downnload process aborted when Maui Andriod is not visible or screen id turned off

Question

downnload process aborted when Maui Andriod is not visible or screen id turned off

Qun Shen 65

I have Maui Andriod app, in which a file id dowloaded from an url. When the app is running and visible download process goes well. but screen is turned off or app is not visible, the download process is aborted. Is is greatly appreciated if somene can help me to solve the problem. Thank you!

Answer accepted by question author

2 additional answers

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Answer 1

Nancy Vo (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 880 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @Qun Shen ,

Thanks for reaching out.

I suggest using Android's DownloadManager which allows downloads to continue even when the app is closed or the screen is off.

While this is a non-Microsoft link, it’s official Android documentation and is safe to visit.

Here are the steps and code examples:

We create interface in shared code.

public interface IDownloadService
{
    void StartDownload(string url, string fileName);
}

Next, implement in Platforms/Android.

using Android.App;
using Android.Content;
using Android.Net;

public class DownloadService : IDownloadService
{
    public void StartDownload(string url, string fileName)
    {
        var dm = (DownloadManager)Platform.CurrentActivity.GetSystemService(Context.DownloadService);
        var request = new DownloadManager.Request(Uri.Parse(url));
        request.SetTitle("Downloading...");
        request.SetDestinationInExternalPublicDir(Android.OS.Environment.DirectoryDownloads, fileName);
        request.SetNotificationVisibility(DownloadVisibility.VisibleNotifyCompleted);
        dm.Enqueue(request);  // starts download
    }
}

Don't forget to register in MauiProgram.cs.

builder.Services.AddSingleton<IDownloadService, DownloadService>();

Call it.

await downloadService.StartDownload("https://example.com/file.zip", "file.zip");

NOTE: Internet permission is required in your AndroidManifest.xml:

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

Hope this helps. If you found my response helpful or informative, I would greatly appreciate it if you could follow this guidance provide feedback. Thank you.

Qun Shen 65 Reputation points

2026-03-10T14:01:20.0766667+00:00

I am using the code you provided, but project can not go through compiling. the error is at this line；

builder.Services.AddSingleton<IDownloadService, DownloadService>();

the complier can not recongnize the implementation:DownloadService.
Nancy Vo (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 880 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-11T02:31:16.64+00:00
Hi @Qun Shen ,

Thanks for your response.

The error occurs because DownloadService is implemented inside Platforms/Android. Classes in that folder are Android-specific, so the shared project cannot reference them directly unless the registration is wrapped in a platform condition.

I suggest registering the service only for Android.

Update your MauiProgram.cs like this:

#if ANDROID using YourAppNamespace.Platforms.Android; #endif

Then register the service like this:

#if ANDROID builder.Services.AddSingleton<IDownloadService, DownloadService>(); #endif

Also, please make sure you are using the correct namespace.

Hope this helps.
Qun Shen 65 Reputation points

2026-03-11T10:25:01.2566667+00:00

Thank very much! code passes compiler buil and my app runs good!

But how to track download progress or at least how to get notified when download finish?

I have searched internet and have not found any code sample!

Could you some sample code for download finish notification? thank you very much!

Nancy Vo (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 880 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @Qun Shen ,

Thank you for your reply.

To track when the download finishes, Android provides a built-in mechanism for this through DownloadManager. You can listen for the DownloadManager.ActionDownloadComplete broadcast and check whether it corresponds to the download you started.

Below is a simple code example for your reference:

Store the download ID when starting the download. DownloadManager.Enqueue() returns a download ID. You should store this so you can later identify which download completed.

public class DownloadService : IDownloadService
{
    long downloadId;

    public long StartDownload(string url, string fileName)
    {
        var dm = (DownloadManager)Platform.CurrentActivity.GetSystemService(Context.DownloadService);

        var request = new DownloadManager.Request(Android.Net.Uri.Parse(url));
        request.SetTitle("Downloading...");
        request.SetDestinationInExternalPublicDir(
            Android.OS.Environment.DirectoryDownloads,
            fileName);

        request.SetNotificationVisibility(
            DownloadVisibility.VisibleNotifyCompleted);

        downloadId = dm.Enqueue(request);

        return downloadId;
    }
}

You can listen for the system broadcast that indicates a download has finished.

[BroadcastReceiver(Enabled = true, Exported = false)]
[IntentFilter(new[] { DownloadManager.ActionDownloadComplete })]
public class DownloadCompletedReceiver : BroadcastReceiver
{
    public override void OnReceive(Context context, Intent intent)
    {
        long id = intent.GetLongExtra(DownloadManager.ExtraDownloadId, -1);

        if (id != -1)
        {
            // Download completed
            Android.Widget.Toast.MakeText(
                context,
                "Download finished",
                Android.Widget.ToastLength.Long).Show();
        }
    }
}

I hope this helps. If you found my response helpful or informative, I would greatly appreciate it if you could follow this guidance provide feedback. Thank you.

Answer 2

Bruce (SqlWork.com) 83,581 Volunteer Moderator

Mobile O/S are getting more restrictive on what resources can be used when the app is not active. As suggested you can move the download to a background task, but there is no guarantee that the background task will be given enough resources to complete the download. So the app needs to track the download process and allow restarting.

Answer 3

On Android, .NET MAUI apps don’t keep running arbitrary work indefinitely when they’re not visible. When the app is deactivated, stopped, or the device screen is turned off, the app can be suspended or killed by the OS, which aborts in‑process downloads.

To keep a download running reliably when the app isn’t visible, the work must be moved out of the foreground UI flow and into an Android background mechanism that’s designed for long‑running operations, for example:

Use a foreground service with a notification for long downloads.
Use WorkManager (or a similar job scheduler) to run the download as background work.
Persist progress and support resume so that if the app is stopped and later restarted, the download can continue from where it left off.

In MAUI, the UI thread and lifecycle events (Created, Activated, Deactivated, Stopped, Destroying) are intended for UI and short operations. Long network operations that must survive screen off or app not being visible should be implemented using platform‑specific Android services or jobs and then invoked from MAUI via dependency injection or platform code.

References:

App lifecycle

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downnload process aborted when Maui Andriod is not visible or screen id turned off

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