System notifications for reminders not working in Android

[jkufi 5]

In the renewed app version, the notifications do not popup in system notifications at all and thus, I miss important notifications daily. Is this a bug? 

 

Android version 11, Sony Xperia 1 (build 55.2.A.4.47).

[ehrt74 240]

yep. i have a similar problem. i only get a notification when evernote is open. Could you open a bug report about this?

[Trickster 12]

I have the same trouble. I keep checking to see if I have done something wrong.  Evernote Reminders on my Android 11, OnePlus 8 were consistent and reliable, I believe up until the big update.  Since then I do not get reminders on my android device at all.  I have checked settings and they are enabled.   Is this issue posted elsewhere and being looked into?

[ehrt74 240]

7 hours ago, Trickster said:

I have the same trouble. I keep checking to see if I have done something wrong.  Evernote Reminders on my Android 11, OnePlus 8 were consistent and reliable, I believe up until the big update.  Since then I do not get reminders on my android device at all.  I have checked settings and they are enabled.   Is this issue posted elsewhere and being looked into?

If anybody has reported this bug i'm not aware of it. I get notifications, but only if Evernote is open.

[ryboto 0]

I just started using Evernote again in the hopes to replace Google Keep with it.  It seems to be the only Note-app that also has reminder functionality but it seems to be broken.  I am using a device with Android 11.  There are no notification settings in the app itself, but I have confirmed that the app has notification settings turned through the system settings.  I've put the app in the whitelist for "never sleeping apps" and still, notifications/reminders only show up if I'm in the app. 

 

I sent feedback, but the feedback entry page appeared more like a suggestions tool than an actual bug reporting screen like I'm used to seeing in Android.

[Trickster 12]

Just had my FIRST successful test of an Evernote reminder with app closed on my OnePlus 8 since the update.  I changed a Battery Optimization setting that I never changed but - well something must have.

Settings > Battery > Battery optimization > Find Evernote > Change to 'Don't Optimize'

[Leigh P 3]

Same here, need to open the app for the reminders to work in Adroid. Unfortunately this now renders the app no use to me. Been very happy with evernote for years and resisted the Microsoft switch. Unfortunately unless this is fixed soon, it will be time to move.

I hope the Evernote are reading this and can fit it

[Santi M 1]

Having the exact same issue here. Pixel 4A with Android 11. Notifications simply don't pop up if the app is running in background, rendering them useless. I had a voucher for a free flight which expired a month ago - I set a reminder for it last year & it never popped up, so I lost my free flight

[Trickster 12]

Received a response that seemed to help today so far.

Thanks for getting back to us. Our team is already aware of this issue, and are currently working on a fix for it. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience that this issue have caused. In the meantime, I suggest trying to follow these steps and see if it will fix the issue.

1. Sign out from your account.
2. Force close or quit the Evernote app.
3. Restart your device.
4. Launch Evernote and sign back in.

7/30/2021 Turns out the fix was short lived.  I am back to neither reminder nor task reminders working on Android making the situation to actually use them as intended truly impossible.

[ErnestoGP 3]

Same problem here.

For me, the reminders created with the phone works in the phone.

Those ones created with pc or evernote web don't show in android

I am waiting for a solution since two weeks from now.

This evernote is nothing compared to legacy version in terms of speed and reliability.

This year, I have been more in touch with the support team than with my mother

[AimlessIdler 1]

Hi - found this topic because I was finding that the system notifications for reminders that are part of Google Calendar -- not Evernote's reminders -- do not work with Evernote running. Not sure if this thread is about that or Evernote's built-in reminders. Either way, after a chatting with a very patient member of Google tech support, we did determine that there is a system-level conflict between Google Calendar's reminder notification scheme and Evernote. They cancel each other out and render each useless. I personally prefer the Google-based reminders as they are so quickly created by Google Assistant, but love Evernote for more focused note-taking. I'm uninstalling Evernote from my device and will now only use it on Desktop until this issue is resolved. It's a shame, after being a loyal Evernote user for 11 years... 

[jkufi 5]

AimlessIdler, interesting finding and thanks for letting us know! So is this originally an Android bug which was now accidentally found because you were able to find similar behavior from Google calendar? Or has Evernote still implemented the reminders by using the Android api in a wrong way? First would explain why there's still no fix, probably too little thing for google to bother yet even if it was found even earlier and not by only you. Although it sounds bit funny that only one single app using notifications causes this. There are quite many notification enabled apps out there. I still sure hope it's not the latter because that would shake my belief towards Evernote even more: Bug has been in the production code for almost a year already and at the same time they are developing the app more and more into tasklist direction in which reminders are kind of essential function.

[Hunter Wild 0]

I found this thread while looking for an answer to the same issue, unsurprisingly. While I didn't find that answer, I tried testing a few things out myself. I fiddled with some Android settings to no avail, but then tweaked Evernote settings themselves and have gotten it to work! Admittedly, it's just working *today* and who knows about tomorrow or next week, or what happens after the next update.

The general idea is to fiddle with Evernote settings rather than Android settings. In short, I had to (re)sync my Google account within Evernote (I disconnected and reconnected it), then "choose calendars" specifically in the Evernote calendar settings (at the bottom of the Evernote home page within the app is where you can find the calendar itself, which contains the settings options), and then close out of Evernote and reopen it (which I actually did a few times).

I gave this a few test runs by setting note reminders for a couple minutes out from current time and it worked with every attempt. Again, who knows if this will revert back to not working next week, but at least I have a functional if annoying approach to fix it. I hope it works for y'all!

 

[AimlessIdler 1]

Thanks Hunter. In my experience all tweaking results in a temporary fix, but it reverts to the issue in a couple days. Hope it's not the same in your case. Otherwise, sorry to be the bearer of bad news...

[Franco L 0]

Same problem here, it works just fine on Mac but the app must be open in Android in order to show push notifications. All Evernote notification settings are enabled.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro 

Android 11

[PinkElephant 8,170]

Thanks for posting- it is better to report this to support, since the forum is mainly user2user.

[pvdiamon 4]

It's inconsistent.  I set a reminder at 4 pm for 7 pm, and I got a vibration and a reminder showed.  But my reminder for this AM at 5 am produced nothing when I woke to see if I had a reminder.  Most of my reminders never show.  All I get is a daily reminder email, better than nothing.  I am surprised this is not fixed but could lead me away from Evernote as I like my Samsung S21 otherwise.  Also, what's curious is that I have been in contact with Evernote Support, and they seem to think it's a setting, not recognizing what you all have been describing for a year.  

[agsteele 2,952]

I don't make great deal of use of reminders but I found that Evernote needed to have been brought to the foreground in the morning before reminders sounded.

I see the latest v10.29 had been tweaked to allow Evernote to sit in the background for longer before resetting. Even so I anticipate an overnight test will mean that a 5am reminder might not sound. That or forgotten Do Not Disturb settings overnight on the device.

[agsteele 2,952]

I played some more with reminders since my last post given that it has been an infrequent requirement for me. I concur that reminders are not triggering on my device. I've turned off battery optimisation for Evernote to see if that resolves the issue.  I'll report back if I discover anything...

[Trickster 12]

Some time ago I had this response from Evernote Tech Support:

"...On the backend I noticed the way we package your notes for syncing and sharing hadn't updated in a while. Typically this updates automatically but sometimes it can get hung up. I have went ahead and updated this manually for you. In order for this to fully take effect, I am going to recommend you do the following:

1. Log out of Evernote on all of your devices, including the web version, if you are still logged in there.
2. Restart the device.
3. Log back into your Evernote account."

I followed up asking about anything else I needed to do or monitor and was not directed specifically.  What this means exactly - I am not sure.  I wonder if a request to update on their 'backend' the 'the way we package your notes' might help.  Whatever it meant, It seemed to significantly improve my reminders operating more consistently.  

Hope that might be a clue...

[pvdiamon 4]

Support suggested similarly uninstalling and getting the newest version.  But I still get 10.28 from the PlayStore.  How do you get 10.29 for Android?

[Trickster 12]

I also appear to have version 10.28 Android. I would not be certain support is asking for you to have a version newer than 10.28 at this time.

[agsteele 2,952]

41 minutes ago, pvdiamon said:

Support suggested similarly uninstalling and getting the newest version.  But I still get 10.28 from the PlayStore.  How do you get 10.29 for Android?

It was delivered to me yesterday. It usually takes between 1 and 20 days after release for a new version to arrive on my device.  So, assuming yesterday was day 1 then I could have been waiting for another 2 or 3 weeks

I didn't request v10.29 and I'm not on the Android beta list so I think 10.29 must be rolling out bit by bit.

[PinkElephant 8,170]

Just as a side note: On iOS the new releases roll out instantaneously - the last update cycles they have always been in the upload queue already when the release notes appeared in the forum.

[Alxa 482]

On 3/21/2022 at 1:09 PM, Trickster said:

...On the backend I noticed the way we package your notes for syncing and sharing hadn't updated in a while. Typically this updates automatically but sometimes it can get hung up. I have went ahead and updated this manually for you.

Thank you alot for this quoting from tech support. This could be the answer to many sync and performance issues we see with the Android client. It could also be an explaination, why the client shows an account state of 1-3 weeks ago, when you install freshly and has to catch up several minutes to show the actual account state (working through notes changes, deletions, creations and you can follow visually). The backend resources for the mobile client are not just retrieved but are built on demand. That could explain the lags and delays on Android and hours and day long offline notebook retrieval as well. Unfortunately, that would mean that the performance and sync issues would be by the new backend design. Not very motivating to me.

[ehrt74 240]

On 3/25/2022 at 11:32 AM, PinkElephant said:

Just as a side note: On iOS the new releases roll out instantaneously - the last update cycles they have always been in the upload queue already when the release notes appeared in the forum.

the google play store allows developers to stagger role outs. i'd have thought the apple store has something similar. the question is, why does evernote use the staggered release for android and the web but not for iOS?

[PinkElephant 8,170]

Maybe they watch which of the clients are performing, and will eventually not cause a wave of support requests.

The iOS client from my observation is stable since EN 10.6 - this is a long time ago. When they roll it out in one go, it will just update devices, and that’s it. It is since long as well superior over all former EN clients for iOS, stable and (on devices younger than say 5 years) running pretty snappy.

Or maybe the AppStore does not allow for staged rollouts, whoever knows.

I don’t think it is because Google has not enough bandwidth …. 🤣

[pvdiamon 4]

So far despite tech help, I'm not getting my reminders.  It's interesting that I can set a reminder for 3 hours from now, and it comes just fine.  But anything the next day doesn't show up.  

[Trickster 12]

Reminders again, Not working. Cannot count on placing a reminder in desktop and having it come up in my phone. I have several "free" apps that I can rely on for this. I cannot believe after this amount of time reminders in Evernote cannot be counted upon. I have spent more time with Evernote tech support, testing and providing feedback than all other apps combined. I wish any popular Evernote YouTuber would get the company's attention and press to get this fixed. Any ideas in how to make this happen??

 

**Note: I did find Battery Optimization for Evernote set to 'Intelligent Control' which I had turned off previously.  (?)  Testing again tonight.

** Update:  Battery Optimization setting appeared to permit Android notification 15 minutes after being set on desktop.  App opened on Android and then closed.

*** Update 2: Set reminder on desktop with Android app not open.  The reminder worked.  Makes me think I need to keep an eye on Battery Optimization setting and observe its relation to any notification failures.

[PinkElephant 8,170]

Great job to look behind the interaction between Android and EN, preventing the reminders to come up.

No such control on iOS, reminders work if enabled.

[ehrt74 240]

Mobile devices tend to have some form of battery optimization. Because Android is a full multi-tasking operating system as well, it is very careful about which apps are allowed to hog the battery. The nightmare scenario is that an app could do things like issue web calls a thousand times a second in the background. 

There could be legitimate reasons for this, so the play store doesn't prohibit this sort of behavior by default.

Android also has an API which says "run this bit of code in the next time slot the OS gives me" this is usually once every minute or something like that. This is useful for background activities. The evernote app should be using this API. 

However evernote 10 is written using a cross-platform framework and i have no idea how things like task-scheduling are handled. It's quite possible that the framework has been optimized for iOS devices (despite their small market share) and not for Android. Certainly Apple has threatened software projects in the past with blocking them on the AppStore if they dare to also support Android.

[PinkElephant 8,170]

I don’t know of any dev who would have been blocked to issue an Android version.

The Epic lawyers have digged deep, and nothing like that has come up in the court case Epic vs. Apple.

About tiny market shares: From the last published figures the AppStore revenue is on par with the PlayStore. It pays for the devs as much to release an iOS version as something for Android.

About saving energy: In iOS you can control Notifications per App pretty detailed. If they are active, they go through. There is not an additional energy saving switch that cuts off activated notifications (what a weird idea …).

New with iOS 15s focus mode is an option to decide if a notification will show directly, or only in a notification block. There are 2 blocks per day, at 8h and at 18h. Very nice to stop the permanent „I am important“ terror. And saving energy as well.

[Trickster 12]

Simple test.  Placed a Evernote reminder to review an Evernote note at 11:00 AM.  Placed a a Google Keep Notes on a note as reminder to review the Evernote note at 11:00 AM.  I received a Google Keep reminder.  Evernote reminder did not work.  These were placed at the same time, hours prior to 11:00 AM.  Keep Notes Battery Optimization is set to Intelligent Control. Evernote is set to Don't Optimize.  (The answer to whether or not I have had messages related to Evernote consuming a lot of battery is Yes.)

This is just not acceptable.

I joining Evernote Beta testing because I want to help.  The most recent invitation I saw was for Recurring Tasks.

I need Evernote to concentrate more on simple things like getting note reminders to work prior to adding any new features.  

 

** Note: I sent this description and a link to this discussion to Support.  

[ehrt74 240]

19 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

I don’t know of any dev who would have been blocked to issue an Android version.

The Epic lawyers have digged deep, and nothing like that has come up in the court case Epic vs. Apple.

About tiny market shares: From the last published figures the AppStore revenue is on par with the PlayStore. It pays for the devs as much to release an iOS version as something for Android.

About saving energy: In iOS you can control Notifications per App pretty detailed. If they are active, they go through. There is not an additional energy saving switch that cuts off activated notifications (what a weird idea …).

New with iOS 15s focus mode is an option to decide if a notification will show directly, or only in a notification block. There are 2 blocks per day, at 8h and at 18h. Very nice to stop the permanent „I am important“ terror. And saving energy as well.

ah so with ios15 apple has once again copied an Android feature, good to know. 

There are enough reports about devs being threatened with a ban from the AppStore if they create an Android version. You just have to look for them. Epic vs. Apple was about if the AppStore is worth it. They found some truly shocking things about the AppStore. For example hundreds of thousands of downloads of compromised apps able to steal credit card details and Apple waited two weeks before removing the apps and never told the people who downloaded them. 

[PinkElephant 8,170]

LOL 

Is this a game in „who invented it“ ?

OK Android, you lost! iOS went public first 🙀, whole Android is an iOS copy.

Where does this lead ? Nowhere.

Wish you a nice sunny Sunday.

[david770 1]

friends, is there any progress in this matter? My notifications are still not working. have to use other applications. what a pity!

[agsteele 2,952]

There are a number of threads on this issue. The most common fix is to disable battery optimisation for Evernote.

Have you tried that? If not then that's the first port of call. It's a well known Android issue. If that doesn't work then open a support ticket.

[pvdiamon 4]

Does that mean restrict battery usage? Appears that it's either battery optimized or restricted.

[agsteele 2,952]

Unless you have a very unusual Android version, there is an option to turn off battery optimisation. You'll have to tell us more before we can offer any help. Device, OS.

[david770 1]

Turning off battery control seems to help! Thanks!

[pvdiamon 4]

I have a Samsung s21. Latest Android software. I can turn off power saving altogether in battery but I don't see anything other than restrict in battery optimization. But I have power saving off and I still don't get notifications other than the emails on the day of the notifications.

[agsteele 2,952]

I have Android 12. 

Settings / Battery / Advanced Settings / Optimise battery use

Select Evernote and the options are 

Auto-optimise / Don't optimise / Always ask.

You want Don't optimise.

[pvdiamon 4]

Hmmm. I have Android 12 with Samsung but it's battery and device care and I don't see those settings that you have under battery. 

[agsteele 2,952]

One of the challenges of the highly customised Android environment is that every version can be different. Perhaps search in Samsung forums to find out how this might be achieved. Sometimes these things can get moved to the hidden-by-default Developer Options.

I suspect your favourite search engine is your next port of call.

[pvdiamon 4]

Ok, tried Settings, Apps, Evernote, Battery, and then there were 3 options: Unrestricted, Optimized or Restricted. 

I was on Optimized, I moved to Unrestricted, and set a reminder for today. It still didn't come.  Unfortunately it takes a day to check each change, as if I set a reminder for 2 hours from now, it works just fine, even with Optimized.  It seems like it's the next day and beyond that don't remind other than the daily Email reminder. I had a support ticket open several months ago, and they had no idea, and "escalated" it after they had me play with it a while with different suggestions, but I never heard beyond after it was "escalated" and obviously, escalation didn't help!  Oddly they gave me the impression they were unaware of this problem prior to my ticket.

[Trickster 12]

This post is not technically helpful but IMO is worth noting. As a user of my fair share of Android apps that have reminders, there is only one that I consistently both notice and worry the reminder I set will not work and that app is Evernote. The Evernote support team should have a troubleshooting web page for this basic feature. 

[agsteele 2,952]

12 hours ago, pvdiamon said:

Ok, tried Settings, Apps, Evernote, Battery, and then there were 3 options: Unrestricted, Optimized or Restricted. 

I was on Optimized, I moved to Unrestricted, and set a reminder for today. It still didn't come

You should definitely be on Unrestricted. Since Android 9 or 10 reminders on some devices have been hampered by battery optimisation for a whole range of apps. Indeed, since Android 12, reminders are more troublesome generally on my device.

I agree, however, that Evernote v10 is particularly flakey. I've managed to get an adequate result with tweaking of the battery stuff and ensuring I open Evernote each morning.