PhotoCloud won't start on boot on certain devices/Androids

[mvysny]

There is a discussion that PhotoCloud won't start on certain devices/Androids: https://groups.google.com/g/photocloud-frame/c/hBCkF9MTpuA . I'm re-posting here, to keep track of the discussion.

The original message is as follows:

Hi i have trouble with running Photocloud in autostart mode
i have lenovo Lenovo TB-X505F on the wall and there is feature in firmware for scheduled on and off, so i wanted to have this tablet as Photoframe, i added photos from my smb share and switch Autostart but nothing happens after reboot

[mvysny]

Hi Mike,

this is really strange. Which Android version are you running on the
device, perhaps Android 11?

In fact, noticed the same thing after I upgraded my phone to Android 12;
however I noticed that not only PhotoCloud won't start, but none of
the apps I use starts on boot anymore: especially the "MyTherapy" pill
reminder doesn't start which could be really dangerous.

Android changed the boot-related policy quite a couple of times already,
but it used to work until now. The thread at
https://stackoverflow.com/a/46294732/377320 suggests that you need to
run the app at least once in order for the BOOT_COMPLETED intent to be
broadcasted. Could it be a bug in Android (that you need to run the app at least once even after the app upgrades)?

Not sure... Also
https://www.androidbugfix.com/2022/01/receiver-on-bootcompleted-not-fired.html
suggests that it's a "feature" of the Android OS instead of a bug in the
app...

PhotoCloud exports all appropriate bits for Android, and the
configuration is correct since it works on older Androids... Sounds like
Android 11+ changed something which caught all apps off-guard. Sounds
like it's broken for all apps, not just PhotoCloud, which once again
suggests a bug (or a security feature) in Android OS itself.

I will definitely be on a lookout for a workaround.

[mvysny]

The documentation on how to configure PhotoCloud to start at boot time can be found here: https://www.android-photo-frame.eu/faq.html "Launching PhotoCloud at boot-up time".