MyOcto · for providers and their colleagues

Make sure a colleague's phone wakes up when you ask

An ask reaches a colleague as an ordinary notification. Some phones block notifications for apps they consider closed, to save battery. This page lists the settings to check, per phone brand, plus a two-minute test.

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What we saw in testing. On a ZTE test phone, when MyOcto had been swiped away or closed by the phone, the first ask only woke the app silently; the second ask showed. On a Samsung both showed within a second. The steps below are the settings that usually prevent that.

The two-minute test

Do this with each colleague once. It tells you in under two minutes whether their phone needs any of the settings below.

flowchart TD
  A["Colleague closes MyOcto completely
(swipe it away) and turns the screen off"] --> B["You open the map
and tap Ask the group, once"]
  B --> C{"Their phone shows
'A colleague is asking who is free'
within 10 seconds?"}
  C -- Yes --> D["It arrived this time. Nothing more to change now."]
  C -- No --> E["Colleague does the Every-phone steps,
then their brand card"]
  E --> F["Wait two minutes, then test again"]
  F --> C

Asks are spaced one minute apart, so wait a full minute before a second attempt. The notification is titled MyOcto and reads A colleague is asking who is free · tap to open the map and show you're free. Tapping it opens the map and answers with the status they last chose (Free, Busy or Away).

Every phone

Six settings, on the colleague's own phone. Nobody can do these for them.

Wake-ups switched on inside MyOcto
The first time the map goes live, MyOcto asks Wake you up when a colleague asks?. Answer Yes, wake me. Later it lives under Me › Wake me when a colleague asks.
Notifications allowed for MyOcto
Settings › Apps › MyOcto › Notifications: allowed, and the category Colleagues asking who is free not set to silent. Allow it on the lock screen too.
Battery set to Unrestricted
Settings › Apps › MyOcto › Battery: choose Unrestricted (older phones say Don't optimise). This is the single most important step.
Don't swipe MyOcto away
Leave it in the recent apps instead of clearing it. Most brands can also lock an app there (long-press its card, then the padlock), which keeps "clear all" from closing it.
"Pause app activity if unused" switched off
Android pauses apps it has not seen opened for a while and then drops their notifications. Settings › Apps › MyOcto: turn off Pause app activity if unused (some phones call it Remove permissions if app is unused).
Data allowed in the background
If Data saver is on: Settings › Network › Data saver › Unrestricted data, add MyOcto. Do not disturb hides notifications as well; check it is off during work hours.

Then your phone brand

Brands add their own battery managers on top of Android. Find the colleague's brand and do its card after the six steps above.

Samsung · One UI

Never sleeping apps

Settings › Battery › Background usage limits: add MyOcto to Never sleeping apps.
In the same screen, turn off Put unused apps to sleep.
Settings › Battery › More battery settings: turn off Adaptive battery if the first ask still goes missing.
Recent apps: long-press the MyOcto card, tap Lock this app.

Xiaomi · Redmi · POCO

Autostart and no restrictions

Settings › Apps › Manage apps › MyOcto: turn Autostart on (newer phones: App permissions › Background autostart).
Same screen, Battery saver: choose No restrictions.
Recent apps: pull the MyOcto card down until the padlock appears, or long-press it and tap the padlock.
Same screen, Notifications: allow Lock screen notifications.

Huawei · Honor

App launch, managed manually

Settings › Battery › App launch › MyOcto: switch off automatic management, then turn on all three: Auto-launch, Secondary launch, Run in background.
Older phones: Settings › Battery › Protected apps, add MyOcto.
Recent apps: pull the MyOcto card down to lock it.

Oppo · Realme · OnePlus

Background activity and auto-launch

Settings › Apps › MyOcto › Battery usage: turn on Allow background activity and Allow auto-launch.
Settings › Battery › More settings: turn off Sleep standby optimisation; set battery optimisation for MyOcto to Don't optimise.
Recent apps: long-press the MyOcto card, tap Lock.

Motorola · Google Pixel · Nokia · other plain Android

Usually only the six steps

Settings › Apps › MyOcto › App battery usage: Unrestricted.
Motorola only: Settings › Battery, turn off Adaptive battery if the first ask still goes missing.

ZTE · nubia

Allow background running

Settings › Apps › MyOcto › Battery: allow background running and auto-start; set battery to Unrestricted.
Recent apps: lock the MyOcto card.
This is the brand where we saw the first ask go missing. Run the two-minute test after the change. It is a check, not a guarantee for every situation.

Send this to a colleague

Short enough for WhatsApp. Copy it, paste it, and add the brand card that fits their phone.

Still nothing after the steps?

The notification shows, but tapping it does nothing: Open MyOcto once by hand, open the map, then test again. A phone that has never opened the new version needs that one launch.
It works on Wi-Fi but not on mobile data: Check Data saver (step 6) and any "smart" data switching the brand offers. Weak signal also delays notifications; the ask stays open for three minutes.
It worked for weeks and then stopped: A system update often resets battery settings to "Optimised". Redo step 3 and the brand card.
The colleague's map shows them as live, but you see nothing: That is a different path (the live connection), not a wake-up. Ask them to go offline and back online once.