No alarms? Won't autostart? It's not our fault! Really.

More and more these days we are getting feedback from users who say their alarms don't work or stopped working, or that the app won't autostart, or that the battery number just disappeared from the status bar one day.  I know when I used to have trouble with an app, my first thought always was it must be something wrong with the app, not that there was something wrong with my phone.

Naturally, users blame developers for their apps failing to deliver, but ultimately the manufacturer of your device has total control over the processes that run.  Because smartphones are getting more and more powerful, and because battery capacity is lagging behind, manufacturers constantly try to put their own battery saving feature into the firmware with each new Android release.  Many go so far that they break many apps just so they can try to squeeze a bit more juice out of the battery.

It's gotten so bad, there is a website devoted to these manufacturers and the hoops they make customers jump through just so they can find these default "battery saving" features and turn them off to get their apps to work.  The site is called...

Don't Kill My App!  https://dontkillmyapp.com/

If you go to this site, (which I recommend everyone do before they purchase their next phone or tablet), you will see that the worst offenders are (in order) Huawei, Samsung, OnePlus and Xiaomi.  But by no means are these the only offenders.

Fortunately, the creators of this website have put together an extremely good list with pictures on how to get around these "battery saving" restrictions that manufacturers keep putting on their devices with every new Android update that comes out that cause apps to break and stop working.

So if you are having problems with the app not autostarting, or disappearing, or if  the alarms don't work, check out this website to see if your manufacturer is on the list, and then follow the instructions under "Solution for users".

We test our apps on every new Android version that comes out, and when we get emails from users with problems, very often it is an issue with the extra "features" the manufacturer has added to their latest Android firmware update.  Of course, we are more than happy to try to resolve any problem you might have by contacting us at the email addresses below, but the "Don't Kill My App! site is a great place to start to see if the manufacturer of your device and their new "battery saving" feature just might be the problem.

Don't Kill My App!  https://dontkillmyapp.com/

bnbtfree@gmail.com

bnprobt@gmail.com

Managing notifications in Battery Notifier Pro BT 2020

Q: How does Manage notification category work compared to the old Notification priority in Battery Notifier Pro BT?                                                                                                                                     
A: This setting works similarly to how it worked before, and is mainly used if you have a lot of notifications in your status bar, or in your notification drawer, and it determines how far to the left or right the status bar icon will appear in the status bar, and how high or low the notification will be in the swipe down notification drawer.

Manage notification category takes you to the settings in your device to make the change.
The options you will find work similarly but not exactly the same as the previous Maximum, High, Default, Low and Minimum settings previously under
Notification Priority in Battery Notifier Pro BT.

Alerting (Pop on screen off) - Battery level number closest to the time - Notification in drawer at the top
This is the default setting and it works the same as Default did in Battery Notifier Pro BT.
Select Manage notification category.  Show notifications should be turned on at the top.

Right beneath Show notifications, Alerting should be highlighted and selected.
When Battery Notifier Pro BT 2020 is first started, it will place the battery level icon number just to the right of the time in the upper left corner of the status bar.  (In case you were wondering, the time will always be furthest left in the status bar in Android 10, and there is no way for notifications to appear to the left of the time.)  It will also place the notification in the swipe down notification drawer at the top.

Normally you should just leave it on this setting.  As other notifications come in, they will appear furthest left (to the left of the battery level icon number and next to the time) until you dismiss them.  If you do not wish to dismiss them, but still want the Battery Notifier Pro BT 2020 battery level icon number to appear furthest left next to the time, just restart Battery Notifier Pro BT 2020 and the battery level icon number will again move furthest left next to the time in the status bar, and the notification in the swipe down notification drawer will again be at the top.

Alerting (Pop on screen on) - Battery level always closest to the time - Notification in drawer always at the top
If you have many notifications coming in constantly, and you don't want to have to keep restarting Battery Notifier Pro BT 2020 to have the battery level stay furthest left, leave Alerting selected, and turn on Pop on screen.  Set this way, the battery level icon number should stay furthest left and next to the time as other notifications come in, and the notification in the swipe down notification drawer should stay at the top.  If a notification still comes in to the left of the battery level icon number, you may need to go to the notification category settings for that app, and turn off Pop on screen for that app.

Silent (Minimize off) - Battery level number more to the right  - Notification in drawer at the bottom
Select Silent instead of Alerting, and the battery level icon number will move to the right, and it will move the notification in the drawer to the bottom.  Whether or not it moves all the way to the right in the status bar or moves the notification in the drawer all the way to the bottom also depends upon what other apps with status bar notifications you are running, and the settings in notification category for those apps.

Silent (Minimize on) - Battery level number off - Notification in drawer at the bottom and minimized
In Battery Notifier Pro BT 2020 this will make the status bar icon disappear, and minimize the notification in the drawer.  It may not minimize the notification in the drawer right away, but if you touch it and bring up the dashboard, then it should.  If it still doesn't minimize, then restart the app, and it should then minimize.

Show notifications off - Battery level number off - Notification in drawer off
If you want the battery level icon number turned off and also don't want a notification in the notification drawer either, then turn off Show notifications.

NOTE: Turning off Show notifications will cause the notification in the swipe down notification drawer to disappear along with the status bar number, but Battery Notifier Pro BT 2020 will still be running in the background, and the audio notifications for low and full battery will still work.  Also, be aware that if you turn off Show notifications and then turn it back on, you may need to restart the app in order for the status bar icon number and notification in the drawer to appear again.