Android - The prefix "xmlns" cannot be bound to any namespace explicitly; neither can the namespace for "xmlns" be bound to any prefix explicitly

Question

Is anyone getting this "xmlns" namespace issue (see below)? I cannot build my work project anymore.

• At first I thought it was my git branch, so I switched to the origin develop and master branches - issue persists.
• I cleaned and rebuilt my project - issue persists.
• I cleaned and synched my grade files - issue persists.

• Finally I tried re-installing Android Studio and re-creating my git repository - issue persists.

  The prefix "xmlns" cannot be bound to any namespace explicitly; neither can the namespace for "xmlns" be bound to any prefix explicitly.
  Error: The prefix "xmlns" cannot be bound to any namespace explicitly; neither can the namespace for "xmlns" be bound to any prefix explicitly.
  :{project}:mergeReleaseResources FAILED
  Execution failed for task ':{project}:mergeReleaseResources'.
  > {project}/build/intermediates/incremental/mergeResources/release/merger.xml:1:61: Error: The prefix "xmlns" cannot be bound to any namespace explicitly; neither can the namespace for "xmlns" be bound to any prefix explicitly.
  

Note: Issue seems similar to Android Gradle merged Values.xml uses wrong namespace, but I couldn't find an unused namespace. I ran an inspect, but no unused namespaces were found.

Answer 1

In my case deleting the com_crashlytics_export_strings.xml file fixed this error.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
<resources>
<!--
  This file is automatically generated by Crashlytics to uniquely 
  identify individual builds of your Android application.

  Do NOT modify, delete, or commit to source control!
-->
<string xmlns:ns0="http://schemas.android.com/tools" name="com.crashlytics.android.build_id" ns0:ignore="UnusedResources,TypographyDashes" translatable="false">xxxxxxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx</string>
</resources>