Permission denied when creating new file on external storage

Question

I need to copy a file from the assets to the external storage. Here is my code:

    File f = new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory() + File.separator
            + "MyApp" + File.separator + "tessdata" + File.separator + "eng.traineddata");
    if (!f.exists()) {
    AssetManager assetManager = getAssets();
    try {
        f.createNewFile();
        InputStream in = assetManager.open("eng.traineddata");
        OutputStream out = new FileOutputStream(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory() + File.separator
            + "MyApp" + File.separator  + "tessdata" + File.separator + "eng.traineddata");
        byte[] buffer = new byte[1024];
        int read;
            while ((read = in.read(buffer)) != -1)
                    out.write(buffer, 0, read);
            in.close();
            in = null;
            out.flush();
            out.close();
            out = null;
        } catch (IOException e) {
            Log.e("tag", "Failed to copy asset file: ", e);
        }
    }

I've also added the permission in the manifet

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

The exception occurred when is executed f.createNewFile(), saying "Permission denied".

How can I fix it please?

What if you use your app dir? `File f = new File(getExternalFilesDir(null), "eng.traineddata");` — rciovati, May 03 '13 at 14:25
Is your device connected to a PC and set to Mass Storage mode? Or otherwise in some unmounted state? If so then it will not have access to the external filesystem. — FoamyGuy, May 03 '13 at 14:28

M. Usman Khan · Answer 1 · 2018-02-12T02:17:18.183

In my case it was due to the Permissions popup required for API 23+, even if u have added permission in the manifest.

// Storage Permissions
private static final int REQUEST_EXTERNAL_STORAGE = 1;
private static String[] PERMISSIONS_STORAGE = {
        Manifest.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE,
        Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
};

/**
 * Checks if the app has permission to write to device storage
 *
 * If the app does not has permission then the user will be prompted to grant permissions
 *
 * @param activity
 */
public static void verifyStoragePermissions(Activity activity) {
    // Check if we have write permission
    int permission = ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(activity, Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE);

    if (permission != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
        // We don't have permission so prompt the user
        ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(
                activity,
                PERMISSIONS_STORAGE,
                REQUEST_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
        );
    }
}

Call this function when the app launches or when you need the permission.

AndroidManifest.xml

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

Detailed sample code for permissions can be found here.

score 34 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 26 '20 at 11:11

34

Recently in API level 29, they have changed the way of accessing external storage. If you are trying to access public folders(i.e. Downloads) it will throw permission denied error.

You need to specify below code in your application tag in Manifest file.

android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true"

Or you can save files in the root directory to avoid this error.

answered Aug 26 '20 at 11:11

Ishaan

3,658
2
23
39

1

This was the cause of my issue as well, thanks for saving me from further head aches! – RienK Jan 18 '21 at 16:13
1

This is the only thing that worked for me. – David Feb 08 '21 at 17:30
I was struggling with this myself, you're welcome guys! – Ishaan May 16 '21 at 11:46

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered May 03 '13 at 14:47

9

Do f.mkdirs() before f.createNewFile(). You are probably trying to create a new file in a non-existent directory

answered May 03 '13 at 14:47

rcbevans

7,101
4
30
46

3

you would get file does not exist error not permission denied in that case. – coolcool1994 Aug 22 '20 at 15:40

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered May 03 '13 at 14:44

try this:

private void copy() {

File dirOri = new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory() +"/somefolder/somefile");
File dirDest = new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory() + "/yourfolder");

FileChannel src = null;
FileChannel dst = null;

try {
    src = new FileInputStream(dirOri).getChannel();
    dst = new FileOutputStream(dirDest).getChannel();
    dst.transferFrom(src, 0, src.size());               
    src.close();
    dst.close();
} catch (Exception e) {}
}

-- EDIT --

Add in manifest:

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

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered May 13 '19 at 06:50

1

If you are using SDK-23 you need to write permission in manifest file like this

<uses-permission-sdk-23 android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" /> <uses-permission-sdk-23 android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />

answered May 13 '19 at 06:50

Dheeraj Jaiswal

364
3
6

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Nov 02 '20 at 18:34

I have googled so hard for an answer. Most solutions don't work for API 29. @ishann 's answer inspired me to search for android:requestLegacyExternalStorage . It turned out that they introduced the concept of scoped storage, which means an app can only access its dedicated folder by default. For example, the folder pattern for Pictures should now be like:

/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.myapp.myapp/files/Pictures

Creating files or folders in the global location will fail, even both permissions are granted:

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

the following code worked for me:

File files[] = this.getApplicationContext().getExternalFilesDirs(Environment.DIRECTORY_PICTURES);

for(File f : files){
    Log.e("debug", f.getAbsolutePath());
    File newdir = new File(f.getAbsolutePath(), "/newtest/");
    boolean result = newdir.mkdirs();
    Log.e("debug", result + " ; " + newdir.exists());
    break;
}

relevant documents

https://developer.android.com/training/data-storage#scoped-storage

https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Context#getExternalFilesDirs(java.lang.String)

Yes, this code will work - but note that the files created by the app will be deleted if/when the app is uninstalled. — shagberg, Sep 14 '21 at 21:56

Permission denied when creating new file on external storage

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