How to detect when an Android app goes to the background and come back to the foreground

Question

I am trying to write an app that does something specific when it is brought back to the foreground after some amount of time. Is there a way to detect when an app is sent to

Answer 1

I found a good method to detect application whether enter foreground or background. Here is my code. Hope this help you.

/**
 * Custom Application which can detect application state of whether it enter
 * background or enter foreground.
 *
 * @reference http://www.vardhan-justlikethat.blogspot.sg/2014/02/android-solution-to-detect-when-android.html
 */
 public abstract class StatusApplication extends Application implements ActivityLifecycleCallbacks {

public static final int STATE_UNKNOWN = 0x00;
public static final int STATE_CREATED = 0x01;
public static final int STATE_STARTED = 0x02;
public static final int STATE_RESUMED = 0x03;
public static final int STATE_PAUSED = 0x04;
public static final int STATE_STOPPED = 0x05;
public static final int STATE_DESTROYED = 0x06;

private static final int FLAG_STATE_FOREGROUND = -1;
private static final int FLAG_STATE_BACKGROUND = -2;

private int mCurrentState = STATE_UNKNOWN;
private int mStateFlag = FLAG_STATE_BACKGROUND;

@Override
public void onCreate() {
    super.onCreate();
    mCurrentState = STATE_UNKNOWN;
    registerActivityLifecycleCallbacks(this);
}

@Override
public void onActivityCreated(Activity activity, Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    // mCurrentState = STATE_CREATED;
}

@Override
public void onActivityStarted(Activity activity) {
    if (mCurrentState == STATE_UNKNOWN || mCurrentState == STATE_STOPPED) {
        if (mStateFlag == FLAG_STATE_BACKGROUND) {
            applicationWillEnterForeground();
            mStateFlag = FLAG_STATE_FOREGROUND;
        }
    }
    mCurrentState = STATE_STARTED;

}

@Override
public void onActivityResumed(Activity activity) {
    mCurrentState = STATE_RESUMED;

}

@Override
public void onActivityPaused(Activity activity) {
    mCurrentState = STATE_PAUSED;

}

@Override
public void onActivityStopped(Activity activity) {
    mCurrentState = STATE_STOPPED;

}

@Override
public void onActivitySaveInstanceState(Activity activity, Bundle outState) {

}

@Override
public void onActivityDestroyed(Activity activity) {
    mCurrentState = STATE_DESTROYED;
}

@Override
public void onTrimMemory(int level) {
    super.onTrimMemory(level);
    if (mCurrentState == STATE_STOPPED && level >= TRIM_MEMORY_UI_HIDDEN) {
        if (mStateFlag == FLAG_STATE_FOREGROUND) {
            applicationDidEnterBackground();
            mStateFlag = FLAG_STATE_BACKGROUND;
        }
    }else if (mCurrentState == STATE_DESTROYED && level >= TRIM_MEMORY_UI_HIDDEN) {
        if (mStateFlag == FLAG_STATE_FOREGROUND) {
            applicationDidDestroyed();
            mStateFlag = FLAG_STATE_BACKGROUND;
        }
    }
}

/**
 * The method be called when the application been destroyed. But when the
 * device screen off,this method will not invoked.
 */
protected abstract void applicationDidDestroyed();

/**
 * The method be called when the application enter background. But when the
 * device screen off,this method will not invoked.
 */
protected abstract void applicationDidEnterBackground();

/**
 * The method be called when the application enter foreground.
 */
protected abstract void applicationWillEnterForeground();

}