4 ms·

A few years ago I had trouble with K9 going into "sync disabled mode", for lack of a better term. Push notifications simply didn't work no matter what I tried

by na85 5y ago

A few years ago I had trouble with K9 going into "sync disabled mode", for lack of a better term. Push notifications simply didn't work no matter what I tried and I missed lots of emails as a result. Switched to FairEmail[0] and have been a happy user since. [0] https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail

kijin 5y ago
That's when Android started to kill background apps very aggressively, more or less requiring the use of Google's own Firebase service if you wanted to get realtime push notifications. It was a monumentally stupid "feature". Even Samsung's default email app on my Samsung flagship phone only detects new emails every 20 minutes or so, which suggests that top-tier OEMs also have trouble getting past the ruthless background app killer. I'm glad that at least a couple of FOSS apps have found a way around this problem. I'm curious how FairEmail (and now K9, too) pulled it off. Is there an official "do not kill" flag now, or are they just using some sort of loophole that allows IMAP IDLE connections to be kept alive in the background?
- cketti 5y ago
  Most apps use a foreground service. Using that the app is treated like an app running in the foreground and not like an app running in the background. https://developer.android.com/guide/components/foreground-services https://developer.android.com/guide/components/foreground-se...
  - kijin 5y ago
    Foreground services require a persistent notification, which looks more like a nasty hack than a proper workaround.
- Saris 5y ago
  As far as I know the app can just ask to run in the background and then it works. Problem is many apps don't use the native dialog box to request it, and instead ask the user to go to settings and do it manually.
- danuker 5y ago
  https://dontkillmyapp.com/ https://dontkillmyapp.com/

4 ms·

A few years ago I had trouble with K9 going into "sync disabled mode", for lack of a better term. Push notifications simply didn't work no matter what I tried

by na85 5y ago

kijin 5y ago
That's when Android started to kill background apps very aggressively, more or less requiring the use of Google's own Firebase service if you wanted to get realtime push notifications. It was a monumentally stupid "feature". Even Samsung's default email app on my Samsung flagship phone only detects new emails every 20 minutes or so, which suggests that top-tier OEMs also have trouble getting past the ruthless background app killer. I'm glad that at least a couple of FOSS apps have found a way around this problem. I'm curious how FairEmail (and now K9, too) pulled it off. Is there an official "do not kill" flag now, or are they just using some sort of loophole that allows IMAP IDLE connections to be kept alive in the background?
- cketti 5y ago
  Most apps use a foreground service. Using that the app is treated like an app running in the foreground and not like an app running in the background. https://developer.android.com/guide/components/foreground-services https://developer.android.com/guide/components/foreground-se...
  - kijin 5y ago
    Foreground services require a persistent notification, which looks more like a nasty hack than a proper workaround.
- Saris 5y ago
  As far as I know the app can just ask to run in the background and then it works. Problem is many apps don't use the native dialog box to request it, and instead ask the user to go to settings and do it manually.
- danuker 5y ago
  https://dontkillmyapp.com/ https://dontkillmyapp.com/