Question

I have been able to create a *.apk file from my code, place the file
in IIS, and download it onto a number of Android phones. Upon the
install, the application works exactly as expected.

However, after a phone is rebooted, the application name is changed to
the fully-qualified Java class name of the activity in the menu (so
"MyActivity" becomes "com.mycompany.MyActivity"), and when I try to go
to Menu > Settings, I get an error that causes android to force close
my application.

Looking into DDMS, I see that I get an error indicating that it can
not find my Preferences activity, despite the fact upon initial
install, it works properly.

I’m using Eclipse on Windows XP, and have several Android devices at
my disposal to test with.

Any idea what’s going on?

AndroidManifest.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
  package="com.company.app"
  android:versionCode="1"
  android:versionName="1.0">
<application android:icon="@drawable/logo" android:label="@string/app_name"> <!--android:debuggable="true">-->
    <activity android:name="com.company.app.ActivityMain"
              android:label="@string/app_name">
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
            <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
        </intent-filter>
    </activity>
    <activity android:name="com.company.app.Preferences"
              android:label="@string/app_settings">
              <intent-filter>
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.PREFERENCE"></category>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN"></action>
              </intent-filter>
    </activity>
    <service android:name="com.company.app.Service"></service>
</application>
<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="3" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION"/>
</manifest>

Answer 1

So I finally got this to work. I think that the package installer on the HTC Hero (and maybe the HTC Droid Eris) has some issues.

I uninstalled my application from the phone, changed the name of my main activity, and re-deployed it onto the Hero. I started to immediately get a “Force Close.” I connected the device to DDMS and looked at the error. It was still looking for my old activity name. I factory reset the device and reinstalled the same package (with the updated name) and everything works as expected.

So it seems that the package installer is caching some part of the old manifest or something, not really sure what exactly is going on there. I may play with it some more if I get time.

I don’t know if someone else could verify this problem, maybe it’s something that should be taken up with HTC?