ActionBarCompat: java.lang.IllegalStateException: You need to use a Theme.AppCompat

Question

I am getting a RuntimeException on Android 2.3.5 but I am using Theme.AppCompat (res/values/themes.xml). This is the phone: http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_y_s5360-4117.php

 <!-- res/values/themes.xml -->
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <resources>

     <style name="Theme.Styled" parent="@style/Theme.AppCompat">
         <item name="actionBarStyle">@style/QueryActionBar</item>
         <item name="android:actionBarStyle">@style/QueryActionBar</item>
     </style>

     <style name="QueryActionBar" parent="@style/Widget.AppCompat.ActionBar">
         <item name="background">@color/blueback</item>
         <item name="android:background">@color/blueback</item>
         <item name="backgroundSplit">@color/blueback</item>
         <item name="android:backgroundSplit">@color/blueback</item>
     </style>

 </resources>

Here is the file for values-v11.

 <!-- res/values-v11/themes.xml -->
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <resources>
    <style name="QueryTheme" parent="@android:style/Theme.Holo">
    <!-- Any customizations for your app running on devices with Theme.Holo here -->
    </style>
 </resources>

Here is the error.

 java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to start activity ComponentInfo{com.txt2lrn.www/com.txt2lrn.www.LandingActivity}: java.lang.IllegalStateException: You need to use a Theme.AppCompat theme (or descendant) with this activity.
 at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:1651)
 at android.app.ActivityThread.handleLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:1667)
 at android.app.ActivityThread.access$1500(ActivityThread.java:117)
 at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:935)
 at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
 at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:130)
 at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:3687)
 at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
 at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:507)
 at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:867)
 at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:625)
 at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
 Caused by: java.lang.IllegalStateException: You need to use a Theme.AppCompat theme (or descendant) with this activity.
 at android.support.v7.app.ActionBarActivityDelegate.onCreate(ActionBarActivityDelegate.java:102)
 at android.support.v7.app.ActionBarActivity.onCreate(ActionBarActivity.java:98)
 at com.txt2lrn.www.LandingActivity.onCreate(LandingActivity.java:95)
 at android.app.Instrumentation.callActivityOnCreate(Instrumentation.java:1047)
 at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:1615)
 ... 11 more

Sorry folks, I also do have android:theme="@style/Theme.Styled" defined in AndroidManifest.xml.

do you have another values folder that references Theme.Styled but does not use the AppCompat theme? — tyczj, Aug 05 '13 at 16:50
@tyczj I have added the res/values-v11/themes.xml file and it does not reference Theme.Styled — AG1, Aug 05 '13 at 18:08
@tyczj You can use use your comment as an answer since it can be a common issue (me too) — Valentino Dell'Aica, Sep 08 '13 at 19:20
Possible duplicate of [You need to use a Theme.AppCompat theme (or descendant) with this activity](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/21814825/you-need-to-use-a-theme-appcompat-theme-or-descendant-with-this-activity) — , Nov 02 '15 at 06:05
For a very simple thing to try first, see http://stackoverflow.com/a/32426664/897007 — Dale, Jun 25 '16 at 16:02
Visit this [ link](https://stackoverflow.com/a/45940291/4832664) for solving the problem! — Y.E.S., Aug 29 '17 at 13:26

Nishad · Answer 1 · 2015-10-13T05:59:43.297

96

If you are extending ActionBarActivity in your MainActivity, you will have to change the parent theme in values-v11 also.
So the style.xml in values-v11 will be -

 <!-- res/values-v11/themes.xml -->
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <resources>
    <style name="QueryTheme" parent="@style/Theme.AppCompat">
    <!-- Any customizations for your app running on devices with Theme.Holo here -->
    </style>
 </resources>

EDIT: I would recommend you stop using ActionBar and start using the AppBar layout included in the Android Design Support Library

edited Oct 13 '15 at 05:59

answered Sep 18 '13 at 11:21

Nishad

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5

Excellent, I missed this. Don't forget all the other -vXX folders as well, or it'll work fine in your test env, only to bite you once someone uses one of those versions. – falstro Jan 20 '14 at 11:27
1

Thanks! Just changed ActionBarActivity to Activity! :) – Inoy Oct 08 '14 at 10:30

score 66 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 21 '21 at 04:54

To simply add ActionBar Compat your activity or application should use @style/Theme.AppCompat theme in AndroidManifest.xml like this:

   <activity
        ...
        android:theme="@style/Theme.AppCompat" />

This will add actionbar in activty(or all activities if you added this theme to application)

But usually you need to customize you actionbar. To do this you need to create two styles with Theme.AppCompat parent, for example, "@style/Theme.AppCompat.Light". First one will be for api 11>= (versions of android with build in android actionbar), second one for api 7-10 (no build in actionbar).

Let's look at first style. It will be located in res/values-v11/styles.xml . It will look like this:

<style name="Theme.Styled" parent="@style/Theme.AppCompat.Light">
    <!-- Setting values in the android namespace affects API levels 11+ -->
    <item name="android:actionBarStyle">@style/Widget.Styled.ActionBar</item>
</style>

<style name="Widget.Styled.ActionBar" parent="@style/Widget.AppCompat.Light.ActionBar">
    <!-- Setting values in the android namespace affects API levels 11+ -->
    <item name="android:background">@drawable/ab_custom_solid_styled</item>
    <item name="android:backgroundStacked"
      >@drawable/ab_custom_stacked_solid_styled</item>
    <item name="android:backgroundSplit"
      >@drawable/ab_custom_bottom_solid_styled</item>
</style>

And you need to have same style for api 7-10. It will be located in res/values/styles.xml, BUT because that api levels don't yet know about original android actionbar style items, we should use one, provided by support library. ActionBar Compat items are defined just like original android, but without "android:" part in the front:

<style name="Theme.Styled" parent="@style/Theme.AppCompat.Light">
    <!-- Setting values in the default namespace affects API levels 7-11 -->
    <item name="actionBarStyle">@style/Widget.Styled.ActionBar</item>
</style>

<style name="Widget.Styled.ActionBar" parent="@style/Widget.AppCompat.Light.ActionBar">
    <!-- Setting values in the default namespace affects API levels 7-11 -->
    <item name="background">@drawable/ab_custom_solid_styled</item>
    <item name="backgroundStacked">@drawable/ab_custom_stacked_solid_styled</item>
    <item name="backgroundSplit">@drawable/ab_custom_bottom_solid_styled</item>
</style>

Please mark that, even if api levels higher than 10 already have actionbar you should still use AppCompat styles. If you don't, you will have this error on launch of Acitvity on devices with android 3.0 and higher:

java.lang.IllegalStateException: You need to use a Theme.AppCompat theme (or descendant) with this activity.

Here is link this original article http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2013/08/actionbarcompat-and-io-2013-app-source.html written by Chris Banes.

tyczj · Answer 3 · 2013-11-24T18:41:01.360

20

Check and make sure that you do not have another values folder that references theme.styled and does not use AppCompat theme

ie values-v11 folder

edited Nov 24 '13 at 18:41

answered Sep 08 '13 at 23:11

tyczj

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This was my problem too. I had a library project and had to import the appcompat-v7 library and make all the themes extend AppCompat themes. The thing is, my main project has the tools:replace="android:icon,android:theme" option added to the and should leave out styles from other projects. For some reason that wasn't working. – speedynomads Sep 16 '15 at 15:00

score 16 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 11 '14 at 16:24

Try this...

styles.xml

<resources>
 <style name="Theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar" parent="@style/Theme.AppCompat.Light">
    <item name="android:windowNoTitle">true</item>
 </style>
</resources>

AndroidManifest.xml

   <activity
        android:name="com.example.Home"
        android:label="@string/app_name" 
        android:theme="@style/Theme.AppCompat.Light.NoActionBar"
        >
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

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

score 11 · Answer 5 · edited Jun 04 '16 at 12:29

11

Your Activity is extending ActionBarActivity which requires the AppCompat.theme to be applied. Change from ActionBarActivity to Activity or FragmentActivity, it will solve the problem.

edited Jun 04 '16 at 12:29

Anshu Dwibhashi

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answered Nov 14 '14 at 19:04

Jorgesys

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score 4 · Answer 6 · answered Apr 23 '16 at 07:07

4

Just do it Build -> Clean Project. I think this will solve your problem.

answered Apr 23 '16 at 07:07

Valeriy Bilyk

51
2

score 3 · Answer 7 · answered Aug 05 '13 at 18:08

3

My manifest does not reference any themes... it should not have to AFAIK

Sure it does. Nothing is going to magically apply Theme.Styled to an activity. You need to declare your activities -- or your whole application -- is using Theme.Styled, e.g., :

<application
    android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
    android:label="@string/app_name"
    android:theme="@style/Theme.Styled">

answered Aug 05 '13 at 18:08

CommonsWare

986,068
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2,491

I was incorrect, I do have android:theme="@style/Theme.Styled" in my AndroidManifest.xml (I didn't see it the first time). – AG1 Aug 06 '13 at 04:09

score 3 · Answer 8 · answered Apr 29 '15 at 00:10

3

I had such crash on Samsung devices even though the activity did use Theme.AppCompat. The root cause was related to weird optimizations on Samsung side:

- if one activity of your app has theme not inherited from Theme.AppCompat
- and it has also `android:launchMode="singleTask"`
- then all the activities that are launched from it will share the same Theme

My solution was just removing android:launchMode="singleTask"

answered Apr 29 '15 at 00:10

goRGon

4,402
2
43
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1

Do you have a source for this? I've been tracking down a similar bug in my app for a while, and this sounds like a promising lead. – Dmitry Brant Sep 11 '15 at 14:20
Same here! Would love to more about this! I've been tracking down a similar bug in my app too. Unfortunately, I do not use `android:launchMode="singleTask"`. – acrespo Feb 16 '16 at 20:16
I observe the same issue. It's happening for Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (Android 7.0, not rooted and SM-A320FL (Android 7.0, not rooted). I don't use `android:launchMode="singleTask"` and all my activities use AppCompat theme :/ – user2990759 Oct 23 '17 at 09:15

score 3 · Answer 9 · answered May 31 '17 at 10:47

I encountered this error when I was trying to create a DialogBox when some action is taken inside the CustomAdapter class. This was not an Activity but an Adapter class. After 36 hrs of efforts and looking up for solutions, I came up with this.

Send the Activity as a parameter while calling the CustomAdapter.

CustomAdapter ca = new CustomAdapter(MyActivity.this,getApplicationContext(),records);

Define the variables in the custom Adapter.

Activity parentActivity;
Context context;

Call the constructor like this.

public CustomAdapter(Activity parentActivity,Context context,List<Record> records){
    this.parentActivity=parentActivity;
    this.context=context;
    this.records=records;
}

And finally when creating the dialog box inside the adapter class, do it like this.

AlertDialog ad = new AlertDialog.Builder(parentActivity).setTitle("Your title");

and so on..

I hope this helps you

Tsung Wu · Answer 10 · 2013-08-08T13:05:48.770

I just get my application move from ActionBarSherlock to ActionBarCompat. Try declare your old theme like this:

<style name="Theme.Event" parent="Theme.AppCompat">

Then set the theme in your AndroidManifest.xml:

<application
    android:debuggable="true"
    android:name=".activity.MyApplication"
    android:allowBackup="true"
    android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
    android:label="@string/app_name"
    android:theme="@style/Theme.Event.Home"
     >

score 2 · Answer 11 · answered Jul 27 '16 at 08:12

2

in my case i made a custom view i added to custom view constructor

new RoomView(getAplicationContext());

the correct context is activity so changed it to:

new RoomView(getActivity());

or

new RoomView(this);

answered Jul 27 '16 at 08:12

amorenew

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score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Jul 06 '17 at 11:29

For my list view am using custom Adapter which extends ArrayAdapter. in listiview i have 2 buttons one of the buttons as Custom AlertDialogBox. Ex: Activity parentActivity; Constructor for Adapter `

public CustomAdapter(ArrayList<Contact> data, Activity parentActivity,Context context) {
        super(context,R.layout.listdummy,data);
        this.mContext   =   context;
        this.parentActivity  =   parentActivity;
    }

` calling Adapter from MainActivty

adapter = new CustomAdapter(dataModels,MainActivity.this,this);

now write ur alertdialog inside ur button which is in the Adapter class

viewHolder.update.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(final View view) {
            

                AlertDialog.Builder alertDialog =   new AlertDialog.Builder(parentActivity);
                alertDialog.setTitle("Updating");
                alertDialog.setCancelable(false);

                LayoutInflater layoutInflater   = (LayoutInflater) mContext.getSystemService(Context.LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE);
                 @SuppressLint("InflateParams") final View view1   =   layoutInflater.inflate(R.layout.dialog,null);
                alertDialog.setView(view1);
                alertDialog.setNegativeButton("Cancel", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
                    @Override
                    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialogInterface, int i) {
                        dialogInterface.cancel();
                    }
                });
                alertDialog.setPositiveButton("Update", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
                    @Override
                    public void onClick(DialogInterface dialogInterface, int i) {

                    //ur logic
                            }
                    }
                });
                  alertDialog.create().show();

            }
        });

score -2 · Answer 13 · edited Jan 27 '17 at 13:18

-2

para resolver o meu problema, eu apenas adicionei na minha MainActivity ("Theme = To solve my problem, I just added it in my MainActivity ("Theme =" @ style / MyTheme "") where MyTheme is the name of my theme

[Activity(Label = "Name Label", MainLauncher = true, Icon = "@drawable/icon", LaunchMode = LaunchMode.SingleTop, Theme = "@style/MyTheme")]

edited Jan 27 '17 at 13:18

Roman

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answered Jan 27 '17 at 11:36

Deyvidy

1

ActionBarCompat: java.lang.IllegalStateException: You need to use a Theme.AppCompat

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