Sometimes things don’t go to plan and Parent Ping doesn’t load or you don’t get a notification. We are constantly tinkering to stop this from happening, but some aspects of notifications are outside of our control.
Parent Ping Notifications Troubles & Solutions
The latest Android and iOS operating systems have added many more ways for you to control your notifications. On top of that, Android phone manufacturers have each added their own modifications so you can control notifications in great detail.
Whilst this is good for you, the downside is that we now can’t guarantee a Parent Ping notification will happen when the app asks it to because it might be interacting with one of these umpteem customisable options.
If you’re missing out on notifications please check the list below for your phone type and the settings you can (and should) change.
(This list was originally compiled by the great people at Signal, who have had the same issues with their messaging app – we’ve adapted it for Parent Ping).
iOS (Apple) Users
Most of our users use Apple Phones which have the iOS operating system.
In this case, if you are not getting notifications:
🔵 Are you in Do Not Disturb mode?
When the ‘Do Not Disturb’ is turned on, a moon icon will appear in the status bar. With Do Not Disturb feature, iPhone or iPad users will get alerts in a quiet way. It may be one of the reasons for iPhone text message sound not working. There are two ways to turn Do Not Disturb off:
🟡 Choose “Settings” > “Do Not Disturb” to turn it off.
🟡 Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and tap moon icon.
🔵 Are your notification permissions enabled?
🟡 Go to iPhone Settings > Notifications > Parent Ping > Allow Notifications.
🟡 Click to Enable Sounds, Badge App Icon, and Show on Lock Screen.
🔵 Have you checked Recent Notifications?
There’s a setting called “Recent Notifications” that can impact messages alerts/notifications come through just fine.
When “Recent Notifications” is turned on, your device will receive alerts and notifications regardless of the device being locked or unlocked. To turn on ‘Recent Notifications’:
🟡 Go to Settings – Touch ID & Passcode, enter your passcode and toggle on ‘Recent Notifications.
🔵 iOS 10: Enable Show in Notification Center and select the alert style of Banners.
🔵 iOS 11+: Enable Show in History and Show as Banners.
🔵 If you are on a corporate Wi-Fi that has firewall restrictions in place, contact the network administrator. Make sure that if you have a VPN (e.g. NordVPN or ExpressVPN) installed it is not restricting Parent Ping’s ability to connect to the internet.
🔵 Confirm that the date and time settings for your phone are set correctly for your time zone.
Android Phones
Android allows different manufacturers to customise their settings. Hence, the steps to resolve notification issues vary by phone model and which version of the Android system you are on.
Basic Troubleshooting
🔵 Confirm that:
🟡 Your phone is connected to the internet.
🟡 Your phone is not in airplane mode. (Android phone Settings > Network & Internet > toggle to turn Airplane mode on and off).
🟡 You have access to data switched on.
🔵 If you are on a corporate Wi-Fi that has firewall restrictions in place, contact the network administrator. Make sure that if you have a VPN (e.g. NordVPN or ExpressVPN) installed it’s not restricting Parent Ping’s ability to connect to the internet.
🔵 Update to the latest version of Parent Ping Android by going to the Google Play Store.
🔵 Check that you have enabled notifications on your phone.
🟡 Android Settings > Apps (then Manage Apps for some users) > Parent Ping > Check on Show notifications.
🟡 Parent Ping Settings > Notifications > Enable message notifications.
🔵 Confirm that the date and time settings for your phone are set correctly for your time zone.
🔵 Check that you have free space in internal memory, not the SD card. You can free up space by deleting apps that are not on the SD card.
Operating System Specific Settings
You can check which operating system you are on by going to System Settings > About Phone (Software Info) and look for Android version.
Android 4
🔵 (1) Disable WiFi optimization. Android phone Settings > Wi-Fi > Menu > Advanced > uncheck Wi-Fi optimization.
🔵 (2) Enable background data. Android phone Settings > Data usage > Menu/More > Auto-sync data > OK to enable auto-sync data.
Android 5
🔵 Confirm notifications are enabled for Parent Ping (Android phone Settings > Sound and Notification > App/Application Notifications > Parent Ping > confirm Block is disabled).
🔵 Confirm Parent Ping is enabled to work when ‘Do not disturb’ mode is on (Android phone Settings > Sound and Notification > App/Application Notifications > Parent Ping > Enable Set as priority).
🔵 Enable background data (Go to Android phone Settings > Data usage > Cellular data usage > Parent Ping > Background data > Enable Unrestricted data usage).
🔵 Finally, go to Android phone Settings > Data usage > Menu > Make sure Parent Ping is allowed to work if you’ve selected ‘Restrict app background data’.
Android 6
🔵 Make sure all of Parent Ping’s permissions are granted.
🔵 Go to Android Settings app > Apps & Notifications (depending on your device, this may look different) > Parent Ping > App Permissions (depending on your device, this may look different) > Turn permissions on.
🔵 Confirm Parent Ping is enabled to work when ‘Do not disturb’ mode is on (Android phone Settings app > Sound > Do not disturb > Disable).
🔵 Check that Parent Ping is excluded from battery optimisation (Advanced settings toolbar icon > Battery optimisation > select ‘All apps’ > Parent Ping > select ‘Don’t optimize.’ > Done > Restart your phone).
🔵 Go to Android phone Settings > Apps > Advanced settings toolbar icon > Special access > Battery optimization > select ‘All apps’ > Parent Ping > select ‘Don’t optimise.’
🔵 Go to Android phone Settings > Battery > MENU > Battery optimization > select ‘All apps’ > Parent Ping > select ‘Don’t optimise.’
🔵 Go to Android phone Settings > Apps > Advanced settings toolbar icon > Ignore optimisations > select ‘All apps’ > Parent Ping > select ‘Allow.’
🔵 Enable background data (Go to Android phone Settings > Data usage > Cellular data usage > Parent Ping > Background data > Enable Unrestricted data usage).
Android 7
🔵 Follow steps for Android 6 above.
🔵 Enable background data (Go to Android phone Settings > Data usage > Data saver > If data saver is disabled, stop here. If data saver is enabled go to Unrestricted data access > Enable Parent Ping).
Android 8 and above
🔵 Follow steps for Android 6 above.
🔵 Enable Parent Ping to run in the background by:
🟡 Go to Android phone Settings > Apps > App Info > tap our app > Battery > turn on the ‘Background activity’ option.
🟡 Go to Android phone Settings > Data usage > Data saver > If data saver is disabled, stop here. If data saver is enabled go to Unrestricted data access > Enable Parent Ping.
Phone-Specific Settings
Asus/ZenFone
🔵 Go to Android phone Settings > Power management > Auto-start manager > DOWNLOADED page > select ‘Allow’ for Parent Ping.
HTC
🔵 Go to: Boost+ app > Optimize background apps > Parent Ping > select ‘Off.’
Huawei
Check and change the following settings:
🔵 Android phone Settings > Apps > Apps > Parent Ping > Power Usage Details > App Launch > Set to Manage Manually and enable these options: Auto-Launch, Secondary Launch, and Run in Background.
🔵 Phone Manager app > Battery manager (or Energy Saver) > Protected apps > Enable Parent Ping.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Advanced Settings > Battery manager (or Energy Saver) > Protected apps > Enable Parent Ping.
🔵 Android phone Settings > ‘All’ tab > Protected apps > Enable Parent Ping.
🔵 Phone Manager App > Protected apps > Enable Parent Ping.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Apps > Advanced/Special Access > Ignore battery optimizations > All Apps (drop down) > Enable Parent Ping.
🔵 Android phone settings > Battery > Launch > Parent Ping.
Android phone settings > Apps > Parent Ping > Data usage > Background Data > Enable.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Notification panel & status bar > Notification center, find Parent Ping and activate Allow Notifications and Priority Display.
Lenovo
Check and change the following:
🔵 Android phone Settings > Power manager > Background app management > add Parent Ping to the unrestricted list or allow Parent Ping to auto-start.
Nokia
Check and change the following:
🔵 Android phone settings > Battery > Background activity manager > ensure that the toggle is disabled for Parent Ping.
OnePlus
Check and change the following:
🔵 Android phone Settings > Apps > Gear icon > Apps Auto-launch > Enable Parent Ping start-up in the background.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Battery > Menu > Aggressive Doze & App Hibernation > Disable this mode or prevent Parent Ping from being limited in this mode.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Apps > Menu > Auto Run > Disable this mode or prevent Parent Ping from being limited in this mode.
Oppo
Check and change the following:
🔵 Apps > Security center > Privacy permissions > Auto-run management (or Startup manager) > Enable Parent Ping.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Application management > Running tab > Enable Parent Ping.
Samsung
Check and change the following:
🔵 Android phone Settings > Apps > Parent Ping > Mobile data > Allow background data usage
🔵 Android phone Settings > Security > Auto-start management > Enable Parent Ping.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Wi-Fi > Advanced > Always keep Wi-Fi on during sleep.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Device Maintenance > Battery > MENU > App Power Monitor > Disable or selectively choose apps to sleep from Settings > Device Maintenance > Battery. Make sure to exclude Parent Ping from the sleep list.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Device Maintenance > Battery > Power saving mode > Disable ot adjust to MID.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Battery > Detail > Parent Ping > Turn off.
🔵 Apps drawer > Smart manager > Battery > Detail > Parent Ping > Turn off.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Battery > Battery usage > MENU > Optimize battery usage > select ‘All apps’ > Disable Parent Ping.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Battery > Unmonitored apps > Add apps > Parent Ping > Done > Restart your phone.
🔵 Samsung 8: Android phone Settings > Apps > Menu > Special Access > Optimize battery usage > select the drop down which likely states ‘apps not optimized’ and switch to ‘all apps’ > find Parent Ping and tap on the switch to turn it off.
Sony
Check and change the following:
🔵 Android phone Settings > Storage & memory > turn off the ‘Smart cleaner’ option or continue to tap the three dots at the top right > Advanced > add Parent Ping to the whitelist.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Power management > Tap STAMINA mode > Apps active in standby > add Parent Ping to the whitelist.
Vivo
Check and change the following:
🔵 Apps drawer > iManager > App manager > Autostart manager > allow Parent Ping to auto-start in the background.
Xiaomi / MIUI
Check and change the following:
🔵 Apps drawer > Security app > Permissions > tap Autostart > Enable Parent Ping.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Services > Security > Permissions > Autostart > Enable Parent Ping.
🔵 Android phone Settings > Additional Settings > Battery and Performance > Manage apps’ battery usage > turn ‘Power saving modes’ off > open the Security app > navigate to Permissions > add Parent Ping to Autostart > invoke Task Manager > find Parent Ping > drag it downwards until the padlock icon appears.
🔵 Android phone Security app > Settings > Data usage > Allow background data.
Unlisted phone/OS
If your phone or OS is not listed, you can search for specific settings on your phone in the following categories
🔵 Notifications
🔵 Priority mode
🔵 Battery power and optimization
🔵 Background permissions
🔵 Autostart.