Correctly decompiled & recompiled APK crashes on start-up

Information

1. Apktool Version (apktool -version) - v2.4.1

2. Operating System (Mac, Linux, Windows) - MacOS

3. APK From? (Playstore, ROM, Other) - Playstore/Manufacturer

Stacktrace/Logcat

2020-07-25 17:43:03.503 26542-26542/? E/LoadedApk: Unable to instantiate appComponentFactory
    java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: Didn't find class "androidx.core.app.AppComponentFactory" on path: DexPathList[[zip file "/data/app/dji.go.v5-2ay_BUceLK5SA17Q8TVPcw==/base.apk"],nativeLibraryDirectories=[/data/app/dji.go.v5-2ay_BUceLK5SA17Q8TVPcw==/lib/arm64, /data/app/dji.go.v5-2ay_BUceLK5SA17Q8TVPcw==/base.apk!/lib/arm64-v8a, /system/lib64, /product/lib64]]
        at dalvik.system.BaseDexClassLoader.findClass(BaseDexClassLoader.java:196)
        at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:379)
        at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:312)
        at android.app.LoadedApk.createAppFactory(LoadedApk.java:256)
        at android.app.LoadedApk.createOrUpdateClassLoaderLocked(LoadedApk.java:855)
        at android.app.LoadedApk.getClassLoader(LoadedApk.java:950)
        at android.app.LoadedApk.getResources(LoadedApk.java:1188)
        at android.app.ContextImpl.createAppContext(ContextImpl.java:2499)
        at android.app.ContextImpl.createAppContext(ContextImpl.java:2491)
        at android.app.ActivityThread.handleBindApplication(ActivityThread.java:6508)
        at android.app.ActivityThread.access$1600(ActivityThread.java:231)
        at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:1974)
        at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:107)
        at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:214)
        at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:7707)
        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
        at com.android.internal.os.RuntimeInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(RuntimeInit.java:516)
        at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:950)

Steps to Reproduce

Download the APK here: https://www.dji.com/nl/downloads/djiapp/dji-fly (click on Download for Android)

1. Run apktool d APKHERE
2. Run apktool b APKDIRECTORY
3. Sign the APK
4. Install the APK, make sure you’ve got an arm64-v8a chipset.
5. Start the app, it’ll first paint & crash.

Just run apktool, without changing anything, decode + recompile & it fails.

Frameworks

None

APK

DJI Fly: https://www.dji.com/nl/downloads/djiapp/dji-fly

Questions to ask before submission

1. Have you tried apktool d, apktool b without changing anything? Yes

2. If you are trying to install a modified apk, did you resign it? Resigned the APK. I’ve tried to use --no-src, etc etc.

3. Are you using the latest apktool version? Yes, v2.4.1

[hunterxxx]

I have similar situation where I resigned the apk before using apktool, installed it without problem. But when I apktool d, apktool b, it crashes.

[shipsywor]

@giacomoferretti Can you atleast link to the relevant guides to modify the app so we can search further?