[Help Wanted]: Android background geofence handler delays async tasks until app returns to foreground

[Licens-ssg]

Required Reading

• Confirmed

Plugin Version

4.19.4

Mobile operating-system(s)

• iOS
• Android

Device Manufacturer(s) and Model(s)

Google pixel 9

Device operating-systems(s)

Android 16

React Native / Expo version

0.83.9

What do you require assistance about?

Background

Our app uses the .onGeofence event handler (via .startGeofences()) to detect when devices leave geofences.

When a geofence exit event occurs, the following is performed:

• Await an HTTP request for conditional logic
• If the conditions are met, trigger a local notification

This works flawlessly on iOS devices. However, on Android devices it does not work while the app is in the background. (For the terminated state, I have implemented a headless task, and that works flawlessly as well.)

Instead, this is what happens on Android:

• The geofence exit event is triggered (verified via logs)
• Then nothing happens
• The next time the app returns to the foreground, the HTTP request executes and the notification is triggered

If I remove the HTTP request, the notifications are sent immediately as expected. It seems that long-running async tasks are being queued rather than executed while the app is in the background. Short synchronous work behaves as expected.

I have also tried using .startBackgroundTask, but that task is likewise only executed once the app returns to the foreground.

Questions

• Is this a known behavior?
• Any ideas why this happens and how (or if) it can be fixed?

[Optional] Plugin Code and/or Config

[Optional] Relevant log output

[christocracy]

See API docs .startBackgroundTask

[Licens-ssg]

I have read the docs regarding .startBackgroundTask and implemented it accordingly. However, using .startBackgroundTask makes no difference as previously stated. Any particular part in the docs you think might help me?

My problem is basically the exactly same described in issue #2405 where no solution was documented.

Do you have any answers to my questions, i.e:

Questions

• Is this a known behavior?
• Any ideas why this happens and how (or if) it can be fixed?

[christocracy]

You've not posted the Config you're using or the code you're using to execute http requests.

Why are you implementing your own http requests when the SDK has a built in native http service?

See api docs HttpConfig.

The SDK's responsibility ends when your event-handler is called. Any undesirable phenomenon within your event-handler is your responsibility.