Firebase Push Notifications not opening PWA Next.js correctly on Android (works on iOS and Web)

I'm working on a Next.js PWA using Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM). I have implemented a service worker to handle background push notifications, and I'm experiencing inconsistent behavior across platforms when the user clicks on the notification:

What works:

• iOS (Safari installed PWA): notification opens the correct deep link inside the app.

• Web (desktop): notification opens the expected URL as well.

What fails (Android):

• If the PWA is in foreground, the notification works as expected — the app navigates to the conversation screen.

• If the PWA is in the background, tapping the notification does nothing.

• If the PWA is closed, tapping the notification also does nothing — the app doesn't open at all.

However, if the PWA was in the background and I manually open it after tapping the notification, it does redirect correctly to the conversation. So the logic is working — it's just not opening the app.

My Setup firebase-messaging-sw.js:

self.addEventListener("notificationclick", (event) => {
  event.preventDefault();
  console.log("[SW] notificationclick received", event.notification.data);

  const url = event.notification.data?.url || "/";
  console.log("[SW] will open URL:", url);

  event.notification.close();

  event.waitUntil(
    clients
      .matchAll({ type: "window", includeUncontrolled: true })
      .then((windowClients) => {
        console.log("[SW] windowClients:", windowClients.length);
        for (const client of windowClients) {
          // Si encuentras un cliente con tu dominio, úsalo
          if (client.url.startsWith(self.location.origin)) {
            console.log("[SW] navigating existing client:", client.url);
            return client
              .navigate(url)
              .then((navResult) => {
                console.log("[SW] navigate() result:", navResult);
                return client.focus();
              });
          }
        }
        // Si no hay ninguno, abre uno nuevo
        console.log("[SW] no matching client, openWindow:", url);
        return clients.openWindow(url);
      })
      .catch((err) => {
        console.error("[SW] error in notificationclick handler:", err);
        // como fallback abre siempre algo
        return clients.openWindow(url);
      })
  );
});

In the app (Next.js), I handle redirection with a hook that is called on root layout:

// hooks/useRedirectFromNotification.ts
useEffect(() => {
  const qs = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);
  const to = qs.get("redirect");
  if (to) {
    setTimeout(() => router.replace(to), 300);
    window.history.replaceState({}, "", window.location.pathname);
  }
}, []);

useEffect(() => {
  if (!("serviceWorker" in navigator)) return;
  const handler = (e: MessageEvent) => {
    const data = e.data || {};
    if (data.type === "NAVIGATE" && data.url) {
      router.push(data.url);
    }
  };
  navigator.serviceWorker.addEventListener("message", handler);
  return () => navigator.serviceWorker.removeEventListener("message", handler);
}, []);

My manifest.json includes:

{
  "start_url": "/",
  "scope": "/",
  "display": "standalone",
  "gcm_sender_id": "726337043778"
}

What I tried:

• Using .navigate(url) directly — doesn’t work in Android.

• Only using .openWindow() — opens in Chrome browser, not PWA.

• Fallback with /?redirect=... and postMessage — logic works but app doesn’t open.

• Setting display: "standalone" and proper start_url, scope, theme_color in manifest.json.

My question:

• Why does clicking the notification not open the PWA on Android when it's in the background or closed?
• Is there a reliable way to force the Android PWA (installed via Chrome) to launch from a push notification?

Any insight or workaround would be appreciated.Thank you in advance!