Listen to volume buttons in background service?

I know how to listen to volume buttons in an activity. But can I do that in a background service? If yes, how to do that?

It is possible. Use code below (for newer Android versions, especially Marshmallow, see bottom of the answer):

public class SettingsContentObserver extends ContentObserver {
    int previousVolume;
    Context context;

    public SettingsContentObserver(Context c, Handler handler) {
        super(handler);
        context=c;

        AudioManager audio = (AudioManager) context.getSystemService(Context.AUDIO_SERVICE);
        previousVolume = audio.getStreamVolume(AudioManager.STREAM_MUSIC);
    }

    @Override
    public boolean deliverSelfNotifications() {
        return super.deliverSelfNotifications();
    }

    @Override
    public void onChange(boolean selfChange) {
        super.onChange(selfChange);

        AudioManager audio = (AudioManager) context.getSystemService(Context.AUDIO_SERVICE);
        int currentVolume = audio.getStreamVolume(AudioManager.STREAM_MUSIC);

        int delta=previousVolume-currentVolume;

        if(delta>0)
        {
            Logger.d("Ściszył!"); // volume decreased.
            previousVolume=currentVolume;
        }
        else if(delta<0)
        {
            Logger.d("Zrobił głośniej!"); // volume increased.
            previousVolume=currentVolume;
        }
    }
}

Then in your service onCreate register it with:

mSettingsContentObserver = new SettingsContentObserver(this,new Handler());
getApplicationContext().getContentResolver().registerContentObserver(android.provider.Settings.System.CONTENT_URI, true, mSettingsContentObserver );

Then unregister in onDestroy:

getApplicationContext().getContentResolver().unregisterContentObserver(mSettingsContentObserver);

Note that this example judges by change of media volume, if you want to use other volume, change it!

UPDATE:

Above method supposedly doesn't work on Marshmallow, BUT there's much better way now since MediaSession was introduced! So first you have to migrate your code to MediaController/MediaSession pattern and then use this code:

private VolumeProviderCompat myVolumeProvider = null;

myVolumeProvider = new VolumeProviderCompat(VolumeProviderCompat.VOLUME_CONTROL_RELATIVE, maxVolume, currentVolume) {
    @Override
    public void onAdjustVolume(int direction) {
        // <0 volume down
        // >0 volume up

    }
};

mSession.setPlaybackToRemote(myVolumeProvider);

Somehow volume button presses are detected even with screen off (just be sure to register proper media button intent receiver if applicable for your platform!)

UPDATE 2 since GalDude requested some more info on getting media MediaSession/MediaController. Sorry, but since I stopped using Java it will be in Kotlin:

lateinit var mediaSession: MediaSessionCompat // you have to initialize it in your onCreate method
val kontroler: MediaControllerCompat
 get() = mediaSession.controller // in Java it's just getController() on mediaSession

// in your onCreate/start method:
mediaSession = MediaSessionCompat(this, "YourPlayerName", receiver, null)
mediaSession.setFlags(MediaSessionCompat.FLAG_HANDLES_MEDIA_BUTTONS or MediaSessionCompat.FLAG_HANDLES_TRANSPORT_CONTROLS)
mediaSession.isActive = true
if (ratingIsWorking) // note: rating crashes on some machines you have to check it!
    mediaSession.setRatingType(RatingCompat.RATING_5_STARS)

mediaSession.setCallback(object : MediaSessionCompat.Callback() {
...
// here you have to implement what happens with your player when play/pause/stop/ffw etc. is requested - see exaples elsewhere
})

// onDestroy/exit method:
mediaSession.isActive = false
mediaSession.release()

The AOSP Music app has a Service (MediaPlaybackService) that responds to volume key events by registering a BroadcastReceiver (MediaButtonIntentReceiver).

Here's the code snippet where it registers the receiver:

    mAudioManager = (AudioManager) getSystemService(Context.AUDIO_SERVICE);
    ComponentName rec = new ComponentName(getPackageName(),
            MediaButtonIntentReceiver.class.getName());
    mAudioManager.registerMediaButtonEventReceiver(rec);

Also, don't forget about manifest:

    <receiver android:name="com.android.music.MediaButtonIntentReceiver">
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="android.intent.action.MEDIA_BUTTON" />
            <action android:name="android.media.AUDIO_BECOMING_NOISY" />
        </intent-filter>
    </receiver>

This works even if the Music app is not in the foreground. Isn't that what you want?

I was able to make it work on android 5+ devices using MediaSession. However,ContentObserver suggested by @ssuukk didn't work for me on both 4.4 and 7.0 devices (at least on ROMs that I've been testing on). Here is a full example which works on android 5+.

Service:

import android.app.Service;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.IBinder;
import android.support.v4.media.VolumeProviderCompat;
import android.support.v4.media.session.MediaSessionCompat;
import android.support.v4.media.session.PlaybackStateCompat;

public class PlayerService extends Service {
    private MediaSessionCompat mediaSession;

    @Override
    public void onCreate() {
        super.onCreate();
        mediaSession = new MediaSessionCompat(this, "PlayerService");
        mediaSession.setFlags(MediaSessionCompat.FLAG_HANDLES_MEDIA_BUTTONS |
                MediaSessionCompat.FLAG_HANDLES_TRANSPORT_CONTROLS);
        mediaSession.setPlaybackState(new PlaybackStateCompat.Builder()
                .setState(PlaybackStateCompat.STATE_PLAYING, 0, 0) //you simulate a player which plays something.
                .build());

        //this will only work on Lollipop and up, see https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=224134
        VolumeProviderCompat myVolumeProvider =
                new VolumeProviderCompat(VolumeProviderCompat.VOLUME_CONTROL_RELATIVE, /*max volume*/100, /*initial volume level*/50) {
            @Override
            public void onAdjustVolume(int direction) {
                /*
                -1 -- volume down
                1 -- volume up
                0 -- volume button released
                 */
            }
        };

        mediaSession.setPlaybackToRemote(myVolumeProvider);
        mediaSession.setActive(true);
    }


    @Override
    public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
        return null;
    }

    @Override
    public void onDestroy() {
        super.onDestroy();
        mediaSession.release();
    }
}

In AndroidManifest.xml:

<application ...>
    ...
    <service android:name=".PlayerService"/>
</application>

In your activity:

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    ...
    startService(new Intent(this, PlayerService.class));
}

There are several things to be aware of:

• It intercepts volume buttons completely so while this code is running you won't be able to adjust ring volume using volume buttons. This might be possible to fix, I just didn't try.
• If you run the example as-is the volume buttons will remain controlled by the app even when the screen is off and the app has been removed from "Recent Apps" list. You'll have to go to Settings->Applications, find the app and force stop it to get volume buttons back.