App permissions denied, even when manually set

Question

I have been updating my app to comply with Googles requirements of API level, and permission use.

It seems that no matter what I try, I cannot get any permissions in my app. I have tried two different methods (code below). I am never prompted to approve the permissions. Furthermore, I've also tried manually setting the permissions in the settings->app->app permissions. The app reports the permission has been denied.

My android manifest includes the following permissions.

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />	
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />	
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.MANAGE_MEDIA" />	
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.MANAGE_DOCUMENTS" />

My android MainActivity has the code

protected override async void OnCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
    base.OnCreate(savedInstanceState);


    Xamarin.Essentials.Platform.Init(this, savedInstanceState);
    global::Xamarin.Forms.Forms.Init(this, savedInstanceState);

....

The code I am using to check on, and request, the permissions is.

      private async void BtnRestoreDatbase_Clicked(object sender, EventArgs e)
      {
          try
          {
              // Check that we have access to be playing with these files.
              var status = await CrossPermissions.Current.CheckPermissionStatusAsync<StoragePermission>();
              if (status != PermissionStatus.Granted)
              {
                  if (await CrossPermissions.Current.ShouldShowRequestPermissionRationaleAsync(Permission.Storage))
                  {
                      await Application.Current.MainPage.DisplayAlert("File Access", StringTools.GetStringResource("szAccessFiles"), StringTools.GetStringResource("szOK"));

                      // Request the permissions from the system again.
                      status = await CrossPermissions.Current.RequestPermissionAsync<StoragePermission>();
                  }
              }

              
              // We got permission to access the files, so let's do it.... (what a worthless comment.....)
              if (status == Plugin.Permissions.Abstractions.PermissionStatus.Granted)
              {
........

Since this approach doesn't work, I tried making my own calls that would use the Xamarin.Essentials library too.

public static async Task<PermissionStatus> CheckAndRequestStoragePermissionRead()
{
    var status = await Permissions.CheckStatusAsync<Permissions.StorageRead>();

    if (status == PermissionStatus.Granted)
        return status;

    if (status == PermissionStatus.Denied && DeviceInfo.Platform == DevicePlatform.iOS)
    {
        // Prompt the user to turn on in settings
        // On iOS once a permission has been denied it may not be requested again from the application
        return status;
    }

    if (Permissions.ShouldShowRationale<Permissions.StorageRead>())
    {
        // Prompt the user with additional information as to why the permission is needed
    }
    status = await Permissions.RequestAsync<Permissions.StorageRead>();

    return status;
}
      

Neither approach is working. The code worked in previous versions of Android, so I am not sure what has changed?

Answer 1

Hello,

If your app targets Android 11, both the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission and the WRITE_MEDIA_STORAGE privileged permission no longer provide any additional access.

From this Goole document about [Android 11 storage].(https://developer.android.com/about/versions/11/privacy/storage#permissions-target-11)

You can write/read your file in the internal application storage with Xamarin.Essentials: File System Helpers, and you do not need to request READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE and WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission.

Best Regards,

Leon Lu

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