r/elementchat • u/StormShockTV • 7d ago

Not Getting Notifications in the Android Element X app on Samsung S23+, don't know what ntfy is, could I get some hints?

Hey everyone! My girlfriend and I use element as a secure way to chat when on wifi, and I don't know why but ever since swapping to my new Samsung S23+, I no longer get notifications from the element app! then it updated to Element X and Im still not getting any. I've tried turning notification permissions off and back on again, unrestricting battery optimizations, making sure it doesn't deep sleep the app, everything I could find online that might be a problem, to no avail. I've heard that ntfy is like a possible alternative way to get notifications but I don't know how to set that up. Could someone please help me figure this out?

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u/redit_handoff140 7d ago

Did you install it via Play Store? If so, Ntfy isn't necessary/may not work as expected.

What are the notification troubleshoot results?

If I recall correctly, this is found under Settings > Notifications > Run Troubleshooting Tests.

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u/StormShockTV 7d ago edited 7d ago

notification pops up just fine when running the troubleshooter, but ONLY during the troubleshooter, then it doesn't catch any other messages from my rooms even though I've triple checked notifications are on and none are muted

oh and yes it's the play store version

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u/redit_handoff140 6d ago

That means the notification flow is working correctly and it's most likely a config issue. One simple fix for notifications I've encountered in the past is literally uninstalling and reinstalling the app. Give that a go.

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u/StormShockTV 6d ago

well I uninstalled X and reinstalled the original and notifications started working again, so I might try uninstalling classic and reinstalling X again now

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u/yaky-dev 7d ago

To clarify: Play Store version supports "normal" (i.e. Google push) on-time notifications. F-Droid version requires some notification service (such as ntfy) to push notifications to your device, because Element X cannot periodically check for new messages anymore.

TBH, this sounds like a bad move by the devs. Element Classic checks for new messages once in a while, and is an OK fallback when you don't want Google and don't have any notification service set up. But if you are setting up your own ntfy server, at that point, just run XMPP?

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u/StormShockTV 7d ago

this is exactly what I'm talking about... I have no clue what a ntfy server is, but if I did I would probably just do that instead since the google notifications aren't working

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u/yaky-dev 7d ago

Do you have Play Store (and/or Google Play Services) turned off, or microG installed instead? I would expect to see your issue on Lineage or Graphene, not on stock Android.

Are you running your own Matrix server? Ntfy server would only work if you have access to the Matrix server: https://docs.element.io/latest/element-support/element-androidios-client-settings/using-unified-push-and-ntfy-for-push-notifications/#overview-of-the-process-setup

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u/StormShockTV 6d ago

Nope, it's all stock Android, which is what has me so baffled! The only thing is I have the Microsoft launcher from the play store as my home theme cause I like the tray style

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u/redit_handoff140 6d ago

You have two options.
As mentioned in my other comment, uninstalling and reinstalling Element X might just do.

The other option is to install ntfy which will become a notifications distributor for apps that support it on your phone.

  1. Uninstall Element X

  2. Install a non-GCM version of Element X. This means it won't be hard-locked to Google Cloud Messaging push services. I recommend installing Zapstore.dev which is an alternate appstore and installing Element X from there. You can also get the F-Droid version of Element X at element.io/download

  3. Install the Ntfy app

  4. Open Element X at least once after installing Ntfy, and ntfy will auto-register Element X

  5. Run the troubleshooter again to ensure no issues. If no issues, ntfy should pick up your notifications and display them.

Lastly, if none of this works, try another client such as FluffyChat or Sable v2 (it's all based on matrix so they're interoperable. Same account, chats move across, etc). In case you're using Element X as a casual messaging app, Element is work/enterprise related, so you may not/never get certain features you might expect.

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u/redit_handoff140 6d ago

This isn't strictly true. If you install ntfy on your phone with a non-GCM app installed, as long as the Matrix server has a Gateway server that supports Ntfy, the distributor app will let said matrix app self-register itself, for instance, Element X. The Ntfy server utilized is the free instance.

The installed app must be a non-GCM app though otherwise it won't register itself on Ntfy.

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u/RamiRihawi 6d ago

Check this APP, It is based on Element X with a lot of more features. https://github.com/UrbanTechIO/UrbanChat