moveTaskToBack(true) returns false always

Question

I know this has been asked earlier here & here too.They are not answered properly (or not answered at all).But,i don't know why moveTaskToBack(true); always returns false for me .Can anyone tell me why and how could i solve the issue? Thanks in advance.

public void onBackPressed() {       
    boolean r=  moveTaskToBack(true);
    //r is false !! using API LEVEL 8
}

Note:The activity from which i am calling it is a child Activity included in a tabActivity and neither of this is a MAIN or LAUNCHER activity.I don't know if that makes a difference.

EDIT: and as a result the application does'nt go to background.I want it to go to background just as if the hardware HOME is pressed

@Sweety are you calling it from the `MAIN'/'LAUNCHER' Activity? — Nezam, Jan 23 '13 at 06:57
@Sweety super.onBackPressed() exits the app and when you select it again from recent apps it relaunches it.I am testing this in API 8 emulator. — Nezam, Jan 23 '13 at 07:04
No it is from child activity. I think you will have to handle onResume() — Shraddha Shravagi, Jan 23 '13 at 08:06

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 23 '13 at 07:49

9

I don't know why moveTaskToBack(true) is returning false for you. Perhaps there's something weird in your manifest? At any rate, you can do this instead to bring up the home screen:

Intent i = new Intent();
i.setAction(Intent.ACTION_MAIN);
i.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_HOME);
this.startActivity(i);

However, be aware of this message:

"You cannot simulate a press on the Home key." — Roman Guy, Android framework engineer

I'm not sure how that squares with my suggested code (which I found on the same thread as Roman's statement and seems to work).

answered Jan 23 '13 at 07:49

Ted Hopp

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This is a very good generic way. Put this in my baseActivity. Thanks! – Grisgram Feb 27 '18 at 09:29
Interestingly, when I am in the situation where `moveTaskToBack(true)` returns false, this code does nothing. – androidguy Feb 25 '20 at 23:04
@androidguy - That is interesting. Do you know why `moveTaskToBack(true)` is returning false in the first place? Also, is there anything in the logs to indicate why my suggested code won't bring up the home screen? I would have thought that this would always work. – Ted Hopp Feb 26 '20 at 00:50
@TedHopp It is only on certain API levels such as M and maybe lower (not sure about L didn't check) when I return to task root activity with REORDER_TO_FRONT flag. It was "fixed" to work in this more unusual scenario in N seemingly. Just wanted to point this out in case someone tries to use it in the same scenario as me... – androidguy Feb 26 '20 at 02:23

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited Aug 25 '17 at 13:57

1

Just write:

@Override
public void onBackPressed() {
    moveTaskToBack(true);
    //  super.onBackPressed();
}

edited Aug 25 '17 at 13:57

mkl

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answered Aug 25 '17 at 09:21

TanuPriya

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 04 '17 at 08:52

I came into the similar problem(a child Activity included in a tabActivity), when you call moveTaskToBack(true) in the child activity, it doesn't work, whereas it works in the parent activity. You can call moveTaskToBack(true) in child activity like this: ChildActivity.this.getParent().moveTaskToBack(true)

moveTaskToBack(true) returns false always

3 Answers3

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