How can I enable foreground service functionality on Android? – Pushy

Consider using our foreground service functionality to work around notification delays when your app is in the background / terminated / system is low on memory.

The Pushy Android SDK will create a foreground service that the Android OS will never terminate, which will ensure notification delivery in background and low memory state. In turn, a fully customizable notification will be displayed at all times in the notification bar.

1) Add the following permission to your app's AndroidManifest.xml :

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE" />

2) If your app targets Android 14+ (targetSdkVersion 34+), find:

<service android:name="me.pushy.sdk.services.PushySocketService" android:stopWithTask="false" />

Replace with:

<service android:name="me.pushy.sdk.services.PushySocketService" android:foregroundServiceType="remoteMessaging" android:stopWithTask="false" />

3) Add the following code before Pushy.listen() in your main activity:

Pushy.toggleForegroundService(true, this);

You can customize the notification text by declaring the following string resource names:

<!-- Pushy Foreground Service -->
<string name="pushy_foreground_service_title">Pushy</string>
<string name="pushy_foreground_service_connected">Connected to the notification service</string>
<string name="pushy_foreground_service_connecting">Connecting...</string>
<string name="pushy_foreground_service_disconnected">Not connected to the notification service</string>

You can customize the notification color by declaring the following color resource in colors.xml:

<color name="pushy_foreground_service_color">#ffffff</color>

You can customize the notification icons using the following drawable resource file names:

1. ic_pushy_foreground_service_connected - displayed when the SDK is connected
2. ic_pushy_foreground_service_connecting - displayed when the SDK is connecting
3. ic_pushy_foreground_service_disconnected - displayed when the SDK is disconnected

Run your app and observe if a foreground notification is displayed, which indicates that the SDK is now running in foreground service mode.

Alternatively, you can also build and display your own notification (scroll down for Kotlin):

// Pushy foreground service implementation
Intent notificationIntent = new Intent(this, MainActivity.class);
PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0, notificationIntent, PendingIntent.FLAG_IMMUTABLE);

// Set title & description for the ongoing notification
String appName = getPackageManager().getApplicationLabel(getApplicationInfo()).toString();
String description = "App is running";

// Android O and newer requires notification channels
// to be created prior to dispatching a notification
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.O) {
    NotificationChannel channel = new NotificationChannel("pushy_ongoing", appName, NotificationManager.IMPORTANCE_MIN);
    channel.setDescription(description);

    // Register the channel with the system
    NotificationManager notificationManager = getSystemService(NotificationManager.class);
    notificationManager.createNotificationChannel(channel);
}

// Create foreground notification using pushy_ongoing notification channel (customize as necessary)
Notification notification = new NotificationCompat.Builder(this, "pushy_ongoing")
                .setContentTitle(appName)
                .setContentText(description)
                .setSmallIcon(android.R.drawable.ic_dialog_info)
                .setContentIntent(pendingIntent)
                .build();

// Configure Pushy SDK to start a foreground service with this notification
// Must be called before Pushy.listen();
PushySocketService.setForegroundNotification(notification);

Kotlin:

// Pushy foreground service implementation
val notificationIntent = Intent(this, MainActivity::class.java)
val pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0, notificationIntent, 0)

// Set title & description for the ongoing notification
val appName = packageManager.getApplicationLabel(applicationInfo).toString()
val description = "App is running"

// Android O and newer requires notification channels
// to be created prior to dispatching a notification
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.O) {
    val channel = NotificationChannel("pushy_ongoing", appName, NotificationManager.IMPORTANCE_MIN)
    channel.description = description

    // Register the channel with the system
    val notificationManager = getSystemService<NotificationManager>(NotificationManager::class.java)
    notificationManager.createNotificationChannel(channel)
}

// Create foreground notification using pushy_ongoing notification channel (customize as necessary)
val notification: Notification = NotificationCompat.Builder(this, "pushy_ongoing")
    .setContentTitle(appName)
    .setContentText(description)
    .setSmallIcon(android.R.drawable.ic_dialog_info)
    .setContentIntent(pendingIntent)
    .build()

// Configure Pushy SDK to start a foreground service with this notification
// Must be called before Pushy.listen();
PushySocketService.setForegroundNotification(notification)

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