WearableListenerService onCreate() never called

Question

A bug has cropped up recently in one of my Wear OS (Android Wear)-enabled apps whereby the Service on the mobile device never reacts when the wearable sends it data.

While troubleshooting the root cause, I've noted that the onCreate() method of WearableListenerService is never called. Likewise, the onStartCommand() method from the Service superclass is never called, which I take to mean the Service is indeed not running.

The Service is defined in AndroidManifest.xml, so I can't understand why it's not running anymore.

Below are some code snippets from a new project, where all I do is define a WearableListenerService and try to get it to start. Note that this is to define a Service which runs on a mobile device:

WearMessageListenerService.java

package com.example.test.wearlistenertest;

import android.content.Intent;
import android.util.Log;

import com.google.android.gms.wearable.WearableListenerService;

public class WearMessageListenerService extends WearableListenerService {
    @Override
    public void onCreate() {
        super.onCreate();

        Log.v("test", "onCreate()");
    }

    @Override
    public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
        Log.v("test", "onStartCommand()");

        return super.onStartCommand(intent, flags, startId);
    }
}

AndroidManifest.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="com.example.test.wearlistenertest">

    <application
        android:theme="@style/AppTheme">
        <activity android:name=".MainActivity">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
        <service android:name="com.example.test.wearlistenertest.WearMessageListenerService">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="com.google.android.gms.wearable.MESSAGE_LISTENER" />
                <data android:scheme="wear" android:host="*" />
            </intent-filter>
        </service>
    </application>
</manifest>

build.gradle

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'

android {
    compileSdkVersion 26
    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "com.example.test.wearlistenertest"
        minSdkVersion 16
        targetSdkVersion 26
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0"
        testInstrumentationRunner "android.support.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
    }
    buildTypes {
        release {
            minifyEnabled false
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
        }
    }
}

dependencies {
    implementation fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
    implementation 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:26.1.0'
    implementation 'com.android.support.constraint:constraint-layout:1.1.2'
    compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-wearable:11.8.0'
}

Neither of the Log.v() methods above output anything on run. I've tested on API 23 and 27.

I'd really appreciate some help with this, as I can't understand why I can't get a basic Service to start. I'm happy to provide any additional details. Many thanks in advance for any assistance offered. - Aaron

Are your messages from the watch app being received? If not, then this isn't really about the `onCreate()` method, and perhaps you should post the code you're using to send messages from the watch. — Sterling, Jun 14 '18 at 15:55

Sterling · Answer 1 · 2018-06-15T15:18:16.847

Looks to me like your manifest declaration of the message receiver is wrong. Here's one that's working from one of my apps:

<service android:name=".MyMessageListener"
    android:exported="true">
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="com.google.android.gms.wearable.MESSAGE_RECEIVED" />
        <data android:host="*" android:scheme="wear"
              android:pathPrefix="@string/wear_path_prefix"/>
    </intent-filter>
</service>

Specifically, note that the action should end in MESSAGE_RECEIVED (your manifest has MESSAGE_LISTENER instead). I think that's the key problem, but exporting the service and adding a pathPrefix are probably good ideas too.

WearableListenerService onCreate() never called

1 Answers1