1868940 - Cannot install an add-on a from local file on Android < 10

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Fenix :: WebExtensions, defect)

Description

[miralobontiu]

Attachment: az_recorder_20231207_162702.mp4

Prerequisites

Have an .xpi file add-on downloaded (i.e. uBlock origin)

Steps to reproduce

1. Go to Settings --> About Firefox.
2. Tap 10 times on the Fenix logo.
3. Go back to Settings - Advanced - "Install add-on from file"
4. Select an .XPI file for your downloads.

Expected behavior

The add-on is successfully installed and enabled.

Actual behavior

The file cannot be selected - please see the attached video.

Device information

• Firefox version: 122.0a1 from 12/7
• Android devices:
  ** Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (Android 9),
  ** Sony Xperia Z5 Premium (Android 7.1.1),
  ** Lenovo tab M10 (Android 10)

Any additional information?

• NOT reproducible on Oppo Find X5 Lite (Android 11), Oppo Find N2 Flip (Android 13), Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra (Android 12)

Comment 1

[William Durand [:willdurand]]

Arturo, could you please take a look? Thanks!

Comment 2

[Arturo Mejia [:amejia]]

Sure!

Comment 3

[William Durand [:willdurand]]

:miralobontiu, could you please try with a recent Fenix build and an XPI file renamed to .zip (instead of .xpi) please? I am mainly interested in knowing whether the file picker would allow ZIP files to be selected. Thanks!

My current theory is that old-ish Android versions don't support the mime type for XPI files.

Comment 4

[miralobontiu]

Hi William!
I renamed the .xpi files to .zip files, and now I can install the addon on the devices mentioned above (Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (Android 9), Lenovo tab M10 (Android 10)) on the latest Fenix Nightly 122.0a1 from 12/12.
If the files have the .xpi extension, then the add-on cannot be selected, the issue is still reproducible.

Comment 5

[William Durand [:willdurand]]

OK so I strongly suspect a lack of mime type support in Android < 10.

@Arturo and @Luca, what do you think about disabling the "install from file" feature on Android < 10. It looks like Android 9 isn't supported at all according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history

Comment 6

[Luca Greco [:rpl] [:luca] [:lgreco]]

(In reply to William Durand [:willdurand] from comment #5)

OK so I strongly suspect a lack of mime type support in Android < 10.

@Arturo and @Luca, what do you think about disabling the "install from file" feature on Android < 10. It looks like Android 9 isn't supported at all according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history

+1 on my side

Have we created a SUMO page (or plan to create one) to provide users guidance about this install flow?
If that is the case, it may be good to explicitly mention on which Android versions the local xpi install flow is expected to be supported.

Comment 7

[BMO Github Automation]

Attachment: [mozilla-mobile/firefox-android] Bug 1868940 - Cannot install an add-on a from local file on Android <10. (#4812)

Comment 8

[Arturo Mejia [:amejia]]

Will as expected the issue is web extension mime type is not available on that versionS, instead of removing completely the functionality, maybe we could just remove the mime type validation when is not available. I guess this will be a more generic solution as, it could the case that other manufacture don't bundle that mime type . I added a patch with this possible a path.

Comment 9

[BMO Github Automation]

Authored by https://github.com/Amejia481
https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-android/commit/83bb99c7cab5abd67aa16d3d410998f1956e6fd3
[main] Bug 1868940 - Cannot install an add-on a from local file on Android <10.

Comment 10

[miralobontiu]

Verified on the Fenix Nightly 122.0a1 from 12/13 with Sony Xperia Z5 Premium (Android 7.1.1), and Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (Android 9).
Verified that the "Install add-on from file" option enabled via tapping on the logo 5 times, is not displayed on the devices with Android < 10.

Confirming that the option is still available and functionable on Android 10 or higher devices.

Comment 11

[Arturo Mejia [:amejia]]

Thanks for verifying!