For the first few days, it works. An unknown number rings and a card slides up with a name. A loan agent calls, and you know before you pick up.
Then one evening a number rings and there's nothing. No card, no name, just ten digits. You open the app and everything looks fine. The next call shows a name again. Or it doesn't.
If your phone is a vivo, an iQOO, a Xiaomi, a Redmi or a POCO, there's a good chance the app didn't break. Your phone put it to sleep.
Your phone is trying to save battery
Android lets apps keep working in the background. Many phone makers add their own battery manager on top of that, and some of the most popular phones in India have the strictest ones. vivo's Funtouch OS and OriginOS, and Xiaomi's HyperOS (and MIUI before it), can stop an app they think you aren't using. They can also stop it from starting again after the phone restarts or the app updates. App developers have documented this behaviour brand by brand for years.
For most apps that's harmless. A shopping app doesn't need to be awake at 9 pm. A caller ID app does. It has to wake up the moment a call arrives, look up the number and draw a card over the call screen, all before you decide whether to answer. If the phone has put it to sleep, the call rings bare.
The obvious fixes don't last:
- Reinstalling resets the app, but the battery manager treats it like any new app and puts it to sleep again.
- Opening the app every morning wakes it for a while. It's a chore, and on the day you forget, the important call rings bare.
- Clearing recent apps to "speed up" the phone often closes the caller ID app along with everything else.
Why we built a fix into the app
We heard about this early. In September 2021, a few months after we started building BharatCaller, we added a page to the app's side menu called Important Phone Settings. By the end of October 2021 it had step-by-step guides for the brands people wrote to us about most, with Xiaomi and vivo near the top.
We would rather have fixed it for you. We can't, and that's deliberate on Android's part: one app isn't allowed to change another app's battery or Autostart settings. On vivo's newer software, other apps can't even open the Autostart list for you. So the honest answer was to show you exactly where to tap, phone by phone.
What we refused to do was pretend the problem isn't there. A caller ID app that quietly misses calls is worse than none, because you start trusting a blank screen.
How we built it
A few choices shaped how BharatCaller handles this:
- It asks for what Android needs, and says why. BharatCaller asks to be your Caller ID and spam app, a role Android gives to one app at a time. It asks for Contacts, Phone and Notifications permissions. And it asks for Display over other apps, without which the caller card can't appear over the call screen. If that one is missing, the app reminds you: "Please enable 'Display over other apps' to identify every call".
- The guides are by brand. Menu names differ from phone to phone, so Important Phone Settings asks for your phone's brand first and then shows only that brand's steps.
- The settings stay yours. Everything below happens in your phone's own Settings. BharatCaller can't switch these on behind your back, and you can switch them off whenever you like.
The 2-minute fix on vivo and iQOO
Menu names change between Funtouch OS and OriginOS versions. If a step doesn't match your phone, type the setting's name into the search bar at the top of Settings.
- Turn on Autostart. On Funtouch OS 14, open Settings, tap Apps, then Special app access, then Autostart, and switch on BharatCaller. On older versions, look in Settings under More settings, then Applications, then Autostart, or in the i Manager app.
- Let it use power in the background. Open Settings, tap Battery, then Background power consumption management. Find BharatCaller and choose Don't restrict. Some versions call this High background power consumption; switch BharatCaller on there.
- Lock it in recent apps. Open your recent apps, pull BharatCaller's card down or open its menu, then tap the lock. Now "clear all" leaves it alone.
The 2-minute fix on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO
These steps are for HyperOS. MIUI is similar, though some options sit inside the Security app instead.
- Open BharatCaller's app page. Long-press the BharatCaller icon and tap App info, or go to Settings, Apps, then BharatCaller.
- Turn on Autostart. On that page, switch on Autostart. On newer HyperOS versions it's called Background autostart and may sit under the app's permissions.
- Remove the battery limit. Tap Battery saver (or Battery) and choose No restrictions.
- Stop Android pausing it. If you see Pause app activity if unused, switch it off.
- Allow pop-ups. If the page has Other permissions, allow BharatCaller to show pop-up windows while running in the background and on the lock screen. That's what lets the caller card appear.
- Lock it in recent apps. Open recent apps and drag BharatCaller down, or long-press it and tap the padlock.
What it doesn't do
We'd rather you know the limits up front:
- No setting is permanent. A big software update can reset these choices. If caller ID goes quiet after an update, run through the steps again.
- Extreme battery modes still win. Ultra or super battery saver modes stop most background apps. While they're on, expect caller ID to pause.
- Awake isn't the same as named. These settings keep the app ready. They can't give it a name for a number nobody has saved. If the card appears but shows only a number, that's a different problem, which we cover in caller ID not showing a name.
- It uses a little battery. Any app that stays ready in the background does. We think knowing who's calling is worth it, but it's your choice.
How to check it worked
- Restart your phone, and don't open BharatCaller afterwards.
- Wait for the next call from a number you haven't saved, or ask a friend to call from a number that isn't in your contacts.
- If the card appears over the call screen, you're done. If it doesn't, open the side menu in BharatCaller, tap Important Phone Settings and choose your phone's brand for the full steps with pictures.
Not using BharatCaller yet? It's free on Google Play. Once caller ID stays awake, it's worth knowing what that card can tell you in the moment, which is the subject of the three seconds before you answer. Phone-specific spam settings are in our guides for Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO and vivo.
Two minutes in Settings, once. The next time an unknown number rings at 9 pm, the card will be there and you'll know who it is before you choose.
