PesaCastWhich phones work, and what to expect.
Any Android 8 or newer phone that receives M-PESA messages should work. Whether it keeps working with the screen off is a different question.
What has actually been tested
| Phone | Android | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Nokia G21 (HMD) | 12 | Set up, paired and tested by the maintainer. |
That is the whole list. It is short on purpose: this page only says what someone has tried. If you set up another phone, send a phone report, good or bad. It takes a minute, and the page grows.
Phones that stop background apps
These makers are known for closing background apps aggressively. PesaCast has not been tested on them yet. The setup checklist shows a hint for your maker, with the menu names those phones usually use. Menu names change between software versions, so treat the hints as a guide.
- Tecno, Infinix and itel
- Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco
- Oppo, realme and OnePlus
- vivo and iQOO
- Samsung
- Huawei and Honor
For all of them: allow background activity, allow auto-start, exclude PesaCast from battery saving, and lock it in the recent-apps list if your phone has that option.
What is required
- Android 8.0 or newer.
- The SIM that receives the M-PESA messages, with signal.
- For the desktop over Bluetooth: a phone that can act as a Bluetooth LE peripheral. Some phones cannot. Use Wi-Fi if yours cannot.
- For the desktop over Wi-Fi: the phone and the computer on the same network.
- For the webhook only: nothing else. No Bluetooth, no computer.
What it does not support
iPhones, Airtel Money and other wallets, and Linux desktops (there is no Linux build yet). Feature phones that do not run Android cannot install the app.