How to check if a service is running on Android?

Question

How do I check if a background service is running?

I want an Android activity that toggles the state of the service -- it lets me turn it on if it is off and off if it is on.

Answer 1

My solution uses sendOrderedBroadcast. It is similar to the ping-pong method using the deprecated LocalBroadcastManager.

By using sendOrderedBroadcast to ping the service, the following happens:

• If the service is alive:

  1. The system sends the ping action. Since there is one broadcast receiver registered for the ping action, i.e. the service's pingActionBroadcastReceiver, the ping action will be sent to it first.
  2. The service's pingActionBroadcastReceiver receives the ping action and sets the ping action's resultCode to 1.
  3. Since there are no more broadcast receivers that can process the ping action, the system sends the ping action back to the argument we provided to sendOrderedBroadcast's resultReceiver: BroadcastReceiver?, i.e. pingActionResultBroadcastReceiver.
  4. pingActionResultBroadcastReceiver receives the ping action with its resultCode is set to 1.

• If the service is NOT alive:

  1. The system sends the ping action. Since there are no broadcast receivers registered for the ping action, the system sends the ping action back to the argument we provided to sendOrderedBroadcast's resultReceiver: BroadcastReceiver?, i.e. pingActionResultBroadcastReceiver.
  2. pingActionResultBroadcastReceiver receives the ping action with its resultCode equal to the argument we provided to sendOrderedbroadcast's initialCode: Int which is 0.

Steps:

1. Setup the pong part: create a BroadcastReceiver for receiving the ping action in the Service you would like to check.

class SomeService : Service() {
    // instantiate your ping action broadcast receiver
    private val pingActionBroadcastReceiver = PingActionBroadcastReceiver()

    override fun onCreate() {
        // ...

        /*
          register the ping action broadcast receiver

          you may set the `flags` to whatever you want depending
          your use case, e.g. if you want other apps to be able
          to check for your service's presence, set the `flags` to
          `ContextCompat.RECEIVER_EXPORTED` instead
        */
        ContextCompat.registerReceiver(
            /* context = */ this,
            /* receiver = */ pingActionBroadcastReceiver,
            /* filter = */ IntentFilter(PING_ACTION),
            /* flags = */ ContextCompat.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED,
        )

        // ...
    }

    override fun onDestroy() {
        // ...

        // don't forget to unregister your broadcast receiver
        unregisterReceiver(pingActionBroadcastReceiver)

        // ...
    }

    private class PingActionBroadcastReceiver : BroadcastReceiver() {
        override fun onReceive(context: Context?, intent: Intent?) {
            if (!isOrderedBroadcast) {
                /*
                  we only want broadcasts that were sent using
                  `sendOrderedBroadcast`
                */
                return
            }

            /*
              this is the pong part

              we call `setResult` with `code` equal to `1` because
              we want to tell the broadcaster that the service is alive.

              you may set `data: String?` and `extras: Bundle?` to
              anything you want depending on your use case.
            */
            setResult(
                /* code = */ 1,
                /* data = */ null,
                /* extras = */ null,
            )
            
            /*
              if you're only interested in the result code just set
              `resultCode` to `1` instead of calling `setResult`.
            */
            resultCode = 1
        }
    }

    companion object {
        const val PING_ACTION = "<your ping action>"
    }

    // ...
}

2. Setup the ping part. In this example code, we want to check if the service is running every time the user navigates to our activity.

class SomeActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    // instantiate your ping action result broadcast receiver
    private val pingActionResultBroadcastReceiver =
            PingActionResultBroadcastReceiver()

    override fun onStart() {
        // ...

        // this is the ping part
        sendOrderedBroadcast(
            /* intent = */ Intent(SomeService.PING_ACTION).apply {
                // the package name needs to be set since the service's 
                // receiver is registered with `RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED`
                //
                // not specifiying this will cause the whole thing
                // to not work on Android 14 or later
                `package` = packageName
            },
            /* receiverPermission = */ null,
            /* resultReceiver = */ pingActionResultBroadcastReceiver,
            /* scheduler = */ null,
            /* initialCode = */ 0,
            /* initialData = */ null,
            /* initialExtras = */ null,
        )

        // ...
    }

    private inner class PingActionResultBroadcastReceiver : BroadcastReceiver() {
        override fun onReceive(context: Context?, intent: Intent?) {
            if (resultCode == 1) {
                /*
                  do something if the service is alive
 
                  `resultCode` is equal to `1` since it's the
                  integer value we set from the service's ping
                  action broadcast receiver
                */
            } else if (resultCode == 0) {
                /*
                  do something if the service is NOT alive
                 
                  `resultCode` is equal to `0` since it's the
                  `initialCode` integer value we passed to
                  the `sendOrderedBroadcast` call above
                */
            }
        }
    }

    // ...
}

Answer 2

I use the following from inside an activity:

private boolean isMyServiceRunning(Class<?> serviceClass) {
    ActivityManager manager = (ActivityManager) getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE);
    for (RunningServiceInfo service : manager.getRunningServices(Integer.MAX_VALUE)) {
        if (serviceClass.getName().equals(service.service.getClassName())) {
            return true;
        }
    }
    return false;
}

And I call it using:

isMyServiceRunning(MyService.class)

This works reliably, because it is based on the information about running services provided by the Android operating system through ActivityManager#getRunningServices.

All the approaches using onDestroy or onSomething events or Binders or static variables will not work reliably because as a developer you never know, when Android decides to kill your process or which of the mentioned callbacks are called or not. Please note the "killable" column in the lifecycle events table in the Android documentation.

Answer 3

Since Android 8 (or Oreo), API getRunningServices is deprecated. Of course your can use @SuppressWarnings("deprecation") to get rid of the warning.

Here is how to do without getRunninngServices if your service does not need to have more than one instance: use the singleton pattern.

public class MyMusicService extends Service {

    private static MyMusicService instance = null;
    
    public static boolean isMyMusicServiceRunning() {
        return instance != null;
    }

    @Override
    public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
        // ... do your business
        MyMusicService.instance = this;
    }
}

Then you can call the MyMusicService.isMyMusicServiceRunning from your activities or elsewhere.

Answer 4

An extract from Android docs:

Like sendBroadcast(Intent), but if there are any receivers for the Intent this function will block and immediately dispatch them before returning.

Think of this hack as "pinging" the Service. Since we can broadcast synchronously, we can broadcast and get a result synchronously, on the UI thread.

Service

@Override
public void onCreate() {
   LocalBroadcastManager
     .getInstance(this)
     .registerReceiver(new ServiceEchoReceiver(), new IntentFilter("ping"));
     //do not forget to deregister the receiver when the service is destroyed to avoid
     //any potential memory leaks 
}

private class ServiceEchoReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
    public void onReceive (Context context, Intent intent) {
      LocalBroadcastManager
         .getInstance(this)
         .sendBroadcastSync(new Intent("pong"));
    }
}

Activity

    bool serviceRunning = false;

    protected void onCreate (Bundle savedInstanceState){
        LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(this).registerReceiver(pong, new IntentFilter("pong"));
        LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(this).sendBroadcastSync(new Intent("ping"));
        if(!serviceRunning){
           //run the service
        }
    }
    
    private BroadcastReceiver pong = new BroadcastReceiver(){
        public void onReceive (Context context, Intent intent) {
          serviceRunning = true;   
        }
    }

The winner in many applications is of course a static boolean field on the service that is set to true in Service.onCreate() and to false in Service.onDestroy() because it's a lot simpler.

Answer 5

Another approach using kotlin. Inspired in other users answers

fun isMyServiceRunning(serviceClass: Class<*>): Boolean {
    val manager = getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE) as ActivityManager
    return manager.getRunningServices(Integer.MAX_VALUE)
            .any { it.service.className == serviceClass.name }
}

As kotlin extension

fun Context.isMyServiceRunning(serviceClass: Class<out Service>) = try {
    (getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE) as ActivityManager)
        .getRunningServices(Int.MAX_VALUE)
        .any { it.service.className == serviceClass.name }
} catch (e: Exception) {
    false
}

Usage

context.isMyServiceRunning(MyService::class.java)

Answer 6

Here's good solution I've come up with, but it works only for the Services running in separate processes. This can be achieved by adding an android:process attribute in the manifest, e.g.

<service
        android:name=".ExampleService"
        android:process="com.example.service"
        ...

Now your service will be running in a separate process with the given name. From your app you can call

val activityManager = context.getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE) as ActivityManager
activityManager.runningAppProcesses.any { it.processName == "com.example.service" }

Which will return true if the service is running and false otherwise.

IMPORTANT: note that it will show you when your service was started, but when you disable it (meaning, after system unbinds from it) the process can still be alive. So you can simply force it's removal:

override fun onUnbind(intent: Intent?): Boolean {
    stopSelf()
    return super.onUnbind(intent)
}

override fun onDestroy() {
    super.onDestroy()
    killProcess(Process.myPid())
}

Then it works perfectly.

Answer 7

If you have a multi-module application and you want to know that service is running or not from a module that is not depends on the module that contains the service, you can use this function:

fun isServiceRunning(context: Context, serviceClassName: String): Boolean {

    val manager = ContextCompat.getSystemService(
        context,
        ActivityManager::class.java
    ) ?: return false

    return manager.getRunningServices(Integer.MAX_VALUE).any { serviceInfo ->
        serviceInfo.service.shortClassName.contains(vpnServiceClassName)
    }
}

Usage for MyService service:

isServiceRunning(context, "MyService")

This function may not work correctly if the service class name changes and the calling function does not change accordingly.

Answer 8

First of all you shouldn't reach the service by using the ActivityManager. (Discussed here)

Services can run on their own, be bound to an Activity or both. The way to check in an Activity if your Service is running or not is by making an interface (that extends Binder) where you declare methods that both, the Activity and the Service, understand. You can do this by making your own Interface where you declare for example "isServiceRunning()". You can then bind your Activity to your Service, run the method isServiceRunning(), the Service will check for itself if it is running or not and returns a boolean to your Activity.

You can also use this method to stop your Service or interact with it in another way.

Answer 9

The proper way to check if a service is running is to simply ask it. Implement a BroadcastReceiver in your service that responds to pings from your activities. Register the BroadcastReceiver when the service starts, and unregister it when the service is destroyed. From your activity (or any component), send a local broadcast intent to the service and if it responds, you know it's running. Note the subtle difference between ACTION_PING and ACTION_PONG in the code below.

public class PingableService extends Service {
    public static final String ACTION_PING = PingableService.class.getName() + ".PING";
    public static final String ACTION_PONG = PingableService.class.getName() + ".PONG";

    public int onStartCommand (Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
        LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(this).registerReceiver(mReceiver, new IntentFilter(ACTION_PING));
        return super.onStartCommand(intent, flags, startId);
    }

    @Override
    public void onDestroy () {
        LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(this).unregisterReceiver(mReceiver);
        super.onDestroy();
    }

    private BroadcastReceiver mReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
        @Override
        public void onReceive (Context context, Intent intent) {
            if (intent.getAction().equals(ACTION_PING)) {
                LocalBroadcastManager manager = LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(getApplicationContext());
                manager.sendBroadcast(new Intent(ACTION_PONG));
            }
        }
    };
}

public class MyActivity extends Activity {
    private boolean isSvcRunning = false;

    @Override
    protected void onStart() {
        LocalBroadcastManager manager = LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(getApplicationContext());
        manager.registerReceiver(mReceiver, new IntentFilter(PingableService.ACTION_PONG));
        // the service will respond to this broadcast only if it's running
        manager.sendBroadcast(new Intent(PingableService.ACTION_PING));
        super.onStart();
    }

    @Override
    protected void onStop() {
        LocalBroadcastManager.getInstance(this).unregisterReceiver(mReceiver);
        super.onStop();
    }

    protected BroadcastReceiver mReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
        @Override
        public void onReceive (Context context, Intent intent) {
            // here you receive the response from the service
            if (intent.getAction().equals(PingableService.ACTION_PONG)) {
                isSvcRunning = true;
            }
        }
    };
}

Answer 10

It is possible for you to use this options from the Android Developer options to see if your service is still running in the background.

1. Open Settings in your Android device.
2. Find Developer Options.
3. Find Running Services option.
4. Find your app icon.
5. You will then see all the service that belongs to your app running in the background.

Answer 11

For kotlin, you can use the below code.

fun isMyServiceRunning(calssObj: Class<SERVICE_CALL_NAME>): Boolean {
    val manager = requireActivity().getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE) as ActivityManager
    for (service in manager.getRunningServices(Integer.MAX_VALUE)) {
        if (calssObj.getName().equals(service.service.getClassName())) {
            return true
        }
    }
    return false
}

Answer 12

/**
 * Check if the service is Running 
 * @param serviceClass the class of the Service
 *
 * @return true if the service is running otherwise false
 */
public boolean checkServiceRunning(Class<?> serviceClass){
    ActivityManager manager = (ActivityManager) getSystemService(ACTIVITY_SERVICE);
    for (RunningServiceInfo service : manager.getRunningServices(Integer.MAX_VALUE))
    {
        if (serviceClass.getName().equals(service.service.getClassName()))
        {
            return true;
        }
    }
    return false;
}

Answer 13

In kotlin you can add boolean variable in companion object and check its value from any class you want:

companion object{
     var isRuning = false

}

Change it value when service is created and destroyed

 override fun onCreate() {
        super.onCreate()
        isRuning = true
    }

override fun onDestroy() {
    super.onDestroy()
    isRuning = false
    }

Answer 14

Please use this code.

if (isMyServiceRunning(MainActivity.this, xyzService.class)) { // Service class name
    // Service running
} else {
    // Service Stop
}


public static boolean isMyServiceRunning(Activity activity, Class<?> serviceClass) {
        ActivityManager manager = (ActivityManager) activity.getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE);
        for (ActivityManager.RunningServiceInfo service : manager.getRunningServices(Integer.MAX_VALUE)) {
            if (serviceClass.getName().equals(service.service.getClassName())) {
                return true;
            }
        }
        return false;
    }

Answer 15

My kotlin conversion of the ActivityManager::getRunningServices based answers. Put this function in an activity-

private fun isMyServiceRunning(serviceClass: Class<out Service>) =
    (getSystemService(ACTIVITY_SERVICE) as ActivityManager)
        .getRunningServices(Int.MAX_VALUE)
        ?.map { it.service.className }
        ?.contains(serviceClass.name) ?: false

Answer 16

In your Service Sub-Class Use a Static Boolean to get the state of the Service as demonstrated below.

MyService.kt

class MyService : Service() {
    override fun onCreate() {
        super.onCreate()
        isServiceStarted = true
    }
    override fun onDestroy() {
        super.onDestroy()
        isServiceStarted = false
    }
    companion object {
        var isServiceStarted = false
    }
}

MainActivity.kt

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity(){
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)

        val serviceStarted = FileObserverService.isServiceStarted
        if (!serviceStarted) {
            val startFileObserverService = Intent(this, FileObserverService::class.java)
            ContextCompat.startForegroundService(this, startFileObserverService)
        }
    }
}

Answer 17

Xamarin C# version:

private bool isMyServiceRunning(System.Type cls)
{
    ActivityManager manager = (ActivityManager)GetSystemService(Context.ActivityService);

    foreach (var service in manager.GetRunningServices(int.MaxValue)) {
        if (service.Service.ClassName.Equals(Java.Lang.Class.FromType(cls).CanonicalName)) {
            return true;
        }
    }
    return false;
}

Answer 18

simple use bind with don't create auto - see ps. and update...

public abstract class Context {

 ... 

  /*
  * @return {true} If you have successfully bound to the service, 
  *  {false} is returned if the connection is not made 
  *  so you will not receive the service object.
  */
  public abstract boolean bindService(@RequiresPermission Intent service,
        @NonNull ServiceConnection conn, @BindServiceFlags int flags);

example :

    Intent bindIntent = new Intent(context, Class<Service>);
    boolean bindResult = context.bindService(bindIntent, ServiceConnection, 0);

why not using? getRunningServices()

List<ActivityManager.RunningServiceInfo> getRunningServices (int maxNum)
Return a list of the services that are currently running.

Note: this method is only intended for debugging or implementing service management type user interfaces.

---

ps. android documentation is misleading i have opened an issue on google tracker to eliminate any doubts:

https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/68908332

as we can see bind service actually invokes a transaction via ActivityManager binder through Service cache binders - i dint track which service is responsible for binding but as we can see the result for bind is:

int res = ActivityManagerNative.getDefault().bindService(...);
return res != 0;

transaction is made through binder:

ServiceManager.getService("activity");

next:

  public static IBinder getService(String name) {
    try {
        IBinder service = sCache.get(name);
        if (service != null) {
            return service;
        } else {
            return getIServiceManager().getService(name);

this is set in ActivityThread via:

 public final void bindApplication(...) {

        if (services != null) {
            // Setup the service cache in the ServiceManager
            ServiceManager.initServiceCache(services);
        }

this is called in ActivityManagerService in method:

 private final boolean attachApplicationLocked(IApplicationThread thread,
            int pid) {
    ...
    thread.bindApplication(... , getCommonServicesLocked(),...)

then:

 private HashMap<String, IBinder> getCommonServicesLocked() {

but there is no "activity" only window package and alarm..

so we need get back to call:

 return getIServiceManager().getService(name);

    sServiceManager = ServiceManagerNative.asInterface(BinderInternal.getContextObject());

this makes call through:

    mRemote.transact(GET_SERVICE_TRANSACTION, data, reply, 0);

which leads to :

BinderInternal.getContextObject()

and this is native method....

  /**
     * Return the global "context object" of the system.  This is usually
     * an implementation of IServiceManager, which you can use to find
     * other services.
     */
    public static final native IBinder getContextObject();

i don't have time now to dug in c so until i dissect rest call i suspend my answer.

but best way for check if service is running is to create bind (if bind is not created service not exist) - and query the service about its state through the bind (using stored internal flag on it state).

update 23.06.2018

i found those interesting:

/**
 * Provide a binder to an already-bound service.  This method is synchronous
 * and will not start the target service if it is not present, so it is safe
 * to call from {@link #onReceive}.
 *
 * For peekService() to return a non null {@link android.os.IBinder} interface
 * the service must have published it before. In other words some component
 * must have called {@link android.content.Context#bindService(Intent, ServiceConnection, int)} on it.
 *
 * @param myContext The Context that had been passed to {@link #onReceive(Context, Intent)}
 * @param service Identifies the already-bound service you wish to use. See
 * {@link android.content.Context#bindService(Intent, ServiceConnection, int)}
 * for more information.
 */
public IBinder peekService(Context myContext, Intent service) {
    IActivityManager am = ActivityManager.getService();
    IBinder binder = null;
    try {
        service.prepareToLeaveProcess(myContext);
        binder = am.peekService(service, service.resolveTypeIfNeeded(
                myContext.getContentResolver()), myContext.getOpPackageName());
    } catch (RemoteException e) {
    }
    return binder;
}

in short :)

"Provide a binder to an already-bound service. This method is synchronous and will not start the target service if it is not present."

public IBinder peekService(Intent service, String resolvedType, String callingPackage) throws RemoteException;

*

public static IBinder peekService(IBinder remote, Intent service, String resolvedType)
             throws RemoteException {
    Parcel data = Parcel.obtain();
    Parcel reply = Parcel.obtain();
    data.writeInterfaceToken("android.app.IActivityManager");
    service.writeToParcel(data, 0);
    data.writeString(resolvedType);
    remote.transact(android.os.IBinder.FIRST_CALL_TRANSACTION+84, data, reply, 0);
    reply.readException();
    IBinder binder = reply.readStrongBinder();
    reply.recycle();
    data.recycle();
    return binder;
}

*

Answer 19

The response of geekQ but in Kotlin class. Thanks geekQ

fun isMyServiceRunning(serviceClass : Class<*> ) : Boolean{
    var manager = getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE) as ActivityManager
    for (service in manager.getRunningServices(Integer.MAX_VALUE)) {
        if (serviceClass.name.equals(service.service.className)) {
            return true
        }
    }
    return false
}

The call

isMyServiceRunning(NewService::class.java)

Answer 20

Below is an elegant hack that covers all the Ifs. This is for local services only.

    public final class AService extends Service {

        private static AService mInstance = null;

        public static boolean isServiceCreated() {
            try {
                // If instance was not cleared but the service was destroyed an Exception will be thrown
                return mInstance != null && mInstance.ping();
            } catch (NullPointerException e) {
                // destroyed/not-started
                return false;
            }
        }

        /**
         * Simply returns true. If the service is still active, this method will be accessible.
         * @return
         */
        private boolean ping() {
            return true;
        }

        @Override
        public void onCreate() {
            mInstance = this;
        }

        @Override
        public void onDestroy() {
            mInstance = null;
        }
    }

And then later on:

    if(AService.isServiceCreated()){
        ...
    }else{
        startService(...);
    }

Answer 21

I have slightly modified one of the solutions presented above, but passing the class instead of a generic string name, in order to be sure to compare strings coming out from the same method class.getName()

public class ServiceTools {
    private static String LOG_TAG = ServiceTools.class.getName();

    public static boolean isServiceRunning(Context context,Class<?> serviceClass){
        final ActivityManager activityManager = (ActivityManager)context.getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE);
        final List<RunningServiceInfo> services = activityManager.getRunningServices(Integer.MAX_VALUE);

        for (RunningServiceInfo runningServiceInfo : services) {
            Log.d(Constants.TAG, String.format("Service:%s", runningServiceInfo.service.getClassName()));
            if (runningServiceInfo.service.getClassName().equals(serviceClass.getName())){
                return true;
            }
        }
        return false;
    }
}

and then

Boolean isServiceRunning = ServiceTools.isServiceRunning(
                    MainActivity.this.getApplicationContext(),
                    BackgroundIntentService.class);

Answer 22

Inside TheServiceClass define:

 public static Boolean serviceRunning = false;

Then In onStartCommand(...)

 public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {

    serviceRunning = true;
    ...
}

 @Override
public void onDestroy()
{
    serviceRunning = false;

} 

Then, call if(TheServiceClass.serviceRunning == true) from any class.

Answer 23

Got it!

You MUST call startService() for your service to be properly registered and passing BIND_AUTO_CREATE will not suffice.

Intent bindIntent = new Intent(this,ServiceTask.class);
startService(bindIntent);
bindService(bindIntent,mConnection,0);

And now the ServiceTools class:

public class ServiceTools {
    private static String LOG_TAG = ServiceTools.class.getName();

    public static boolean isServiceRunning(String serviceClassName){
        final ActivityManager activityManager = (ActivityManager)Application.getContext().getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE);
        final List<RunningServiceInfo> services = activityManager.getRunningServices(Integer.MAX_VALUE);

        for (RunningServiceInfo runningServiceInfo : services) {
            if (runningServiceInfo.service.getClassName().equals(serviceClassName)){
                return true;
            }
        }
        return false;
     }
}

Answer 24

I had the same problem not long ago. Since my service was local, I ended up simply using a static field in the service class to toggle state, as described by hackbod here

EDIT (for the record):

Here is the solution proposed by hackbod:

If your client and server code is part of the same .apk and you are binding to the service with a concrete Intent (one that specifies the exact service class), then you can simply have your service set a global variable when it is running that your client can check.

We deliberately don't have an API to check whether a service is running because, nearly without fail, when you want to do something like that you end up with race conditions in your code.

Answer 25

Take it easy guys... :)

I think the most suitable solution is holding a key-value pair in SharedPreferences about if the service is running or not.

Logic is very straight; at any desired position in your service class; put a boolean value which will act as a flag for you about whether the service is running or not. Then read this value whereever you want in your application.

A sample code which I am using in my app is below:

In my Service class (A service for Audio Stream), I execute the following code when the service is up;

private void updatePlayerStatus(boolean isRadioPlaying)
{
        SharedPreferences sharedPref = this.getSharedPreferences(getString(R.string.str_shared_file_name), Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
        SharedPreferences.Editor editor = sharedPref.edit();
        editor.putBoolean(getString(R.string.str_shared_file_radio_status_key), isRadioPlaying);
        editor.commit();
}

Then in any activity of my application, I am checking the status of the service with the help of following code;

private boolean isRadioRunning() {
        SharedPreferences sharedPref = this.getSharedPreferences(getString(R.string.str_shared_file_name), Context.MODE_PRIVATE);

        return sharedPref.getBoolean(getString(R.string.str_shared_file_radio_status_key), false);
}

No special permissions, no loops... Easy way, clean solution :)

If you need extra information, please refer the link

Hope this helps.

Answer 26

A small complement is:

My goal is to know wether a service is running without actualy running it if it is not running.

Calling bindService or calling an intent that can be caught by the service is not a good idea then as it will start the service if it is not running.

So, as miracle2k suggested, the best is to have a static field in the service class to know whether the service has been started or not.

To make it even cleaner, I suggest to transform the service in a singleton with a very very lazy fetching: that is, there is no instantiation at all of the singleton instance through static methods. The static getInstance method of your service/singleton just returns the instance of the singleton if it has been created. But it doesn't actualy start or instanciate the singleton itself. The service is only started through normal service start methods.

It would then be even cleaner to modify the singleton design pattern to rename the confusing getInstance method into something like the isInstanceCreated() : boolean method.

The code will look like:

public class MyService extends Service
{
   private static MyService instance = null;

   public static boolean isInstanceCreated() {
      return instance != null;
   }//met

   @Override
   public void onCreate()
   {
      instance = this;
      ....
   }//met

   @Override
   public void onDestroy()
   {
      instance = null;
      ...
   }//met
}//class

This solution is elegant, but it is only relevant if you have access to the service class and only for classes iside the app/package of the service. If your classes are outside of the service app/package then you could query the ActivityManager with limitations underlined by Pieter-Jan Van Robays.

Answer 27

You can use this (I didn't try this yet, but I hope this works):

if(startService(someIntent) != null) {
    Toast.makeText(getBaseContext(), "Service is already running", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
else {
    Toast.makeText(getBaseContext(), "There is no service running, starting service..", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}

The startService method returns a ComponentName object if there is an already running service. If not, null will be returned.

See public abstract ComponentName startService (Intent service).

This is not like checking I think, because it's starting the service, so you can add stopService(someIntent); under the code.

Answer 28

Again, another alternative that people might find cleaner if they use pending intents (for instance with the AlarmManager:

public static boolean isRunning(Class<? extends Service> serviceClass) {
    final Intent intent = new Intent(context, serviceClass);
    return (PendingIntent.getService(context, CODE, intent, PendingIntent.FLAG_NO_CREATE) != null);
}

Where CODE is a constant that you define privately in your class to identify the pending intents associated to your service.

Answer 29

onDestroy isn't always called in the service so this is useless!

For example: Just run the app again with one change from Eclipse. The application is forcefully exited using SIG: 9.

Answer 30

There can be several services with the same class name.

I've just created two apps. The package name of the first app is com.example.mock. I created a subpackage called lorem in the app and a service called Mock2Service. So its fully qualified name is com.example.mock.lorem.Mock2Service.

Then I created the second app and a service called Mock2Service. The package name of the second app is com.example.mock.lorem. The fully qualified name of the service is com.example.mock.lorem.Mock2Service, too.

Here is my logcat output.

03-27 12:02:19.985: D/TAG(32155): Mock-01: com.example.mock.lorem.Mock2Service
03-27 12:02:33.755: D/TAG(32277): Mock-02: com.example.mock.lorem.Mock2Service

A better idea is to compare ComponentName instances because equals() of ComponentName compares both package names and class names. And there can't be two apps with the same package name installed on a device.

The equals() method of ComponentName.

@Override
public boolean equals(Object obj) {
    try {
        if (obj != null) {
            ComponentName other = (ComponentName)obj;
            // Note: no null checks, because mPackage and mClass can
            // never be null.
            return mPackage.equals(other.mPackage)
                    && mClass.equals(other.mClass);
        }
    } catch (ClassCastException e) {
    }
    return false;
}

ComponentName