Android BroadcastReceiver not receiving SMS broadcasts

Question

In my Android application I am trying to use BroadcastReceiver to listen to incoming SMS and phone calls.

But for some reason the onReceive method is never called when I get an SMS.

To make sure the receiver works, I tried to use "android.intent.action.AIRPLANE_MODE" intent filter since it seems the simplest one to trigger.

This is my AndroidManifest.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools" >

    <uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.telephony" />

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_SMS" />

    <application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:dataExtractionRules="@xml/data_extraction_rules"
        android:fullBackupContent="@xml/backup_rules"
        android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
        android:supportsRtl="true"
        android:theme="@style/Theme.CallsListener"
        tools:targetApi="31" >

        <activity
            android:name=".MainActivity"
            android:exported="true" >
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
    </application>

</manifest>

And this is the receiver class:

package com.sagiziv.callslistener;

import android.content.BroadcastReceiver;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.provider.Telephony;
import android.telephony.SmsMessage;
import android.telephony.TelephonyManager;
import android.util.Log;
import android.widget.Toast;

import java.util.Date;

public class MessagesReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
    public MessagesReceiver() {
        super();
        Log.d("pttt", "Receiver created");
    }

    @Override
    public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
        Log.d("pttt", "onReceive: " + intent.getAction());
        Toast.makeText(context, intent.getAction(), Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
        Bundle extras = intent.getExtras();

        if (extras != null) {
            if (intent.getAction().equals(Telephony.Sms.Intents.SMS_RECEIVED_ACTION)) {
                // Handle incoming SMS
                SmsMessage[] msgs = Telephony.Sms.Intents.getMessagesFromIntent(intent);
            }
        }
    }

}

I am registering the receiver in the main activity like so:

package com.sagiziv.callslistener;

import android.Manifest;
import android.content.IntentFilter;
import android.content.pm.PackageManager;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.provider.Telephony;
import android.telephony.TelephonyManager;
import android.util.Log;
import android.widget.Toast;

import androidx.annotation.NonNull;
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
    private static final int PERMISSION_REQUEST_CODE = 123;
    private MessagesReceiver myReceiver;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
        requestPermissions();
    }

    private void requestPermissions() {
        if (checkSelfPermission(Manifest.permission.READ_SMS) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
            requestPermissions(new String[]{
                    Manifest.permission.READ_SMS,
                    Manifest.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE
            }, PERMISSION_REQUEST_CODE);
        } else {
             myReceiver = new MessagesReceiver();

             // Register MyReceiver for SMS
             registerReceiver(myReceiver, new IntentFilter("android.intent.action.AIRPLANE_MODE"));
             registerReceiver(myReceiver, new IntentFilter(Telephony.Sms.Intents.SMS_RECEIVED_ACTION));

        }

    }

    @Override
    protected void onDestroy() {
        // Unregister MyReceiver when the activity is destroyed
        if (myReceiver != null) {
            unregisterReceiver(myReceiver);
            Log.d("pttt", "Receiver unregistered");
        }
        super.onDestroy();
    }
    @Override
    public void onRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode, @NonNull String[] permissions, @NonNull int[] grantResults) {
        super.onRequestPermissionsResult(requestCode, permissions, grantResults);
        if (requestCode == PERMISSION_REQUEST_CODE) {
            // Check if permissions are granted
            if (grantResults.length > 0 && grantResults[0] == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
                Toast.makeText(this, "Granted", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
            } else {
                Toast.makeText(this, "Denied", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
            }
        }
    }
}

As you can see I make sure I have the permissions to access SMS, but none of the logs is printed when I get an SMS and I don't understand why.

I tested it on my phone that runs Android version 8.0.0, and on my tablet which runs Android version 13.

Answer 1

Well after more searching, I discovered that my mistake was with the permissions.

I requested Manifest.permission.READ_SMS permission instead of Manifest.permission.RECEIVE_SMS permission.

Changing that solved the issue.