[Bug]: Location Tracking not working at terminated state

[mohadmed-adel]

Required Reading

• Confirmed

Plugin Version

5.0.5

Flutter Doctor

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• No issues found!

Mobile operating-system(s)

• iOS
• Android

Device Manufacturer(s) and Model(s)

iphon 12 and oppo reno 5

Device operating-systems(s)

Android 13 , IOS 18

What happened?

Enhanced Bug Description:

Title: Geofence events not triggered in Release mode after force closing the app

Description:
When the application is force closed and the user exits or enters the configured geofence area, no geofence event is triggered from our side in Release mode.

During testing in Debug mode, the functionality works as expected on both the simulator and emulator, and geofence events are correctly detected. However, after building the application in Release mode, the geofence enter/exit events are not being received or processed once the app is force closed.

Steps to Reproduce:

Install the Release build of the application.

Open the app and ensure the geofence is properly registered.

Force close the application.

Move outside or inside the configured geofence area.

Observe that no geofence event is triggered.

Expected Result:
The application should detect geofence enter/exit events even when the app is force closed, similar to the behavior observed in Debug mode.

Actual Result:
No geofence events are triggered or received in Release mode after the app is force closed.

Environment:

Tested on Simulator & Emulator

Works in Debug mode

Issue occurs in Release mode

Notes / Additional Context:

Geofence functionality appears to stop working only after the app is force closed in Release builds.

Further investigation may be required regarding background execution permissions, OS restrictions, or release build configuration.

Plugin Code and/or Config

part of 'index.dart';

/// Handles background geolocation configuration for geofence operations.
///
/// Must be called on every app launch so that [BackgroundGeolocation.ready]
/// runs each time (required for iOS geofencing after force kill).
/// For debugging: use debug: true, logLevel: LogLevel.verbose and fetch
/// plugin logs via [Logger.emailLog].
class GeofenceConfig {
  /// Applies plugin config. Call on every app launch (e.g. from main).
  static Future<void> updateGeofenceHttpConfig() async {
    String token =
        storageService.valueGetter(key: StorageKeys.token, defualt: "");

    String? userId = getUserIdFromToken(token);

    // Configure the plugin with v5 compound config
    // Note: Working hours are enforced via heartbeat checks instead of schedule
    await bg.BackgroundGeolocation.ready(
      bg.Config(
        geolocation: const bg.GeoConfig(
          locationAuthorizationRequest: 'Always',
          disableLocationAuthorizationAlert: false,
          desiredAccuracy: bg.DesiredAccuracy.high,
          distanceFilter: 150,
          disableElasticity: true,
          geofenceModeHighAccuracy: true,
          showsBackgroundLocationIndicator: true,
          pausesLocationUpdatesAutomatically: false,
          stationaryRadius: 200,
          locationUpdateInterval: 600000,
        ),
        app: const bg.AppConfig(
          stopOnTerminate: false,
          startOnBoot: true,
          preventSuspend: true,
          enableHeadless: true,
          schedule: [],
          heartbeatInterval: 60,
        ),
        http: bg.HttpConfig(
          autoSync: true,
        ),
        persistence: bg.PersistenceConfig(
          extras: {'emp_code': userId},
        ),
        logger: const bg.LoggerConfig(
          debug: foundation.kDebugMode,
          logLevel: bg.LogLevel.verbose,
        ),
        activity: const bg.ActivityConfig(
          disableMotionActivityUpdates: false,
          stopOnStationary: false,
        ),
        isMoving: true,
        foregroundService: true,
        notification: bg.Notification(
          smallIcon: '@mipmap/launcher_icon',
          largeIcon: '@mipmap/launcher_icon',
          title: 'Aictime',
          text: 'Location Tracking',
          color: '@mipmap/launcher_icon',
          channelId: 'geofence_service',
          channelName: 'Geofence Service',
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

// main.dart 
import 'dart:io';

import 'package:aictime/base/data/local_auth_serveices.dart';
import 'package:aictime/base/data/notifications_services.dart';
import 'package:aictime/base/data/punch_retry_queue.dart';
import 'package:aictime/base/data/storage_services.dart';
import 'package:aictime/common/time/time_validation_result.dart';
import 'package:aictime/features/checkInternetConnection/repo/check_internet_modal_view.dart';
import 'package:aictime/firebase_options.dart';
import 'package:firebase_core/firebase_core.dart';
import 'package:flutter/foundation.dart';
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:flutter_background_geolocation/flutter_background_geolocation.dart'
    as bg;
import 'package:flutter_riverpod/flutter_riverpod.dart';

import 'base/app/Application.dart';
import 'base/data/api_services.dart';
import 'base/geofence/index.dart';

class MyHttpOverrides extends HttpOverrides {
  @override
  HttpClient createHttpClient(SecurityContext? context) {
    return super.createHttpClient(context)
      ..badCertificateCallback =
          (X509Certificate cert, String host, int port) => true;
  }
}

void main() async {
  HttpOverrides.global = MyHttpOverrides();
  WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized();

  // Set up global error handlers to log all errors to API
  _setupGlobalErrorHandlers();

  await Firebase.initializeApp(options: DefaultFirebaseOptions.currentPlatform);
  storageService = await StorageService.init();

  // Initialize notifications first
  await GlobalNotification.instance.setUpNotification();

  // Check if face recognition is available
  List res = await LocalAuth().getAvailableBiometrics();
  if (res.isEmpty) {
    storageService.valueSetter(key: StorageKeys.isBioEnable, value: false);
  } else {
    storageService.valueSetter(key: StorageKeys.isBioEnable, value: true);
  }

  // enable or disable LicenseIntegration
  storageService.valueSetter(
    key: StorageKeys.enableLicenseIntegration,
    value: false,
  );
  setAppDebugMode(storageService);
  ConnectionStatusSingleton connectionStatus =
      ConnectionStatusSingleton.getInstance();
  connectionStatus.initialize();
  ApiRequestService().init();
  try {
    // Initialize punch retry queue
    await PunchRetryQueue().init();
  } catch (e) {
    debugPrint("error in PunchRetryQueue init: $e");
  }

  // Apply BackgroundGeolocation.ready() on every launch (required for iOS geofencing
  // after force kill — see https://github.com/transistorsoft/flutter_background_geolocation/issues/1650)
  try {
    await GeofenceConfig.updateGeofenceHttpConfig();
  } catch (e) {
    debugPrint("GeofenceConfig on launch: $e");
  }
  // Register headless task so the plugin can call it when app is terminated
  // (e.g. geofence ENTER/EXIT or provider change). Required when enableHeadless: true.
  bg.BackgroundGeolocation.registerHeadlessTask(
      backgroundGeolocationHeadlessTask);
  // Initialize time validator
  TimeValidator().init();

  runApp(const ProviderScope(child: Application()));
}

/// Sets up global error handlers to catch and log all errors
void _setupGlobalErrorHandlers() {
  // Handle Flutter framework errors (widget errors, etc.)
  FlutterError.onError = (FlutterErrorDetails details) {
    // FlutterError.presentError(details);
    // Log to API endpoint
  };

  // Handle async errors that occur outside of Flutter framework
  PlatformDispatcher.instance.onError = (error, stack) {
    // Log to API endpoint

    return true; // Return true to indicate error was handled
  };
}

Relevant log output

[christocracy]

oppo reno 5

See https://dontkillmyapp.com

[mohadmed-adel]

@christocracy and what about ios ?

[christocracy]

For over 11 years, iOS has proven to be incredibly robust with resuming tracking after terminate, much more consistent than Android across models/OS.

Ensure your code calls BackgroundGeolocation.ready(config) each and every time your app is launched, no matter what.

[mohadmed-adel]

@christocracy I confirmed that every time the application starts, it calls BackgroundGeolocation.ready(config) using the same configuration mentioned in the bug description above.

[christocracy]

I have no idea. I've been field-testing the demo apps on my devices for over 11 years and iOS never fails to track me.

See wiki "Debugging" and learn to fetch plug-in logs via ".emailLog" method.

[mohadmed-adel]

@christocracy Could you please provide any demo or test code that we can use to verify the behavior on both Android and iOS?
Alternatively, if there is a sample repository, we would appreciate it if you could share the URL so we can test it using our license in Release mode.

[christocracy]

See the /example folder in this repo.

[mohadmed-adel]

@christocracy
Thank you for your response.
I reviewed the code in the /example folder and compared it with the implementation I previously provided. The configuration and setup appear to be the same.

However, the issue still persists. The plugin is delivering location updates to the app, but the geofence enter/exit events are not being triggered in release mode.

This behavior only occurs in release builds, while in debug mode (simulator/emulator) the geofence events work correctly.

Could you please advise if there is any additional configuration required for geofencing to work properly in release mode, or if there is a recommended test implementation for both Android and iOS?

[hramadan-si]

@christocracy
Kindly need your support on this matter, as we are currently facing significant issues with our customer regarding this problem.

Please note that the feature was previously working normally on both iOS and Android, but it has recently stopped functioning as expected.

Your urgent support to investigate the root cause and provide a solution would be highly appreciated,

@mohadmed-adel

[christocracy]

@mohadmed-adel you're not supposed to just look at the /example code, you're supposed to install it and compare its performance to your own app's performance.

[hramadan-si]

@christocracy

Dear we tired plz support us

[hramadan-si]

@christocracy

Adel try many times but same issue.

@mohadmed-adel

[christocracy]

@hramadan-si you're spamming this issue with "me too" and not providing any information (Config, version, logs).

[hramadan-si]

@christocracy

Me and @mohadmed-adel in same team am product manager
Adel is the developer

@mohadmed-adel Adel send all info.

@mohadmed-adel