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EUC World: Important information for users of Tizen-based smartwatches on Android 12+


Seba

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I have an important info for owners of Tizen-based smartwatches that uses EUC World app, but not only. Users of EUC World 2.22+ and running on Android 12+ may experience problems using companion app that runs on their Tizen-based smartwatch. This applies to Gear 3 family and Galaxy Watch family prior to Galaxy Watch 4). The problems causes the EUC World app to stop running after some time after screen is off.

It's important to note that this doesn't apply to Galaxy Watch 4 an any newer smartwatches running Wear OS.

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

Samsung apparently stopped to update their Samsung Accessory SDK - a software development framework that allows other apps to communicate with Sausmung's Tizen-based devices. EUC World uses this SDK to provide communication between companion app running on the watch with Android device. The problem is that most recent Samsung Accessory SDK 2.6.4 has been released on September 14, 2020.

Rise of Android 12 has made it incompatible due to some restrictions that this new version of Android imposes on apps that target this version of Android. To be more specific - one of key component of SA SDK is trying to start so-called foreground service. This service is an app component that doesn't have user interface and is intended to do some service task. In this case it provides communication between EUC World app and Tizen-based device. The problem is that if an app tries to start foreground service when running in background, it will fail on Android 12+ causing a software exception. This exception, if unhandled, may cause entire app to crash. And app is running in the background if its user interface is not showing on the display, or especially if the display is off.

This is a problem that has been already experienced by other app developers and reported to Samsung. Initially, Samsung responded that "Galaxy Accessory SDK is not supported for API 31. Currently there is no plan to upgrade the Galaxy Accessory SDK.", but after some pressure they softened their stance. However months has passed and still there's no updated SDK available.

I would like to make it clear once again that this is not a problem with EUC World, but a problem with no longer developed and incompatible Samsung Accessory SDK. Personally, I don't think that Samsung will update their SA SDK, as they seem to abandon Tizen and head to Wear OS for their new watches. If this is true, they have no interest in supporting older devices, but have interest in phasing it out.

BUT OTHER APPS ARE WORKING ON MY ANDROID 12+ !

It was not a problem until recently, as Google Play Policy required that app updates published after November 1, 2022 must target Android 12. As EUC World is especially actively developed during winter, it is also frequently updated on Google Play. Starting with 2.24 update I had to comply with these requirements prior to uploading update to Google Play. Other apps, that were last updated before deadline mentioned above, may still target older versions of Android. This means that Android will apply so-called compatibility mode - for example if app was targeting Android 11, device with Android 12 will behave like an Android 11 for this app.

IS THERE NOTHING I CAN DO?

Not exactly. It seems that Google has created some exemptions from background start restrictions. One of such exemptions is that if a battery optimization is disabled for an application, it still may start foreground services even if the app is running in the background. For users convenience, upcoming EUC World 2.28 update will check if battery optimization is enabled and request user to disable battery optimization before starting smartwatch communication.

ANY WORKAROUNDS FOR NOW?

Most EUC World users should already have battery optimization disabled for the app, as it's usually done during initial EUC World setup. This step is however optional, so some users may have skipped it. So it's best to ensure that battery optimization is turned off for EUC World app. Unfortunately, depending on the phone model, exact steps may be different. You can ask Google.

For example, on Google Pixel 6 running Android 13, you should open Settings -> Apps and tap on EUC World. Then tap on Battery and select Unrestricted.

 

Note - disabling battery optimization for EUC World is strongly recommended for any phone and any Android version. Regardless if you're using Samsung smartwatch or not. Without battery optimization disabled, you may experience many other problems, including wheel communication periodically lost, safety-related alarms not triggering, tours and logs not recording etc.

Edited by Seba
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Would it be a workaround to downgrade to an old EUC World app version before 2.22?

If yes, can you share a download link for the old version? 

Would it then still run with Android 12+ and Galaxy Watch 46mm (Tizen)?

Otherwise, I'll have to buy one of those ugly Samsung Galaxy Watch 4/5. 🤮

Update:

Shit, If I switch to Galaxy Watch 4/5 with Wear OS, then the Komoot App is nearly useless. This App is more important on a watch than EUC World. 😭

Edited by EUC Custom Power-Pads
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On 12/20/2022 at 10:51 PM, EUC Custom Power-Pads said:

Would it be a workaround to downgrade to an old EUC World app version before 2.22?

Just disable battery optimization for EUC World and you should be fine even with newest EUC World versions.

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