to keep the question straightforward:
How do you use AlarmManager (in the Android API) to start an Activity at a given time? Any solution to this problem will do.
My latest attempt to achieve this is below.
(Imports omitted. I expect MyActivity to start 3 seconds after the program is opened, which it doesn't. There are no error messages to speak of.)
public class AndroidTest2Activity extends Activity {
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
Context context = this;//.getApplicationContext();
AlarmManager manager = (AlarmManager) getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE); // CORRECT
Intent intent = new Intent(context, myReceiver.class); // CORRECT
PendingIntent pending = PendingIntent.getBroadcast( context, 0, intent, 0 ); // CORRECT
manager.set( AlarmManager.RTC, System.currentTimeMillis() + 3000, pending ); // CORRECT
setContentView(R.layout.main);
}
}
public class myReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
Intent i=new Intent(context, myActivity.class);
i.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
context.startActivity(i);
}
}
public class myActivity extends Activity {
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
Log.d("", "Elusive success");
setContentView(R.layout.main);
}
}
Any advice would be appreciated.
Please note: I've got myReceiver in the manifest already

In case someone else stumbles upon this - here's some working code (Tested on 2.3.3 emulator):
public final void setAlarm(int seconds) {
// create the pending intent
Intent intent = new Intent(MainActivity.this, AlarmReceiver.class);
// intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(MainActivity.this, 0,
intent, 0);
// get the alarm manager, and scedule an alarm that calls the receiver
((AlarmManager) getSystemService(ALARM_SERVICE)).set(
AlarmManager.RTC, System.currentTimeMillis() + seconds
* 1000, pendingIntent);
Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "Timer set to " + seconds + " seconds.",
Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
public static class AlarmReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
Log.d("-", "Receiver3");
}
}
AndroidManifest.xml:
<receiver android:name="com.example.test.MainActivity$AlarmReceiver" >
</receiver>
Issues with BenLambell's code :
EITHER:
Move the receiver to it's own .java file or
make the inner class static - so it can be accessed from outside
Receiver is not declared correctly in the manifest:
if it's an inner class in MainActivity use:
<receiver android:name="package.name.MainActivity$AlarmReceiver" ></receiver>
if it's in a separate file:
<receiver android:name="package.name.AlarmReceiver" ></receiver>
If your intention is to display a dialog in the receiver's onReceive (like me): that's not allowed - only activities can start dialogs. This can be achieved with a dialog activity.
You can directly call an activity with the AlarmManager:
Intent intent = new Intent(MainActivity.this, TriggeredActivity.class);
PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(MainActivity.this, 0, intent, PendingIntent.FLAG_ONE_SHOT);
((AlarmManager) getSystemService(ALARM_SERVICE)).set(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, System.currentTimeMillis() + seconds * 1000, pendingIntent);

How do you use AlarmManager (in the Android API) to start an Activity at a given time?
Supply a PendingIntent to the set() call that identifies the activity to start up. Or, do what you're doing, which should work just fine.
This sample project is a bit elaborate, because it's 19 tutorials deep into one of my books, but if you look at classes like EditPreferences, OnBootReceiver, and OnAlarmReceiver, you will see the same basic recipe that you're using above. In this case, I could have just used a getActivity() PendingIntent, but the tutorial after this one gives the user a choice of launching an activity or displaying a Notification, so a BroadcastReceiver makes more sense.
Look for warnings in addition to errors in LogCat. Most likely, your receiver or activity is not in your manifest.
Note that popping up an activity out of the middle of nowhere is generally not a good idea. Quoting myself from the book in question:
Displaying the lunchtime alarm via a full-screen activity certainly works,
and if the user is looking at the screen, it will get their attention. However,
it is also rather disruptive if they happen to be using the phone right that
instant. For example, if they are typing a text message while driving, your
alarm activity popping up out of nowhere might distract them enough to
cause an accident. So, in the interest of public safety, we should give the user an option to
have a more subtle way to remind them to have lunch.

add this in your android mainifest file and it will hopefully work
<activity android:name=".MyReceiver" />
<receiver android:name=".MyReceiver"> </receiver>

In my experience you can achieve this without broadcast receiver, just use PendingIntent.getActivity() instead of getbroadcast()
private void setReminder(){
AlarmManager alarmManager = (AlarmManager) getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE);
Calendar startTime = Calendar.getInstance();
startTime.add(Calendar.MINUTE, 1);
Intent intent = new Intent(ReminderActivity.this, ReminderActivity.class);
intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(ReminderActivity.this, 1, intent, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
alarmManager.set(AlarmManager.RTC, startTime.getTimeInMillis(), pendingIntent);
}
I've tested this code on android O but I'm not sure about other android versions please inform me if this doesn't work on any other android version.

Main Problem : if you close completely you're app and expect to start you're activity after 3 seconds, you wrong. because when you close you're app , you're app cant receive broadcast, for solve this problem use services instead of broadcasts.
Point: when you're service would ran ,you cant start your activity if your app wouldn't in foreground.
Solution: I think when your service started you can again set Alarmmanager to start your activity with PendingIntent for just now.
Remember :
When you create your intent for pass it to pendingIntent add the FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK to it.
For this PendingIntent use PendingIntent.getActivity() method and for the first PendingIntent use PendingIntent.getService() method.
I hope this help you.

I had this problem too long ago to know which answer is correct, but thank you to everyone for their responses. I'm self-answering so the question isn't still open.

According to Java convention class name begin with Capital letter.So change your
"myReceiver" to "MyReceiver" and "myActivity" to "MyActivity".
Then add your receiver in the manifest file like the below.
<application
------------
<receiver android:name="MyReceiver"></receiver>
---------------------
</application>

you are not sending any broadcast for the receiver to receiver and further more it lokks like u want a splash screen or something like that for that purpose u can start a new thread wait for some sec then start ur activity in that and for that time period u can do what ever u want on the UI thread ...