## Root service fails to start on Android 15/16 - external cache directory not created #1852
Description
Please check before submitting an issue
- I know what my device, OS and App Manager versions are
- I know how to take logs
- I know how to reproduce the issue which may not be specific to my device
Describe the bug
Root service fails to start on Android 15/16 - external cache directory not created
Environment
- Android 16 QPR1
- App Manager debug build
- Magisk root
Issue
Root services fail to initialize because /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager.debug/cache doesn't exist and can't be accessed:
E RootService: External directory unavailable.
E RootService: Caused by: java.io.FileNotFoundException: /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager.debug/cache: permission denied.
Root Cause
On Android 15/16, /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/ directories are not automatically created during installation. This creates a chicken-and-egg problem: root is needed to create the directory, but RootService initialization requires the directory to exist first.
Workaround
adb shell
su
mkdir -p /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager.debug/cache
chown -R 10533:10533 /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager.debug/
chmod -R 755 /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager.debug/Note: Replace 10533 with your app's actual UID (check with dumpsys package io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager.debug | grep userId)
Suggested Fix
Option 1: Use root to create the directory before initializing RootService
Option 2: Fallback to internal cache (context.getCacheDir()) when external cache is unavailable
Option 3: Don't require cache directory before establishing root access
This affects fresh installs on Android 15/16+, not upgrades from older versions.
To Reproduce
open appmanager
Expected behavior
root mode working
Screenshots
No response
Logs
E RootService: External directory unavailable.
E RootService: java.lang.IllegalStateException: External directory unavailable.
E RootService: Caused by: java.io.FileNotFoundException: /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager.debug/cache: permission denied.
E RootService: at io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager.utils.FileUtils.getBestExternalPath(FileUtils.java:207)
E RootService: at io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager.utils.FileUtils.getExternalCachePath(FileUtils.java:172)
E RootService: at io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager.ipc.RootServiceManager.lambda$startRootProcess$0(RootServiceManager.java:175)
E Ops: at io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager.ipc.ServiceConnectionWrapper.bindService(ServiceConnectionWrapper.java:98)
E Ops: at io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager.ipc.LocalServices.bindAmService(LocalServices.java:93)
Device info
- Device: note 13 4g
- OS Version: 16 qpr1
- App Manager Version: latest
- Mode: Root/ADB/NonRoot root
Additional context
No response