Android Step Counter not working, not appearing in SensorManager

Question

im trying to make a simple step counter in Android, im currently using Oreo and emulating with Pixel 2 API 29. The problem is that its simply not working, when i call the sensorManager there is no sensor listed neither for STEP_COUNTER or STEP_DETECTOR. I followed different tutorials step by step and didnt work. Does anyone know what could be the problem? Here is my code and manifest, and the list im talking about,

My activity StepsActivity.java

public class StepsActivity extends AppCompatActivity implements SensorEventListener {

    SensorManager sm;
    Sensor sensor;
    TextView tv_steps_count;
    int counter=0;
    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_steps);

        if(ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_DENIED){
            //ask for permission
            requestPermissions(new String[]{Manifest.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION},Sensor.TYPE_STEP_COUNTER);
        }

        tv_steps_count = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.tv_steps_count);

        sm = (SensorManager) getSystemService(SENSOR_SERVICE);
        if(sm.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_STEP_COUNTER)!=null){
            sensor = (Sensor) sm.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_STEP_COUNTER);
        }else if(sm.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_STEP_DETECTOR)!=null){
            sensor =(Sensor) sm.getDefaultSensor(Sensor.TYPE_STEP_DETECTOR);
        }

        findViewById(R.id.backBTN).setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View view) {
                finish();

            }
        });
    }

    @Override
    public void onSensorChanged(SensorEvent sensorEvent) {
            tv_steps_count.setText(""+sensorEvent.values[0]);

    }

    @Override
    public void onAccuracyChanged(Sensor sensor, int i) {

    }

    @Override
    public void onPause() {
        stop();
        super.onPause();
    }

    @Override
    public void onResume() {
        start();
        super.onResume();
    }

    private void start() {
        sm.registerListener(this, sensor, sm.SENSOR_DELAY_FASTEST);
    }

    private void stop() {
        sm.unregisterListener(this);
    }
}

My manifest (just the parts of it which that have to do with this)

...
<uses-feature
        android:name="android.hardware.sensor.accelerometer"
        android:required="true" />
    <uses-feature
        android:name="android.hardware.sensor.stepcounter"
        android:required="true"/>
   <uses-feature
       android:name="android.hardware.sensor.stepdetector"
       android:required="true"/>

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION"/>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_CALENDAR" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_CALENDAR" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WAKE_LOCK" />
    <uses-permission android:name="com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="com.google.android.gms.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.VIBRATE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.VIBRATE" />

    <uses-feature
        android:name="android.hardware.sensor.accelerometer"
        android:required="true" />

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_CALENDAR" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_CALENDAR" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WAKE_LOCK" />
    <uses-permission android:name="com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="com.google.android.gms.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.VIBRATE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.VIBRATE" />
...
<uses-feature
        android:name="android.hardware.sensor.accelerometer"
        android:required="true" />
    <uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.sensor.stepcounter"
        android:required="true"/>
    <uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.sensor.stepdetector"
        android:required="true"/>
...

And a screenshot picturing the problem on debugger

Answer 1

The problem is that the emulator does not support the STEP_COUNTER or STEP_DETECTOR. You will need to test this feature on a real device that has hardware support for those two sensors.