How do I update the notification text for a foreground service in Android?

Question

I have a foreground service setup in Android. I would like to update the notification text. I am creating the service as shown below.

How can I update the notifica

Answer 1

It seems none of the existing answers show how to handle the full case - to startForeground if it's the first call but update the notification for subsequent calls.

You can use the following pattern to detect the right case:

private void notify(@NonNull String action) {
    boolean isForegroundNotificationVisible = false;
    NotificationManager notificationManager = (NotificationManager) getSystemService(NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);
    StatusBarNotification[] notifications = notificationManager.getActiveNotifications();
    for (StatusBarNotification notification : notifications) {
        if (notification.getId() == FOREGROUND_NOTE_ID) {
            isForegroundNotificationVisible = true;
            break;
        }
    }
    Log.v(getClass().getSimpleName(), "Is foreground visible: " + isForegroundNotificationVisible);
    if (isForegroundNotificationVisible){
        notificationManager.notify(FOREGROUND_NOTE_ID, buildForegroundNotification(action));
    } else {
        startForeground(FOREGROUND_NOTE_ID, buildForegroundNotification(action));
    }
}

Additionally you need to build the notification and channel as in other answers:

private Notification buildForegroundNotification(@NonNull String action) {
    if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.O) {
        createNotificationChannel();
    }
    //Do any customization you want here
    String title;
    if (ACTION_STOP.equals(action)) {
        title = getString(R.string.fg_notitifcation_title_stopping);
    } else {
        title = getString(R.string.fg_notitifcation_title_starting);
    }
    //then build the notification
    return new NotificationCompat.Builder(this, CHANNEL_ID)
            .setSmallIcon(R.mipmap.ic_launcher)
            .setContentTitle(title)
            .setOngoing(true)
            .build();
}

@RequiresApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.O)
private void createNotificationChannel(){
    NotificationChannel chan = new NotificationChannel(CHANNEL_ID, getString(R.string.fg_notification_channel), NotificationManager.IMPORTANCE_DEFAULT);
    chan.setLightColor(Color.RED);
    chan.setLockscreenVisibility(Notification.VISIBILITY_PRIVATE);
    NotificationManager manager = (NotificationManager) getSystemService(Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);
    assert manager != null;
    manager.createNotificationChannel(chan);
}