bootcompleted - Android BOOT_COMPLETED not received when application is closed

Question

I am aware that this question has been asked a lot on the site, however, I cant seem to find a solution. My BOOT_COMPLETED receiver is not called when the application is not running.

Manifest:

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="com.example.startuptest"
    android:versionCode="1"
    android:versionName="1.0"
    android:installLocation="internalOnly">
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED" />
    <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="8" android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

    <application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
        <activity
            android:name="com.example.startuptest.MainActivity"
            android:label="@string/app_name" >
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>

        <receiver android:name="com.example.startuptest.StartUpBootReceiver" >
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED" />
            </intent-filter>
        </receiver>
    </application>
</manifest>

StartUpBootReceiver:

public class StartUpBootReceiver  extends BroadcastReceiver {

    @Override
    public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {

        Log.d("startuptest", "StartUpBootReceiver " + intent.getAction());

        if ("android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED".equals(intent.getAction())) {
            Log.d("startuptest", "StartUpBootReceiver BOOT_COMPLETED");
        }
    }
}

If the application is running and I simulate a call with

adb shell
am broadcast -a android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED

The event is received correctly, however, if the application is closed the event is not receieved, nor is it received at start up.

I have installed the application then launched it a couple of times to make sure it is registered. I'm pretty lost on this one so any advice would be highly appreciated.

Edit: I can see in the logs that all the other closed applications (Youtube, FileObserver, etc) receive the boot_completed event, just not mine.

Answer 1

Starting with Android 3.1 all applications, upon installation, are placed in a "stopped" state.(This is the same state that the application ends up in after the user force-stops the app from the Settings application.)

While in "stopped" state, the application will not run for any reason, except by a manual launch of an activity. (Meaning no BroadcastReceviers(ACTION_PACKAGE_INSTALLED, BOOT_COMPLETED etc.) will be invoked, regardless of the event for which they have registered, until the user runs the app manually.)

This is an anti-malware move by Google. Google has advocated that users should launch an activity from the launcher first, before that application can go do much. Preventing BOOT_COMPLETED from being delivered until the activity is launched is a logical consequence of the that argument.

More details about this:
http://developer.android.com/about/versions/android-3.1.html#launchcontrols
http://commonsware.com/blog/2011/07/05/boot-completed-regression.html
http://devmaze.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/activating-applications/