Keep KeyUp running on your phone

Keep KeyUp awake so you don’t miss talks, keep playing the room after you close KeyUp, and keep the screen on.

Many phones stop apps in the background on their own, and KeyUp can stop listening. Keep KeyUp running opens the right battery or autostart screen for your phone’s maker, with one plain sentence about what to switch.

Keep KeyUp awake

Phone

Once, on the Talk tab, a card Keep KeyUp running says Some phones put apps to sleep, and you could miss talks. One setting keeps KeyUp awake. Tap it to open the setting, or tap the X (Not now). It shows on phones whose maker puts apps to sleep, or any phone where Android says KeyUp is restricted. It is no longer a step of the first-time setup.
After the first time KeyUp was stopped (swiped away, or stopped by Android), a tip says KeyUp was stopped. Keep it running so talks still reach you. with Keep KeyUp running and Not now. It shows once, and Keep KeyUp running opens the same setting.
While Android is restricting KeyUp: You › Devices › Keep KeyUp running (the row shows only then). Its line says where things stand: Unrestricted. KeyUp keeps listening in the background., Android may stop KeyUp in the background. Tap to fix it., or the sentence for your phone’s maker when Android can’t say.
If your phone’s own screen can’t be found, KeyUp opens its app info instead. Tap Battery there.

Watch

Not on the watch.

Web app and iPhone

Not in the web app.

What each phone asks for

The menu names change a little between phone updates. These are the sentences KeyUp shows.

Phone

Xiaomi, Redmi, Poco: Opens Autostart. Turn on KeyUp, then set its battery saver to No restrictions.
OnePlus: Opens Auto launch. Turn on KeyUp, then set its battery use to Don’t optimize.
Oppo, Realme: Opens Auto startup. Turn on KeyUp, then allow background activity in its battery settings.
Vivo, iQOO: Opens Autostart. Turn on KeyUp, then allow high background power use.
Huawei, Honor: Opens App launch. Turn off Manage automatically for KeyUp, then turn on all three switches.
Google Pixel: Opens KeyUp’s app info. Tap Battery, then choose Unrestricted.
Any other phone: Opens KeyUp’s app info. Tap Battery, then choose Unrestricted or Don’t optimize.
Samsung Galaxy: see Close KeyUp and stay in the room.

Close KeyUp and stay in the room

While KeyUp is in a room it keeps one quiet ongoing notification: In #room, Listening only · #room, or Mic is on in #room while your mic sends. On the watch it also shows as a chip on the watch face.

Phone

Nothing to do: the room keeps playing with the screen off or in another app.
Pull down the notification shade for Mute 1 hour, Open mic on or off and Stop listening. On a locked phone, Open mic on asks you to unlock first (Android 11 and older say Unlock your phone to turn on Open mic. instead). Mute and Stop listening stay one tap.
To stop completely: You › Stop KeyUp on this phone, at the bottom of the You tab. You won’t hear your rooms until you open KeyUp again.

Watch

The same, with the watch-face chip. Going Back out of KeyUp works like swiping it away on the phone. To stop: Settings › You › Help › Stop KeyUp.

Web app and iPhone

A web page only plays while it is open and awake. Disconnect on the room card stops listening in this tab. See Keep the screen on.

Samsung Galaxy: keep KeyUp listening

Samsung phones, Galaxy Z Fold and Flip included, put apps to sleep to save battery. A sleeping KeyUp can stop playing your room or miss a call. Do these once. The menu names change a little between Samsung updates.

Phone

In KeyUp, tap You › Devices › Keep KeyUp running. On a Samsung phone it opens KeyUp’s app info. (Or open Samsung Settings › Apps › KeyUp.)
Tap Battery and choose Unrestricted.
Open Settings › Battery › Background usage limits. On some phones it is Settings › Battery and device care › Battery › Background usage limits.
If KeyUp is in Sleeping apps or Deep sleeping apps, take it out.
Add KeyUp to Never sleeping apps (on newer phones, Never auto sleeping apps).
Put unused apps to sleep can put KeyUp back to sleep if you don’t open it for a few days. With KeyUp in Never sleeping apps it stays awake. You can also turn that switch off.

Samsung Galaxy Watch: keep KeyUp connected

A Galaxy Watch also limits apps in the background, and with Wi-Fi off it reaches the room through your phone’s Bluetooth, which drops the connection more often. Do these once on the watch. The menu names change a little between One UI Watch updates.

Watch

On the watch, open Settings › Apps › KeyUp, tap Battery and choose Unrestricted.
Open Settings › Connections › Wi-Fi and turn it on (or Auto), so the watch uses Wi-Fi when your phone is far away or the Bluetooth link is weak.
Leave Power saving off while you use KeyUp. It cuts background work and the connection.

Keep the screen on

A web page stops when the screen sleeps. Keeping the screen on keeps the room playing.

Web app and iPhone

You › Talking › Keep the screen on in a room (on by default; uses more battery). It holds the screen for 2 hours at a time. After that you see The screen can go to sleep again after 2 hours. Tap to keep it on. A tap or key press (or coming back to the tab) starts the next 2 hours.

iPhone

In the iPhone app (in private testing), You › Talking › Keep the screen on in a room keeps the screen awake in a room. It stays awake for an hour after your last touch or talk, then the screen may sleep. A touch brings it back and starts the hour again.

Watch

Keep KeyUp on screen is automatic. To choose yourself: Settings › How you talk › Advanced › Keep KeyUp on screen (Automatic, On, Off).

Phone

Not needed: the phone keeps playing in the background.

Good to know

The ongoing notification has buttons: Mute 1 hour (it says Unmute while the room is muted), Open mic on or Open mic off (when the room allows it), and Stop listening. Stop listening leaves the room on this phone only. See Keep KeyUp running if your phone stops KeyUp by itself.
After the phone restarts, KeyUp doesn’t start on its own. Tap the KeyUp restarted notification to go back to your room, or Listen to hear it without opening the app. After an app update, a room that was playing plays again, listen only. Otherwise KeyUp stays quiet and the same notification waits for your tap.
On the phone, KeyUp keeps working when you swipe it away from your recent apps. The room keeps playing on the same connection, with no gap and no reconnecting, as long as notifications are allowed and battery use is set to Unrestricted for KeyUp. See I’m not getting notifications for where to find them.
Open KeyUp again and you are straight back in your room: who is here and who is talking show at once, you can talk right away, and Replay still has the last messages.
When you swipe KeyUp away (or go Back out of it on the watch) in the middle of talking: an Open mic keeps going and the notification says Open mic is on in #room. It still sends only when it hears your voice, and Pause open mic after still pauses it (on the watch, so does taking it off your wrist or putting it on the charger). A crown talk isn’t cut off: it ends when you stop speaking, as usual. A Tap talk, a Hold press, an Ask AI question and a one-message talk to a second room stop.
To end an open mic that kept going, open KeyUp and turn it off, or use Stop KeyUp. Pressing Home instead of swiping KeyUp away works as before.

Still stuck? Email [email protected]. Tell us your phone and watch model and what you tried.