Push notifications not working while screen is off

[Android Central Question]

I've recently switched over from iOS to a Samsung Galaxy S8 running Android 8. During the first week everything worked just fine. I was receiving push notifications on a regular basis. A few days ago suddenly notifications stopped working intermittently when screen is off. I couldn't find a pattern really. It does it both on Wi-Fi and 4G, for all apps. Sometimes push notifications work, sometimes they are delayed (receiving them after a few minutes) and sometimes they do not work at all.

Each time it doesn't work when I turn on the screen, all notifications pop up with both sound and visual.

What I checked so far:

- Notifications turned on for the specific apps and allowed on lockscreen
- Apps were also put into the "Unmonitored apps" under Device Maintenance - Battery
- Wi-Fi on during sleep set to always
- Data saver turned off
- Optimize battery usage - checked that the apps are set to off
- Even tried by enabling Always On Display setting - same behavior.

For me it seems that the something in the battery optimization process is messing up with the notification service. I can't say for sure if it happens for messages as well as I don't receive text messages so often, but it happens for all other apps: Gmail, Whatsapp and some other apps I use.

I noticed that under Optimize battery usage there are a lot of system services and they are all set to be optimized. Which I find very odd considering that probably some of them are very important for the system to run properly. Is it possible that there is a service there that handles notifications and I should switch off battery optimization for it as well? The only name I found close was a service called "notification" which I disabled, but without success. Still not getting push notifications.

Any idea what else can be checked? If I cannot find a solution to it I will most probably go back to iOS as this is very annoying. I heavily rely on notifications for work purposes as well.

 

[kevsmart]

I am having this same problem since the update and have started a thread on the Samsung forums about it. Got a Samsung rep replying so maybe they'll fix it sooner rather than later.

https://us.community.samsung.com/t5...-broken-since-9-5-18-update/m-p/390045#M48221

 

[voldejour]

Thanks kevsmart. I have the exact same problem and shared my experiences in the same Samsung thread. I hope they get a handle on this soon.

 

[Raul T2]

I have some feedback from the dev of that specific app and they are looking into ti as they could reproduce it. At least for that app it's not related to Samsung as they could reproduce it on an Nokia running Android 8.1.

But I can confirm I got the same behavior for Gmail app. Watching the thread on Samsung as well as I'm curious of the output.

 

[Al Borland]

I have some feedback from the dev of that specific app and they are looking into ti as they could reproduce it. At least for that app it's not related to Samsung as they could reproduce it on an Nokia running Android 8.1.

But I can confirm I got the same behavior for Gmail app. Watching the thread on Samsung as well as I'm curious of the output.

Looking at the Samsung thread, it appears they are washing their hands of this and chalking it up to a hardware problem suggesting to Kev to get a replacement device.

It isn't a hardware problem, it is a software problem. Unfortunately it is hard to tell if it was something pushed by Google or Samsung. I see the same problem throughout a number of forums & threads specific to Samsung (S7, S8, S9, etc.).

Because of how my change showed itself (many general settings restored to default) I lean toward a Samsung pushed update. I doubt we will see a fix, sadly. I think I will head back to an iPhone, sigh.

 

[Raul T2]

At least in my case it can be reproduced for 2 apps only, Gmail and another app I am using. But I totally agree with you that it is by any means not a hardware issue and the advice to send it to service is a waste of time.

I suspect they are pushing some updates which causes certain apps to not work at some point and the devs have to constantly check on their side. This is what I did with the other app and the devs are now looking to change the app on their side to make it work.

One good advice from that thread is to disable Doze completely. While it's not fix, but a workaround, if you are not constantly struggling already with the battery to last all day, it's the best option available. I've disabled Doze and everything works fine now and I still get a full day of battery

 

[kevsmart]

Yeah their conclusion to this really pisses me off. This is not a problem with my phone, it is a problem with their software update. There is no way in hell I am turning over my phone to be repaired, I have no other phone and can not be without one. I'm much more likely to buy a different phone and say goodbye to Samsung (which is difficult since Verizon doesn't offer too many other options).

 

[Al Borland]

Yeah their conclusion to this really pisses me off. This is not a problem with my phone, it is a problem with their software update. There is no way in hell I am turning over my phone to be repaired, I have no other phone and can not be without one. I'm much more likely to buy a different phone and say goodbye to Samsung (which is difficult since Verizon doesn't offer too many other options).

This thread: https://forums.androidcentral.com/android-pie/904647-notifications-delayed-stopped.html

much the same issue. They landed where I did, it is a doze problem. I have set my battery optimazation to Medium, and then custom, and set the background network usage to on, and it has improved Gmail. I was not running battery optimization before. Still not like it was, but less lag time. Make sure gmail is set to allow it to run in the background.

There are many threads in many forums for mostly Samsung devices reporting the same problem. There is an occasional other brand reporting the same.

I'm still on Nougat. I'm giving this another week or so to see if a fix gets pushed out. If not then off to an iphone (wifes iphone gets her gmail notification pronto) if nothing improves.

 

[kevsmart]

So I did a full power down/power up cycle, leaving the phone off for about 5 minutes and it appears to have fixed the problem. No idea why a soft restart wouldn't fix it, but yeah I should have started with troubleshooting 101.

 

[DustBow]

I'm using a Pixel 2 running Oreo & have had the same issue, started at some point within the last week or so.
I've been screwing around with it lately & I've noticed in the settings that Gmail simply doesn't sync as often as it should... Is that a problem with the GCM not reaching out to the phone? Or the phone/battery not communicating with the Google cloud?

 

[tmieyal]

Hello and hope all is well! Unfortunately I am experiencing the same issue. On my Galaxy Note 9 push notifications are delayed when my screen is off, sometimes for as long as 30 minutes. Then, when I turn my phone screen on, all of the missed notifications come in at once, sometimes as many as 10 or 12! My Note 9 seems to go to sleep quickly when the screen goes off, and I do not receive push notifications. This totally defeats the purpose of wearing my Gear S3 watch since I have to keep turning on my phone screen to get notifications! I have used Samsung chat 4 or 5 times and tried everything the technicians have suggested to get this fixed, but still not working correctly. I am not running the App Power Monitor, reset all of my apps and have the settings as “high” or “urgent,” did a hard reset of my phone, etc. The notifications do come through, the apps are working, it's just that they are delayed when the screen is off. If this is a problem with Android 8.0 Oreo, who do I contact for a fix? I never had this problem on my Galaxy S7 which did not have Android 8.0 Oreo. My Note 9 already has received 2 software updates in the past 2 weeks, but still the problem exists with push notifications delay. Not sure who to contact to get this fixed! Best of luck to us all I guess!

 

[Al Borland]

The problem is not unique to Oreo. It is happening on my S8 which remains on 7.0 Nougat (by my choice). It is a problem that came from either a Google update or Samsung update that happened in a mid-August to early September time frame. Mine was late August. I have reverted back to using my Nexus 6P which doesn't have the problem. I'm heading toward bailing off Android and going to iOS.

I noticed Kevsmart has reported his issue returned on his Samsung thread. I don't get the sense Samsung is going to step up to the plate and try to resolve, unfortunately.

 

[tmieyal]

Thanks for your reply. I received the Oreo update on my S7 on August 1 and then these problems began. I purchased a new Note 9 last weekend and was very frustrated to have the same problems on this new $1,000 phone. I've made 5 separate calls/chats to Samsung and they've given me 5 different solutions, none of which worked. Not sure what else to do at this point, unfortunately. Makes my Gear S3 watch useless, I really enjoyed it too!

 

[Al Borland]

I have confirmed this is a problem with Doze, or a fault in the whitelisting process of Doze for the gmail app. I ran the adb command: [adb shell dumpsys deviceidle disable] and notifications work like a charm. On my S8 I have all of the battery optimization off and have all of my apps whitelisted (Samsung: Unmonitored apps in battery optimization) and have had it this way since day 1 with my phone. Interestingly, GMAIL is not an app that shows in the list of apps that I can whitelist, nor can I add it manually.

The update (Google or Samsung) that was pushed to my phone at the end of August somehow triggers doze as soon as my screen shuts off and blocks the Gmail notifications from coming through in a timely manor. I'm not sure if it is specifically the fault of doze, or if there is a fault in the related whitelist process.

The ADB test of forcibly disabling doze has eliminated the slow sync/no sync when screen is off problem. My notifications are back to near instantaneous.

The ADB command unfortunately will reset once the device is powered off and restarted. There is a doze disable app available on the play store which takes a one time adb granting permission to the app, that will address having doze disabled on each power up. Silly that a user should have to go to such measures to get their device working like it did before some update was pushed out. I'm confident fingers would point between Samsung & Google for who is responsible for the needed software fix of my phone.

 

[tmieyal]

This sounds very promising, thank you! I don't use GMAIL though, my push notification issues were with other apps like Twitter, Sports Alerts, ESPN, etc. I am logged into my GMAIL account, I just use another email account. What do I need to do to fix this like you seem to have done? Thanks a million!!!

 

[Al Borland]

What do I need to do to fix this like you seem to have done?

The fix for me was to send the adb command [adb shell dumpsys deviceidle disable]. If you do a search on remove bloatware adb there is a good set of instruction on xda forum for how to send adb commands to your phone. This fix only lasts till the next time you cycle your phone. If you can avoid powering off the phone then it can be a longer time fix. There appears to be little success in finding a way for a more permanent fix unless you have a rooted device. The Disable Doze app available on the play store appears to have gone stale with many recent reports of it not working.

On my phone this appears to be a Samsung induced problem. Convincing them to fix it will likely be tough. OnePlus owners had the same problem a few years ago. There is a hundred page + thread on their forum about it. OEM acknowledged the problem but they still haven't fixed it years later.

As soon as the screen is off the phone is forced into a fairly aggressive doze state. It didn't do this in the first 6 months I had this device. They pushed out a recent update to some system code (likely for Bixby/Touch Wiz/Experience/AOD) that changed the parameter for how aggressively doze triggers. It may have been intentional to deal with people who complain about battery drain.

My short term fix will be to apply the adb deviceidle command mentioned above each time my phone gets rebooted. I'm going to alter my phone routine to not power it down each night. Longer term I'm going to move to an iPhone 8 since my work phone does not have this problem (nor does my old Nexus 6P). Might there be a chance that Samsung fixes the gaff? Better chance that the Brown's make the playoffs this year!

 

[tmieyal]

Hello again! I can't thank you enough for your recent posts, I really appreciate it! Unfortunately I am a total novice when it comes to this so there is no way I could do what you did with your phone, even with those helpful instructions. I almost never reboot my phone, only soft resets, so it probably would have worked too. I guess all I can do is wait and hope for a Samsung fix, or at least their giving us the option to reduce or turn off this aggressive doze function on the phone which I don't want. I already have an extended battery on my Note 9 that gives my 9000 mah, so I am fine! I plan on contacting them again with your diagnosis of the problem, and then keep my fingers crossed that they will respond. Unfortunately you are likely right about them fixing this issue, I live in Cleveland and know all about our beloved Browns!!! But hey, we won last Thursday, only took 635 days between wins! I'll look for a Samsung fix in 635 days! Thanks again and best wishes!

 

[dbrits]

I have confirmed this is a problem with Doze, or a fault in the whitelisting process of Doze for the gmail app. I ran the adb command: [adb shell dumpsys deviceidle disable] and notifications work like a charm. On my S8 I have all of the battery optimization off and have all of my apps whitelisted (Samsung: Unmonitored apps in battery optimization) and have had it this way since day 1 with my phone. Interestingly, GMAIL is not an app that shows in the list of apps that I can whitelist, nor can I add it manually.

The update (Google or Samsung) that was pushed to my phone at the end of August somehow triggers doze in the background and blocks the Gmail notifications from coming through in a timely manor. I'm not sure if it is specifically the fault of doze, or if there is a fault in the related whitelist process.

The ADB test of forcibly disabling doze has eliminated the slow sync/no sync when screen is off problem. My notifications are back to near instantaneous.

Thanks very much for the adb command. I've been experiencing this problem for the last few weeks after I received the G950U1UEU5CRH3 update on my unlocked S8 in early September. It's been especially noticeable with apps such as Gmail, The New York Times, and WaPo. I have the news apps set to push notifications to my Fitbit Versa. I noticed the severity of this problem when I would wake my screen (after the phone being idle for an hour or so) and several push notifications from the news apps would appear, then I'd instantly receive them on my Versa.

Today I also started having issues receiving text notifications, but I'm not sure if that is related to the software update or if something else is to blame. My phone started dropping from 4G to 3G, then it would eventually return to 4G. I restarted my phone a few times, then after one of the restarts, I received several text messages at once. I chatted with a Verizon Chat Rep, and they claimed they were having no network issues in my area. I reset the network network settings, cleared the system cache in recovery, and successfully received a few texts in safe mode. However, this happened a second time and the pattern was the same: Drop from 4G to 3G, return to 4G, restart the phone, receive text messages that were sent when the phone dropped to 3G. I went to my local Verizon store and got a new SIM card. I'm trying to do everything I can before I do a factory rest. I really don't want to hassle with that.

 

[tmieyal]

Does anyone know how to disable Doze? Is it difficult (I am a total novice!) I have a Galaxy Note 9 with a 4000 mah battery, and a 5000 mah extended battery so I have no need for Doze. If anyone can help me disable Doze I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

 

[Al Borland]

Does anyone know how to disable Doze? Thanks!

First paragraph of my last post explains how to do it. The xda guide is a step by step to establish the adb connection to the device.

Once that is done send the disable command I gave above.

I’m a novice and found it very easy.

My battery performance has improved with doze disabled.

 

[Will_T]

Thanks to Al Borland, I got on the trail of this and have now fixed it also. For ease of reading here, all in one place, is what I did after following Al's initial instructions and suggestions from a user at XDA Developers:

Delayed notifications recently arose because of a problem with Google Android's updated
Doze Mode".

The below instructions will fix it. The reason for the batch file is that when you power off your phone, the fix goes away and must be re-done.

First you need to follow the guide in the 1st link below through step 11 to get ADB working on your computer and get your phone into Developer Mode. Stop after step 11 and then go to comment #83 in the 2nd link below and follow that.

Finally the 3rd link below, (also round by Al), is a good read from Google to app developers that explains how Doze works and shows clearly the root of the delayed notification problems.

https://www.xda-developers.com/unins...t-root-access/


Read comment #83 in the link below where I described my final version of the fix.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/ask-question/an...stopped-4.html


Google to developers: https://developer.android.com/training/monitoring-device-state/doze-standby