Re: Push notifications using SAP Build Apps

kazistov_v · ‎2025 Aug 05

Hello!

I want to send notifications to user's mobiles. Is there any ability to do it using SAP Build Apps. I saw a lot of different documentations how to do it for SAP Fiory, etc. But in my case I created an app using SAP Build Apps - Frontend (No-Code) and tried to use action from marketplace "Request Notification Permissions". Then I was testing my app on my IPhone using SAP Build Apps Preview App and I always get an undefined error. So I can't allow to send notifications, then I can't retrieve Device ID Token and can't push notifications using FCM.
Yeah, that was my idea to use FCM API and push notifications with a HTTP Request.
Then I tried to connect SAP Mobile Services, but again there are no good instructions or tutorials for no-code SAP Build Apps. I just can't understand how I can implement it using SAP Mobile Services.

I am asking for help in my case. May be there is a good structured tutorial for that...

Best regards,
Vladyslav

SAP Build Apps

kazistov_v · ‎2025 Aug 06

Hello James,

I cannot even explain how grateful I am for your quick response. I really appreciate it. Thank you for your detailed and structured explanation.

I had the same thoughts that Preview App doesn't support Push Notifications, that is why I can get such error. So I installed APK for Android and tested in on the simulator, but got the same error. Probably, it is because of Mobile Services right now?
When I was trying to download the APK I got the error that my app is using Mobile Services and I need to enable them. That is why I had some auth and other actions before my app launched on the simulator. Then I tried to create a new empty project and download it's APK, but I faced the same error that I need to enable Mobile Services. Do you know how it works? How I can disable Mobile Services and download APK without them?
That is what I mean:

Of course I will try different ways right now after your instructions and probably I will reach my goal before your response, but anyway I would be grateful for your explanation about the Mobile Services which are always active.

Yours sincerely,
Vladyslav

kazistov_v · ‎2025 Aug 06

Hello James,

I cannot even explain how grateful I am for your quick response. I really appreciate it. Thank you for your detailed and structured explanation.

I had the same thoughts that Preview App doesn't support Push Notifications, that is why I can get such error. So I installed APK for Android and tested in on the simulator, but got the same error. Probably, it is because of Mobile Services right now?
When I was trying to download the APK I got the error that my app is using Mobile Services and I need to enable them. That is why I had some auth and other actions before my app launched on the simulator. Then I tried to create a new empty project and download it's APK, but I faced the same error that I need to enable Mobile Services. Do you know how it works? How I can disable Mobile Services and download APK without them?
That is what I mean:

Of course I will try different ways right now after your instructions and probably I will reach my goal before your response, but anyway I would be grateful for your explanation about the Mobile Services which are always active.

Yours sincerely,
Vladyslav

kazistov_v · ‎2025 Aug 07

Hi James,

Thank you for your response! I understand what you are talking about.

I was trying the same way - creating a new project and was trying to build this empty project, but I still have got this issue with Mobile Services. It still ask me to enable them.

But for now I have got another question to ask. It is about Mobile Start. Do you know if it is possible to send notifications through it?

I just found some tutorials where I saw different screenshots and instructions, where was shown that there is a Mobile Start App in App Store. And it can send notifications to the mobile. Moreover, it has in-app notifications, so they would be duplicated in-app under the "bell" icon. It looks pretty interesting, because I won't need to publish the app to app store or play market for my users. I would just need to publish it to the Work Zone and users would be able to open it through Mobile Start application and all issue with notifications would be handled too. Probably, my opinion is wrong, so If you know something about that, I would appreciate your instructions.

Best regards,
Vladyslav

ManojKumar9 · ‎2025 Aug 23

Hi James/Vladyslav,

Quick follow-up - have either of you successfully enabled push notifications in SAP Build Apps (not MDK/Fiori)? If yes, could you please share step-by-step details? I’ve been trying for months and keep hitting roadblocks.

For context:

When I enable Mobile Services, the generated services does not have Push capability and SAP support has told me this can’t be enabled for Build Apps.
Even on standalone builds, I’m prompted to enable Mobile Services, and I’m unclear whether FCM/APNs is actually supported end-to-end with Build Apps.

If you’ve made this work, could you please outline:

Environment & Build
- iOS, Android, or both?
- Standalone build (APK/IPA via TestFlight) vs. Preview app.
- Exact Build Apps runtime/plugin versions used.
Firebase/APNs Setup
- FCM project config (google-services.json / GoogleService-Info.plist).
- APNs keys/certificates and provisioning profiles for iOS.
- Where/how you injected these into the Build Apps project.
Build Apps Configuration
- Marketplace plugins used (names/versions) for notifications.
- Any Custom Plugin steps (config.xml, Gradle, Info.plist edits).
- Logic flow you used: Request Permission → Get Token → Persist Token.
- Whether Mobile Services was enabled, and if so, which features.
Token & Backend
- How you retrieved and stored the device token (BTP CF app, DB, Firebase, etc.).
- How you send pushes (FCM HTTP v1 / APNs) — sample request payloads helpful.
- Any security (service accounts, OAuth) specifics.

kazistov_v · ‎2025 Aug 25

Hello @ManojKumar9 ,

I have successfully enabled push notifications in SAP Build Apps (not MDK/Fiori).

1. SAP Build Apps Preview App doesn't support push notifications.
2. It should be possible to use push notifications from SAP Build Apps only on published Apps (App Store/ Play Market). To use this notifications you can use FCM (Firebase Cloud Messaging). But I did not test that.
3. In my case, I did not want to publish my App to the stores (App Store/ Play Market). So I found SAP Start App as a solution for me.

It is an app which you connect to your Work Zone. Any notification that can pop-up on Work Zone site will be pushed into your phone from Mobile Start. You can check Sap Mobile Start Journey, there are a lot of information about that. Then you need to configure your Sap Build Apps app to send notifications to your Work Zone site. There is not bad documentation for that, and I have got a post about all the issues I faced here: https://community.sap.com/t5/application-development-and-automation-discussions/notifications-from-s...
So the logic will be like that:
1. You send notification from your app to the Work Zone Site
2. If you connected Sap Mobile Start app, the Work zone would automatically send push notification to your phone.

Hope it will help you. I am still waiting the response from SAP Support about the FCM configuration. When I will get a response, I can share it with you too.

Best regards,
Vladyslav

ManojKumar9 · ‎2025 Aug 26

Hi Vladyslav,

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience and the clear breakdown!

I’ve built a mobile app with SAP Build Apps and published it to the App Store, but I’m still struggling to get push notifications working. I have an open incident with SAP Support, though I haven’t received a workable solution yet.

If you do hear back on the FCM configuration, I’d really appreciate it if you could share the details. Are there any alternative approaches you’d recommend for production apps eg.. SAP Mobile Services as a proxy, or any specific backend pattern you found reliable?

kazistov_v · ‎2025 Aug 27

Hi @ManojKumar9 ,

Unfortunately, I do not know any alternative approaches for production apps. I was trying to use SAP Mobile Services, but as I told you in my case I did not want to publish the app.

I am still waiting to hearing from SAP Support, here are some notes from them:

We’re preparing a document on receiving Firebase notifications on standalone native mobile apps.
Push notifications will only be possible on standalone builds of native mobile apps, i.e.:

They are not possible to receive on the Build Apps Preview (requires build-time config, so it’s not technically possible in preview)
They are not possible to receive on web apps (also when an app is accessed through Mobile Start, it’s still a web app)

I hope that FCM can resolve your issue and think that it is the best solution for push notifications for published apps. I will share the details about the configuration asap.

Do you get the Notification Permission pop-up in your app? I saw some instructions about the FCM configuration and I am pretty sure that there are a few docs, posts and YouTube videos about that, so you can try to switch from Mobile Services to FCM option.

Best regards,
Vladyslav

ManojKumar9 · ‎2025 Sep 05

Hi Vladyslav,

Thanks for the update. Quick status from my side:

I do get the Notification Permission pop-up in the app.
However, manual Firebase authentication/token retrieval is failing (the device token action returns no token / fails).
Get device token is also not working.
My target is SAP Build Apps (standalone mobile builds) — not pure native code and not the Preview or web app. I want push working in the built SAP Build Apps.

I’m still waiting on SAP’s document (the incident has been open for a while without a concrete response).

If you have any pointers or sample config that worked for you in SAP Build Apps , that would be super helpful.

Best regards,
Manoj

kazistov_v · ‎2025 Sep 08

Hey @ManojKumar9 ,

I am still waiting for the document with the instructions of notification's configuration from SAP Support, but still haven't got it as well.
I didn't configure Firebase notifications in the SAP Build Apps, so haven't got enough experience to share with you.

Best regards,
Vladyslav