Android NotificationListenerService throws DeadObjectException

Question

I have a simple NotificationListenerService implementation to test the new 4.3 API. The Service itself used to work. After that, I added the sending of a broadcast when a notification of a particular package is added. Now, as soon as I start the service, it throws a DeadObjectException. This is the stack trace:

    E/NotificationService﹕ unable to notify listener (posted): android.service.notification.INotificationListener$Stub$Proxy@42c047a0
    android.os.DeadObjectException
    at android.os.BinderProxy.transact(Native Method)
    at android.service.notification.INotificationListener$Stub$Proxy.onNotificationPosted(INotificationListener.java:102)
    at com.android.server.NotificationManagerService$NotificationListenerInfo.notifyPostedIfUserMatch(NotificationManagerService.java:241)
    at com.android.server.NotificationManagerService$2.run(NotificationManagerService.java:814)
    at android.os.Handler.handleCallback(Handler.java:730)
    at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:92)
    at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:137)
    at com.android.server.ServerThread.run(SystemServer.java:1000)

This is how I start the Service

@Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
    switch (item.getItemId()) {
        case R.id.action_start_service:
            startService(new Intent(this, ConnectService.class));
            return true;
        default:
            return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
    }
}

I can verify that the Service starts, because I do a Log on it's onCreate() and onDestroy(). And here is how the posting of notifications is handled, if it's needed:

@Override
public void onNotificationPosted(StatusBarNotification sbn) {
    Log.i(TAG, sbn.getNotification().toString());
    if (sbn != null && sbn.getPackageName().equalsIgnoreCase(PKG)) {
        Intent intent = new Intent(ConnectService.NOTIFY);
        intent.putExtra("notification", sbn.getNotification().toString());
        bManager.sendBroadcast(intent);
    }
}

The thing that sucks is that the stack trace is of no use. What's going wrong?

Answer 1

Try not starting the service yourself. If you have enabled the NotificationListenerService in the security settings, the system should bind to it automatically.

Alternatively, check your crash logs to see if your service crashed or its process was killed. I believe there is a bug where if your NotificaitonListerService dies, the system will not rebind until you restart your phone or toggle the notifications permission in security settings.