Encountered an exception while calling native method... method askAsync on module ExpoPermissions

🐛 Bug Report

Encountered an exception while calling native method: Exception occurred while executing exported method askAsync on module ExpoPermissions: String resource ID #0xffffffff
- node_modules/react-native/Libraries/BatchedBridge/NativeModules.js:103:50 in promiseMethodWrapper
- node_modules/@unimodules/react-native-adapter/build/NativeModulesProxy.native.js:15:23 in moduleName.methodInfo.name
- node_modules/expo-permissions/build/Permissions.js:80:0 in _handlePermissionsRequestAsync

This error occurred on an Android 10 emulator, but I’ve received reports of issues related to this from many Android users on multiple devices. I’m still working on collecting information.

Related: #5548, #8910

Steps to Reproduce

When asking for location permission, I initially denied the request. In system settings, I allowed location services and returned to the app. Each time thereafter, this error occurred when Permissions.askAsync(Permissions.LOCATION) was called. canAskAgain is true.

It does not seem to occur when permissions are allowed on the first request.

Reproducible Demo

1. Deny location permissions when asked.
2. Go to settings, enabled location permissions.
3. const response = await Permissions.askAsync(Permissions.LOCATION);

Environment - output of expo diagnostics & the platform(s) you’re targeting

Android 10

Expo CLI 3.27.6 environment info:
    System:
      OS: macOS 10.15.5
      Shell: 5.7.1 - /bin/zsh
    Binaries:
      Node: 12.18.2 - /usr/local/bin/node
      npm: 6.14.5 - /usr/local/bin/npm
      Watchman: 4.9.0 - /usr/local/bin/watchman
    Managers:
      CocoaPods: 1.8.4 - /usr/local/bin/pod
    SDKs:
      iOS SDK:
        Platforms: iOS 14.0, DriverKit 19.0, macOS 10.15, tvOS 14.0, watchOS 7.0
    IDEs:
      Android Studio: 4.0 AI-193.6911.18.40.6626763
      Xcode: 12.0.1/12A7300 - /usr/bin/xcodebuild
    npmPackages:
      expo: ~38.0.8 => 38.0.8 
      react: ~16.11.0 => 16.11.0 
      react-dom: ~16.11.0 => 16.11.0 
      react-native: https://github.com/expo/react-native/archive/sdk-38.0.1.tar.gz => 0.62.2 
      react-native-web: ~0.11.7 => 0.11.7 
    npmGlobalPackages:
      expo-cli: 3.27.6
    Expo Workflow: managed

[torreyleonard]

I was able to find a workaround by replacing Permissions.askAsync(Permissions.LOCATION) with Location.requestPermissionsAsync() from expo-location.

However, Permissions.getAsync(Permissions.LOCATION) returns a “denied” response after expo-location returns as “granted.” I had to replace every call to location permissions with the methods provided in expo-location, otherwise the responses are inconsistent.

This still only occurs on Android.

[byCedric]

Hi @torreyleonard! Thanks for the detailed issue report, I could reproduce the issue with the steps you mentioned. This is an issue in the Expo Client on Android, but this shouldn’t be an issue with your standalone build. I also created a fix for this, let’s hope we can release this asap! 😄

Again, thanks!