GcmListenerService is not called When Application is in Background

Question

GcmListenerService is not called when application is in background or when phone is locked or in sleep mode but notification is fired. How this will be called When App is in foreground its working ideally. Code for GcmListenerService is following

  public class MyGcmListenerService extends GcmListenerService {

    private static final String TAG = "MyGcmListenerService";
    LocalDataBaseManager mDbManager;
    String message;
    Random randomNumber;
    long ID;
    /**
     * Called when message is received.
     *
     * @param from SenderID of the sender.
     * @param data Data bundle containing message data as key/value pairs.
     *             For Set of keys use data.keySet().
     */
    // [START receive_message]
    @Override
    public void onMessageReceived(String from, Bundle data) {
        String message ;
        String title;
//        ID = Utils.getIDForPush("pushId",this);
//        if(ID == 0){
//            ID = 1;
//        }else {
//            ID += 1;
//        }
//        Utils.saveIDForPush("pushId",ID,this);
        Bundle bundle = data.getBundle("notification");
        if(bundle!= null){
        message = bundle.getString("body");
        title = bundle.getString("title");
            Log.d(TAG, "From: " + from);
            Log.d(TAG, "Message: " + message);}
        else {
            message ="";
            title = "NCMS";
        }

        mDbManager = LocalDataBaseManager.getInstance(this);
        if (from.startsWith("/topics/")) {
            Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
            SimpleDateFormat s = new SimpleDateFormat("ddMMyyyyhhmmss");
            String format = s.format(new Date());
            ID = Long.parseLong(format);
            String date = new SimpleDateFormat("dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm", Locale.ENGLISH).format(new Date());
            Warnings warnings = new Warnings();
            warnings.setWARNING_ID(ID);
            warnings.setWARNING_EN(message);
            warnings.setWARNING_AR(message);
            warnings.setSTART_DATE_TIME(date);
            warnings.setNotification_type(String.valueOf(Constant.NotificationType.PUSH));
            warnings.setSEVERITY("");
            warnings.setEND_DATE_TIME("");
            warnings.setUPDATE_NO("");
            mDbManager.insertNotificationInfo(warnings);
            // message received from some topic.
        } else {
            // normal downstream message.
        }

        // [START_EXCLUDE]
        /**
         * Production applications would usually process the message here.
         * Eg: - Syncing with server.
         *     - Store message in local database.
         *     - Update UI.
         */

        /**
         * In some cases it may be useful to show a notification indicating to the user
         * that a message was received.
         */
//        KeyguardManager km = (KeyguardManager) this.getSystemService(Context.KEYGUARD_SERVICE);
//        boolean locked = km.inKeyguardRestrictedInputMode();
//
//        String release = android.os.Build.VERSION.RELEASE;
//
//
//        if (Integer.parseInt(String.valueOf(release.charAt(0))) < 5 && locked) {
//
//            this.stopService(new Intent(this, NotificationService.class));
//            Intent serviceIntent = new Intent(this, NotificationService.class);
//            this.startService(serviceIntent);
//
//        }
        sendNotification(title,message);
        // [END_EXCLUDE]
    }
    // [END receive_message]

    /**
     * Create and show a simple notification containing the received GCM message.
     *
     * @param message GCM message received.
     */
    private void sendNotification(String title,String message) {
        Intent intent = new Intent(this, MainActivity.class);
        intent.putExtra("message",message);
        intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP);
        PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0 /* Request code */, intent,
                PendingIntent.FLAG_ONE_SHOT);

        Uri defaultSoundUri = RingtoneManager.getDefaultUri(RingtoneManager.TYPE_NOTIFICATION);
        NotificationCompat.Builder notificationBuilder = new NotificationCompat.Builder(this)
                .setSmallIcon(R.drawable.ncms_launcher)
                .setContentTitle(title)
                .setContentText(message)
                .setAutoCancel(true)
                .setSound(defaultSoundUri)
                .setContentIntent(pendingIntent);

        NotificationManager notificationManager =
                (NotificationManager) getSystemService(Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);

        notificationManager.notify(0 /* ID of notification */, notificationBuilder.build());
    }
}

Manifest info for this service is following

 <service
        android:name=".gcm.MyGcmListenerService"
        android:exported="false" >
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="com.google.android.c2dm.intent.RECEIVE" />
        </intent-filter>
    </service>

What I am missing here.

If you are seeing the notification that means the Gcm listener service's `onMessageReceived ` is called? What do you mean by not called here? — Much Overflow, Feb 18 '16 at 11:49
When App is in foreground it lands in onMessageRecieved but app is in background its not landing in onMessageReceived. — Usman Kurd, Feb 18 '16 at 11:58
you are calling `sendNotification` method from `onMessageReceived`. You say you still see the notification when the app is in background which means the `onMessageReceived` is executed in order to show the notification? — Much Overflow, Feb 18 '16 at 12:01
@MuchOverflow it is not necessarily true that `onMessageReceived` will be called if you see the notification. It can depend on the payload the app server sends to GCM. Check my answer for details. — Adam Johns, May 06 '16 at 23:10

score 34 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

It appears the heart of this issue is actually a server-side issue. If the server is sending notification messages, onMessageReceived won't be called if the app is in the background. The server should actually be sending data messages.

GCM Docs discuss the difference.

Basically, the payload of the message should have a data key such as

{
   "to" : "bk3RNwTe3H0:CI2k_HHwgIpoDKCIZvvDMExUdFQ3P1...",
   "data" : {
     "Nick" : "Mario",
     "body" : "great match!",
     "Room" : "PortugalVSDenmark"
   },
 }

and NOT a notification key such as

{
    "to" : "bk3RNwTe3H0:CI2k_HHwgIpoDKCIZvvDMExUdFQ3P1...",
    "notification" : {
      "body" : "great match!",
      "title" : "Portugal vs. Denmark",
      "icon" : "myicon"
    }
  }

More specifically, the GCM Docs state that messages sent including both data and notification payloads will be treated differently depending on if the app is in the foreground or background:

App behavior when receiving messages that include both notification and data payloads depends on whether the app is in the background, or the foreground —essentially, whether or not it is active at the time of receipt.

When in the background, apps receive the notification payload in the notification tray, and only handle the data payload when the user taps on the notification.

When in the foreground, your app receives a bundle with both payloads available.

This github thread also has a good explanation:

So there are two kinds of GCM messages:

Notification Messages - these are intended to generate a notification with no intermediate processing by the application. They only hit onMessageReceived if the app is running.

Data Messages - these are intended to silently pass data to the app's messaging service. They hit onMessageReceived even if the app is in the background. The service may then choose to generate a notification using the normal system notification APIs, or it may choose to handle the message silently.

I was not aware of the notification payload. I always used data to send notification to my app. Thanks for pointing it out :) — Much Overflow, May 07 '16 at 04:24
Just to mention if you add both, Android will be treated as a Notification (sample) https://gist.github.com/eonoe/8a611cac77fdea68c6a4b0d177177225 — eOnOe, Aug 13 '16 at 00:48

score 12 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 21 '16 at 11:09

The Issue I was facing was when Application is in background or force closed then notification is fired but not through GcmListenService but through GCMReceiver So I extended GCMReceiver and made it something like this with this when application is in foreground or in background or force killed. it will be called GCMListenerService after modification is as following

 public class MyGcmListenerService extends GcmListenerService {

    private static final String TAG = "MyGcmListenerService";
    LocalDataBaseManager mDbManager;
    String message;
    Random randomNumber;
    long ID;
    /**
     * Called when message is received.
     *
     * @param from SenderID of the sender.
     * @param data Data bundle containing message data as key/value pairs.
     *             For Set of keys use data.keySet().
     */
    // [START receive_message]
    @Override
    public void onMessageReceived(String from, Bundle data) {
        String message ;
        String title;
//        ID = Utils.getIDForPush("pushId",this);
//        if(ID == 0){
//            ID = 1;
//        }else {
//            ID += 1;
//        }
//        Utils.saveIDForPush("pushId",ID,this);
        Bundle bundle = data.getBundle("notification");
        if(bundle!= null){
        message = bundle.getString("body");
        title = bundle.getString("title");
            Log.d(TAG, "From: " + from);
            Log.d(TAG, "Message: " + message);}
        else {
            message ="";
            title = "NCMS";
        }

        mDbManager = LocalDataBaseManager.getInstance(this);
        if (from.startsWith("/topics/")) {
            Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
            SimpleDateFormat s = new SimpleDateFormat("ddMMyyyyhhmmss");
            String format = s.format(new Date());
            ID = Long.parseLong(format);
            String date = new SimpleDateFormat("dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm", Locale.ENGLISH).format(new Date());
            Warnings warnings = new Warnings();
            warnings.setWARNING_ID(ID);
            warnings.setWARNING_EN(message);
            warnings.setWARNING_AR(message);
            warnings.setSTART_DATE_TIME(date);
            warnings.setNotification_type(String.valueOf(Constant.NotificationType.PUSH));
            warnings.setSEVERITY("");
            warnings.setEND_DATE_TIME("");
            warnings.setUPDATE_NO("");
            mDbManager.insertNotificationInfo(warnings);
            // message received from some topic.
        } else {
            // normal downstream message.
        }

        // [START_EXCLUDE]
        /**
         * Production applications would usually process the message here.
         * Eg: - Syncing with server.
         *     - Store message in local database.
         *     - Update UI.
         */

        /**
         * In some cases it may be useful to show a notification indicating to the user
         * that a message was received.
         */
//        KeyguardManager km = (KeyguardManager) this.getSystemService(Context.KEYGUARD_SERVICE);
//        boolean locked = km.inKeyguardRestrictedInputMode();
//
//        String release = android.os.Build.VERSION.RELEASE;
//
//
//        if (Integer.parseInt(String.valueOf(release.charAt(0))) < 5 && locked) {
//
//            this.stopService(new Intent(this, NotificationService.class));
//            Intent serviceIntent = new Intent(this, NotificationService.class);
//            this.startService(serviceIntent);
//
//        }
        sendNotification(title,message);
        // [END_EXCLUDE]
    }
    // [END receive_message]

    /**
     * Create and show a simple notification containing the received GCM message.
     *
     * @param message GCM message received.
     */
    private void sendNotification(String title,String message) {
        Intent intent = new Intent(this, MainActivity.class);
        intent.putExtra("message",message);
        intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP);
        PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0 /* Request code */, intent,
                PendingIntent.FLAG_ONE_SHOT);

        Uri defaultSoundUri = RingtoneManager.getDefaultUri(RingtoneManager.TYPE_NOTIFICATION);
        NotificationCompat.Builder notificationBuilder = new NotificationCompat.Builder(this)
                .setSmallIcon(R.drawable.ncms_launcher)
                .setContentTitle(title)
                .setContentText(message)
                .setAutoCancel(true)
                .setSound(defaultSoundUri)
                .setContentIntent(pendingIntent);

        NotificationManager notificationManager =
                (NotificationManager) getSystemService(Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);

        notificationManager.notify(0 /* ID of notification */, notificationBuilder.build());
    }
}

and GCM Receiver is as following

   public class GcmBroadcastReceiver extends GcmReceiver {

    LocalDataBaseManager mDbManager;
    @Override
    public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
        mDbManager = LocalDataBaseManager.getInstance(context);
        Bundle bundle = intent.getExtras();
        bundle.keySet();
        Set<String> keySet = bundle.keySet();
        if(keySet != null && keySet.isEmpty() == false) {
            Iterator<String> it = keySet.iterator();
           int i = 0;
            while(it.hasNext()){
               String  key = it.next();
               String  desc = bundle.getString(key);
               Log.d("BroadCast Values",key +"  "+desc);
            }
        }
        Log.d("", "In Receive Method of Broadcast Receiver");

        if (bundle != null && bundle.containsKey("gcm.notification.body")) {
            String message = bundle.getString("gcm.notification.body","");
            Long ID = new Date().getTime();
            String date = new SimpleDateFormat("dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm", Locale.ENGLISH).format(new Date());
            Warnings warnings = new Warnings();
            warnings.setWARNING_ID(ID);
            warnings.setWARNING_EN(message);
            warnings.setWARNING_AR(message);
            warnings.setSTART_DATE_TIME(date);
            warnings.setNotification_type(String.valueOf(Constant.NotificationType.PUSH));
            warnings.setSEVERITY("");
            warnings.setEND_DATE_TIME("");
            warnings.setUPDATE_NO("");
            mDbManager.insertNotificationInfo(warnings);
            // message received from some topic.
        }

        super.onReceive(context, intent);
//        ComponentName cn = new ComponentName(context.getPackageName(), RegistrationIntentService.class.getName());
//        startWakefulService(context, intent.setComponent(cn));
//        setResultCode(Activity.RESULT_OK);
    }
}

Manifest changes for GCMReceiver is following

   <receiver
            android:name=".gcm.GcmBroadcastReceiver"
            android:exported="true"
            android:permission="com.google.android.c2dm.permission.SEND" >
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="com.google.android.c2dm.intent.RECEIVE" />
                <category android:name="com.uae.ncms" />
            </intent-filter>
        </receiver>
<service
        android:name=".gcm.MyGcmListenerService"
        android:exported="false" >
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="com.google.android.c2dm.intent.RECEIVE" />
        </intent-filter>
    </service>

This is not the right answer. Adam Johns explain how to handle notifications when in background mode (or app killed). It's just a JSON matter. — Francesco, Aug 04 '16 at 13:12
Summed up: In order to always process a GCM messge in `GCMListenerService` (even if app is not in foreground) it is a necessity to declare a `GCMReceiver`. (Btw. [Google provides an implementation for it now, so you only have to declare it in the Manifest](https://developers.google.com/cloud-messaging/android/client#manifest) ). The more subtle case `GCMListenerService` gets by-passed is if a `notification` payload is added to the GCM message (see Adam Johns answer). — Peter F, Sep 09 '16 at 10:20
Push notification is coming twice and gcmlistenerservice is not invoking... and notification data is completely different from previous — Ramaraju, Apr 06 '18 at 11:54

GcmListenerService is not called When Application is in Background

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