Android geofencing API BroadcastReceiver not triggered

Question

I am trying to use the geofencing api from the google play services but I can't manage to get my broadcast receiver trigger its onReceive() method.

It looks like I respect everything that is needed to make it work but I get no transition event.

• I include the google play services in my dependencies
• I request the ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION permission
• I register my BroadcastReceiver with the exported value set to "true" (some say that it is needed) in my Manifest
• I add a big geofence at the exact location where I am (I validated it with Google Maps on my cellphone) with both transition types and no expiration
• I tried with a precise mock location in the middle of the geofence, and another out of the geofence 10 seconds later (and I made sure the ACCESS_MOCK_LOCATION persmission was present)
• I verified that my cellphone's location was on and its mode was set to high accuracy
• I verified the internet connection
• I tried with and without disconnecting the LocationClient after adding the geofence

But still, I get a successful onAddGeofencesResult() callback, but no onReceive() callback. I tried it with a Nexus 5 and a Nexus 7 and both fails to trigger the geofence transitions.

I also tried the sample on https://developer.android.com/training/location/geofencing.html, but its behavior was identical.

Here is my BroadcastReceiver class :

public class GeofencesReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver implements ConnectionCallbacks, OnConnectionFailedListener, OnAddGeofencesResultListener {
    private final static String TAG = "GeofencesReceiver";

    private Context context = null;
    private LocationClient locationClient = null;

    /**
     * An empty constructor is needed by the manifest.
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("unused")
    public GeofencesReceiver(){}

    public GeofencesReceiver(Context context){
        this.context = context;
        locationClient = new LocationClient(context, this, this);
        locationClient.connect();
    }

    @Override
    public void onConnected(Bundle bundle) {
        new Thread(new Runnable() {
            @Override
            public void run() {
                List<Geofence> geofences = getGeofences();
                if(geofences.size() > 0){
                    Intent geofenceBroadcastReceiverIntent = new Intent(context, GeofencesReceiver.class);
                    PendingIntent pi = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(context, 0, geofenceBroadcastReceiverIntent, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
                    locationClient.addGeofences(geofences, pi, GeofencesReceiver.this);
                }else
                    Log.w(TAG, "No GPS zone found");
            }
        }).start();
    }

    private List<Geofence> getGeofences(){
        Vector<Geofence> geofences = new Vector<Geofence>();
        Geofence geofence = new Geofence.Builder()
                    .setRequestId("1")
                    .setTransitionTypes(Geofence.GEOFENCE_TRANSITION_ENTER | Geofence.GEOFENCE_TRANSITION_EXIT)
                    .setCircularRegion(45.2676018, -72.1572185, 100)
                    .setExpirationDuration(Geofence.NEVER_EXPIRE)
                    .build();
        geofences.add(geofence);
        return geofences;
    }

    @Override
    public void onDisconnected() {
        Log.d(TAG, "onDisconnected");
    }

    @Override
    public void onAddGeofencesResult(int i, String[] strings) {
        if(i != LocationStatusCodes.SUCCESS)
            Log.e(TAG, "Failed to add geofences");
        else
            Log.d(TAG, "Geofences successfully added");
        locationClient.disconnect();
    }

    @Override
    public void onConnectionFailed(ConnectionResult connectionResult) {
        Log.e(TAG, "onConnectionFailed");
    }

    @Override
    public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
        Log.d(TAG, "onReceive");
        if(LocationClient.hasError(intent)){
            int errorCode = LocationClient.getErrorCode(intent);
            Log.e(TAG, "Location Services error: " + Integer.toString(errorCode));
            return;
        }
        int transitionType = LocationClient.getGeofenceTransition(intent);
        if(transitionType == Geofence.GEOFENCE_TRANSITION_ENTER || transitionType == Geofence.GEOFENCE_TRANSITION_EXIT) {
            List<Geofence> triggerList = LocationClient.getTriggeringGeofences(intent);
            for(Geofence geofence : triggerList){
                Log.d(TAG, (transitionType == Geofence.GEOFENCE_TRANSITION_ENTER ? "Entering" : "Exiting") + " GPS zone " + geofence.getRequestId());
            }
        }else{
            Log.e(TAG, "Geofence transition error: " + transitionType);
        }
    }
}

In my Manifest, I have the following lines (not in that structure)

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" />
<receiver android:name="novom.anyware.anywaresdk.GeofencesReceiver" android:exported="true" />
<meta-data android:name="com.google.android.gms.version" android:value="4323000" />

And in my build.gradle file, I include the services like this

dependencies {
    compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services:4.3.23'
}

I spent the whole day trying to figure out why it doesn't work... From Logcat I've found those lines, but I am not sure if they are related to the problem, since I find no post on Google about those errors with Geofencing.

04-07 09:01:14.631    1160-1319/? I/GCoreUlr﹕ Successfully inserted location
04-07 09:01:14.631    1160-1319/? I/GCoreUlr﹕ Not calling LocationReportingService, hasMoved: true, elapsed millis: 580166, request: Phone

04-07 09:02:16.481    1160-1319/? I/GCoreUlr﹕ Successfully inserted location
04-07 09:02:16.501    1160-1319/? I/GCoreUlr﹕ Starting service, intent=Intent { cmp=com.google.android.gms/com.google.android.location.reporting.LocationReportingService }, extras=null
04-07 09:02:16.571    1210-1252/? W/GLSUser﹕ GoogleAccountDataService.getToken()
04-07 09:02:16.601    1160-3780/? I/qtaguid﹕ Failed write_ctrl(u 69) res=-1 errno=22
04-07 09:02:16.601    1160-3780/? I/qtaguid﹕ Untagging socket 69 failed errno=-22
04-07 09:02:16.601    1160-3780/? W/NetworkManagementSocketTagger﹕ untagSocket(69) failed with errno -22
04-07 09:02:16.601    1160-3780/? I/imp﹕ I/O exception (org.apache.http.NoHttpResponseException) caught when processing request: The target server failed to respond
04-07 09:02:16.601    1160-3780/? I/imp﹕ Retrying request
04-07 09:02:17.501    1160-6156/? I/GCoreUlr﹕ Starting service, intent=Intent { act=com.google.android.location.reporting.ACTION_UPDATE_ACTIVE_STATE cmp=com.google.android.gms/com.google.android.location.reporting.service.DispatchingService }, extras=null
04-07 09:02:17.511    1160-6156/? I/GCoreUlr﹕ Batch Location Update succeeded for account account#7#
04-07 09:02:17.571    1160-1319/? I/GCoreUlr﹕ Ensuring that reporting is active for [account#7#]

If nobody can help me, I fear I'm going to implement my own geofencing algorithm with the LocationManager registered with the GPS_PROVIDER, and this is going to drain my users' battery...

Answer 1

First of all, did you make sure your coordinates are the right ones? I had a very similar problem while playing with geofencing and it took me a while to realize my coordinates were simply inverted.

Needless to say, I felt stupid.