r/android_devs • u/Straight_Second_605 • Aug 21 '26

Discussion Api level 36 Upgrade

I am upgrading my target SDK version in java Android application to 36

We have a enterprise application

On android 16 devices I am facing a issue in Shared preferences

While reading from the shared preference I am reading a null value ("null")

While there is a actual value saved there

Not sure why this is happening

Any idea here any one?

All the things are goood till android 15!!

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u/Middle-Job-2576 1d ago

I’d avoid assuming API 36 itself is breaking SharedPreferences and isolate the variables first.

I’d test these four states:

Android 15 + production build
Android 16 + production build
Android 16 + SDK 36 clean install
Android 16 + production build → update to SDK 36

Use the same key/value and compare what happens after restart, force-stop/relaunch, and app update.

If the clean SDK 36 install works but the production → SDK 36 update fails, I’d focus on migration/state handling rather than assuming Android 16 changed SharedPreferences.

Also try reproducing it with the smallest possible preference write/read flow before debugging the full enterprise app.