Get your breaks showing up on time

Eye Saver needs Android's Display over other apps permission to put the break screen on top of the app you're using. Without it, the Timer tab says "Breaks can't appear yet" and shows a button to fix it.

1. Open Eye Saver and tap Allow display over other apps.
2. Android opens its settings page. Find Eye Saver and turn the switch on. Samsung phones call it Appear on top.
3. Go back to Eye Saver. The countdown starts once the permission is on.

You can also get there from Android Settings > Apps > Eye Saver.

Eye Saver shows a notification while the timer runs and, if you want it, a warning 10 seconds before each break. Both need the notification permission.

1. Open Android Settings > Apps > Eye Saver > Notifications and allow them.
2. In Eye Saver, open the Settings tab and check that Warning before a break is on.

If you tapped "Don't allow" twice, Android stops asking. Eye Saver then shows an Open app settings button that takes you to the right page.

Android limits apps in the background to save battery, and that can delay or stop the timer. If Eye Saver is limited, the Settings tab shows a banner with an Allow button. Tap it and accept.

To do it by hand, open Android Settings > Apps > Eye Saver > Battery and choose Unrestricted.

Even with every setting allowed, Android can hold a break for a short while when your phone has been idle. Eye Saver uses Android's standard alarms, which Android is allowed to batch.

Some brands add their own background limits on top of Android's. Allow the battery setting above first, then:

• Samsung: open Settings > Battery > Background usage limits. Remove Eye Saver from Sleeping apps and Deep sleeping apps, or add it to Never sleeping apps. Menu names vary a little between One UI versions.
• Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO: open Settings > Apps > Manage apps > Eye Saver. Turn on Autostart, then set Battery saver to No restrictions.
• Other brands: look in the app's settings page for words like auto-start, background activity, or app launch, and allow Eye Saver. Don't Kill My App keeps step-by-step guides for many phone makers.

If the timer was on, Eye Saver starts it again after a reboot or an app update. When that doesn't happen, the phone blocked Eye Saver from starting in the background.

1. Update Eye Saver from Google Play.
2. Follow the battery and phone-brand steps above.
3. Open Eye Saver once and make sure Break reminders is on.

Pause in chosen apps is part of Premium. The timer waits while one of the apps you pick is open.

1. In the Settings tab, under Automatic pauses, turn on Pause in chosen apps.
2. Tap Allow app access. Android opens the Usage access page. Choose Eye Saver and allow it.
3. Go back, tap Choose apps, pick your apps, and tap Save.

Usage access lets Eye Saver see which app is open. Eye Saver checks this on your phone and doesn't send your app list or usage to us or to analytics.

Check the Settings tab: Pause during calls and Pause during media each have their own switch. Some video and music apps don't tell Android they're playing, so Eye Saver can't see them. For those apps, Premium's Pause in chosen apps works regardless.

1. Sign in to the Google Play Store with the Google account you used to buy Premium.
2. Open Eye Saver and go to the Premium tab.
3. Tap the restore button (a clock with an arrow) at the top right of the Premium card.

If you see "No earlier purchase was found for this Google account," Google Play has no purchase on the account that's signed in. Switch accounts in the Play Store and try again.

In Eye Saver, open Settings > About > Manage subscription. Or in the Play Store app, tap your profile picture > Payments & subscriptions > Subscriptions > Eye Saver > Cancel subscription.

Premium stays on until the end of the period you paid for. Uninstalling Eye Saver doesn't cancel the subscription.

Google Play processes every Eye Saver payment, so refunds go through Google. Follow Google Play's refund steps. We can't issue refunds ourselves because we never receive your payment details.

Premium turns on only after the ad plays to the end. If you closed it early, Eye Saver shows "The ad didn't finish, so Premium wasn't added." If it says "No ad is available right now," Google had no ad to show at that moment. Try again later.

Eye Saver has no account to close. Uninstalling the app removes everything it stored on your phone. To ask us to delete analytics and crash data, follow the steps on the data deletion page.