Frequently asked questions
Is there a PC or online edition available?
No, Automate is an Android app, currently not available on any other platform.
To edit flows on a Windows or MacOS computer use an Android emulator, like BlueStacks.
How to recover from a flow making the device inaccessible?
See safe mode (device recovery).
Why is Premium no longer working?
Verification of premium ownership may fail if there’s a problem communicating with the Google Play store app, try rebooting the device.
See Premium page for further information.
Why is the app using so much battery?
Automate should use very little battery while in the background running flows, if the flows are properly made.
Common flow design mistakes which could cause excessive battery usage:
- Repeatedly checking (“polling”) state at a timed interval, e.g. checking Wi-Fi connectivity every 5 minutes, as this may prevent the device
from going into a low-power “sleep” state. The solution is to set the Proceed option to When changed
(or alike) so the flow will pause, allowing the device to “sleep” until the state has actually changed.
- D.I.Y. geofencing by repeatedly executing a Location get and/or Wi-Fi network scan block,
as this may also prevent the device from “sleeping”. The solution is to use the Location at block
and let the system handle the geofencing without the need to have Automate constantly working.
- A looping flow without any blocks using a “When changed” Proceed option, as this will cause the flow to run continuously.
The solution is to ensure a flow has a block where it will pause, awaiting an event.
The flowchart editor is graphically demanding so editing flows often may use more battery.
Why are flows stopping?
A flow should only stop if an failure occurs, or it’s explicitly stopped.
A flow will run until reaching an unconnected dot, so to be kept running all dots should connect to another block.
This will, and should, create an infinite loop, if the flow is meant to run indefinitely.
If a flow stop because of a failure, and that is not wanted, use the
Failure catch block to handle the failure and keep the flow running.
If flows are running when Automate is open but seem to pause otherwise, see Why do the app stop running?.
Why do the app stop running?
If flows, or a particular feature used therein, are running without issue
but pause when the screen is turned off or when Automate is no longer in the foreground,
it’s likely caused by an installed “task killer” app like Greenify, or some kind of system “power save” feature:
Android 6—8.1
Android 9+
Huawei
- System Settings →
Advanced settings →
Battery manager →
Power plan →
choose Performance.
- System Settings →
Advanced settings →
Battery manager →
Protected apps →
Automate →
choose Protected.
- System Settings →
Apps →
Automate →
Battery →
enable Power-intensive and Keep running after screen off.
- Huawei P9 Plus:
System Settings →
Apps →
Settings →
Special access →
Ignore battery optimisation →
Automate →
choose Allow.
- Huawei P20:
System Settings →
Battery →
App launch →
Automate →
choose Manage manually, and enable everything else.
Meizu
- System Settings →
Advanced settings →
Battery manager →
Power plan →
choose Performance.
- System Settings →
Advanced settings →
Battery manager →
Protected apps →
Automate →
choose Protected.
- System Settings →
Apps →
Automate →
Battery →
enable Power-intensive and Keep running after screen off.
Nokia
OnePlus
- System Settings →
Battery →
Battery optimization (menu) →
Enhanced/Advanced optimization →
switch Off.
- System Settings →
Apps →
Gear/Cog icon (menu) →
Advanced →
App auto-launch →
Automate →
switch off.
Samsung
- System Settings →
Device maintenance →
Battery →
Save power →
Sleeping apps →
Unmonitored apps →
add (menu) Automate to the list, or disable the App power monitor feature altogether.
- System Settings →
Apps →
Special access (menu) →
Optimize Battery usage →
Automate →
disable.
Sony
- System Settings →
Power management →
Stamina mode →
turn off.
Xiaomi
- System Settings →
Advanced settings →
Battery manager →
Power plan →
choose Performance.
- System Settings →
Advanced settings →
Battery manager →
Protected apps →
Automate →
choose Protected.
- System Settings →
Apps →
Automate →
Battery →
enable Power-intensive and Keep running after screen off.
- System Settings →
Additional settings →
Battery & Performance →
Manage apps’ battery usage →
Saving power in the background →
Choose apps →
Automate →
Background settings →
choose No restrictions.
- System Security app →
Permissions →
Auto-start →
Automate →
turn on.
- Long-press Recent apps button →
Long-press Automate →
enable Lock.
- System Settings →
Apps →
Automate →
Other permissions →
enable Display pop-up windows while running in the background.
Visit dontkillmyapp.com for additional information on “power save” features.
Even with every “power save” feature disabled the device will go hibernate/sleep,
use the Device keep awake block around critical sections of the flows to prevent that.
Also, by default flows don’t resume running after a system reboot,
enable the Run on system startup option in Automate settings to let them do so automatically.
Why can’t the app be uninstalled?
Apps that are enabled as Device administrator can’t be uninstalled until disabled as such.
Revoke the “lock device and monitor failed unlock attempts” privilege in Privileges settings
or in system Device administrator settings.
Why can’t a backup be restored?
- If you can’t restore an Automate backup stored on the SD card. Remember that Automate, by default, can’t access the SD card.
Grant access to “photos, media and files on your device” in
Privileges settings,
before restoring the backup.
- If you open a backup file from within another app like Google Drive, that app may send the wrong file type.
Automate will then fail with an “corrupt flow” error as it tries to import the file as a flow.
Always use the Restore backup option in settings.
- If the backup file is disabled/gray in the Google Drive app,
it usually means there’s a MIME type issue.
Long-tap the file and choose Download, then restore the downloaded backup file instead, it’s located in the “Downloads” directory on the SD card/Internal storage.
On the (Android 5+) system “file chooser” screen if the backup file is still disabled/gray, choose to “open from” (see left drawer) the SD card with an Automate icon.
Why is a flow corrupt?
If a flow stops working with an “failed to read parcel” error after you’ve upgraded to a higher Android version, you’ll have to reconfigure
all the App start shortcut and Plug-in blocks.
This happens when Android has changed its internal data format.
A general “failed to read flow” error message can appear when importing a flow and Automate is unable to access/read the data.
This can be caused by a lack of privilege, or an issue with the app providing the data stream.
A “corrupt flow” error message can appear when restoring a backup, see Why can’t the backup be restored?.
Why is the app crashing when starting a flow?
It may be caused by the flow being to complex to fit in memory, try increasing the Stack size in
settings.
How to hide the “running” notification?
A permanent notification is an Android requirement to keep a background service running, without it Automate would become unreliable.
However the notification can be hidden by turning off the
Running
notification channel
in system App notification settings on Android 8+,
or by enabling the Hide “running” notification option in settings on lower Android versions.
Disabling all notifications for Automate, in system Apps settings, is not advised as it will hinder the “pick” blocks from working properly,
prevent the Notification show block from showing notifications,
and may prevent the Toast show block from displaying “toast” messages.
Why the extension (add-on) apps?
See extensions.
How to resubmit age information?
The age information, as specified on the age verification dialog, can be reset by clicking
Clear defaults option in settings.
How to request account data deletion?
See data deletion.