Android 14+ Notification Body Tap Not Working on MediaStyle Notifications

[justcoding121]

Summary

On Android 14+ (API 34+), MediaStyle notification body taps do not open the app when using CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement 7.0.0. The notification body tap triggers the default MediaSession.Callback.OnPlay() method (which just plays/pauses) instead of opening the app, even when SessionActivity is set.

Environment

• Package: CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement version 7.0.0
• Platform: Android
• Android Version: Android 14+ (API 34+)
• Affected Devices: Pixel devices (tested on Pixel 7a), stock Android 14+
• Working Devices: Samsung One UI 6+, Xiaomi (some ROMs still respect SessionActivity)
• Working on: Android 8-13 (all devices)

Problem Description

Expected Behavior

When a user taps the notification body (title/artwork area) of a MediaStyle notification, the app should open and navigate to the appropriate screen.

Actual Behavior

On Android 14+ (especially Pixel devices), tapping the notification body:

• Does not open the app
• Instead triggers MediaSession.Callback.OnPlay() which just plays/pauses the media
• The ContentIntent and SessionActivity are ignored by the system

Root Cause

According to Android's official documentation:

"When a MediaStyle notification is displayed with a MediaSession token, taps on the notification body are reserved for resuming the media session (i.e. they trigger MediaSession.Callback.onPlay()). The ContentIntent is ignored unless no MediaSession token is set."

The Problem:

1. MediaElement 7.0.0 uses Media3 (androidx.media3.session.MediaSession)
2. Media3's MediaSession callback is set during session creation via MediaSession.Builder.setCallback()
3. MediaElement creates the MediaSession internally in MediaManager.android.cs without exposing a way to set a custom callback
4. Media3's MediaSession does not allow changing the callback after creation (it's immutable)
5. Therefore, we cannot override OnPlay() to launch the app instead of just playing/pausing

Code Reference

In MediaManager.android.cs (line 174-177):

var mediaSession = new MediaSession.Builder(Platform.AppContext, Player);
mediaSession.SetId(Convert.ToBase64String(Guid.NewGuid().ToByteArray())[..8]);
session ??= mediaSession.Build() ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("Session cannot be null");
// No SetCallback() call - uses default callback that just plays/pauses

Workaround Attempts

We've tried several approaches, all of which fail on Android 14+ Pixel devices:

1. Setting SessionActivity - Works on Android 8-13 and some Android 14+ OEMs, but ignored on Pixel/stock Android 14+
2. Reflection to set callback - Media3's MediaSession doesn't expose setCallback() method after creation
3. Continuous notification override - We can override the ContentIntent, but Android 14+ still routes body taps to the callback's OnPlay() instead

Proposed Solutions

Option 1: Expose MediaSession Callback Configuration (Recommended)

Allow developers to provide a custom MediaSession.Callback when creating the MediaSession:

// In MediaElement or MediaElementOptions
public MediaSessionCallback? CustomMediaSessionCallback { get; set; }

// In MediaManager.android.cs
var mediaSession = new MediaSession.Builder(Platform.AppContext, Player);
if (MediaElement.CustomMediaSessionCallback != null)
{
    mediaSession.SetCallback(MediaElement.CustomMediaSessionCallback);
}

Option 2: Provide MediaSession Builder Extension Point

Allow developers to customize the MediaSession.Builder before it's built:

// In MediaElementOptions
public Action<MediaSession.Builder>? ConfigureMediaSession { get; set; }

// In MediaManager.android.cs
var mediaSession = new MediaSession.Builder(Platform.AppContext, Player);
MediaElement.ConfigureMediaSession?.Invoke(mediaSession);
session = mediaSession.Build();

Option 3: Handle OnPlay() in Default Callback

Modify the default callback to check for a custom intent/action and launch the app if configured:

// In MediaManager, create a wrapper callback
var callback = new MediaSessionCallbackWrapper
{
    OnPlayAction = () => 
    {
        if (MediaElement.NotificationClickAction != null)
        {
            // Launch app instead of just playing
            MediaElement.NotificationClickAction.Invoke();
        }
        else
        {
            // Default behavior
            Player.Play();
        }
    }
};
mediaSession.SetCallback(callback);

Impact

This is a critical UX issue for media apps that need to:

• Open the app when users tap the notification body
• Navigate to specific screens based on what's playing
• Show modals or UI elements when playback is active

Affected Use Cases:

• Music players that show lyrics/album art on tap
• Podcast apps that navigate to episode details
• Alarm apps that need to show alarm controls
• Any app where notification body tap should open the app, not just play/pause

Comparison with Media2/ExoPlayer 2

The older Media2 implementation (used in MediaElement 6.x and other libraries) allowed setting the callback after session creation and had a MediaDescriptionAdapter pattern that worked around this limitation. Media3's stricter architecture makes this impossible without framework support.

Additional Context

• This behavior is by design in Android 14+ and is documented
• YouTube Music, Spotify, and other major apps handle this by setting custom callbacks during session creation
• The limitation only affects apps that cannot customize the MediaSession callback (like MediaElement 7.0.0)

Request

Please add a way for developers to customize the MediaSession.Callback in MediaElement 7.0.0+ to properly handle Android 14+ notification body taps. This is essential for apps that need to open the app (rather than just play/pause) when users interact with media notifications.

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Related Issues: (if any exist in the repository)
Labels: android, mediaelement, android14, notification, bug, enhancement

[ne0rrmatrix]

Thank you for the suggestion. I agree this needs to be fixed. I will work on creating a PR. But can you open a bug report and add the info above? @justcoding121 That would be very helpful for me.

[justcoding121]

Opened #2976. Thank you.