Push notifications for account transactions are only triggered after the app is opened

nfgreen

I have an alert set up for large transactions. Everything in the settings menu seems to indicate that this is a regular push alert, that the app will push to my phone once the criteria (transactions over $200) is met.

However, it appears that this push alert is only triggered after I log into the app, which forces a refresh. This defeats the purpose of having a push alert for large transactions if I'm only informed about when I have the app open anyway.

Is this a problem with my account, or does something else need to be configured differently so that I can be notified about large transactions even if I haven't opened simplifi?

Coach Jon

Hello @nfgreen,

Thanks for reaching out! To clarify, are you stating that you do not receive notifications unless you are already logged into the mobile application? Have you made sure that the application settings for your mobile device has notifications enabled for Quicken Simplifi?

Thanks,

Coach Jon

nfgreen

Hi Jon,

The notifications eventually show up, but only after I've opened the app. So I do have notifications enabled, they're just not showing up in real time.

Thanks,

Noah

Coach Jon

Hello @nfgreen,

Thanks for the reply. If the notifications are only showing up after you open the application and you are not receiving the push notifications outside of the application, then it sounds like the push notification setting may not be on. If you navigate to Settings > Notifications, do you see this pop-up?

Thanks,

Coach Jon

makapuu

@nfgreen correct me if I'm misinterpreting your issue, but I think I have the same problem, which I think is a design flaw in the app rather than a bug, unless I'm missing something. I've summarized the issue as I see it below, but here's another support thread about it.

@Coach Jon This is a multi-step issue. But to answer the initial question, for me push notifications do show up as push notifications on my phone.

However, the problem is that this only happens after accounts refresh. But accounts only refresh every 4+ hours when the app is opened/manually refreshed. This does not happen in the background.

This means I have to open the app for my accounts to refresh, which then triggers any push notifications. But by the time the notification shows up on my phone I have usually already noticed the activity that the notification was supposed to alert me about, rendering that notification pretty pointless.

For push notifications to actually be useful, accounts need to automatically sync periodically on their own, without the user needing to sign into the app/website (I'm sure this is easier said than done, but even one automatic refresh every 24 hours would be great). In that case, push notifications would be at least closer to real-time, and might prompt me to open the app for more information. Automatic refresh would also help the user experience because when we opened the app, the information available to us would be much more current. As it is, the first 1-2 minutes after opening the app is just wasted time while I wait for accounts to refresh.

Edit to add that @Coach Jon responded to the thread posted above with a link to this Feature Request from December 2023. Both threads point out that as the system currently works, email/push notifications are pretty pointless since you have to open the app for them to be triggered.

UrsulaA

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/comment/40316#Comment_40316

I agree with this recollection, it is an opportunity for Simplifi to improve. Send notifications to users without having them log in.

nfgreen

Thanks @makapuu and @UrsulaA. This doesn't seem like a small improvement to the app, but a fundamental feature that is missing? Is this really how things are set up?

I'm confused by your responses @Coach Jon, based on what you replied it sounds like you wanted to troubleshoot this behavior. But if simplifi is unable to sync in the background then the specific push notification settings would be irrelevant?

Coach Jon

Hello @nfgreen,

Thanks for the replies and information. Generally you are correct in that Quicken Simplifi does not update in the background. And since it does not, any notifications related to updating, like transactions coming in, will not be triggered. Are those the types of notifications you are referring to?

If you would like Quicken SImplifi to update in the background instead, then the idea post shared by @makapuu would be one you want to vote for.

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/4013/automatically-update-accounts-in-the-background-without-having-to-login-edited

Thanks,

Coach Jon

nfgreen

Yes, that is what I'm looking for. That post is from almost two years ago…yikes.

Coach Jon

Hello @nfgreen,

Don't worry about the age of the post! Ideas of any age can be implemented based on user feedback and our product team.

Thanks,

Coach Jon