android - BroadcastReceiver dies with app

Question

If i let the phone sit for a long time like 15 minutes i lose my receiver but i thought it was to persist like a service after being killed for memory.

Manifest:

<receiver
    android:name=".WearableReceiver"
    android:enabled="false">
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="com.example.johnbravado.MESSAGE_PROCESSED"/>
    </intent-filter>
</receiver>

In Activity to start receiver

ComponentName component = new ComponentName(CounterActivity.this, WearableReceiver.class);
getPackageManager()
    .setComponentEnabledSetting(component,
        PackageManager.COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_ENABLED,
        PackageManager.DONT_KILL_APP);

The receiver

@Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
    // TODO: This method is called when the BroadcastReceiver is receiving
    // an Intent broadcast.
    //MyConstants.getInstance().showToast("Message Rcvd");
    PowerManager powerManager = (PowerManager) context.getSystemService(POWER_SERVICE);
    PowerManager.WakeLock wakeLock = powerManager.newWakeLock(PowerManager.PARTIAL_WAKE_LOCK,
            "com.example.johnbravado");
    wakeLock.acquire();
    // Do Work
    MyConstants.getInstance().msgReqAction(intent.getIntExtra(MyConstants.BROADCAST_DATA_REQ, 0));

    wakeLock.release();
}

The broadcast sender

String BROADCAST_ACTION_RESP = "com.example.johnbravado.MESSAGE_PROCESSED"
@Override
public void onMessageReceived(final MessageEvent messageEvent) {
    nodeId = messageEvent.getSourceNodeId();
    String incomingPath = messageEvent.getPath();
    int incomingReq = Integer.parseInt(new String(messageEvent.getData()));

    if(incomingPath.equalsIgnoreCase(MyConstants.MSG_COUNTER_REQ_PATH)) {
        Intent broadcastIntent = new Intent();
        broadcastIntent.setAction(BROADCAST_ACTION_RESP);
        broadcastIntent.putExtra(MyConstants.BROADCAST_DATA_REQ, incomingReq);
        sendBroadcast(broadcastIntent);

    }else if(incomingPath.equalsIgnoreCase(MyConstants.MSG_DEFAULT_PATH)){

    }
}

only way I get this to persist for long periods of time is to invoke a service

wearableReceiverIntent = new Intent(this, WearableReceiverService.class);
if(!WearableReceiverService.isRunning())
    startService(wearableReceiverIntent);

the service

@Override
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
    // Let it continue running until it is stopped.
    IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter(MyConstants.BROADCAST_ACTION_RESP);
    filter.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_DEFAULT);
    receiver = new WearableReceiver();
    registerReceiver(receiver, filter);

Notification notification = new NotificationCompat.Builder(this)
        .setSmallIcon(R.drawable.ic_notif_bible)
        .setContentText("Preaching").build();
startForeground(MyConstants.NOTIF_COUNTING_SERVICE, notification);

    isRunning = true;
    return START_STICKY;
}

If I run the service it persists for long periods of time but it drains the battery unnecessarily considering I interact only once every 10 minutes. I was under impression Broadcast receiver would work like service except for short bursts of work. invoke the service if you need to do long actions.

Answer 1

A BroadcastReceiver handles an intent and then stops again. This handling of an intent should be fast. If you want to do a lot of stuff, you should start an Service from the BroadcastReceiver and handle it from there.

A BroadcastReceiver object is only valid for the duration of the call to onReceive(Context, Intent). Once your code returns from this function, the system considers the object to be finished and no longer active.

A BroadcastReceiver is started using the sendBroadcast intent. So remove android:enabled="false" and use sendBroadcast, which will startup the Receiver by Android.

http://www.vogella.com/tutorials/AndroidBroadcastReceiver/article.html