If you’re facing an issue where your Flutter app’s APK cannot be generated or updated when running in release mode, you’re not alone. Many developers have encountered this problem, and it can be frustrating to resolve.
The Problem: No Internet Permission on Real Devices
The primary cause of this issue is the lack of internet permission in the Android Manifest file. By default, the emulator doesn’t require this permission, but a real device does. This means that even if your app makes API calls or requires internet connectivity, it won’t work as expected on a physical device.
Solution: Add Internet Permission to AndroidManifest.xml
To resolve this issue, you need to add the correct user-permission to the AndroidManifest file. Here’s how:
<manifest>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>
</manifest>
Open the file “android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml” and insert the code above, replacing any existing permissions or modifying them as needed.
Frequently Encountered Issue: Needing to Run flutter clean Before Building Again
Many developers have reported that after adding the internet permission, they still encounter issues with their APK build. In this case, running flutter clean before attempting to rebuild the APK may resolve the problem.
flutter clean flutter build apk --release
The Importance of Running flutter clean Before Building Again
While not always necessary, running flutter clean can help ensure that your project’s cache is updated and that any previous issues are resolved before rebuilding the APK. This step is particularly important when you’re making significant changes to your project, such as adding new permissions.
Conclusion
The inability to generate an updated version of your Flutter app’s APK in release mode can be caused by a lack of internet permission on real devices. To resolve this issue, simply add the correct user-permission to the AndroidManifest file and ensure that you’re running flutter clean before rebuilding the APK again.
