Huawei Push Kit Integration

Integrating Huawei Push Kit for Push Notifications

Huawei devices without Google Mobile Services (GMS) — a reality for a significant part of the market: Huawei P40, Mate 30/40/50, Honor after 2020. On these devices FCM doesn't work. Push notification simply won't arrive. If your app targets CIS, China, or markets with high Huawei share — HMS Push Kit integration is mandatory.

Huawei HMS vs Google GMS: architectural choice

Key decision — how to handle both scenarios in one app.

Option 1: Runtime detection. Check on startup whether GMS or HMS available, register in appropriate service:

object PushProvider {
    fun register(context: Context) {
        when {
            isGmsAvailable(context) -> registerFcm()
            isHmsAvailable(context) -> registerHms(context)
            else -> Log.w("Push", "No push service available")
        }
    }

    private fun isGmsAvailable(context: Context): Boolean =
        GoogleApiAvailability.getInstance()
            .isGooglePlayServicesAvailable(context) == ConnectionResult.SUCCESS

    private fun isHmsAvailable(context: Context): Boolean =
        HuaweiApiAvailability.getInstance()
            .isHuaweiMobileServicesAvailable(context) == ConnectionResult.SUCCESS
}

Option 2: Separate APK / flavor. Gradle productFlavors: gms and hms. Each flavor contains only needed dependencies. Distributed via Google Play (gms) and AppGallery (hms) respectively.

For most projects — option 1 is simpler and supports single APK.

HMS SDK connection

In agconnect-services.json — analog of google-services.json. Downloaded from AppGallery Connect. Placed in app/ directory.

// project build.gradle
classpath 'com.huawei.agconnect:agcp:1.9.1.301'

// app build.gradle
apply plugin: 'com.huawei.agconnect'

dependencies {
    implementation 'com.huawei.hms:push:6.11.0.300'
}

Message handling service

class HmsPushService : HmsMessageService() {

    override fun onNewToken(token: String?) {
        token ?: return
        ApiClient.registerHmsToken(token, provider = "HMS")
    }

    override fun onMessageReceived(message: RemoteMessage?) {
        message ?: return
        val data = message.dataOfMap
        val title = data["title"] ?: return
        val body = data["body"] ?: return
        NotificationHelper.show(applicationContext, title, body, data)
    }
}

Register in AndroidManifest.xml:

<service
    android:name=".HmsPushService"
    android:exported="false">
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="com.huawei.push.action.MESSAGING_EVENT" />
    </intent-filter>
</service>

Getting token manually

// Asynchronously via Task API
HmsInstanceId.getInstance(context).getToken(APP_ID, HmsMessaging.DEFAULT_TOKEN_SCOPE)
    .addOnSuccessListener { token ->
        ApiClient.registerHmsToken(token, provider = "HMS")
    }
    .addOnFailureListener { e ->
        Log.e("HMS", "Get token failed: ${e.message}")
    }

APP_ID — taken from agconnect-services.json. HMS and FCM tokens — different. Server must store provider along with token.

Server sending via HMS REST API

Endpoint: https://push-api.cloud.huawei.com/v1/{appId}/messages:send

{
  "message": {
    "data": "{\"title\":\"New message\",\"body\":\"Ivan wrote to you\"}",
    "token": ["hms_device_token_here"],
    "android": {
      "notification": {
        "title": "New message",
        "body": "Ivan wrote to you",
        "click_action": {
          "type": 1,
          "intent": "myapp://message?id=123"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Authentication — OAuth2 Bearer token, obtained via https://oauth-login.cloud.huawei.com/oauth2/v3/token with client_id and client_secret from AppGallery Connect. Token lives 1 hour.

FCM and HMS comparison

Testing

To test HMS, you need physical Huawei device without GMS or emulator from Huawei DevEco Studio. AppGallery Connect → Push Kit → Test has built-in interface for sending test push to specific token.

What's included

• Registration in AppGallery Connect, Push Kit setup
• agconnect-services.json and HMS SDK connection
• HmsMessageService with data-message handling
• Runtime GMS/HMS detection and registration in appropriate service
• Token update on server with provider indication
• Server sending via HMS REST API (or integration with provider like OneSignal)
• Testing on physical HMS device

Timeline

Basic HMS Push Kit integration: 1 day. With runtime GMS/HMS detection, full token lifecycle, and server-side sending: 2 days.