Every time I need to make upgrades in Android studio I face problems. Here is the last one (gradle 8.1.0, SDK 33, target and compile versions to 33, all installed and working fine).
The inspection now gives me
Not targeting the latest versions of Android
I then change both targetSdkVersion and compileSdk to 34, and then says (after a gradle error in inspection):
It looks like you just edited the targetSdkVersion from 33 to 34 in the editor. Be sure to consult the documentation on the behaviors that change as result of this. The Android SDK Upgrade Assistant can help with safely migrating.
I then run the Android SDK Upgrade Assistant, and says nothing about the upgrade to 34.
Still, my project builds with target 34. Yet, Build tells me:
You are strongly encouraged to update your project to use a newer Android Gradle plugin that has been tested with compileSdk = 34.
I then try to upgrade gradle by running the AGP upgrade assistant and it says gradle 8.1 is up to date, despite the fact that there is already a gradle 8.2.1.
It is quite hard to use Android Studio in a productive way.
What am I doing wrong? How can I handle all these inconsistencies? Should I wait for the software to warn me about certain updates outside the inspection?
EDIT
A second problem, even staying with 33:
Inspection gives me:
A newer version of androidx.appcompat:appcompat than 1.7.0-alpha02 is available: 1.7.0-alpha03
I change to alpha03, try to build and then it fails giving:
Dependency ‘androidx.appcompat:appcompat-resources:1.7.0-alpha03’ requires libraries and applications that depend on it to compile against version 34 or later of the Android APIs.
Yet it does not allow me to upgrade to 34… The only solution I found was to stay with the old alpha02 and ignore the inspection.
2
Answers
Make sure you are using the latest version of Android Studio. Sometimes, updating to the latest stable version can resolve compatibility issues and provide better support for newer Android SDK versions and Gradle plugins.
The Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) is crucial for building and compiling your Android projects. To ensure compatibility, check for updates to the AGP regularly. You can do this by going to Build > Edit Libraries and Dependencies > Project Structure > Project Settings > Gradle Version.
Along with the AGP, you also need to keep your Gradle version up-to-date. In your project’s build.gradle file, you can specify the Gradle version you want to use. To update to the latest version, change the gradle dependency version to the latest available, such as 8.2.1.
After making changes to your project’s build.gradle files, sync Gradle by clicking the "Sync Now" button. Also, try performing a clean build (Build > Clean Project) to ensure a fresh build with the updated configurations, nsure that all your plugins and dependencies are up-to-date. Outdated plugins can lead to compatibility issues.
When upgrading Android SDK versions, AGP, or Gradle, it’s essential to review the release notes and documentation for each component. This helps you understand any breaking changes or behavior modifications that might affect your project.
My guess is the upgrade assistant doesn’t quite know how to update your project in the current version of Android Studio. I’ve been running into the exact same issue and have tried many things.
I found a few known issues with Gradle 8.3 that could possibly negatively affect those who update (see below), but there doesn’t seem to be any known issues with 8.2.1 so my guess is we just need to wait for a future update to android studio which will contain updates to the Upgrade Assistant. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
https://docs.gradle.org/8.3/release-notes.html