Instant Run disabled for multidexed application

Question

Using Android Studio 2.0 with gradle 2.0.0, I see the following error:

Instant Run is disabled: Instant Run does not support deploying build variants with multidex enabled, to a target with API level 20 or below. To use Instant Run with a multidex enabled build variant, deploy to a target with API level 21 or higher. (Don't show again)

Why am I not able to use Instant Run?

Answer 1

As the error message tells you, you can only use Instant Run with multidexed applications when deploying to a target device with SDK Level >= 21.

You can read more about the limitations of instant run on the Android Developers Page. Instant run can only be used when

• deploying to only one target device at a time
• multidex is disabled or your target device's SDK level is >= 21

Also note that third-party plugins (e.g. ProGuard) are temporarily disabled when using instant run.