Permission denied on writing to external storage despite permission

Question

I have an Android 7.0 test device and my APK targets = "targetSdkVersion 22", with:

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

with:

final File f = new 
File(Environment.getExternalStoragePublicDirectory(Environment.DIRECTORY_PICTURES) + File.separator + "DressUpBaby" + photonumber + ".png");
f.createNewFile();

and at this point I get the warning:

W/System.err: java.io.IOException: Permission denied

How to get it to save the file? This was working when I created this on Eclipse, but now that I have updated and moved to Android Studio it seems to have broken something.

Answer 1

UPDATE: See Volker Voecking's answer for a better solution

---

EDIT: This is simply a workaround for those who don't have time to look for a solution. *

If you get permission denied error even when the permissions are granted and you already implemented permission checks,

make sure you're not targetting api level 29:

Change targetSdkVersion and compilesdkversion from 29 to 28 or any other lower level.

Answer 2

If you target SDK 29 and you still get a "permission denied" error after successfully requesting the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission you should add

android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true"

to the application definition in AndroidManifest.xml.

<manifest ... >
  <!-- This attribute is "false" by default on apps targeting
       Android 10 or higher. -->
    <application android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true" ... >
      ...
    </application>
</manifest>

see https://developer.android.com/training/data-storage/compatibility

Answer 3

If you're running your app on API level 23 or greater you have to request permission at runtime.

Request permission:

String[] permissions = {Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE};
requestPermissions(permissions, WRITE_REQUEST_CODE);

Then handle the result:

@Override
public void onRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode, String permissions[], int[] grantResults) {
    switch (requestCode) {
       case WRITE_REQUEST_CODE:
         if(grantResults[0] == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED){
           //Granted.


         }
       else{
           //Denied.
         }
        break;
    }
}

For more information visit Requesting Permissions at Run Time - Android Doc