On Android API 31, PermissionsAndroid.request(POST_NOTIFICATIONS) always returns never_ask_again

[Bilal-Abdeen]

Description

To support the new notifications permission requirements for Android API 33, I added the following call to my code.
PermissionsAndroid.request(PermissionsAndroid.PERMISSIONS.POST_NOTIFICATIONS).

On an Android API 33 emulator, it works perfectly fine - the user is asked to grant permission, and the returned result is correct.

However, on an Android API 31 emulator, it always returns PermissionsAndroid.RESULTS.NEVER_ASK_AGAIN. I expected it to return PermissionsAndroid.RESULTS.GRANTED.

By the way, on an Android API 31 emulator, there are NO problems with the other permissions, e.g. PERMISSIONS.READ_CONTACTS. The user is asked, and it returns the user's selection correctly.

Version

0.71.2

Output of npx react-native info

npm WARN config global --global, --local are deprecated. Use --location=global instead.
info Fetching system and libraries information...
System:
OS: Windows 10 10.0.19042
CPU: (8) x64 Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8550U CPU @ 1.80GHz
Memory: 11.20 GB / 31.90 GB
Binaries:
Node: 16.15.1 - C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.EXE
Yarn: 1.22.19 - ~\AppData\Roaming\npm\yarn.CMD
npm: 9.4.1 - C:\Program Files\nodejs\npm.CMD
Watchman: 20220614.153706.0 - C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\bin\watchman.EXE
SDKs:
Android SDK: Not Found
Windows SDK:
AllowAllTrustedApps: Disabled
Versions: 10.0.17763.0, 10.0.19041.0
IDEs:
Android Studio: AI-212.5712.43.2112.8512546
Visual Studio: Not Found
Languages:
Java: 11.0.15 - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Oracle\Java\javapath\javac.EXE
npmPackages:
@react-native-community/cli: Not Found
react: 18.2.0 => 18.2.0
react-native: 0.71.2 => 0.71.2
react-native-windows: Not Found
npmGlobalPackages:
react-native: Not Found

Steps to reproduce

await PermissionsAndroid.request(PermissionsAndroid.PERMISSIONS.POST_NOTIFICATIONS);

Snack, code example, screenshot, or link to a repository

const checkResult = await PermissionsAndroid.request(PermissionsAndroid.PERMISSIONS.POST_NOTIFICATIONS);
console.log("checkResult:", checkResult);

[tahatekin]

Before android api level 33, you do not need ask permission. You can compile api level 33 which change on build.gradle file and use android 33 emulator. You will see notification permission dialog.

[Bilal-Abdeen]

Before android api level 33, you do not need ask permission. You can compile api level 33 which change on build.gradle file and use android 33 emulator. You will see notification permission dialog.

@tahatekin Thank you for your feedback. I don't understand what you are suggesting. Following are my build.gradle settings. When I use an Android API 33 emulator, the code works perfectly OK. The user is asked for permission.

However, when I use an Android API 31 emulator, the code returns NEVER_ASK_AGAIN. I understand that the user should NOT be asked for permission on versions earlier than 33. However, I expected the code (on this version) to return GRANTED, rater than NEVER_ASK_AGAIN.

buildToolsVersion = "33.0.0"
minSdkVersion = 21
compileSdkVersion = 33
targetSdkVersion = 33
ndkVersion = "23.1.7779620"
googlePlayServicesAuthVersion = "19.2.0"

[Avishayy]

Don't ask for the permission if the API level is below 33, as Android doesn't recognize the permission for these versions, you could write it as:

let notificationsPermissionCheck: PermissionStatus = "granted";
// The permission exists only for Android API versions bigger than 33 (Android 13),
// we can assume it's always granted beforehand
if (Platform.Version >= 33) {
  notificationsPermissionCheck = await PermissionsAndroid.request(
    PermissionsAndroid.PERMISSIONS.POST_NOTIFICATIONS
  );
}

console.log("notificationsPermissionCheck:", notificationsPermissionCheck);

[Bilal-Abdeen]

Don't ask for the permission if the API level is below 33, as Android doesn't recognize the permission for these versions, you could write it as:

let notificationsPermissionCheck: PermissionStatus = "granted";
// The permission exists only for Android API versions bigger than 33 (Android 13),
// we can assume it's always granted beforehand
if (Platform.Version >= 33) {
  notificationsPermissionCheck = await PermissionsAndroid.request(
    PermissionsAndroid.PERMISSIONS.POST_NOTIFICATIONS
  );
}

console.log("notificationsPermissionCheck:", notificationsPermissionCheck);

@Avishayy Thanks, this works perfectly.

I thought that calling PermissionsAndroid.request(PermissionsAndroid.PERMISSIONS.POST_NOTIFICATIONS) should return granted for earlier versions. If my understanding is correct, I think this needs to be fixed. I am happy to use this workaround until the bug is fixed.

If my understanding is incorrect, I think the documentation should clarify that clearly. If this is the case, I am happy to submit a PR to update the documentation. Please, confirm.

[Avishayy]

I'm not affiliated with react-native's team, I'm just a passer-by.

Either way, your understanding is incorrect. Android doesn't know the permission on older APIs as it simply doesn't exist.
If Android doesn't recognize a permission when requesting it, it would ask you to "never_ask_again", as in "I don't what's that permission, don't ask me again".

The confusion rises from the fact that notifications are a resource that exists before API 33, it's just that after Android 13, they are locked behind a permission. The correct way to handle it is to explicitly check for the Android version before requesting the permission, it's not a workaround.

[alex-mironov]

Weirdly enough I see the same issue on version 33 when requesting that permission:

    await PermissionsAndroid.request(
      PermissionsAndroid.PERMISSIONS.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE,
    );

It resolves to never_ask_again and doesn't pop the permissions modal.

[vasylnahuliak]

@alex-mironov

In Android 13 no WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission is needed
#35638 (comment)

For example:

async function hasAndroidPermission() {
  if (Number(Platform.Version) >= 33) {
    return true;
  }

  const permission = PermissionsAndroid.PERMISSIONS.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE;

  const hasPermission = await PermissionsAndroid.check(permission);
  if (hasPermission) {
    return true;
  }

  const status = await PermissionsAndroid.request(permission);
  return status === 'granted';
}

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[github-actions]

This issue was closed because it has been stalled for 7 days with no activity.