Your device cannot receive push notifications. Push notifications - what are they? How to enable and disable Push Notifications? New marketing channel
The importance of notifications can hardly be overestimated. After all, if your smartphone or tablet stops receiving notifications, you may miss an important message from a friend or forget to attend a scheduled meeting.
Today, people rely heavily on their devices, particularly on timely notifications. Therefore, if something happens to this function and it stops working properly, it causes serious inconvenience to the owner of the device. However, unfortunately, sometimes this happens and then the question arises: what to do if notifications from applications do not arrive?
Notifications from applications are not received. How to fix it?
It is worth noting that sometimes notifications may not work due to an error in the application development. Moreover, it is not uncommon for such an error to be associated with a specific version of the Android OS. But before you complain to the app developer about a bug, you should make sure that there is nothing on your device that can block them from appearing.
Of course, in order for notifications to arrive, this function must be activated in the application itself. Then you can check the settings of your device step by step according to the points below (the names of the points may differ depending on the brand of the device and the version of the operating system).
1) Set the correct time and time zone.
Incorrectly set time may negatively affect the operation of notifications. If you notice that the time on your device is different from the real one, this may be the reason for your inconvenience. To set the time you need:
1) go to "Settings" to section;
2) disable function "Auto time detection"(it may also be called "Network time zone");
3) install correct date And time, and also choose your time zone;
4) after setting the time reboot your device.
2) Enable the “Show Contents” function and configure the display of notifications on the screen.
Please note whether the “Show Contents” feature is enabled on your device. To do this:
1) go to "Settings" and go to the section "Lock screen and protection";
2) at point "On-Screen Notifications" find the section “Content. lock screen" and select "Show content";
3) then in the main settings menu, go to the section "Notifications" and check whether notifications are enabled for the application with which you are having problems. If notifications are turned off activate corresponding switch.
4) In the same item in additional settings you can set the priority for notifications "Mark as important"(this item may be called differently). This step may also help with this problem.
3) Disable “Background Data Restrictions”.
When you turn on Background Data Limits, some apps and services won't work when your device isn't connected to Wi-Fi. Even if the device is connected to the mobile Internet, notifications, for example, from Viber or WhatsApp instant messengers will not arrive until Wi-Fi is turned on. To disable this feature:
1) go to "Settings" and go to the section "Data Usage";
2) click on "Options" and, if this feature is enabled, select "Disable background data restriction".
4) Disable energy saving mode.
As a rule, by default the power saving mode of the entire device is turned off (unless the battery is low). However, individual applications can be put into power saving mode without the user's knowledge. We advise you to disable power saving mode for applications from which you want to receive notifications. To do this:
1) in settings go to section "Battery";
2) at point "Application Power Consumption" click the button "Details";
3) if the application you need is in the item, click on it and select "Disable".
This method often helps and notifications begin to arrive.
5) Including the application in the “white list”.
On some brands of devices, in order for the application to display notifications, it must be added to the so-called “white list”. To do this you need in the section "Safety" select "" and include the required application in it.
6) Removing applications that block the display of notifications.
Applications that block the display of notifications may include such well-known applications as, for example, Clean Master or DU Battery Saver and all such applications, it makes no sense to list all of them.
Battery saving apps can simply disable the apps you need, and a disabled app can't display a notification on your screen. Therefore, if one of them is installed on your device, disable notification blocking in the settings of these applications or delete such an application.
In most cases, these tips should help you with the display of notifications and the question: why notifications from applications are not received should no longer worry you. Unless this problem is related to an error in the development of the application or firmware of your device.
In the world of information technology, only a small part of all inventions is used. But most things are developed precisely to make our lives easier. It is one of these improvements that we will talk about in the article. These are Push Notifications. What are they and where can they be used? Push notifications - what are they? iPhone, Android, feature phones - where are they configured and how to enable/disable them?
Meet - Push Notifications
What is it? This is the name for short pop-up notifications that appear on touch screens (tablets, phones) and report important updates and events. If desired, they can be used as a simple form of dialogue between seller and buyer, which has led to their widespread use in the field of marketing.
So, if we consider the option with an application, then the main task here is to inform about updates, new content (or just a reminder that it has not been used for a long time). How to make Push notifications for an application? To do this, you need to use the application programming interface that exists for a specific phone (in fact, for the operating system used).
The reason for the emergence of this technology was the desire of specialists to support the circle of users of their developments. Setting up Push notifications is not difficult. The end of the article contains information about the features of enabling/disabling them on different operating systems.
Use cases for Push notifications
Where can this technology be used? Let's look a little at the statistics that Push notifications can boast of. What this will give us, we will consider later. So:
- Most of all (41%) they are used to notify about the release of new applications or updates to existing ones.
- Then (24%) there is a newsletter about special offers.
- To inform about new content that has appeared in the program, it is used in 14% of cases.
- The least targeted (12%) are used to send advertising and/or referral links.
- The remaining 9% comes from other types of information.
If you don’t receive Push notifications from those you subscribe to, and nothing has changed in the settings, this does not mean that they won’t happen at all. Perhaps the cause of the problem was simply a connection failure. If you are a developer, then something was configured incorrectly in the applications themselves.
New marketing channel
Before looking at how to interact with this technology from a user's perspective, let me spend a little more time talking about the concept of Push Notifications in marketing. When using such a development, you need to be careful not to cross the fine line that separates cooperation from intrusiveness. If a marketer or someone in training is reading this, remember that this method should provide valuable information that will reflect positively on subsequent interactions.
Push notifications should contain timely and relevant content. So, in an application that is aimed at children, advertising coffee will be very out of place, which, in turn, will most likely lead to a loss of popularity.
Usage example
It is popular to use this technology to briefly notify friends about their actions. Considering this, we can recall Twitter, which informs its users about changes that occur in friends’ profiles.
Some companies use GPS to determine where their customers are, and if their outlet is nearby, they send an appropriate notification. It is important to receive the message in a timely manner. The implementation feature is that Push notifications do not require Internet access, because often all the necessary information is stored in the application itself (as a rule).
Features of use
So, if you have decided to use Push Notifications as part of your marketing plan, then it would be a good idea to make sure that they meet the following conditions:
- The content provided must be current and relevant.
- There should be an option to unsubscribe.
- It is advisable to link to social networks so that users have the opportunity to discuss.
- You should choose your quantitative policy wisely - no one wants to receive 20 notifications a day.
Now we can move on to activating such technology. For ease of understanding, the procedure will be broken down depending on the operating system installed on the mobile device. So how do you set up Push Notifications?
Android
This is the most popular operating system, which received its status thanks to its free distribution and constant improvement. How are Push notifications enabled/disabled on it? To disable it, you must perform a number of actions in this order:
- Go to your phone settings.
- Go to your account, then to notifications, and there you will see information about Push.
- Select the desired settings, restrictions on receiving - in general, do everything the way you want.
But what should you do if you want to enable/disable Push notifications not for everyone, but only for one application? There is also an algorithm for this case:
- Go to settings.
- Go to an item such as “Notifications”.
- All the applications installed on your touch phone will be presented there and you should select your item by clicking on it.
- Disable or enable the function of receiving messages from this program.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated in performing these actions, and this is not only on the Android operating system. Push notifications can be enabled/disabled on other devices with the same ease.
iPhone and iPad
How to turn it on here and the iPad are no different in any fundamental way. Here we will consider operations with this technology according to the previous principle. So, to disable or enable messages received from specific programs, you need to perform the following sequence of actions:
- Go to the main screen of your device and find a button that looks like a double circle, in which there is a prototype of a road diverging in two directions at an angle of 90 degrees.
- Find the "Notifications" button, and then the application that interests you.
- Near the “Allow notifications” item you will see a button located in the slider. To enable/disable notifications, click on it. If it is white, it means that receiving messages is currently prohibited. If the button is green, you are already receiving notifications from this program.
How can I turn off such messages completely? To do this, perform the following sequence of actions:
- Go to settings.
- Go to your account.
- Go to notifications.
- Go to the Push section.
- Configure according to your own wishes.
Here's how to enable Push Notifications on iPhone. Considering that their settings do not change too noticeably, problems with changing parameters on different versions should not arise.
Multifunctional phone
It should be noted that in this case, you can work with Push notifications only on certain models, and this function has not become widely used here. But if you are the owner of such a piece of equipment, then we suggest that you familiarize yourself with how to enable/disable such a phone add-on. Please note that the path may vary depending on the model, so if you do not find what you need thanks to the instructions in the article, you should look in other places:
- From the Home screen, tap on Menu.
- Select Settings and look for Push Notifications. They can be placed in a separate submenu or located in “Phone or communication settings”.
- Customize this technology to your taste.
Conclusion
So we looked at Push notifications, what they are, and why they are needed. Finally, let’s remember the previously missed points. Push notifications are quite valuable from a marketing perspective and, when used wisely, can bring significant benefits to a business and make life easier for consumers. But in everything you should adhere to the golden mean.
Push notifications are also valuable because even if some application does not require constant sending of information on its behalf, this can be used for advertising purposes, providing an opportunity for other developers or enterprises (companies) to inform users about new events. But in this case, it is important to take into account the topical nature of the information provided.
I was prompted to write this article by a task that was assigned to me in one of my work projects: to implement Push notifications in an application. It seemed that everything was simple: you study the documentation, examples and move forward. In addition, I already had experience working with notifications. But that was not the case...
The service, within which the Android application is implemented, has quite strict requirements for the operation of Push notifications. It is necessary to notify the user of some action within 30-60 seconds. If the notification is successful, a request is sent from the user's device to the server with the appropriate status. From the documentation we know that the GCM (Google Cloud Messaging) service does not guarantee the delivery of PUSH notifications to devices, therefore, as a backdoor option, if these time frames are violated, our service notifies the user via SMS message. Since the cost of SMS messages is significantly higher than PUSH notifications, it is necessary to reduce the flow of SMS messages to client devices as much as possible.
After studying the documentation and installing push notifications, we sent the first build of the application to test to several clients and began to wait. The results were approximately as follows:
- with an active Wifi connection, everything works perfectly: notifications are delivered, clients are happy.
- With an active mobile Internet, the fun began.
- Enabled Energy Saving mode (for example, Stamina on Sony devices) affects the operation of Push notifications;
- The user must have at least 1 active Google account on the device;
- you need to make sure that the current version of the Google Play Services application is installed on your device;
- check whether notifications for the application are disabled (check the box on the application page in the phone settings);
- check whether the background mode for the application is limited (the setting is located in the “Data Usage” menu);
- The documentation for GCM states that notifications are sent only to certain ports, so the settings of the router, firewall and antivirus should also be taken into account.
At this stage, the message written by the guys from Mail.ru helped a lot. It describes in great detail the intricacies of implementing GCM on the client side, as well as the points due to which Push notifications in mobile networks refuse to work. Ultimately, the decision was made to keep my connection to the server in conjunction with GCM.
Before you start making a decision, it’s worth highlighting a few very important points that allow you to narrow down the range of potentially “non-working” devices:
- the problem occurs only when connected to the mobile Internet;
- According to customers, the problem occurs on Android version 4 and higher.
An experienced Android developer will immediately say that there are at least 2 solutions to the problem: use Service or AlarmManager. We tried both options. Let's consider the first of them.
In order to create a system-indestructible service that will constantly hang in the background and perform our task, we used the method:
StartForeground(int notificationID, Notification notification);
Where
- notificationId - some unique notification identifier that will be displayed in the status bar and in the sliding curtain;
- notification - the notification itself.
Having implemented this approach, we sent the assembly for testing. Based on the results, it turned out that the system was still unloading the service, and from the logs we saw how significant time gaps occurred when requesting data in the background from our server. Therefore, we started implementing the second option - AlarmManager.
AlarmManager is a class that provides work with, roughly speaking, an “alarm clock”. It allows us to specify the time after which the system will send a broadcast notification, which will wake up our application and give it the opportunity to perform the necessary actions. There are some limitations to how this method works and they need to be addressed:
- data about “alarm clocks” will be erased after rebooting the device;
- Alarm data will be erased after updating the application.
SetRepeating()
which allows you to set an alarm clock that repeats at a certain interval. Having screwed up this method, they began to test, and the tests showed the opposite - the “alarm clock” did not repeat. We began to figure out what was going on and looked at the documentation. And it was there that they found the answer to the question - starting from API lvl 19 (Kitkat), absolutely all “alarm clocks” in the system became one-time ones. Conclusion - always read the documentation.
This rake was not a reason for frustration, because the solution to the problem is quite simple - run a one-time “alarm clock” and reset it after it goes off. When implementing this approach, we came across the following rake - it turned out that for different API levels it is necessary to set alarms differently, while nothing was said in the documentation. But this problem was solved quite simply - by poking and googling. Below is a code example that allows you to set alarms correctly:
Private static void setUpAlarm(final Context context, final Intent intent, final int timeInterval) ( final AlarmManager am = (AlarmManager) context.getSystemService(Context.ALARM_SERVICE); final PendingIntent pi = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(context, timeInterval, intent, 0) ; am.cancel(pi); if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) ( final AlarmManager.AlarmClockInfo alarmClockInfo = new AlarmManager.AlarmClockInfo(System.currentTimeMillis() + timeInterval, pi); am.setAlarmClock( alarmClockInfo, pi); ) else if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.KITKAT) am.setExact(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, System.currentTimeMillis() + timeInterval, pi); else am.set(AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP, System.currentTimeMillis() + timeInterval, pi);
I want to draw your attention to the flag AlarmManager.RTC_WAKEUP- it is with the help of it that the system will allow our application to “wake up” when the screen is inactive, when the device is in a locked state.
This approach with “alarm clocks” gave us the desired result - the application in the background correctly polls the server for new data. We are currently finalizing the algorithm. We are currently implementing and testing the following optimization, which will allow us to narrow the range of devices and thereby reduce the load on the server:
- the message sent by GCM to the device contains some unique ID;
- Having received the GET request data in the background, we check whether an entry with the same ID already exists on the device;
- if there is no such data locally on the device, we remember this ID and the time it was received T1;
- we wait for PUSH with the same ID, upon receipt we remember the time T2 and check the difference between T2 and T1;
- if the difference is more than a certain temporary criterion (value), then the device has a problem with the delivery of notifications and for the service to work correctly, it is necessary to constantly request data in the background from the server (I advise you to select a criterion based on the problem being solved. In our case, the criterion equal to 5 minutes);
- this difference should be calculated several times, for example 5-10 times, only after that it can be concluded that the device actually has a problem with receiving Push notifications (this eliminates the situation of a banal connection disconnection, timeout, etc.);
- it is necessary to run this algorithm periodically (for example, once a week, or after updating the OS on the device).
P.S.
Helped a lot during the testing process
Push notifications are pop-up windows that appear on the screen of a smartphone or tablet. They show incoming information from various sources, which can be instant messengers, applications or the system of the device itself. Push notifications are available on absolutely all modern devices: be it Apple gadgets or Google tablets. That is, there are Push notifications for iOS, Android, as well as .
Setting up push notifications on devices running iOS, Android and Windows Phone operating systems
Recently, the introduction of this function into the computer operating system has become especially popular. The first was Apple with its OS X axis for Macs. This is, of course, due to the high efficiency and convenience of push notifications, which have established themselves as the first source of information arriving on a smartphone or tablet. Indeed, it would be stupid to refute such a convenient method of notification: push notifications save the device’s RAM, since they do not require constant operation of a program or application. Therefore, there will also be Internet traffic.
But besides caring so much about the user and timely notifications, push notifications can be annoying. Why do you need periodic reminders from the Twitter service that a certain user wrote: “I ate an omelette today. Was it delicious? Agree that this message does not carry any useful information load for you. It turns out that not all alerts are very useful. Of course, if you indiscriminately give access to and agree to send you notifications to programs and applications, then you will have millions of them. It’s not entirely pleasant to delete them later, because on some systems you can’t delete everything at once. This makes it necessary to know how to set up and disable push notifications. Therefore, let's figure out the correct installation of this method of presenting information.
Volume buttons do much more than just increase or decrease the volume of your device's audio. Completely new options and features have been added to this menu, which will undoubtedly be useful to any user. They allow you to switch between alert modes:
- “Do not disturb” - all incoming reminders and messages will arrive silently;
- “Important” - you will receive only important messages from the program list, which can be adjusted. When you turn it on, you will see a settings tab. Here you can change the operating time of the mode. Moreover, there is a special tab that allows you to configure this mode more flexibly;
- “Everything” is the standard operation of the device.
It is worth noting that push notifications configured in this way will be much more useful. Especially convenient is the “Important” mode, where you can easily manage the list of applications to access notifications.
To fine-tune the information windows, just go to the section specially designated for this. It is located in the Settings menu of your device. In it you can, for example, remove notifications on the lock screen, open the notification option for individual programs, and change the list of blocked applications. Another very interesting feature is that in the individual application menu you can optionally select:
- Do not show from this application, thereby completely getting rid of the program's news;
- Or show them at the top of the list, including when only important notifications are allowed.
You can enable or disable push notifications on iOS using the Settings menu located on the Home screen. You won’t have to search for the required submenu for a long time, because in the operating system it is called “Notifications”. After you go to it, on the right you will see a list of installed programs on the device. Above some there will be the inscription “turn on”, and above others it will be written “do not turn on”. This means that in the first case, alerts and push notifications are allowed, but in the second, accordingly, they are not. Let's look at a detailed configuration example.
So, it’s on our first list. Click there and go to the alert settings page for this program:
- The very first thing we have is the permission for notifications with the corresponding slider. If you move it, you will turn them off. Accordingly, Skype will not notify you of anything;
- Our next item is “In the notification center”. It allows you to control the number of recent events displayed in the notification bar (that is, in the notification center);
- Sounds. With this slider you adjust the presence of sound for notifications;
- Badge sticker. Here you can adjust the presence of a sticker with the number of incoming events on the application icon located on the main screen;
- The penultimate setting in this menu is on the locked screen. It is responsible for displaying an alert when the screen of a tablet or smartphone is locked;
- Well, the last thing is the warning style on the unlocked screen. The first one with such a categorical word “No” removes all visual notifications. Banners are a line at the top of the screen. Well, and “Warnings”, which are displayed in a rectangle in the center of the screen with answer options. In fact, they are all clearly shown on the notification settings page.
Apple is responsible for the correct operation of Push notifications in iOS. Any third-party application that wants to send notifications to the user must use Apple servers for this. The scheme looks like this: the developer will set up his own server, which accesses Apple's Push Notification Service (APNS), which in turn sends notifications to users on their devices.
Therefore, if a specific application does not send you notifications, then the problem lies in the crooked hands of the developer, who cannot properly configure the interaction of his server with APNS. If you stop receiving absolutely all notifications, then try the following instructions.
Sign out of your Apple ID account
Apple uses your Apple ID to identify your devices. This is how the company understands where to send notifications. The first thing to do if you have problems receiving Push Notifications is to sign out and sign in again to your Apple ID. You can do this in Settings > iTunes Store & App Store.
Reconnect your device to iCloud
A similar step should be repeated with the iCloud cloud service, which is responsible for synchronizing data between devices and with Apple servers. You can do this in Settings > iCloud.
Restart deviceiOS doesn't have many tools for solving problems, reboot being the main one. Let us remind you that a reboot is different from a regular power off/on. You can restart your device by long pressing the power button and the Home key on older devices and long pressing the power and volume down button on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
Check Do Not Disturb Mode
If the system is set to Do Not Disturb mode, you will not hear notifications at the specified time. Make sure you don't turn it on permanently. This is understandable if there is a crescent icon in the device’s status bar.
Check your application settings
iOS has a very flexible notification system that allows you to customize each application the way you want. It can send Push notifications, it can show notifications only on the application icon, with banners at the top of the screen, it can show or not show notifications on a closed screen. In short, there are many options, all of them can be viewed in “Settings” > “Notifications”. If, when you first launched the application, you accidentally blocked it from sending notifications, you can always change this setting in this menu.
Check the mute button
Absurd, but, as practice shows, extremely useful advice. A small switch on the side of the iPhone has no effect on how Push notifications work, but it does mute system notification sounds. So, if you accidentally switch it, you may not hear important notifications.