Solved Text Notifications on Android Phones

[macster2075]

In my household we have 2 iPhones and 3 Android phones. Recently I have noticed something very peculiar.
I noticed the Android phones won't receive text notifications if the phone screen is off.
So, I enabled all the settings that are supposed to fix that, but it didn't fix it. - I even did a factory reset...still nothing.

Then I noticed that if I disconnect from wifi, then the messages come in right away even with the screen off. As soon as I connect to wifi, no more notifications.
I was puzzled because on my 2 iPhones that doesn't happen.

This issue only happens to my Android phones. So I did a test... I connected the Android phones to my ISP wifi and the notifications started working fine.
So this tells me, my Asus router has something or some setting that is preventing Notifications on those Android phones while the screen is off.

Any idea on what it could be?
The weird thing is, it only happens if..

1. - the phones are connected via Wifi to this Asus router
2. - the screen is off.
(if the screen is ON then the notifications come in fine).

But, if the phones are connected to data only (carrier), then the notifications work whether the screen is On or Off...the issue appears only while on wifi, but on this Asus Router.
I've never seen anything like it.

Any settings on the router that can cause this?

 

[dave14305]

I’m sure DNS ad-blocking could prevent the Android notification system from working properly. But I don’t use Android, so no specific help. Check your PiHole logs for anything possibly related from the phone IP.

 

[macster2075]

I’m sure DNS ad-blocking could prevent the Android notification system from working properly. But I don’t use Android, so no specific help. Check your PiHole logs for anything possibly related from the phone IP.

I thought about that.. so I disabled all the dns blocking on it hoping that was the culprit... nothing.

 

[eibgrad]

I seem to recall another thread (not sure if it was this forum) of other Android users complaining about a recent change to Android that's the cause. IIRC, it has to do w/ saving battery life. IOW, it has nothing to do w/ the router. If I can find it, I'll post it.

UPDATE:

Late Notifications issue with idle Phones (multiple devices).

Asus RT-AX86U using the latest Merlin firmware (happens with official firmware and multiple other routers I have tested including Orbi router and our ISP router which was the least often). Whatsapp Notifications and Email Notifications arrive late sometimes when phones are not in use. Phone 1...

www.snbforums.com

 

[macster2075]

I seem to recall another thread (not sure if it was this forum) of other Android users complaining about a recent change to Android that's the cause. IIRC, it has to do w/ saving battery life. IOW, it has nothing to do w/ the router. If I can find it, I'll post it.

UPDATE:

Late Notifications issue with idle Phones (multiple devices).

Asus RT-AX86U using the latest Merlin firmware (happens with official firmware and multiple other routers I have tested including Orbi router and our ISP router which was the least often). Whatsapp Notifications and Email Notifications arrive late sometimes when phones are not in use. Phone 1...

www.snbforums.com

But the problem is, if I connect the Androids to the ISP router, then the issue disappears. It's only when connected to this Asus router.

 

[5stringdeath]

My Pixel 3 notification work fine, even when screen is off, I do use Diversion on my router. You have a lot of variables to run through honestly.

In your previous post you reference running two routers so ... that could def be an issue.

 

[geobernd]

It may be an issue with push notifications not getting through low power standby WiFi. I suggest to turn off all Battery Saver Functions on the phones for a test.

I have a RT-AC68U and a OnePlus 7 Pro GM1917 with Android 11 and all my notifications work fine...

 

[macster2075]

It may be an issue with push notifications not getting through low power standby WiFi. I suggest to turn off all Battery Saver Functions on the phones for a test.

I have a RT-AC68U and a OnePlus 7 Pro GM1917 with Android 11 and all my notifications work fine...

My Pixel 3 notification work fine, even when screen is off, I do use Diversion on my router. You have a lot of variables to run through honestly.

In your previous post you reference running two routers so ... that could def be an issue.

I ended up resetting the router to factory settings and put it back how I had it except the DDNS option which I had it setup with dns-o-matic to update the IP address since I use OpenDns.
Now all notifications work on the Androids. It must have been something weird going on in some setting that affected the Android phones, but not the iPhones.

The reason I ended up not adding DDNS option is because I remembered a long time ago, I would sometimes get an error with Certificates, so just to try out I didn't include that setting.
Not saying that is the reason, but since it was giving me an issue before I decided to leave it out.

 

[macster2075]

Just for giggles.. I setup ddns again and it seems to be working as it's not interfering with the Androids. I would like to keep it as I want to auto update my IP address. However, I have a quick question, but not sure if I should open a new post or not.

here is how it looks.. is it normal for the Status to always show "Authorizing" or am I missing a step?

 

[alecmascot]

is it normal for the Status to always show "Authorizing" or am I missing a step?

It should go "active"

 

[macster2075]

It should go "active"

hmm.. maybe that's why I would sometimes get an error. I don't know how to make it go active.

 

[shabbs]

Just to clarify, when you say "texting" did you mean SMS only? Or are you also including things like Whatsapp/Signal/etc... notifications?

 

[macster2075]

Just to clarify, when you say "texting" did you mean SMS only? Or are you also including things like Whatsapp/Signal/etc... notifications?

Sorry for the confusion.. when I said texting.. I meant Signal, Whatsapp... regular phone texting worked just fine. But If I tried any other type of texting apps...if the phone screen was off, the notification would not come in at all (while connected to wifi). But now that I have reset the router it all works...so must have been some setting that was blocking it...but it's weird that it only affected Android devices.

 

[macster2075]

Any suggestion of what I need to do to make the Status go Active on the DDNS Server Certificate?
The Internet Status says "Connected" though.

 

[shabbs]

Could it be an issue on the DNSOmatic side? I don't use them so not familiar with their setup.

Your WAN IP is a non-routable one (192.168.x.x) - are you running DDNS from a router behind a router? I have a suspicion the DDNS client is using your currently listed WAN IP and not doing an external check.

 

[macster2075]

I have an ISP modem/Router (not in bridge mode). I have the Asus router connected to it as the main router (the ISP wifi is disabled). I cannot bridge the ISP modem because then only one LAN port would be available and in my setup, I need to be able to use the other LAN ports for my work computer..(it's a long story).

I did however find another post where it seems ddns certifcates in Merlin may not be working properly? - so I guess I should just not use DDNS and stick with the openDns updater software?

 

[macster2075]

What about if I select "None" here...

 

[shabbs]

From what I can tell, DDNS with a non-routable WAN IP (due to the double nat) will not work on Asus (Merlin or no Merlin - this looks to be Asus code).

See Eric's comment here: http://www.snbforums.com/threads/do...or-ddns-why-not-by-a-router.30005/post-234225

 

[macster2075]

From what I can tell, DDNS with a non-routable WAN IP (due to the double nat) will not work on Asus (Merlin or no Merlin - this looks to be Asus code).

See Eric's comment here: http://www.snbforums.com/threads/do...or-ddns-why-not-by-a-router.30005/post-234225

yeah, I believe that's the post I was referring to. So, do I need a certificate for it to work properly or can I just set it to "None"?
If set to None, does it still update OpenDns with the IP address or are you saying because I am double nat'd , it won't work properly?

 

[shabbs]

I don't think the DDNS client will work at all based on what Eric said in that thread, with or without a cert. Has it worked before like this?