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Thirdlane

Push Test

Push Test lets administrators send test push notifications to the Thirdlane Connect app on registered mobile devices, so you can confirm the push-notification pipeline actually works. This matters because mobile apps are usually suspended in the background to save battery; incoming calls and messages only reach them if a push notification can wake the app. When users report that Connect misses calls or messages while backgrounded, this screen is the fastest way to prove whether push delivery is the problem - it targets a specific device and reports the outcome.

Push Notifications and how they work

Registration. When a user logs into Thirdlane Connect app, the app registers with the respective push notification service (APNs for iOS or FCM for Android) for VoIP notifications.

Device Token. The app receives a unique device token from the push notification service. This token is used to identify the device and establish a communication channel between the app and the push notification service.

Incoming Call. When someone tries to call the Thirdlane Connect user, the platform determines the status of the devices, and if necessary, sends a request to the push notification service (using the recipient’s device token) to wake up the recipient’s Thirdlane Connect app.

VoIP Push Notification. The push notification service sends a VoIP push notification to the recipient’s device. This notification is special and has the ability to wake up or launch the app in the background.

App Wake-Up. The recipient’s device receives the VoIP push notification and wakes up the corresponding app, allowing it to establish a connection to the caller.

Call Handling. Once the app is awake, it can handle the incoming call, display the call UI, and establish the VoIP connection for the call.

Sending Push Notifications

The types of Push Notifications that can be sent to devices is determined based on the device type - APNs (simple message to iOS devices), APNs Voip (call to iOS devices), and FCM (call to Android devices).

To send test push notifications, simply select the devices from the list, and click “Send Notifications” button. Optionally, the data you enter in the “Text” field will be used as a message text in case of APNs, or as a caller ID number in case of APNs VoIP or FCM notifications.

Best practices

  • Have the user open Connect and sign in first, then background the app - a device only appears in the list (with a valid token) after the app has registered for push.
  • Test the notification type that matches the symptom. Use APNs VoIP or FCM to reproduce missed-call wake-ups, and plain APNs to reproduce missed message alerts.
  • If a test fails, check the basics in order: the device has network/data, the app was recently signed in (tokens can expire), and the device’s OS notification permissions are granted.
  • Confirm on the real device. Push delivery depends on Apple (APNs) and Google (FCM) services, so always verify the notification actually arrives on the handset, not just that the send was accepted.
  • Thirdlane Connect - the mobile and desktop client that receives these notifications.