Users often face restrictions on their smartphones and tablets. One of the most problematic user interfaces is EMUI for Huawei devices for Android. This interface severely limits background processes for many applications.
Some applications do not have an API or documentation. Therefore, the device incorrectly conducts background processing and does not allow specific programs to work correctly.
In addition, some versions of EMUI (for example, EMUI 4, EMUI 5 and EMUI 9) do not allow users to set special settings. As a result, applications cannot run in the background longer than 60 minutes. The fault is the service HwPFWService (for EMUI 9 this application was called PowerGenie).
Today we will tell you how to configure your Huawei smartphones to circumvent most of the problems that arise with non-standard applications.
App Launch on some EMUI 8, 9 and 10 devices (Huawei P20, Huawei P20 Lite, Huawei Mate 10)
- Phone settings > Battery > App launch and then set your app to “Manage manually” and make sure everything is turned on.
This feature may or may not be available for all devices or labeled differently.
- Turn off “Manage all automatically”
- Make sure all switches are on.
- In addition to these operations, you may need to delete the PowerGenie. Only then will the background processes work correctly.
Startup manager
Startup manager - an assistant that prevents applications from autostart after the phone is turned on. To deal with this issue, you need to:
- Go to Settings > All > Startup manager.
- Set the appropriate permission for your application.
EMUI 9+ devices
Battery optimization
- Open Settings.
- Search for and access Battery optimization.
- Touch the little inverted triangle next to Don’t allow.
- Touch All apps.
- Locate and touch your app, and select Don’t allow.
PowerGenie
In addition to the various restrictions that Huawei developers place on their devices, they created an "app killer".
It is called PowerGenie and it kills all apps that are not on its whitelist. You cannot add custom apps on their pre-defined whitelist. This means there is no other way to fix proper app functionality on Huawei than uninstalling PowerGenie.
Unfortunately this is a system app and can only be fully uninstalled using ADB (Android Debug Bridge) Source: XDA. You need to:
- Install ADB on your computer
- Connect your phone with a data cable
- Enable Developer options
- Enable USB debugging within Developer options on your device
- Run the following commands on your computer:
1. adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.huawei.powergenie;
2. adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.huawei.android.hwaps;
If apps keep getting killed try running adb shell pm stopservice hwPfwService.
We did not yet have this confirmed but it is possible you can alternatively just disable PowerGenie in Phone settings > Apps. This setting would need to be re-applied every time you reboot your device.
EMUI 5.X and 8.X
Battery optimization
- Open Settings.
- Search for and access Battery optimization.
- Touch the little inverted triangle next to Allow.
- Touch All apps.
- Locate and touch your app, and select Allow.
EMUI 6+ devices (and some EMUI 5 devices)
Set the following parameters:
- Phone settings > Advanced Settings > Battery manager > Power plan set to Performance
- Phone Settings > Advanced Settings > Battery Manager > Protected apps – set your app as Protected
- Phone Settings > Apps > Your app > Battery > Power-intensive prompt [uncheck] and Keep running after screen off [check]
- Phone settings > Apps > Advanced (At the bottom) > Ignore optimisations > Press Allowed > All apps > Find your app on the list and set to Allow
Huawei P9 Plus
Set the following parameters:
Phone settings > Apps > Settings > Special access > Ignore battery optimisation > select allow for your app.
Huawei Honor 9 Lite, Huawei Mate 9 Pro
Set the following parameters:
Phone settings > Battery > Launch and then set your app to “Manage manually” and make sure everything is turned on.
EMUI 4
For this type of device, there is no option to bypass the restrictions set by Huawei developers.
