How to update Notification with RemoteViews?

Here’s a detail example for you to update the notification using RemoteViews:

private static final int NOTIF_ID = 1234;
private NotificationCompat.Builder mBuilder;
private NotificationManager mNotificationManager;
private RemoteViews mRemoteViews;
private Notification mNotification;
...

// call this method to setup notification for the first time
private void setUpNotification(){

    mNotificationManager = (NotificationManager) getSystemService(Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE);

    // we need to build a basic notification first, then update it
    Intent intentNotif = new Intent(this, MainActivity.class);
    intentNotif.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP | Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_SINGLE_TOP);
    PendingIntent pendIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0, intentNotif, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);

    // notification's layout
    mRemoteViews = new RemoteViews(getPackageName(), R.layout.custom_notification_small);
    // notification's icon
    mRemoteViews.setImageViewResource(R.id.notif_icon, R.drawable.ic_launcher);
    // notification's title
    mRemoteViews.setTextViewText(R.id.notif_title, getResources().getString(R.string.app_name));
    // notification's content
    mRemoteViews.setTextViewText(R.id.notif_content, getResources().getString(R.string.content_text));

    mBuilder = new NotificationCompat.Builder(this);

    CharSequence ticker = getResources().getString(R.string.ticker_text);
    int apiVersion = Build.VERSION.SDK_INT;

    if (apiVersion < VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB) {
        mNotification = new Notification(R.drawable.ic_launcher, ticker, System.currentTimeMillis());
        mNotification.contentView = mRemoteViews;
        mNotification.contentIntent = pendIntent;

        mNotification.flags |= Notification.FLAG_NO_CLEAR; //Do not clear the notification
        mNotification.defaults |= Notification.DEFAULT_LIGHTS;

        // starting service with notification in foreground mode
        startForeground(NOTIF_ID, mNotification);

    }else if (apiVersion >= VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB) {
        mBuilder.setSmallIcon(R.drawable.ic_launcher)
                .setAutoCancel(false)
                .setOngoing(true)
                .setContentIntent(pendIntent)
                .setContent(mRemoteViews)
                .setTicker(ticker);

        // starting service with notification in foreground mode
        startForeground(NOTIF_ID, mBuilder.build());
    }
}

// use this method to update the Notification's UI
private void updateNotification(){

    int api = Build.VERSION.SDK_INT;
    // update the icon
    mRemoteViews.setImageViewResource(R.id.notif_icon, R.drawable.icon_off2);
    // update the title
    mRemoteViews.setTextViewText(R.id.notif_title, getResources().getString(R.string.new_title));
    // update the content
    mRemoteViews.setTextViewText(R.id.notif_content, getResources().getString(R.string.new_content_text));

    // update the notification
    if (api < VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB) {
        mNotificationManager.notify(NOTIF_ID, mNotification);
    }else if (api >= VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB) {
        mNotificationManager.notify(NOTIF_ID, mBuilder.build());
    }
}

Layout for the Notification, i.e. res/layout/custom_notification_small.xml:

<!-- We have to set the height to 64dp, this is the rule of the small notification -->
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="64dp"
    android:orientation="horizontal"
    android:id="@+id/notif_small"
    android:background="@drawable/notification_background">

    <ImageView
        android:id="@+id/notif_icon"
        android:contentDescription="@string/notif_small_desc"
        android:layout_width="47dp"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_centerVertical="true"
        android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
        android:src="@drawable/ic_launcher"
        android:layout_marginLeft="7dp"
        android:layout_marginRight="9dp"/>

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/notif_title"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_toRightOf="@id/notif_icon"
        android:singleLine="true"
        android:paddingTop="8dp"
        android:textSize="17sp"
        android:textStyle="bold"
        android:textColor="#000000"
        android:text="@string/app_name"/>

    <TextView
        android:id="@+id/notif_content"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_toRightOf="@id/notif_icon"
        android:paddingBottom="9dp"
        android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
        android:singleLine="true"
        android:textSize="13sp"
        android:textColor="#575757"
        android:text="Content" />
</RelativeLayout>

Hope this example helps you a lot!

NOTE: You can’t update the custom NotificationCompat on pre-Honeycomb, so I added an alternative way to update it on pre-Honeycomb, i.e. checking the API level first and use the deprecated Notification instead.