# Running Uber Partner App In The Background On Android



## Cosmo11

Im interested in driving for Uber and I want to use my own phone. My question is that can I go online and leave the app running in the background and get a notification when I get a ride request? Or do I need to leave the app open? If it is the latter, that would render the phone useless to anything but Uber when I am online and I should get a second phone just for Uber?

Thanks


----------



## Oscar Levant

Cosmo11 said:


> Im interested in driving for Uber and I want to use my own phone. My question is that can I go online and leave the app running in the background and get a notification when I get a ride request? Or do I need to leave the app open? If it is the latter, that would render the phone useless to anything but Uber when I am online and I should get a second phone just for Uber?
> 
> Thanks


What if something goes wrong ( and it will go wrong ) with the app's functionality, you're stuck to deal with it, or email CSR's, who'll just tell you to reboot, etc.

But, if the app is on their phone, if you can't fix it with a simple reboot, etc, they gotta replace, and or fix it. That's why I use their phone.
I"ve replaced the Uberphone a couple of times, when the thing went crazy on me.

Yeah, it's old Iphone4, but, still, I'd rather keep my own phone clear and uncluttered with their app, maybe I'm paranoid 

I didnt answer your question, but hopefully someone else will.


----------



## bborders09

I use my personal Iphone 6plus for Uber and it has never failed me. I get notifications no matter what Im doing on the phone. I wasnt aware you could run Uber on android since the Uber phone is actually apple as well.


----------



## CROWBOY

I use my own phone. Samsung Galaxy S5 and I've never had any issues. You have to be smart by keeping costs down if you want to make any profit. Getting a phone through Uber when you already have one is a waste of money. The app runs fine in the background, but it will warn you if you have it running in the background for too long and log you off after if you don't return to the app.


----------



## painfreepc

The uber app will only run in the background for a minute or two, if you don't bring to front when you hear warning (that is, if you hear it) it will close,

Another problem is, if you lose cell connections for a few seconds, the uber app will close with *NO Warning,*

I am using a ASUS 7" pad it's Wi-Fi only, yes it has GPS, it's only $99 at bestbuy, 
I use Google Voice and Hangout apps as phone, it's free so why use your reg cell phone number, 
I use a wi-fi t-mobile hotspot, if you have data service for your cellphone you can maybe share it's data so no need for the hot-spot.


----------



## merkurfan

I run it on my Note 3.. Have not had any issues.


----------



## Showa50

The app will run in the background without issues. Depending on what you're doing at the time of a request, the app will come to the front or you'll receive a notification with one countdown chime. If the app is in the background too long you'll also get a notification whether or not you'd like to stay online.


----------



## painfreepc

Showa50 said:


> The app will run in the background without issues. Depending on what you're doing at the time of a request, the app will come to the front or you'll receive a notification with one countdown chime. If the app is in the background too long you'll also get a notification whether or not you'd like to stay online.


You will receive that notification about every two to three minutes, which means you will to stop what you are doing and do a app fast switch, But there's no issues, give me a break.

Note, if you lose data connection for a few seconds, the uber app will close without warning..


----------



## LAuberX

The Uber app likes to be in front on my Android... it will warn you about it shutting down every 5 minutes or so as others have said if it is running in the background.

But if you are out "Ubering" you want it running in the front anyway... and plugged into the cig lighter to keep it charged while MOUNTED in a secure way in your line of sight to the road.

Use your own phone.

Paying Uber $520.00 per year for a tiny 3.5" screen on a 5 year old iPhone 4 is just a bad business decision.


----------



## painfreepc

LAuberX said:


> The Uber app likes to be in front on my Android... it will warn you about it shutting down every 5 minutes or so as others have said if it is running in the background.
> 
> But if you are out "Ubering" you want it running in the front anyway... and plugged into the cig lighter to keep it charged while MOUNTED in a secure way in your line of sight to the road.
> 
> Use your own phone.
> 
> Paying Uber $520.00 per year for a tiny 3.5" screen on a 5 year old iPhone 4 is just a bad business decision.


If its your device and you are parked waiting for a ping, why do I need uber app in front, you can't do much of any thing on your own device when the uber driver app is running, many of you don't seem to understand the OP's question,

You can't play games, you can't watch videos, you can't do any real work on your phone when the uber app is running, lyft and sidecar will run in the background, uber will not..

If you are doing anything on your device, you will need to do a app fast switch every few minutes.


----------



## UberLou

I use a seperate Samasung Galaxy Tab 3 to Uber/Lyft. I pay $15 a month for 3GB of Data on my Sprint Plan. It frees up my phone, has a larger display, and is a great conversation starter. I run Lyft in the background and keep Uber open running on screen.


----------



## Desert Driver

Cosmo11 said:


> Im interested in driving for Uber and I want to use my own phone. My question is that can I go online and leave the app running in the background and get a notification when I get a ride request? Or do I need to leave the app open? If it is the latter, that would render the phone useless to anything but Uber when I am online and I should get a second phone just for Uber?
> 
> Thanks


Use your own phone. Just remember that after 5 minutes in the background that the Uber driver app will shut down. There is no reason to rent a Fisher-Price phone from Uber.


----------



## LAuberX

When I'm "ubering" I am working.
No games. And no data hog videos.
I do swap apps between the partner app and the customer app to verify things like my car showing up and where other drivers are parked.

Don't shoot the messenger, but Uber wrote the app to sit up front.

I do have an iPad mini lte for Pandora and very rare web surfing, T-Mobile charges $10 extra per month for it on our family plan, free music streaming with no data charge too!... X is too busy here in L.A. to not pay attention.

Two "devices" works better than one, it's just not mandatory.

And again, keep the one running partner mounted in your driving line of sight.


----------



## Oc_DriverX

LAuberX said:


> When I'm "ubering" I am working.
> No games. And no data hog videos.
> I do swap apps between the partner app and the customer app to verify things like my car showing up and where other drivers are parked.
> 
> Don't shoot the messenger, but Uber wrote the app to sit up front.
> 
> I do have an iPad mini lte for Pandora and very rare web surfing, T-Mobile charges $10 extra per month for it on our family plan, free music streaming with no data charge too!... X is too busy here in L.A. to not pay attention.
> 
> Two "devices" works better than one, it's just not mandatory.
> 
> And again, keep the one running partner mounted in your driving line of sight.


I am in LAuberX's camp. I bring a small tablet to read on if there is any downtime. If I am doing something on the phone, I just remember to switch to the driver app every so often to keep it happy. Its better than it used to be, when it would barely go one minute without barking and/or logging off.


----------



## Dan Dixon

Runs fine on my Galaxy Note 4, and I get lots of comments about it, Pax love the large screen. I keep my cheapie Verizon tablet with me for downtime.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

painfreepc said:


> If its your device and you are parked waiting for a ping, why do I need uber app in front, you can't do much of any thing on your own device when the uber driver app is running, many of you don't seem to understand the OP's question, You can't play games, you can't watch videos, you can't do any real work on your phone when the uber app is running, lyft and sidecar will run in the background, uber will not..If you are doing anything on your device, you will need to do a app fast switch every few minutes.


This is why I run two devices (both on T-Mobile unlimited prepaid plans) and use Google Voice as my Uber number. One device can always have the Uber app 'active' (front), and I can receive phone calls, txts, etc. on both phones simultaneously - AND be able to to read, FB, websurf, whatever without worrying about having to babysit the Uber app.


----------



## painfreepc

Michael - Cleveland said:


> This is why I run two devices (both on T-Mobile unlimited prepaid plans) and use Google Voice as my Uber number. One device can always have the Uber app 'active' (front), and I can receive phone calls, txts, etc. on both phones simultaneously - AND be able to to read, FB, websurf, whatever without worrying about having to babysit the Uber app.


we both are doing the same thing, i even have a T-Mobile Hotspot, 7" tablet to run uber and google maps and a smartphone on wi-fi only to run lyft and sidecar and google voice, i don't want uber and the other accounts on the same device, don't want uber spying on me..

look at my avatar and you can see my 7" tablet on the left and my Not-A-SmartPhone on the right, the reg old phone has bluetooth connected to my ford fusion sync, works fuc*ing great..


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

painfreepc said:


> we both are doing the same thing, ..


I saw that - and that's why I replied... very similar.
I run two Android smart-phones (that I own) with T-Mobile prepaid sims...
and while driving I have one of them with WiFi 'hotspot' turned on
so that I can also use my tablet
(which I keep stored between the front seat and the center console while I'm driving).

The phones are both plugged in to power and mounted (one in the CD in the center console - the other on a windshield mount to the very far left of the steering wheel). I use the tablet on battery - and don't generally use it very much in the car. But it's nice to have available.

What I like best about this Google Voice and two phone setup is that as soon as I accept a ping on one phone, I can start the NAV to the pick-up through the app - and then immediately tap the other phone to send a txt to the pax asking them to confirm the pick-up address or name of the building.


----------



## madUber74

I run the driver app on a Samsung Galaxy S4, runs fine in background but I don't do much else on it in between rides other than read/reply to personal texts. I do, however, tether via wifi an old phone (Galaxy S2) to the S4 to do any Web surfing, keeping an eye on the Uber passenger app, etc while waiting for rides. That seems to work well for me


----------



## Desert Driver

madUber74 said:


> I run the driver app on a Samsung Galaxy S4, runs fine in background but I don't do much else on it in between rides other than read/reply to personal texts. I do, however, tether via wifi an old phone (Galaxy S2) to the S4 to do any Web surfing, keeping an eye on the Uber passenger app, etc while waiting for rides. That seems to work well for me


Uber drivers are a resourceful lot. Sounds like you have developed a system for yourself that works beautifully. Uber drivers create little "tech pods" out of their cars. That's pretty cool.


----------



## JaredJ

This is hilarious to me. I drive 50/hrs a week in LA and I rarely have downtime anymore. If I do its for 5 minutes at the very most and that's rare. I tried bringing along my iPad until I realized i wasn't ever using it. My acceptance and rating are high. Does that have an impact on requests I receive?


----------



## Desert Driver

JaredJ said:


> This is hilarious to me. I drive 50/hrs a week in LA and I rarely have downtime anymore. If I do its for 5 minutes at the very most and that's rare. I tried bringing along my iPad until I realized i wasn't ever using it. My acceptance and rating are high. Does that have an impact on requests I receive?


New drivers used to get a two-week hit holiday in which they got more pings than vets. It's called "setting the hook" and it's a pretty solid strategy. I don't know if that's still part of the algorithm or not.


----------



## superhans

painfreepc said:


> If its your device and you are parked waiting for a ping, why do I need uber app in front, you can't do much of any thing on your own device when the uber driver app is running, many of you don't seem to understand the OP's question,
> 
> You can't play games, you can't watch videos, you can't do any real work on your phone when the uber app is running, lyft and sidecar will run in the background, uber will not..
> 
> If you are doing anything on your device, you will need to do a app fast switch every few minutes.


Yep agree...found this out by hearing the time out signal for a ping go off several times, no count down. Even making a call and switching back
seems to interfere, its a needy app, has to be on top all the time!
Use an LG android.


----------



## painfreepc

superhans said:


> Yep agree...found this out by hearing the time out signal for a ping go off several times, no count down. Even making a call and switching back
> seems to interfere, its a needy app, has to be on top all the time!
> Use an LG android.


uber support tell me, "we need to know you are working"


----------



## Desert Driver

superhans said:


> Yep agree...found this out by hearing the time out signal for a ping go off several times, no count down. Even making a call and switching back
> seems to interfere, its a needy app, has to be on top all the time!
> Use an LG android.


The developers at Uber are under the mistaken notion that the Uber partner app is the most important app on our phones. If course, nothing could be farther from the truth.


----------



## Whiteorchids

Michael - Cleveland said:


> This is why I run two devices (both on T-Mobile unlimited prepaid plans) and use Google Voice as my Uber number. One device can always have the Uber app 'active' (front), and I can receive phone calls, txts, etc. on both phones simultaneously - AND be able to to read, FB, websurf, whatever without worrying about having to babysit the Uber app.


How do you use google voice as your number? I thought it wasn't allowed.


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

Whiteorchids said:


> How do you use google voice as your number? I thought it wasn't allowed.


It's a phone number. 
How could they "not allow" it - or even know?


----------



## Michael - Cleveland

LBCPriusC said:


> been using google voice even before I started Uber, works good except when data speed drops in bad areas like mountains or dtla skyscrapers


I've been using GV in my offices for years... for a system that's free, it's pretty remarkable what it's capable of. The biggest limit is that the GV number can 'only' ring on fiver other numbers simultaneously.


----------



## ReviTULize

LAuberX said:


> Use your own phone.
> 
> Paying Uber $520.00 per year for a tiny 3.5" screen on a 5 year old iPhone 4 is just a bad business decision.


Well said!! Just use an old phone or something. You can easily make your primary phone a WiFi HotSpot and use it only for the driver apps. I have been doing it for a while.

Also, Android is better for navigation as you can see the building they are in when the map gets closer. I rarely use a 3rd party nav app.

Get the below apps to make your driving life simple. They were developed for drivers...by drivers.
_RIDESHARE TIMER_
_TOOL FOR UBER PARTNER
_
There is another one called WheresMySurgeApp!, but I think it's only for Apple


----------

