In Oreo (8.0.0+) (API 26+), How to get a location services update when the app is in the background or kill

Question

In Android O (8.0.0+) (API 26+), How to get a location services update when the app is in the background or kill. In "Strava" Android App (Available on Play Store), location services run properly when the app is in the background or kill. I need to build same functionality in my app. Whenever I start service using

startService(new Intent(this, GpsServices.class));

Then the onDestroy method is called after 10 sec when an app is an idle mode (the app is in the background or kill). Below is my code.

public class GpsServices extends Service implements LocationListener, Listener {

    @Override
    public void onCreate() {
        mLocationManager = (LocationManager) this.getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);
        if (ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
            return;
        }
        if (mLocationManager != null) {
            mLocationManager.addGpsStatusListener(this);
        }
        if (mLocationManager != null) {
            mLocationManager.requestLocationUpdates(
                LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER,
                500,
                0,
                this);
        }    
    }

    public void onLocationChanged(Location location) {
        System.out.println("location = [" + location + "]");
    }

    @Override
    public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
        // If we get killed, after returning from here, restart
        return START_STICKY;
    }

    @Override
    public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
        // We don't provide binding, so return null
        return null;
    }

    /* Remove the locationlistener updates when Services is stopped */
    @Override
    public void onDestroy() {
        try {
            mLocationManager.removeUpdates(this);
            mLocationManager.removeGpsStatusListener(this);
            stopForeground(true);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

Any help would be appreciated.

You should read how to handle location in the background https://developer.android.com/about/versions/oreo/background-location-limits.html — tyczj, Jan 15 '18 at 15:33
If you can provide a solution it would be helpful. I have already read the link you provided.But GeofencingApi and FusedLocationProviderApi interfaces are deprecated. — ketan dhopeshwarkar, Jan 15 '18 at 16:05
Please read the link, using those things have nothing to do with the actual issue — tyczj, Jan 15 '18 at 16:08

Amrut Bidri · Accepted Answer · 2018-07-06T11:41:33.693

You can try one of below two options or a combination of both, which have solved my problems when I have faced them.

Option 1

For location update to continue running in the background, you must use LocationServices API with FusedLocationProviderClient as described here and here in docs or here in CODEPATH.

Option 2

If you would have read the Android Oreo 8.0 Documentation properly somewhere in here, you would have landed on this solution.

Step 1: Make sure you start a service as a foreground service as given in below code

if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < Build.VERSION_CODES.O) {

            mainActivity.startService(new Intent(getContext(), GpsServices.class));
            mainActivity.startService(new Intent(getContext(), BluetoothService.class));
            mainActivity.startService(new Intent(getContext(), BackgroundApiService.class));
        }
        else {
            mainActivity.startForegroundService(new Intent(getContext(), GpsServices.class));
            mainActivity.startForegroundService(new Intent(getContext(), BluetoothService.class));
            mainActivity.startForegroundService(new Intent(getContext(), BackgroundApiService.class));
        }

Step 2: Use notification to show that your service is running. Add below line of code in onCreate method of service.

@Override
public void onCreate() {
    ...
    if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.O) {
        startForeground(NOTIFICATION_ID, notification);
    }
    ...
}

Step 3: Remove the notification when the service is stopped or destroyed.

@Override
public void onDestroy() {
    ...
    if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.O) {
          stopForeground(true); //true will remove notification
    }
    ...
}

One problem with Option 2 is that it will keep showing the notification until your GpsService is running on all devices running on Android Oreo 8.0.

I'm sure that both these options will work even when the app is in the background or in kill state.

I hope this solution might solve your problem.

can we detect GPS ON/OFF before we start our foreground service? — moDev, Apr 03 '18 at 18:59
yes. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/15778807/how-to-detect-when-user-turn-on-off-gps-state — Amrut Bidri, Apr 04 '18 at 06:59
@moDev Have you found any solution to detect GPS ON/OFF in android (Oreo)8.0. Because the broadcast receiver no more use to detect GPS ON/OFF. If you found any solution please post the answer. — Suresh, Sep 18 '18 at 16:20
For Option 1, don't you require a service for it to run in the background? Is this applicable for API 26 onwards? — mechdon, Dec 07 '18 at 12:19
For Option 2, once you close the app or navigate to other app, the service will killed automatically by android system. — Harish, Feb 15 '20 at 06:17

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 20 '18 at 05:59

1

The key to solving this problem appears to be a notification generator. The following link describes a working solution better than I can summarize:

https://hackernoon.com/android-location-tracking-with-a-service-80940218f561

answered Sep 20 '18 at 05:59

Luke Dupin

2,275
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In Oreo (8.0.0+) (API 26+), How to get a location services update when the app is in the background or kill

2 Answers2

Option 1

Option 2

Linked