Android - FileProvider getUriForFile when the file is on an external SD

Question

Currently, FileProvider getUriForFile method generates IllegalArgumentException when the file is on an external SD

When the file is in the device memory (under /storage/emulated/0), it works fine.

 Uri videoUri = FileProvider.getUriForFile(this,
            getApplicationContext().getPackageName() + ".provider",
            new File(videoPath));

here videoPath had the following value :

videoPath =  /storage/extSdCard/Android/data/com.podcastcutter.debug/files/episodeMp3/TEDTalks (video)/Why you should love statistics - Alan Smith.mp4  

My Manifest file contains :

       <provider
        android:name="android.support.v4.content.FileProvider"
        android:authorities="${applicationId}.provider"
        android:exported="false"
        android:grantUriPermissions="true">
        <meta-data
            android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
            android:resource="@xml/provider_paths"/>
    </provider>

and here the provider_paths :

<external-path name="external_files" path="."/>

How can I modify the FileProvider configuration to solve this problem?

Thanks in advance.

Exception generated:

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Failed to find configured root that contains /storage/extSdCard/Android/data/com.podcastcutter.debug/files/episodeMp3/TEDTalks (video)/Why you should love statistics - Alan Smith.mp4 
android.support.v4.content.FileProvider$SimplePathStrategy.getUriForFile(FileProvider.java:711)                  
android.support.v4.content.FileProvider.getUriForFile(FileProvider.java:400)

Additional Configuration information:

compileSdkVersion 25

buildToolsVersion "23.0.3"

minSdkVersion 16

targetSdkVersion 25

support libraries version : 25.1.1   

Answer 1

I added in my provider.xml this line and works fine to get file URI from SD card:

<root-path name="external_files" path="/storage/" />

Complete xml file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<paths>
    <external-path
        name="external_files"
        path="." />
    <root-path
        name="external_files"
        path="/storage/" />
</paths>

Answer 2

How can I modify the FileProvider configuration to solve this problem?

You can't. FileProvider does not support removable storage.

Answer 3

Your provider path is the wrong type. Your videoPath shows a path to your app's external storage but your provider path is using external-path which links to the device root external storage. (/storage/emulated/0)

Change your provider path to be <external-files-path>...</external-files-path>