I'm developing an app which connects to the beacons. I'm able to run the app and also to detect beacons when app is in background (I send local notifications in the didRangeBeacons method and I receive them). I need to run a piece of code in the background when a beacon is detected. How can I do? I tried to write my Alamofire call exactly after sending the local notification, but nothing happens. Some suggestions?
When an app is in the background and it gets a didRangeBeacons callback, it only gets 5 seconds to run by the operating system before it is suspended. This will close any web service connections that are open at that time. You can extend this background running time from 5 seconds to 180 seconds upon request. Below is an example in Swift 3 that shows how to do that.
var threadStarted = false
var backgroundTask: UIBackgroundTaskIdentifier = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid
func extendBackgroundRunningTime() {
if (self.backgroundTask != UIBackgroundTaskInvalid) {
// if we are in here, that means the background task is already running.
// don't restart it.
return
}
print("Attempting to extend background running time")
self.backgroundTask = UIApplication.shared.beginBackgroundTask(withName: "DummyTask", expirationHandler: {
UIApplication.shared.endBackgroundTask(self.backgroundTask)
self.backgroundTask = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid
})
if threadStarted {
print("Background task thread already started.")
}
else {
threadStarted = true
DispatchQueue.global(priority: DispatchQueue.GlobalQueuePriority.default).async {
while (true) {
// A dummy tasks must be running otherwise iOS suspends immediately
Thread.sleep(forTimeInterval: 1);
}
}
}
}
By adding code like this, it is much more likely that your web service call will complete before iOS suspends your app.
You can call the extendBackgroundRunningTime() from your didRangeBeacons or didEnterRegion methods.
You only have a limited time for doing stuff in background when you get the didEnter/didRange callback.
You should checkout background tasks to get more time in background to call your server.
Related
I wanna extend backgroundTimeRemaining more than 30 seconds
and according to Apple
"The value is valid only after the app enters the background and has started at least one task using beginBackgroundTask(expirationHandler:) in the foreground.
System conditions may end background execution earlier, either by calling the expiration handler, or by terminating the app."
so I try to add and edit but it can't work
here's what I tried
//MARK:- BeginBackgroundTask
func registerBackgroundTask() {
backgroundTask = UIApplication.shared.beginBackgroundTask { [weak self] in
self?.endBackgroundTask()
print(self!.beginTime)
}
//TODO: Add new background time ex: 60 sec
var backgroundTimeRemaining: TimeInterval {
get{
return 60
}
}
assert(backgroundTask != .invalid)
}
//MARK:- EndBackgroundTask
func endBackgroundTask() {
print("Background task ended.")
UIApplication.shared.endBackgroundTask(backgroundTask)
backgroundTask = .invalid
}
backgroundTimeRemaining is informational to your app. The app does not control how much time the system gives it. You can request some background time in order to finish up some user-requested action, and you may receive it, but you don't have any control over how much time. You will need to redesign to not require this.
The point of beginBackgroundTask is to mark finite-length activities that, if the app were to go into the background in the middle, it would be useful to get a few extra seconds to finish up. If, for example, you are starting background tasks in willEnterBackground, or you are not calling a balancing endBackgroundTask in a timely manner, you are probably misusing the system and the system will tend to not give you background time at all.
See Advances in App Background Execution for Apple's latest guidance on background execution.
I am created a location tracking ios app(using CocoaLumberjack library to write log file).So background location update is enabled and working for my testing(I nearly running of upto 8 hours in background). When app goes to live store. There is lot of issue occurred in our app. When app went to background location tracking is not working properly. It's not send user location to server for some period of time. So i get log file from client and reviewed there is a time gap in log file. i frequently getting user location(every one second). So i thought app went to suspended state at the time of gap occurs in log file? Why app goes into suspended state even i am getting frequently location in background? is there a reason for app going to suspended state? searched lot can't find any valid details?
func startTimer()
{
if bgTimer == nil
{
bgTimer = Timer.scheduledTimer(timeInterval: 1, target: self, selector: #selector(self.startLocationChanges), userInfo: nil, repeats: true)
}
}
func stopTimer()
{
if bgTimer != nil
{
bgTimer?.invalidate()
bgTimer = nil
}
}
#objc func startLocationChanges() {
locationManager.delegate = self
locationManager.allowsBackgroundLocationUpdates = true
locationManager.pausesLocationUpdatesAutomatically = false
locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyThreeKilometers
locationManager.requestAlwaysAuthorization()
locationManager.startUpdatingLocation()
}
func locationManager(_ manager: CLLocationManager, didUpdateLocations locations: [CLLocation]) {
//let lastLocation = locations.last!
// Do something with the location.
/*print(lastLocation)
let logInfo = "BGLocationManager didUpdateLocations : " + "\(lastLocation)"
AppDelegate.appDelegate().writeLoggerStatement(strInfo: logInfo)*/
locationManager.stopUpdatingLocation()
}
func locationManager(_ manager: CLLocationManager, didFailWithError error: Error) {
if let error = error as? CLError, error.code == .denied {
// Location updates are not authorized.
manager.stopMonitoringSignificantLocationChanges()
return
}
// Notify the user of any errors.
}
func applicationDidEnterBackground(_ application: UIApplication) {
// Use this method to release shared resources, save user data, invalidate timers, and store enough application state information to restore your application to its current state in case it is terminated later.
// If your application supports background execution, this method is called instead of applicationDidEnterBackground: when the user quits.
self.writeLoggerStatement(strInfo: "applicationDidEnterBackground")
appstate = "Background"
if CoreDataUtils.isUserLoggedIn(entityName: "UserInfo") == true {
let user = CoreDataUtils.fetchCurrentUser(entityName: "UserInfo")
if user!.isGPSActive == "1"
{
if backgroundTaskIdentifier != nil
{
application.endBackgroundTask(backgroundTaskIdentifier!)
backgroundTaskIdentifier = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid
}
backgroundTaskIdentifier = application.beginBackgroundTask(expirationHandler: {
//UIApplication.shared.endBackgroundTask(self.backgroundTaskIdentifier!)
})
BGLocationManager.shared.startTimer()
let logInfo = String(format:"applicationDidEnterBackground backgroundTimeRemaining : %f",(Double)(application.backgroundTimeRemaining / 60))
self.writeLoggerStatement(strInfo: logInfo)
}
}
}
A few observations:
The beginBackgroundTask only buys you 30 seconds, not 8 hours. (In iOS versions prior to 13, this was 3 minutes, not 30 seconds, but the point still stands.) Bottom line, this is designed to allow you to finish some short, finite length task, not keeping the app running indefinitely. Worse, if you don’t call endBackgroundTask in its completion handler, the app will be unceremoniously terminated when the allotted time has expired.
There are two basic patterns to background location updates.
If the app is a navigation app, then you can keep the app running in the background. But keeping standard location services running in the background will kill the user’s battery in a matter of a few hours. So Apple will only authorize this if your app absolutely requires it (e.g. your app is an actual navigation app, not just an app that happens to want to keep track of locations for some other reason).
The other pattern is significant change service. With this service, your app will be suspended, but the OS will wake it to deliver location updates, and then let it be suspended again. See Handling Location Events in the Background. This isn’t as precise as the standard location services, but because the app isn’t constantly running and because it doesn’t have to spin up GPS hardware, it consumes far less power.
When testing these sorts of background interactions, you do not want to be attached to the Xcode debugger. Running it via the debugger actually changes the app lifecycle, preventing it from ever suspending.
As one doesn’t generally keep the app running in the background indefinitely, that means that you will want to remove that Timer related code.
self.backgroundTaskIdentifier = UIApplication.shared.beginBackgroundTask(expirationHandler: {
print("animateRightToLeft: went here")
if let indentifier = self.backgroundTaskIdentifier {
print("animateRightToLeft: stop here")
UIApplication.shared.endBackgroundTask(indentifier)
}
})
My App auto killed after some time if App goes background.
Can some one advice is it because of the above code?
It would be much easier to help you if you explain what you are trying to do? The code you provided will only allow your app to execute code in background for limited amount of time (currently 180 seconds on my iPhone 7).
Detailed:
Once you call beginBackgroundTask, you are given a timer which starts running after your app goes to background. While that timer is running, your app will be executing code even in background. When this timer runs out, or you call endBackgroundTask, your code will stop executing in background. Also if that timer runs out before you called endBackgroundTask, your expiration handler will be called and you should call endBackgroundTask there.
Please note that the code you wrote in the expirationHandler will be called only if you don't call endBackgroundTask before timer runs out.
You can use this code to test how it all behaves, e.g. if you run it as is, app will print backgroundTimeRemaining in the console even when in background. If you comment beginBackgroundTask your app will not print anything after it goes to background.
private var backgroundTaskIdentifier: UIBackgroundTaskIdentifier?
var timer: Timer?
#IBAction func buttontapped(_ sender: Any)
{
timer = Timer.scheduledTimer(withTimeInterval: 1, repeats: true, block:
{
(timer) in
NSLog("$$$$$ Time remaining: \(UIApplication.shared.backgroundTimeRemaining)")
})
self.backgroundTaskIdentifier = UIApplication.shared.beginBackgroundTask(expirationHandler:
{
NSLog("$$$$$ Timer expired: Your app will not be executing code in background anymore.")
if let indentifier = self.backgroundTaskIdentifier
{
UIApplication.shared.endBackgroundTask(indentifier)
}
})
NSLog("$$$$$ start")
DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline:.now() + 30)
{
NSLog("$$$$$ end")
if let indentifier = self.backgroundTaskIdentifier
{
UIApplication.shared.endBackgroundTask(indentifier)
}
}
}
From Docs beginBackgroundTask(expirationHandler:)
This method requests additional background execution time for your app. Call this method when leaving a task unfinished might be detrimental to your app’s user experience. For example, call this method before writing data to a file to prevent the system from suspending your app while the operation is in progress. Do not use this method simply to keep your app running after it moves to the background.
Each call to this method must be balanced by a matching call to the endBackgroundTask(_:) method.
My App auto killed after some time if App goes background , is it because of the above code?
no it isn't the above snippet only asks for additional time until task is finished , your app will be terminated anyway
I'm working on an app that connect to accessory via bluetooth and I've implemented a state preservation and restoration if an app crashed to restore the connection in background.
When the app crash/closed by iOS via jetsamevent, it will be relaunched again and in didFinishLaunchingWithOptions method, I've implemented a background task to give the app more time to re-connect to the previous peripheral, it will give the app ~3 minute of scanning for peripheral.
Here is the code I'm using for starting and ending the background task:
var backgroundTask: UIBackgroundTaskIdentifier = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid
func registerBackgroundTask() {
backgroundTask = UIApplication.sharedApplication().beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler {
[unowned self] in
self.endBackgroundTask()
}
}
func endBackgroundTask() {
UIApplication.sharedApplication().endBackgroundTask(backgroundTask)
backgroundTask = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid
}
I'm calling registerBackgroundTask at launch (in didFinishLaunchingWithOptions)
The issue is that at some point, the endBackgroundTask get called and the app (it seems) move to suspend state and come back to background state again after a random time, sometimes 3 min, 15 min or 3 hours.
Note:
I've used Apple documentation to implement the state preservation and restoration, Section State Preservation and Restoration
My application needs to have more than 10 local notifications at different time (not recurring) on daily basis. According to iOS official docs, i can only schedule 64 notifications. I have tried solutions from this and several others articles on the web but found no working solution.
Is there any way i can schedule the Local notifications at different times even if my app is not running for several days (or killed)?
There is no direct way For doing this.
If you want to do it anyhow(not proper solution, just a patch), then just go via following way.
wake up the app in background - which can be done by using starting location manager, which will wake up your app in background when location get updated, at that time you can do whatever you like with local notification or any other things.
Before applying this method - make sure that - this is too much battery consuming way + not proper way. Your app might get rejected from apple if it is using too much battery.
Read following details(copied from other question from stackoverflow):
An app can be woken by a significant location change, if the app has indicated that it wants to monitor such events.
See: [CLLocationManager Docs][1]
Look for a method called startMonitoringSignificantLocationChanges. If a significant location change occurs while your app is not in the foreground or isn't running at all, your application will be launched in the background, allowing the app to perform background-only operations (e.g. no view code will run).
When you want your app to work in background even when it is killed then you have to enable 'Background Modes' from your Project's Capabilities and fire your Local Notifications method with specific times through that.
Here is a little code snippet to get you started:
var backgroundTask: UIBackgroundTaskIdentifier = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid
override public func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
NSNotificationCenter.defaultCenter().addObserver(self, selector: #selector(self.reinstateBackgroundTask), name: UIApplicationDidBecomeActiveNotification, object: nil)
}
//MARK: Background Task / Local Notifications / Checkin
deinit {
NSNotificationCenter.defaultCenter().removeObserver(self)
}
func reinstateBackgroundTask() {
if backgroundTask == UIBackgroundTaskInvalid {
registerBackgroundTask()
}
}
func registerBackgroundTask() {
backgroundTask = UIApplication.sharedApplication().beginBackgroundTaskWithExpirationHandler {
[unowned self] in
self.endBackgroundTask()
}
assert(backgroundTask != UIBackgroundTaskInvalid)
}
func endBackgroundTask() {
NSLog("Background task ended.")
UIApplication.sharedApplication().endBackgroundTask(backgroundTask)
backgroundTask = UIBackgroundTaskInvalid
}
func dosomething() {
registerBackgroundTask()
//Fire Local Notifications accordingly…
//Use NSTimer if you want it with specific time intervals
}
Have a look at this wonderful Raywenderlich Tutorial about Background Modes in iOS.
Apple's Documentation