.Net Maui Local Notifications Android And Ios Complete Guide

Prerequisites

1. Visual Studio 2022: Ensure you have the latest version of Visual Studio with .NET MAUI installed.
2. Android SDK/NDK: Make sure the Android SDK and NDK are installed.
3. iOS Development: You must be on a Mac for iOS development, or you can use a Mac in the cloud.

Step-by-Step Guide for Local Notifications

1. Create a New .NET MAUI Project

• Open Visual Studio.
• Go to Create a new project.
• Select MAUI App.
• Click Next.
• Enter your project name, for example, LocalNotificationsDemo.
• Choose the location where you want to save the project.
• Click Next and then Create.

2. Install Required NuGet Packages

For handling notifications, you can use the Plugin.LocalNotifications NuGet package. It simplifies the process of creating local notifications.

• Right-click on your solution in the Solution Explorer.
• Select Manage NuGet Packages for Solution.
• Go to the Browse tab and search for Plugin.LocalNotifications.
• Install the package for all projects in your solution (.NET MAUI, Android, and iOS).

3. Initialize the Plugin in Andoid

Navigate to your Android project and make the following changes:

• Open the MainActivity.cs file.
• Include the necessary namespace:

using Plugin.LocalNotification;

• Inside the OnCreate method, add the following code:

protected override void OnCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
    base.OnCreate(savedInstanceState);
    LocalNotification.Platform.Init(this);
}

• In MainActivity.cs, override the OnNewIntent method:

protected override void OnNewIntent(Intent intent)
{
    base.OnNewIntent(intent);
    LocalNotification.Platform.OnNewIntent(intent);
}

4. Initialize the Plugin in iOS

Navigate to your iOS project and make the following changes:

• Open the AppDelegate.cs file.
• Include the necessary namespace:

using Plugin.LocalNotification;

• Inside the FinishedLaunching method, add the following code:

public override bool FinishedLaunching(UIApplication app, NSDictionary options)
{
    LocalNotification.Platform.Init(options.GetNotificationResponse());
    return base.FinishedLaunching(app, options);
}

• Override the ReceivedLocalNotification method:

public override void ReceivedLocalNotification(UIApplication application, UILocalNotification notification)
{
    LocalNotification.Platform.ReceivedLocalNotification(notification);
}

5. Create Local Notifications

Now, you can create local notifications in your .NET MAUI shared code.

• Open the MainPage.xaml.cs file or wherever you want to trigger notifications.
• Add the following code in a method, such as the OnAppearing or a button click event:

private void ScheduleNotification()
{
    var notification = new NotificationRequest
    {
        NotificationId = 100,
        Title = "Hello!",
        Description = "This is a local notification from .NET MAUI",
        Schedule = null // For immediate notification
    };

    LocalNotificationCenter.Current.Show(notification);
}

6. Permissions

For iOS, you may need to request explicit permission to send local notifications.

• Open the Info.plist file in the iOS project.
• Add the following key-value pair:

<key>UIBackgroundModes</key>
<array>
    <string>fetch</string>
</array>
<key>UIBackgroundModes</key>
<array>
    <string>remote-notification</string>
</array>
<key>NSLocalNotificationUsageDescription</key>
<string>Your message to the user about notifications goes here</string>

• In the AppDelegate.cs file, request permissions:

public override bool FinishedLaunching(UIApplication app, NSDictionary options)
{
    LocalNotification.Platform.Init(options.GetNotificationResponse());
    UNUserNotificationCenter.Current.RequestAuthorization(UNAuthorizationOptions.Alert, (approved, err) =>
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Request Authorization {approved}");
    });

    return base.FinishedLaunching(app, options);
}

7. Testing

• For Android: Deploy your application to an emulator or a physical device. Trigger the notification from your app, and you should see it pop up.
• For iOS: Deploy your application to a physical device (the simulator does not support local notifications). Trigger the notification from your app, and you should see it pop up.

Conclusion

This guide should help you set up local notifications in a .NET MAUI application for both Android and iOS. You can customize the notifications with additional properties like BadgeNumber, Sound and Category, depending on your needs. Happy coding!

Full Example Code

Android MainActivity.cs

using Android.App;
using Android.Content.PM;
using Android.OS;
using Android.Runtime;

namespace LocalNotificationsDemo;

[Activity(Theme = "@style/Maui.SplashTheme", MainLauncher = true, ConfigurationChanges = ConfigChanges.ScreenSize | ConfigChanges.Orientation | ConfigChanges.UiMode | ConfigChanges.ScreenLayout | ConfigChanges.SmallestScreenSize)]
public class MainActivity : MauiAppCompatActivity
{
    protected override void OnCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
    {
        base.OnCreate(savedInstanceState);
        LocalNotification.Platform.Init(this);
    }

    protected override void OnNewIntent(Intent intent)
    {
        base.OnNewIntent(intent);
        LocalNotification.Platform.OnNewIntent(intent);
    }
}

iOS AppDelegate.cs

using Foundation;
using Microsoft.Maui;
using Microsoft.Maui.Hosting;
using UIKit;
using UserNotifications;
using Plugin.LocalNotification.Platforms.iOS;

namespace LocalNotificationsDemo;

[Register("AppDelegate")]
public class AppDelegate : MauiUIApplicationDelegate
{
    protected override MauiApp CreateMauiApp() => MauiProgram.CreateMauiApp();

    public override bool FinishedLaunching(UIApplication app, NSDictionary options)
    {
        LocalNotification.Platform.Init(options.GetNotificationResponse());
        UNUserNotificationCenter.Current.RequestAuthorization(UNAuthorizationOptions.Alert, (approved, err) =>
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"Request Authorization {approved}");
        });

        return base.FinishedLaunching(app, options);
    }

    public override void ReceivedLocalNotification(UIApplication application, UILocalNotification notification)
    {
        LocalNotification.Platform.ReceivedLocalNotification(notification);
    }
}

Shared Code MainPage.xaml.cs

using Plugin.LocalNotification;
using System.Diagnostics;

namespace LocalNotificationsDemo;

public partial class MainPage : ContentPage
{
    public MainPage()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
    }

    private void OnScheduleNotificationClicked(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        ScheduleNotification();
    }

    private void ScheduleNotification()
    {
        var notification = new NotificationRequest
        {
            NotificationId = 100,
            Title = "Hello!",
            Description = "This is a local notification from .NET MAUI",
            Schedule = null // For immediate notification
        };

        LocalNotificationCenter.Current.Show(notification);
    }
}

MainPage.xaml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<ContentPage xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/dotnet/2021/maui"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
             x:Class="LocalNotificationsDemo.MainPage">

    <StackLayout VerticalOptions="CenterAndExpand" HorizontalOptions="CenterAndExpand">
        <Button Text="Schedule Notification" Clicked="OnScheduleNotificationClicked" />
    </StackLayout>

</ContentPage>

Info.plist

Add the following under the <dict> tag in Info.plist: