Get Step Sensor Data in background and store in SharedPreference/SQLite

I have tried many ways to get sensor data in background and store the value into shared preference or SQLite, but none of them work. I think it is because of the Android Oreo Background restriction stuff.

I have tried

• Alarm Manager with Broadcast Receiver
• Alarm Manager with Service

and now I'm using the WorkManager. Not really working either. What am I doing wrong? Is it impossible to get sensor data in background now? Is there any other alternative way?

> MainActivity.java

protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
localDatabaseHelper = new LocalDatabaseHelper(getApplicationContext());
sharedPreferences = getSharedPreferences("TEST STORAGE", MODE_PRIVATE);
sensorManager = (SensorManager) getApplicationContext().getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
stepSensor = sensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_STEP_COUNTER);
WorkManager.getInstance(getApplicationContext()).cancelAllWorkByTag("Update-Shared-Preference");
WorkRequest updateSharedPreference = new OneTimeWorkRequest.Builder(UpdateStepWork.class)
.addTag("Update-Shared-Preference")
.build();
WorkManager.getInstance(getApplicationContext()).enqueue(updateSharedPreference);
}

> Work

public class UpdateStepWork extends Worker implements SensorEventListener {
private SharedPreferences sharedPreferences;
private SensorManager sensorManager;
private Sensor stepSensor;
private LocalDatabaseHelper localDatabase;
public UpdateStepWork(@NonNull Context context, @NonNull WorkerParameters workerParams) {
super(context, workerParams);
}
@NonNull
@Override
public Result doWork() {
Log.i("WORK", "STARTED");
sharedPreferences = getApplicationContext().getSharedPreferences("TEST STORAGE", Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
sensorManager = (SensorManager) getApplicationContext().getSystemService(Context.SENSOR_SERVICE);
stepSensor = sensorManager.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_STEP_COUNTER);
localDatabase = new LocalDatabaseHelper(getApplicationContext());
WorkManager.getInstance(getApplicationContext()).cancelAllWorkByTag("Update-Shared-Preference");
WorkRequest updateSharedPreference = new OneTimeWorkRequest.Builder(UpdateStepWork.class)
.setInitialDelay(5, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
.addTag("Update-Shared-Preference")
.build();
WorkManager.getInstance(getApplicationContext()).enqueue(updateSharedPreference);
sensorManager.unregisterListener(this, stepSensor);
if(sensorManager.registerListener(this, stepSensor, SensorManager.SENSOR_DELAY_NORMAL)){
return Worker.Result.success();
}else
return Worker.Result.failure();
}
@Override
public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent event) {
int steps = (int) event.values[0];
Log.i("Steps from sensor", steps + "");
if(sharedPreferences.edit().putInt("steps", steps).commit()){
Log.i("Shared Preference", "SUCCESS STORED: " + steps);
if(localDatabase.updateDailyData(steps)){
Log.i("LOCAL DATABASE", "SUCCESS AT " + getCurrentTimeStamp());
Cursor data = localDatabase.getData();
while (data.moveToNext()) {
Log.i("DATA", data.getString(0) + "    " + data.getInt(1));
}
}
}else{
Log.i("Shared Preference", "FAILED STORED: " + steps);
}
sensorManager.unregisterListener(this, stepSensor);
sensorManager = null;
}

The typical approach to collect sensor data in the background is using a foreground service.

SharedPreferences are not an ideal way to store sensor data. I recommend that you store the sensor data in a .csv file or a database.