I created the reminder but nothing arrived: where do I start?

Start with permissions, not with the app. In most cases the notification was blocked by the operating system, not by Animiyo. Open the phone settings, find the app and confirm notifications are on with sound and lock screen display. If the permission is there, the culprit is almost always battery saving: remove the app from battery optimisation. After those two checks, run the real test described in the guide rather than waiting for the actual dose.

Notifications arrive but hours late: why?

A delay is the classic signature of battery saving. The phone leaves the app dormant while the screen is off and only delivers the notification when you wake it. The fix is to exclude the app from battery optimisation and, on phones that have one, turn off the manufacturer's second saving layer too. If the delay only shows up after a trip, instead check that the phone date and time update automatically.

Do I have to keep the app open for notifications to work?

No, and you should not need to. A well configured reminder arrives even with the app closed and the screen locked, because delivery is handled by the operating system. If you notice notifications only arrive with the app open, that is a sign battery saving is suspending it in the background: fix it there, not by keeping the app in the foreground, which really does drain the battery.

Travelling abroad my dose reminders shifted: how do I avoid it?

The shift comes from the change of time zone. Before you leave, decide whether to follow the destination's local time or stay on home time for the whole course, and set the phone accordingly. For a therapy on tight intervals, staying on home time keeps the correct spacing between doses. Write the choice in the reminder note and, if someone stands in for you, share it so they do not improvise.

Using Animiyo20 minLevel: BeginnerUpdated on August 20, 2026

Turning on notifications so no reminder slips past you in Animiyo

Why reminders sometimes fail to arrive and how to make them reliable: permissions, battery saving, time zones and a quick test that removes all doubt.

Audience: Pet owners
Species: All species
Scope: Valid everywhere, Italy, European Union

What you need before you start

Animiyo installato e almeno un promemoria già creato per un tuo animale
Accesso alle impostazioni del telefono, sia per le notifiche sia per il risparmio energetico
Cinque minuti in cui puoi aspettare l'arrivo di una notifica di prova senza distrazioni

A reminder that never rings is worse than no reminder at all, because it lets you believe you are covered at the exact moment you skip a dose or a booster. Most of the time the app is not to blame: the reminder fires, but the operating system holds it back to save battery, or the permission was never granted, or the time is calculated in a zone that is not yours. This guide is not about creating reminders, which you do elsewhere, but about making sure they always land. Work through the checks in order, run a real test at the end, and from then on you can trust the notifications instead of opening the app to check.

Why a reminder you created may not show up

Between the moment you set a reminder and the moment the phone shows it to you there are several steps, and any of them can fail silently. Knowing where the chain breaks saves you time, because it stops you changing settings at random until something works for reasons you never understand.

The permission to send notifications was never granted, so the system blocks them at the source.
Battery saving pauses the app while the screen is off, and the notification lands late or not at all.
Do Not Disturb or a focus mode mutes everything in certain hours, reminders included.
The profile time zone does not match where you actually are, so the time is right but shifted.
The notification volume is at zero, or the dedicated sound channel was switched off without noticing.

Granting the right permissions, step by step

Permissions are the foundation: without them, none of the other settings matter. The exact path differs slightly from phone to phone, but the logic is the same. Do it once, calmly, ideally right after you create your first reminder, while you still remember why you need it.

Open the app's notification settings
From the phone settings, find Animiyo in the list of applications and open the Notifications entry. If the app is not in the list, open it at least once and create a reminder, then come back here.
Turn on the main notification permission
Set the master switch to on. Some phones ask only the first time you open the app: if you answered no back then, the permission stays denied until you change it by hand from here.
Allow banners and sound
Look for the options that let the notification appear on the lock screen, play a sound and, where available, stay on screen until you tap it. A health reminder should interrupt, not hide in the notification tray.
Check the dedicated reminders channel
Many systems split notifications into separate categories. Make sure the reminders or medication category is on and not muted, because it can be off even when the main permission is on.
Allow full screen alerts if offered
Some phones have a specific permission for alerts that cover the whole screen, useful for fixed time doses. Turn it on for the reminders you cannot afford to miss.

Stopping battery saving from muting the app

This is where most reminders are lost. To make the battery last, the phone suspends apps you have not opened for a while, and a reminder app spends many hours in the background precisely waiting to wake you. If the system treats it as dormant, the scheduled notification arrives when you next unlock the phone, which is too late to be of use.

Remove Animiyo from battery optimisation, or set it as an unrestricted app.
Turn off the automatic sleeping of unused apps, if the phone applies it to the whole list.
Lock the app in the recent apps view where possible, so the system does not close it to free memory.
Check the manufacturer settings, because some phones add a second layer of saving on top of the standard one.
Avoid prolonged ultra saving modes: handy while travelling, but they suspend almost everything.

Times, zones and travel

A reminder set for eight in the morning only makes sense if the phone and the profile agree on where those eight are. When you travel across zones, or when the clocks shift, a correct reminder can arrive an hour off with nothing obviously broken. It is worth checking before you leave, not after you have missed the first dose away from home.

Common situations where the notification time does not match what you expect, and the check to run.
Situation	Effect on the reminder	Check
Travel across time zones	The dose shifts by several hours	Decide whether to follow local or home time and set the phone accordingly
Clocks changing for daylight saving	A one hour gap for a few days	Confirm the phone clock is automatic, not manual
Network time turned off	The clock stays frozen after a trip	Switch date and time back to automatic
Overnight dose	Risk of being silenced	Check that the Do Not Disturb window lets reminders through

For therapies on tight intervals, such as an antibiotic every eight hours, decide in advance whether to stay on home time for the whole trip: nudge each dose slightly until you return, or keep the time fixed and accept that in the evening it falls a little early. Write the choice in the reminder note, so whoever looks after the animal in your place knows what to do.

The test that ends the doubt

Do not trust the settings on their word: make them prove it. A real test takes three minutes and gives you a certainty no configuration screen can. Run it after every major phone or operating system change, because an update can reset permissions without warning.

Create a test reminder for two or three minutes ahead, with a clear name like Notification test.
Lock the screen and set the phone down, rather than holding it awake: that is how it usually sits.
Wait for the time and confirm the notification appears, plays a sound and stays visible on the lock screen.
If nothing arrives, go back to permissions and battery saving: one of the two is still closed.
When the test works, delete it and repeat it after the next system update.

Frequently asked questions

I created the reminder but nothing arrived: where do I start?: Start with permissions, not with the app. In most cases the notification was blocked by the operating system, not by Animiyo. Open the phone settings, find the app and confirm notifications are on with sound and lock screen display. If the permission is there, the culprit is almost always battery saving: remove the app from battery optimisation. After those two checks, run the real test described in the guide rather than waiting for the actual dose.
Notifications arrive but hours late: why?: A delay is the classic signature of battery saving. The phone leaves the app dormant while the screen is off and only delivers the notification when you wake it. The fix is to exclude the app from battery optimisation and, on phones that have one, turn off the manufacturer's second saving layer too. If the delay only shows up after a trip, instead check that the phone date and time update automatically.
Do I have to keep the app open for notifications to work?: No, and you should not need to. A well configured reminder arrives even with the app closed and the screen locked, because delivery is handled by the operating system. If you notice notifications only arrive with the app open, that is a sign battery saving is suspending it in the background: fix it there, not by keeping the app in the foreground, which really does drain the battery.
Travelling abroad my dose reminders shifted: how do I avoid it?: The shift comes from the change of time zone. Before you leave, decide whether to follow the destination's local time or stay on home time for the whole course, and set the phone accordingly. For a therapy on tight intervals, staying on home time keeps the correct spacing between doses. Write the choice in the reminder note and, if someone stands in for you, share it so they do not improvise.

What to do next

A reliable reminder rests on three checks in order: grant the notification permission with sound and lock screen display, exclude the app from battery saving, and align the phone time and zone. Then end the doubt with a real test on a locked screen, repeat it after every system update, and for critical doses add a second independent signal.