Important information for those using 3rd party alarm apps and 6.0!!!

[LeoRex]

This was something that I ran into way back with the first Preview of M.... and lead to a more hectic than normal morning.

If you use a third party alarm application, that application may not properly register the alarm with the system Alarm manager. If it doesn't register that alarm, Doze really couldn't care less how much you need to wake up at 6:00 AM, it will never fire. Doze only allows alarms that are properly registered.

Easiest way to check if your alarm app properly registers is to look at your status bar. If you have an alarm clock icon next to your signal cluster, you have a system alarm set... and Doze will allow it to wake your phone (you'll also see an alarm icon on the lock screen and notification shade). If you DON'T see any of these alarm messages, then the app won't work with Doze.

Two solutions :

1) Go to Settings - Battery - Battery Optimizations (in three dot menu) - All Apps... find your alarm app and set it to "Don't optimize". This SHOULD tell Doze to ignore the app and let it do its thing.

2) Dump the alarm app and use one that properly registers the alarm. This is tricky because they don't come out and say it o the Play Store. Obviously, the stock alarm clock works. Timely (which was bought by Google) is another.

3) (I haven't tested this one, do I can verify if it works) Go in and set a pre-alarm alarm using your phone's stock clock app. Doze allows system alarms to fire without being suppressed. Doze will set a timer at that point (I'll have to check how long that is). But if you set a system alarm, say, a minute before you alarm app goes off. Use a unobtrusive notification sound if you like... then when your app alarm fires a minute later, your phone will be in that Doze-less window.

 

[Quax]

Thanks a lot for this info

 

[LeoRex]

This might also affect calendar events as well... I'd have to test it to give you a definitive answer though. I suspect that it might only be third party calendar apps that don't use GCM calls, so they will be blocked unless made exempt.

 

[Jewom]

Thanks a lot for this information !

 

[maxim_bo]

Thank you! Very informative

 

[crownybest]

good to know, thanks

 

[smithe24]

Yeah! Really great info.. Thanks contributor.

 

[JIeBop]

Or if you really like your 3d party alarm - just kindly ask app developer on app page in market to improva alarm for Android M =)
Nevertheless, thanks for information.

 

[sharmi108k]

Thank you for sharing

 

[GeorgeCorrs]

Thanks for the info it really helps.

 

[thegreenbot]

This piece of information is really good. Plus I always think it is useless to have 3rd party applications for the functions that can be performed by the native apps only. Thanks a lot.

 

[miva2]

Very useful tip and solutions.
Unfortunately I'm not on 6 yet.

 

[LeoRex]

As more phones with 6.0 start making their way to users.. we'll see this more and more. Just a heads up to the community

 

[JenniferPratt]

Thank you for the valuable info. I will keep it mind regarding this and do accordingly whenever I will update my Android version to 6.0.

 

[jean15paul]

This was something that I ran into way back with the first Preview of M.... and lead to a more hectic than normal morning.

If you use a third party alarm application, that application may not properly register the alarm with the system Alarm manager. If it doesn't register that alarm, Doze really couldn't care less how much you need to wake up at 6:00 AM, it will never fire. Doze only allows alarms that are properly registered.

Easiest way to check if your alarm app properly registers is to look at your status bar. If you have an alarm clock icon next to your signal cluster, you have a system alarm set... and Doze will allow it to wake your phone (you'll also see an alarm icon on the lock screen and notification shade). If you DON'T see any of these alarm messages, then the app won't work with Doze.

Two solutions :

1) Go to Settings - Battery - Battery Optimizations (in three dot menu) - All Apps... find your alarm app and set it to "Don't optimize". This SHOULD tell Doze to ignore the app and let it do its thing.

2) Dump the alarm app and use one that properly registers the alarm. This is tricky because they don't come out and say it o the Play Store. Obviously, the stock alarm clock works. Timely (which was bought by Google) is another.

3) (I haven't tested this one, do I can verify if it works) Go in and set a pre-alarm alarm using your phone's stock clock app. Doze allows system alarms to fire without being suppressed. Doze will set a timer at that point (I'll have to check how long that is). But if you set a system alarm, say, a minute before you alarm app goes off. Use a unobtrusive notification sound if you like... then when your app alarm fires a minute later, your phone will be in that Doze-less window.

This is great information on 3rd party alarms that aren't properly recognized as a system alarm, and that Doze might not allow them to ring.

But I think the OP's solution might not be completely correct. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. To me it sounds like the OP is confusing two new battery saving feature in Marshmallow: Doze and Optimize Apps (i.e. App Standby).

Optimize Apps is feature that prevents apps from running in the background (even when the phone is in use) if you haven't used the app in a while (default is 3 days). It stops background tasks and only allows optimized apps to check for notifications once a day.

Doze prevents battery drain based on the current use of the phone/tablet (not app usage). It prevents all background data and most background tasks if the screen is off, the phone is motionless, and it's not plugged in.

Selecting "Don't optimize" from the battery menu should prevent the phone from putting that app into app standby (which is definitely a good idea for your alarm app). But I don't think it will do anything to prevent the phone from Doze-ing.

Ultimately, the solution is that alarm apps need to be made correctly so they are recognized as system alarms. A work around is to make sure the phone stays plugged in so it doesn't Doze.

More info here: Optimizing for Doze and App Standby | Android Developers

I hope this helps.

 

[LLcdPH]

I'm still having the issue of the alarm on my S7 Edge sounding for 2 or 3 notes and then muting itself. It doesn't matter whether it is the stock alarm, Google's clock alarm, or another 3rd party. I've done a complete factory reset and taken the phone to AT&T and had the OS re-flashed. Same issue. I had a Note 5 on Verizon previously and didn't have the issue when running Android 6.01. Samsung "customer support" says send it to them to look at meaning I'd be without a phone for several days (weeks?) which is unacceptable with a newly purchased device. That's the kind of service they provide for Samsung "platinum level" customers. Never another Samsung! Since I rely on my phone for work, it appears that my only option now is to buy a different phone (from a different manufacturer) and dump this one.

 

[cirkit]

Thanks for the info!

 

[LeoRex]

But I think the OP's solution might not be completely correct. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. To me it sounds like the OP is confusing two new battery saving feature in Marshmallow: Doze and Optimize Apps (i.e. App Standby).]

Whitelisting an app in the 'Optimize Apps' screen exempts it from both Doze and App Standby.

 

[RodrigoDLPontes]

Wow, will look out for that. Thanks!