java.io.FileNotFoundException open failed: EEXIST (File exists) Android 11

I was trying to download an image from a server and save it in the external memory, but in Android 11 it gives me an error when I try to create the file. I have granted permission to access the external storage.

i searched a bit on the internet and they suggested me to put this code in the manifest, but it didn’t work for android 11

android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true"

manifest

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WAKE_LOCK" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" />

    <application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true"
        android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
        android:supportsRtl="true"
        android:theme="@style/Theme.TestDwonloadImgApp"
        android:usesCleartextTraffic="true">
        <activity android:name=".MainActivity2">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
        <activity android:name=".MainActivity">
        </activity>
    </application>

MainActivity

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        ImageView img = findViewById(R.id.img);

        ImmagineInterface ii = RetrofitManager.retrofit.create(ImmagineInterface.class);
        Call<ResponseBody> call = ii.downloadFile("/immaginimusei/arte-scienza.jpg");
        call.enqueue(new Callback<ResponseBody>() {
            @Override
            public void onResponse(Call<ResponseBody> call, Response<ResponseBody> response) {
                if (response.code() == 200) {
                    boolean result = writeResponseBody(response.body(), "/immaginimusei/arte-scienza.jpg");
                    if(result) {
                        Bitmap bitmap = BitmapFactory.decodeFile(Environment.getExternalStoragePublicDirectory(Environment.DIRECTORY_DOWNLOADS).toString() + "/ArtHunter/immaginimusei/arte-scienza.jpg");
                        img.setImageBitmap(bitmap);
                    }
                }
            }

            @Override
            public void onFailure(Call<ResponseBody> call, Throwable t) {
                Bitmap bitmap = BitmapFactory.decodeFile(Environment.getExternalStoragePublicDirectory(Environment.DIRECTORY_DOWNLOADS).toString() + "/ArtHunter/immaginimusei/arte-scienza.jpg");
                img.setImageBitmap(bitmap);
            }
        });
    }
}

writeResponseBody

public static boolean writeResponseBody(ResponseBody body, String dir1) {
        try {
            String state = Environment.getExternalStorageState();
            if (Environment.MEDIA_MOUNTED.equals(state)) {
                // todo change the file location/name according to your needs

                String path = Environment.getExternalStoragePublicDirectory(Environment.DIRECTORY_DOWNLOADS).toString() + "/ArtHunter";

                String path1 = path + dir1;
                File f = new File(path1);
                String path2 = f.getPath();
                String nome = f.getName();
                path2 = path2.replaceAll("/" + nome, "");

                File directory = new File(path2);
                if (!directory.exists())
                    directory.mkdirs();

                File img = new File(path2, nome);
                if (img.exists())
                    return true;
                img.createNewFile();

                InputStream inputStream = null;
                FileOutputStream outputStream = null;

                try {
                    byte[] fileReader = new byte[4096];

                    inputStream = body.byteStream();
                    outputStream = new FileOutputStream(img); //error here!

                    while (true) {
                        int read = inputStream.read(fileReader);

                        if (read == -1) {
                            break;
                        }

                        outputStream.write(fileReader, 0, read);

                    }

                    outputStream.flush();

                    return true;
                } catch (IOException e) {
                    e.printStackTrace();
                    return false;
                } finally {
                    if (inputStream != null) {
                        inputStream.close();
                    }

                    if (outputStream != null) {
                        outputStream.close();
                    }
                }
            }
            return false;
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
            return false;
        }
    }

error

/System.err: java.io.FileNotFoundException: /storage/emulated/0/Download/ArtHunter/immaginimusei/arte-scienza.jpg: open failed: EEXIST (File exists)
W/System.err:     at libcore.io.IoBridge.open(IoBridge.java:492)
        at java.io.FileOutputStream.<init>(FileOutputStream.java:236)
        at java.io.FileOutputStream.<init>(FileOutputStream.java:186)
        at com.theapplegeek.testdwonloadimgapp.MainActivity.writeResponseBody(MainActivity.java:93)
        at com.theapplegeek.testdwonloadimgapp.MainActivity$1.onResponse(MainActivity.java:47)
        at retrofit2.DefaultCallAdapterFactory$ExecutorCallbackCall$1.lambda$onResponse$0$DefaultCallAdapterFactory$ExecutorCallbackCall$1(DefaultCallAdapterFactory.java:89)
        at retrofit2.-$$Lambda$DefaultCallAdapterFactory$ExecutorCallbackCall$1$hVGjmafRi6VitDIrPNdoFizVAdk.run(Unknown Source:6)
        at android.os.Handler.handleCallback(Handler.java:938)
        at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
        at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:245)
        at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:8004)
        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
        at com.android.internal.os.RuntimeInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(RuntimeInit.java:631)
        at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:978)
    Caused by: android.system.ErrnoException: open failed: EEXIST (File exists)
        at libcore.io.Linux.open(Native Method)
        at libcore.io.ForwardingOs.open(ForwardingOs.java:166)
        at libcore.io.BlockGuardOs.open(BlockGuardOs.java:254)
W/System.err:     at libcore.io.ForwardingOs.open(ForwardingOs.java:166)
        at android.app.ActivityThread$AndroidOs.open(ActivityThread.java:7865)
        at libcore.io.IoBridge.open(IoBridge.java:478)
        ... 13 more

Answer

In Android 11 android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true" will simply be ignored, since it was an ad-hoc solution for Android < 11 to not break old apps. Now, you must use

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

Also you could just use SAF to avoid all this ‘permissions’ hassle. This is what Google recommends for apps that do not need to manage most internal storage data. Refer to: https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/providers/document-provider

However, if you don’t want to break you app and lose all your hard work, consider

if(Environment.isExternalStorageManager())
{
    internal = new File("/sdcard");
    internalContents = internal.listFiles();
}
else
{
    Intent permissionIntent = new Intent(Settings.ACTION_MANAGE_ALL_FILES_ACCESS_PERMISSION);
    startActivity(permissionIntent);
}

This will bring up a settings page where you will be able to give storage access to your app. If the app already has permission, then you will be able to access the directory. Place this at the very beginning of onCreate() method after setting layout resource.

It’s best not to do this for any future apps you build.