Users with iOS or Android devices can opt-in to receive Critical Alert/Urgent notifications in the event of an emergency. Critical Alerts is a special push notification classification that always appears at the top of your lock screen above all other notifications and plays a sound and sends alarm notifications, even if the device is muted or in Do Not Disturb mode.
How to configure Critical Alerts
iOS
Android
iOS
To enable Critical Alerts:
- Enter the iOS device settings on the device that will receive the Critical Alerts.
- Scroll down to the app list and tap Evertel.
- Tap Notifications.
- Tap the Allow Critical Alerts toggle to enable or disable Critical Alerts
Note: The option to enable Critical Alerts in the app is available as a pop-up prompt when logging into the app for the first time or logging into a new version of the app for the first time.
To customize the alert sounds:
- Go to Settings and tap Notifications.
- Select an app under Notification Style.
- Under Alerts, choose the alert style you want. If you’ve turned on Allow Notifications, you can choose when you want the notifications to be delivered – immediately or in the scheduled notification summary.
Note: With iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, you can turn on Critical Alerts so notifications come through even if your iPhone is muted or you have set up a Focus. When you use Focus*, it delays the delivery of notifications on iPhone to prevent interruptions. You can schedule a time to receive a summary of the notifications you missed.
*For more on Focus settings please read Apple’s knowledge article regarding the device feature. Click here!
Android
NOTE: Steps to resolve will vary by phone model and OS.
Basic Troubleshooting
- Confirm that your phone is connected to the internet.
- Your phone is not in airplane mode. Android phone Settings > Network & Internet > toggle to turn Airplane mode on and off.
- You have enabled cellular data.
- If are on a campus or corporate Wi-Fi that has firewall restrictions in place, contact the network administrator.
- Check that your provider allows WebSocket connections.
- Ensure your Network does not have a firewall to prevent app or sites or browser types.
- Make sure that your VPN or other apps are not restricting Evertel’s ability to connect to the internet.
- Update to the latest version of Evertel Android.
- Update the Google Play services app on your phone.
- Update the Android System Webview app on your phone.
- Upgrade your Android OS to the latest version that is available for your device.
- Confirm that the date and time settings for your phone are set correctly for your time zone. Compare to the time set by https://www.time.gov/ or by https://time.is/.
- Check if the notification appears in your Android notification bar or tray.
- Check that you have enabled notifications on your phone.
- Android Settings > Apps (then Manage Apps; for some users) > Evertel > Check in Show notifications.
- Evertel’s settings> Notifications > Enable message notifications.
- Clear the app’s cache (Clearing the app cache is kind of like a cleanse for your apps. It will get rid of residual files that could be slowing down the app).
- Open Settings> swipe to and tap Apps> Select or search for the app you want to clear> Tap Storage> then tap Clear cache.
Note: The only way to clear the cache on every app at the same time would be to perform a factory reset on your phone.
- Open Settings> swipe to and tap Apps> Select or search for the app you want to clear> Tap Storage> then tap Clear cache.
- Check your device’s customized notifications:
From Settings, tap Notifications, and then tap App notifications.
Next, tap an app you’d like to customize.
Next, tap Notification categories, and then tap the switch next to your desired categories to enable or disable them.
Note: The available options may vary depending on the app.
- Confirm you have not muted notifications for the app.
- Check if your linked Evertel Desktop has already viewed the message.
- Check that you have free space in internal memory, not the SD card. You can free up space by deleting apps that are not on the SD card.
- Confirm you have enabled WiFi or cellular data while your phone is asleep. Android phone Settings > Wi-Fi > Advanced > Always keep Wi-Fi on during sleep.
OS-Specific Settings
- Disable WiFi optimization. Android phone Settings > Wi-Fi > Menu > Advanced > uncheck Wi-Fi optimization.
- Enable background data. Android phone Settings > Data usage > Menu/More > Auto-sync data > OK to enable auto-sync data.
- Confirm notifications are enabled for Evertel.
- Android phone Settings > Sound and Notification > App/Application Notifications > Evertel > confirm Block is disabled.
- Confirm Evertel is enabled to work when ‘Do not disturb’ mode is on.
- Android phone Settings > Sound and Notification > App/Application Notifications > Evertel > Enable Set as priority.
- Enable background data.
- Android phone Settings > Data usage > Cellular data usage > Evertel > Background data > Enable Unrestricted data usage.
- Android phone Settings > Data usage > Menu > Make sure Evertel is allowed to work if you’ve selected ‘Restrict app background data’.
- Make sure all of Evertel’s permissions are granted.
- Android Settings app > Apps & Notifications (depending on your device, this may look different) > Evertel > App Permissions (depending on your device, this may look different) > Turn permissions on.
- Confirm Evertel is enabled to work when ‘Do not disturb’ mode is on.
- Android phone Settings app > Sound > Do not disturb > Disable.
- Check that Evertel is excluded from battery optimization.
- Advanced settings toolbar icon > Battery optimization > select ‘All apps’ > Evertel > select ‘Don’t optimize.’ > Done > Restart your phone.
- Android phone Settings > Apps > Advanced settings toolbar icon > Special access > Battery optimization > select ‘All apps’ > Evertel > select ‘Don’t optimize.’
- Android phone Settings > Battery > MENU > Battery optimization > select ‘All apps’ > Evertel > select ‘Don’t optimize.’
- Android phone Settings > Apps > Advanced settings toolbar icon > Ignore optimizations > select ‘All apps’ > Evertel > select ‘Allow.’
- Enable background data.
- Android phone Settings > Data usage > Cellular data usage > Evertel > Background data > Enable Unrestricted data usage.
- Follow steps for Android 6 above.
- Enable background data.
- Android phone Settings > Data usage > Data saver > If data saver is disabled, stop here. If data saver is enabled go to Unrestricted data access > Enable Evertel.
- Follow steps for Android 6 above.
- Enable Evertel to run in the background.
- Android phone Settings > Apps > App Info > tap our app > Battery > turn on the ‘Background activity’ option.
- Android phone Settings > Data usage > Data saver > If data saver is disabled, stop here. If data saver is enabled go to Unrestricted data access > Enable Evertel.
- Follow steps for Android 6 above.
- Check battery settings. Android phone Settings > Battery > Adaptive preferences > turn off Adaptive Battery.
Phone-Specific Settings
Asus/ZenFone
- Android phone Settings > Power management > Auto-start manager > DOWNLOADED page > select ‘Allow’ for Evertel.
HTC
- Boost+ app > Optimize background apps > Evertel > select ‘Off.’
Huawei
- Android phone Settings > Apps > Apps > Evertel > Power Usage Details > App Launch > Set to Manage Manually and enable these options: Auto-Launch, Secondary Launch, and Run in Background.
- Phone Manager app > Battery manager (or Energy Saver) > Protected apps > Enable Evertel.
- Android phone Settings > Advanced Settings > Battery manager (or Energy Saver) > Protected apps > Enable Evertel.
- Android phone Settings > ‘All’ tab > Protected apps > Enable Evertel.
- Phone Manager App > Protected apps > Enable Evertel.
- Android phone Settings > Apps > Advanced/Special Access > Ignore battery optimizations > All Apps (drop down) > Enable Evertel.
- Android phone settings > Battery > Launch > Evertel.
- Android phone settings > Apps > Evertel > Data usage > Background Data > Enable.
- Android phone Settings > Notification panel & status bar > Notification center, find Evertel and activate Allow Notifications and Priority Display.
Lenovo
- Android phone Settings > Power manager > Background app management > add Evertel to the unrestricted list or allow Evertel to auto-start.
Nokia
- Android phone settings > Battery > Background activity manager > ensure that the toggle is disabled for Evertel.
OnePlus
- Android phone Settings > Apps > Gear icon > Apps Auto-launch > Enable Evertel start-up in the background.
- Android phone Settings > Battery > Menu > Aggressive Doze & App Hibernation > Disable this mode or prevent Evertel from being limited in this mode.
- Android phone Settings > Apps > Menu > Auto Run > Disable this mode or prevent Evertel from being limited in this mode.
Oppo
- Apps > Security center > Privacy permissions > Auto-run management (or Startup manager) > Enable Evertel.
- Android phone Settings > Application management > Running tab > Enable Everel.
Samsung
- Android phone Settings > Apps > Evertel > Mobile data > Allow background data usage
- Android phone Settings > Security > Auto-start management > Enable Evertel.
- Android phone Settings > Wi-Fi > Advanced > Always keep Wi-Fi on during sleep.
- Android phone Settings > Device Maintenance > Battery > MENU > App Power Monitor > Disable or selectively choose apps to sleep from Settings > Device Maintenance > Battery. Make sure to exclude Evertel from the sleep list.
- Android phone Settings > Device Maintenance > Battery > Power saving mode > Disable ot adjust to MID.
- Android phone Settings > Battery > Detail > Evertel > Turn off.
- Apps drawer > Smart manager > Battery > Detail > Evertel > Turn off.
- Android phone Settings > Battery > Battery usage > MENU > Optimize battery usage > select ‘All apps’ > Disable Evertel.
- Android phone Settings > Battery > Unmonitored apps > Add apps > Evertel > Done > Restart your phone.
- Samsung 8: Android phone Settings > Apps > Menu > Special Access > Optimize battery usage > select the drop down which likely states ‘apps not optimized’ and switch to ‘all apps’ > find Evertel and tap on the switch to turn it off.
- Settings > Device care > Battery > More > Settings > Put unused apps to sleep > Set sleep delay to a date higher than 3
Sony
- Android phone Settings > Storage & memory > turn off the ‘Smart cleaner’ option or continue to tap the three dots at the top right > Advanced > add Evertel to the whitelist.
- Android phone Settings > Power management > Tap STAMINA mode > Apps active in standby > add Everel to the whitelist.
Vivo
- Apps drawer > iManager > App manager > Autostart manager > allow Evertel to auto-start in the background.
Xiaomi / MIUI
- Apps drawer > Security app > Permissions > tap Autostart > Enable Evertel.
- Android phone Settings > Services > Security > Permissions > Autostart > Enable Evertel.
- Android phone Settings > Additional Settings > Battery and Performance > Manage apps’ battery usage > turn ‘Power saving modes’ off > open the Security app > navigate to Permissions > add Evertel to Autostart > invoke Task Manager > find Evertel > drag it downwards until the padlock icon appears.
- Android phone Security app > Settings > Data usage > Allow background data.
Unlisted phone/OS
If your phone or OS is not listed, you can search for specific settings on your phone in the following categories
- Notifications
- Priority mode
- Battery power and optimization
- Background permissions
- Autostart
Other Settings
- Edit your VPN or firewall settings.
- Android phone Settings > More (Under Wireless & Networks) > VPN then disable Wi-Fi Assistant.
- Make sure you allow *.whispersystems.org, TCP ports 80, 443, and 31337, and all UDP. If you have a transparent or reverse proxy it needs to support WebSockets.
- Reset your Google Account.
- Android phone Settings > Applications > Manage applications > All (Swipe right on some phones for this list, if not listed in Downloaded).
- Choose Google Play services > Clear data.
- Choose Google services framework > Clear data.
- Temporarily unlink your Google account from the phone.
- Reboot the phone.
- Re-associate your Google account.