Android 7: Mail apps only notify when I turn the screen on (after extended standby period)

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Oubadah

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Topic # 224358 14-Nov-2017 17:10

Another chapter in my disastrous attempt to move back to Android, only this time it's Google's fault, not HMD Global's:

I began to notice that, following extended periods of inactivity, I would stop getting mail notifications from the Outlook app on my Nokia 6. They would all flood in the moment I turned on the screen. I immediately remembered the "doze" feature, which I regarded with much suspicion when it was first announced. That had been in Android 6 which i had used briefly, and while I couldn't remember it causing issues there, I went into battery optimization on the Nokia 6 and disabled it for the Outlook app. No difference.

Next I installed the Gmail app and tried that: Exactly the same behavior.

I then conducted a Google search, and from what I can tell this is "normal" behavior - something to do with GCM priorities? People are talking about having to root devices just to fix this stupidity.

Is it really the case that the Gmail app on iOS now provides superior notifications to the Gmail app on Android? What a joke.

TL;DR: Unbeknownst to me, Google had "refined" doze in Nougat, to the point where it cripples notifications. If I'm mistaken, please let me know.

freitasm

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Reply # 1900862 14-Nov-2017 18:34

You're not wrong. It seems instead of using bigger (non-exploding) batteries, or perhaps less (octa-)cores Android decided the way to extend battery life is to kill the very apps you want to have running - in my case things like Tile, Life 360 or even Messenger and other IM (including depending on OEM Calendar and Email).

One way around it is go to Apps click the cogwheel and Special Access. From there Battery optmisation and select which apps to ignore this "feature". Another option is to open the App list, select the app you want and tap Battery - there's an option there to ignore the "optimisation".

Android is not getting any better.

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Dratsab

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Reply # 1900864 14-Nov-2017 18:39

I'm experiencing exactly this issue on Android 8. Not just mail (I use K9) but all apps that put out notifications. They suddenly come through when I liven the screen. Not good for me in terms of missing the callouts that can come in overnight via SMS!

freitasm

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Reply # 1900868 14-Nov-2017 18:53

Can't Google and OEM seriously see this is just breaking some basic functionality everyone expects to just work?

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muppet

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Reply # 1901250 15-Nov-2017 13:26

They are pushing everyone towards using Google Cloud Messaging. Only a "high priority" push will wake the app up now.

As more developers start to update their apps for 7/8 hopefully this will be less of a problem.

But for things like IMAP, where the device needs to wakeup every X minutes to check email, there's no nice solution.

It's a tough problem: How do you stop every app and his dog from waking up your device all the time? But still have apps get notifications in a timely manner.

To OP: I thought turning off battery optimisation would fix it for you - you don't say what sort of phone you're on though, maybe your Manufacturer has added some other extra "battery saving" stuff.

freitasm

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Reply # 1901253 15-Nov-2017 13:28

Still there are apps that need background activity. Life 360 and Tile for example.

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Oubadah

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Reply # 1901255 15-Nov-2017 13:31

muppet:

They are pushing everyone towards using Google Cloud Messaging. Only a "high priority" push will wake the app up now.

As more developers start to update their apps for 7/8 hopefully this will be less of a problem.

But for things like IMAP, where the device needs to wakeup every X minutes to check email, there's no nice solution.

It's a tough problem: How do you stop every app and his dog from waking up your device all the time? But still have apps get notifications in a timely manner.

To OP: I thought turning off battery optimisation would fix it for you - you don't say what sort of phone you're on though, maybe your Manufacturer has added some other extra "battery saving" stuff.

I would have thought gmail via the gmail app would be "high priority". It's their own service for god's sake. But no, apparently: https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/6s9vth/gmail_sync_email_pushing_is_intermittent/dofq98f/

Turning off battery optimisation doesn't fix it. It's a Nokia 6 which seems to be running a pretty vanilla android 7.

freitasm

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Reply # 1901257 15-Nov-2017 13:34

Android and power management are pretty crap now.

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jonathan18

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Reply # 1901259 15-Nov-2017 13:41

I have this same problem with Gmail on my phone running Android 6; for some reason Gmail isn't included in the list of apps under battery optimisation, so I've no ability to ensure it's left well-alone. I've been able to add others like the Tile app to the 'ignore' list, but no Gmail...

Have any of you using a Huawei phone had this problem and managed to solve it? Mine's a Mate 8, but I'm not sure if Gmail's absent from the battery optimisation list on more recent models/versions of the OS. (This thread seems to report the same absence on a Mate 9,)

freitasm

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Reply # 1901260 15-Nov-2017 13:42

And Mate 10.

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robjg63

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Reply # 1901264 15-Nov-2017 13:46

Maybe they have pushed out an 'upgrade' to gmail that makes it sleep deeply.

I can't see the point of having a mobile device that wont receive an email in a timely manner.

There seem to have been some sloppy app updates recently that cuase some apps to hog power so you think your phone is playing up - then an update comes out and everything seems back to normal. I am talking core google apps here.

I have rather come to the point where I think google just has some developers that have to do 'something' every 12 months and they are just fiddling for the sake of it.

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afe66

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Reply # 1901280 15-Nov-2017 13:56

I've had an Android since 2009 (HTC hero), and I can't really say any of the last 2 updated versions had anything that really had me looking forward to new version.

Why new number each time?
Why do these google office apps seem to update every second week!! Where's the change log..

I suspect they created lots of minor changes regularly so it "looks good" with lots updates showing how much work they are doing.

My gmail no longer notifies me over last couple of months (Android 7)

freitasm

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Reply # 1901287 15-Nov-2017 14:05

After every reboot... Either Google or Huawei screwed up hard.

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IcI

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Reply # 1901436 15-Nov-2017 20:20

jonathan18: I have this same problem with Gmail on my phone running Android 6; for some reason Gmail isn't included in the list of apps under battery optimisation, so I've no ability to ensure it's left well-alone ...

Same problem on a Samsung XCover 3 running Android v5.1.1