Broadcast Receiver not receiving intent from another app in android 11

Question

I am trying to send broadcast from App A to App B on Android 11.

Here is the receiver App B:
Manifest:

<receiver android:name="com.example.my_test.TestReceiver"
    android:enabled="true"
    android:permission="com.example.my_test.broadcast_permission">
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="com.example.my_test.receive_action"/>
        <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
    </intent-filter>
</receiver>

Receiver class:

class TestReceiver: BroadcastReceiver() {
    override fun onReceive(context: Context?, intent: Intent?) {
        Log.d("MY_TAG", "received: ${intent?.getIntExtra("data", 0)}")
    }
}

Here is sender App A:
Manifest:

<uses-permission android:name="com.example.my_test.broadcast_permission"/>
...
    <activity android:name=".MainActivity">
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

            <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
        </intent-filter>
    </activity>
...

Sender code (inside MainActivity):

findViewById<Button>(R.id.button).setOnClickListener {
    val intent = Intent("com.example.my_test.receive_action")
    intent.addCategory("android.intent.category.DEFAULT")
    intent.component = ComponentName("com.example.my_test", "com.example.my_test.TestReceiver")
    intent.putExtra("data", 69)
    intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_INCLUDE_STOPPED_PACKAGES)
    sendBroadcast(intent, "com.example.my_test.broadcast_permission")
}

This is everything I have tried so far. Also not sure if anything regarding broadcast permission is wrong here. Nothing works, the TestReceiver class never logs anything.

I have also tried with android:exported="true"

If anyone knows where I am making a mistake, kindly help. If not possible, is there any other way to pass data from one app to another? Thanks.

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 21 '21 at 12:07

Solved. Here are some points:

In App B (receiver), the permission needs to be also declared on top of the manifest, in <permission> tag. I missed this one.
Category is not necessary. Also no need to declare the permission inside sendBroadcast()
<uses-permission> in App A (sender) is necessary.
ComponentName or package name (using setPackage()) needs to be mentioned in Android 11.

Here's the corrected code:

Here is the receiver App B:
Manifest:

<permission android:name="com.example.my_test.broadcast_permission"/>
...
    <application>
    ...
        <receiver android:name="com.example.my_test.TestReceiver"
            android:permission="com.example.my_test.broadcast_permission">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="com.example.my_test.receive_action"/>
            </intent-filter>
        </receiver>
    ...
    </application>
...

Receiver class: No change.

Here is sender App A:

Manifest: No change

Sender code (inside MainActivity):

findViewById<Button>(R.id.button).setOnClickListener {
    val intent = Intent("com.example.my_test.receive_action")
    intent.component = ComponentName("com.example.my_test", "com.example.my_test.TestReceiver")
    // if exact receiver class name is unknown, you can use:
    // intent.setPackage("com.example.my_test")
    intent.putExtra("data", 69)
    sendBroadcast(intent)
}

Hi, I can't seem to find a source for #4. I am interested whether it only affects apps targeting Android 11, or whether it is like that on Android 11 regardless of target SDK. Also, if it is the former, will setPackage() also be required when running the app on a device with Android 10 or lower? — Tal Mantelmakher, Jun 24 '21 at 12:12
This answer is from my experience. I have not found any source. Anyway, from Android 10 and below, you can see all the packages without any manifest permission. So why not add the package name of the receiver? — SayantanRC, Jun 25 '21 at 16:06

Broadcast Receiver not receiving intent from another app in android 11

1 Answers1