Android 8.0: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Not allowed to start service Intent

androidandroid-8.0-oreoandroid-service

On application launch, app starts the service that should to do some network task.
After targeting API level 26, my application fails to start service on Android 8.0 on background.

Caused by: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Not allowed to start
service Intent {
cmp=my.app.tt/com.my.service
}: app is in background uid UidRecord{90372b1 u0a136 CEM idle procs:1
seq(0,0,0)}

as I understand it related to:
Background execution limits

The startService() method now throws an IllegalStateException if an
app targeting Android 8.0 tries to use that method in a situation when
it isn't permitted to create background services.

"in a situation when it isn't permitted" – what it's actually mean?? And how to fix it. I don't want to set my service as "foreground"

Best Answer

I got solution. For pre-8.0 devices, you have to just use startService(), but for post-7.0 devices, you have to use startForgroundService(). Here is sample for code to start service.

if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.O) {
        context.startForegroundService(new Intent(context, ServedService.class));
    } else {
        context.startService(new Intent(context, ServedService.class));
    }

And in service class, please add the code below for notification:

@Override
public void onCreate() {
    super.onCreate();
    startForeground(1,new Notification());
}

Where O is Android version 26.

If you don't want your service to run in Foreground and want it to run in background instead, post Android O you must bind the service to a connection like below:

Intent serviceIntent = new Intent(context, ServedService.class);
context.startService(serviceIntent);
context.bindService(serviceIntent, new ServiceConnection() {
     @Override
     public void onServiceConnected(ComponentName name, IBinder service) {
         //retrieve an instance of the service here from the IBinder returned 
         //from the onBind method to communicate with 
     }

     @Override
     public void onServiceDisconnected(ComponentName name) {
     }
}, Context.BIND_AUTO_CREATE);

Related Solutions

Android – How to check if a service is running on Android

I use the following from inside an activity:

private boolean isMyServiceRunning(Class<?> serviceClass) {
    ActivityManager manager = (ActivityManager) getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE);
    for (RunningServiceInfo service : manager.getRunningServices(Integer.MAX_VALUE)) {
        if (serviceClass.getName().equals(service.service.getClassName())) {
            return true;
        }
    }
    return false;
}

And I call it using:

isMyServiceRunning(MyService.class)

This works reliably, because it is based on the information about running services provided by the Android operating system through ActivityManager#getRunningServices.

All the approaches using onDestroy or onSometing events or Binders or static variables will not work reliably because as a developer you never know, when Android decides to kill your process or which of the mentioned callbacks are called or not. Please note the "killable" column in the lifecycle events table in the Android documentation.

Android – Service vs IntentService in the Android platform

Tejas Lagvankar wrote a nice post about this subject. Below are some key differences between Service and IntentService.

When to use?

The Service can be used in tasks with no UI, but shouldn't be too long. If you need to perform long tasks, you must use threads within Service.
The IntentService can be used in long tasks usually with no communication to Main Thread. If communication is required, can use Main Thread handler or broadcast intents. Another case of use is when callbacks are needed (Intent triggered tasks).

How to trigger?

The Service is triggered by calling method startService().
The IntentService is triggered using an Intent, it spawns a new worker thread and the method onHandleIntent() is called on this thread.

Triggered From

The Service and IntentService may be triggered from any thread, activity or other application component.

Runs On

The Service runs in background but it runs on the Main Thread of the application.
The IntentService runs on a separate worker thread.

Limitations / Drawbacks

The Service may block the Main Thread of the application.
The IntentService cannot run tasks in parallel. Hence all the consecutive intents will go into the message queue for the worker thread and will execute sequentially.

When to stop?

If you implement a Service, it is your responsibility to stop the service when its work is done, by calling stopSelf() or stopService(). (If you only want to provide binding, you don't need to implement this method).
The IntentService stops the service after all start requests have been handled, so you never have to call stopSelf().

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Android – How to check if a service is running on Android

Android – Service vs IntentService in the Android platform

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