No badge count since most recent update

[warz00]

Since most recent updates am no longer getting badge count on icon - do get sound and LED notification - Gmail gets badge count on icon on gmail app

Verizon Samsung Galaxy S8
Android version 8.0.0
Samsung experience version 9.0

[toolworker]

Same here - on a T-Mobile Galaxy S7, same software versions.

[toolworker]

I changed the vibration pattern, to the first one after Default.  (Vibration is not selected.)

Now the badge count appears, and there is no bogus vibration.

[warz00]

thx for the reply - did the same but didnt change anything for me

[Kostya Vasilyev]

From the FAQ:

Starting with Android 8.0 (Oreo) Samsung completely changed how the “unread badge” feature works. Previously an app could directly set the badge’s value, this is not longer possible. At all.

The “new way” is managed by the phone’s software and its value is automatically taken from the app’s notifications (in the phone’s top bar).

There are two settings to check / adjust before this works.

1 – Phone settings -> Apps -> Aqua Mail -> Notifications -> enable “Show bagde”.

This however will only trigger on single-message notification, so you’ll have either nothing or a “1” on the badge.

To make it work for multiple-message notifications, please:

2 – Aqua Mail settings -> message notifications -> enable “Smart Watch enhancements”.

This also changes how on-phone notifications look. You’ll be able to expand (swipe down) on a notification that’s “about” more than one message, turning into individual “cards”, one per message, each with its own action buttons (mark read and so on).

This “enhanced” notification style – which first appeared in Android 7.0 – works with the new Samsung badge feature as expected, even when there are multiple unread messages.

PS – the badge count will clear when the app’s notifications are cleared.

PPS - there are some reports of badge count being wrong, e.g. showing 21 or something when only 1 - 2 emails are unread.

Seems to be a problem with Samsung software which can affect other apps too (not specific to Aqua).

https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Galaxy-S9-Questions-and-Answers/Notification-badge-icon-not-working-on-Samsung-Galaxy-S9/td-p/288333/page/23

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Some quotes from the Samsung support forum link which I posted above:

---
I also noticed incorrect badge count on Gmail since the Oreo update, on
AT&T, S8+. It shows an inflated number
---
I too have the inflated number of emails on the icon since Oreo
---
Last night the Gmail icon badge would show random numbers like 80 and
105, when only 2 or 3 new ones actually came in.   This morning it was
showing 266, when there was about 15.  Now it is showing 175, and there
is about 5.
---
Since I updated my S8 and S8+ they show the same number of unread emails
no matter how many I have. On the S8 it shows 3 on the S8+ it shows 24.
---
gmail notification would show 128 unread emails when I had like 6
---
Upgraded from an S6 edge and this badge count/notification count conflict is ridiculous. I get 0 badge counts on all apps.
Tried all the settings in this thread to no avail. I greatly depend on the counts for unread emails, unread texts in messenger, snap chat, facebook, etc.
---

I believe there are also complains about "badge not showing at all" there.

Samsung made a mess.

The intended change (badge count automatically read from notifications) is bad, and it has weird bugs on top of that ("inflated" counts, and maybe not only that).

Maybe Samsung will revert the change / fix the bugs. Maybe they won't (if they don't see this as a problem).

Reliable alternatives - all have official support for badges and our app has built-in support for these:

- Apex Launcher Pro

- Nova Launcher Prime + Tesla Unread

- Smart Launcher

Anther alternative - using Aqua's "message counter" widget.

Yes it doesn't look exactly like the app's icon. Yes it can't be put into the lowest "shelf" on the home screen.

But it's an alternative given the overall mess.

------

Yes and please do talk to Samsung support about this and suggest they revert things to how they were before 8.0 - i.e. apps could directly set the badge value.

Maybe it won't do any good (most likely) but it just might.

[warz00]

Thx for the reply - but those suggestions/solutions dont work for me

1. Phone settings -> Apps -> Aqua Mail -> Notifications -> enable “Show bagde”.    ----- already enabled

2. Aqua Mail settings -> message notifications -> enable “Smart Watch enhancements”.  -----  also already enabled

in my caser it does seem specific to Aqua - the Gmail app works perfectly showing counts for new mails  - so would seem specific to Aqua

[Nedialko Kondev, MobiSystems, AquaMail Support]

Hi,

This has proven to be a problem with Samsung. It is intermittent, can affect a number of apps - sometimes, not always and in different ways.

Kostya - our Lead of Development - has looked though all possibilities since this mess started. For the moment, please reconsider using Aqua's "message counter" widget.

[mrukk]

in my caser it does seem specific to Aqua - the Gmail app works perfectly showing counts for new mails  - so would seem specific to Aqua

I completely agree.  About three months ago I went through all of the above listed steps, and the problem of no badge counts resolved itself.  It has been working perfectly up until exactly the moment of the last aquamail update a couple of days ago.  No other settings have been changed.  All of my other apps are still giving badge counts correctly and as normal.  I don't know all the technical ins and outs, but as you say, it really seems to point towards something in this last aquamail update having broken it, rather than an issue with samsung/android.

[vdhooft]

in my caser it does seem specific to Aqua - the Gmail app works perfectly showing counts for new mails  - so would seem specific to Aqua

I completely agree.  About three months ago I went through all of the above listed steps, and the problem of no badge counts resolved itself.  It has been working perfectly up until exactly the moment of the last aquamail update a couple of days ago.  No other settings have been changed.  All of my other apps are still giving badge counts correctly and as normal.  I don't know all the technical ins and outs, but as you say, it really seems to point towards something in this last aquamail update having broken it, rather than an issue with samsung/android.

Same for me. Until the last update it was working ok. But since the last update it is not working anymore.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Re: I don't know all the technical ins and outs, but as you say, it really seems to point towards something in this last aquamail update having broken it, rather than an issue with samsung/android.

As long as you have "smart watch enhancements" enabled - the "new" version does exactly what the "old" version did.

Would someone contact Samsung support already please?

I gave a link to the "official" Samsung support forum thread (above) where there are *multiple* posts about badge count 1) not working or 2) having wrong value 3) with apps other than Aqua Mail 4) since Samsung's 8.0 update.

Isn't that enough evidence?

Maybe an app updating is also processed by Samsung's phone software and it "does something" causing this feature to get messed up. We're not Samsung, we can't know, but that also sounds plausible.

And I reiterate:

As long as "smart watch enhancements" is enabled - the "new" version does exactly what the "old" version did.

The rest is out of our control.

PS - no issues with unread badge what-so-ever on my Samsung S8 and Samsung S9 with 8.0, accurate and reliable, latest / current Aqua Mail.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Oh and @mrukk and @vdhooft

For you, now with the update --

-- the app is checking mail as it should be (every 15 min by default, give or take)

-- is posting notifications about unread messages

Right?

If that's the case - and "smart watch enhancements" is enabled - the Samsung's phone software is supposed to read the unread counts from the app's notifications show that as a badge. Not us. Samsung's phone software.

[mrukk]

I gave a link to the "official" Samsung support forum thread (above) where there are *multiple* posts about badge count 1) not working or 2) having wrong value 3) with apps other than Aqua Mail 4) since Samsung's 8.0 update.

Isn't that enough evidence?

I don't mean to be argumentative or annoying, but no.  That issue has been going on for months, and was completely resolved on my end for months using all the previous suggestions.  My thinking was that unless Samsung released an update at exactly the same moment Aquamail did (2 days ago), and that update just happened to effect only the Aquamail badge counts, and no other apps badge counts...  it all seems unlikely it could be blamed squarely on Samsung.

Then again, I have tried changing to the Aquamail widget counter, and that actually suddenly started working reasonably well.  As of this morning I tried going back to the "Samsung Touchwiz" style, and anyway the whole thing seems to be working.  So I honestly don't know what happened.  Since there has been no further update to Aquamail, presumably it wasn't the issue.  But it is strange that a bunch of us had the issue at the exact moment of the Aquamail update.  Was there a Samsung update at that time? 

Anyway, for the moment it seems to be working, so that's great.  Thanks for your time and help.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Widgets:

Completely under our control.

We compute the value and display the value.

Badge on app icon - before Samsung messed it on in 8.0:

Computed by us.

"Pushed" into phone software.

Displayed by phone's software using the value we provided.

Badge on app icon - Samsung's 8.0:

Computed by phone's software from our (and other apps') notifications.

Displayed by phone's software.

Cannot be controlled by apps.

Clears when an app's notifications are cleared.

---

Please do try the link I posted above - and you'll see that in addition to really bad "new logic" (i.e. badge getting reset when notifications are cleared) - there are numerous users experiencing "inflated" (larger than they should be) badge count values, with apps like Gmail and not only.

It is a Samsung issue and I've not seen any proof or any reason to believe that it's caused by something we're doing.

[vdhooft]

Then again, I have tried changing to the Aquamail widget counter, and that actually suddenly started working reasonably well.  As of this morning I tried going back to the "Samsung Touchwiz" style, and anyway the whole thing seems to be working.  So I honestly don't know what happened.  Since there has been no further update to Aquamail, presumably it wasn't the issue.  But it is strange that a bunch of us had the issue at the exact moment of the Aquamail update.  Was there a Samsung update at that time? 

I tried the same, and after adding the widget the counter is now working again. So also for me the issue is solved for now.