Android Studio JDK location changes back to 1.7 every time it is updated to 1.8 path

Question

I recently installed jdk 1.8 u92 after Android Studio said it is needed for api24 builds. However, I've run into this issue now.

I looked at some other solutions and uninstalled jdk 1.7, added environment variables for JDK_HOME, JAVA_HOME, and JAVA8_HOME. The problem still persists.

Every time I try to build the app, gradle sync fails and Android studio asks me to Choose a valid JDK directory. I then go to Project Structure => JDK Location and update it to the 1.8 folder. Trying to build again gives the same error and when I check the Project Structure, the path is set back to the old JDK 1.7 automatically.

Is there any fix for this issue?

Answer 1

Figured it out after looking at a few files inside the Android studio settings directory.

If you've been upgrading your Android Studio and importing settings from previous installations, this might happen (it might also happen with a fresh installation).

Solution:

1. Go to wherever your Android Studio config folder is located (usually at $HOME/.AndroidStudio2.1/confg).
2. Open the Options folder and delete the file jdk.table.xml (keep a backup just in case)
3. Restart Android Studio

This fixed the issue for me. The newly created jdk.table.xml will have updated java8 values (which it most probably fetches from the JDK_HOME environment variable).