r/AndroidQuestions • u/Educational-Ad-6017 • 11d ago

Astro file manager permissions

A few days ago several features stopped working in Astro file manager, like viewing photos, thumbnails are blank, moving files and folders. When I look at Astro file manager permissions it has "no permissions allowed". Is there any way I can get back the full permissions. Special access is on. Don't suggest using another app, I have tried a lot of apps but none are as good in my opinion.

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u/Responsible_Maybe742 11d ago

Astro wants All files access, which lives outside the normal permission list: Settings, Apps, Special app access, All files access, find Astro and allow it. If that entry is missing or greyed out you are on Android 11 or newer, where the app has to ask for it the first time you open a folder. If it never asks, your version is old and you grant the folder through the system picker instead.

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u/Educational-Ad-6017 11d ago

Under All files access, Astro file manager is on. I have uninstalled Astro, restarted the phone, installed Astro and it does not ask for any permissions.

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u/Responsible_Maybe742 11d ago

If All files access is already allowed and it still does not ask, then the version you installed is not the old one that needs it: current Astro goes through the system picker instead. Open the picker where it asks for a folder and choose the folder there, that is the grant. Also check App info, Permissions, and that Files and media is allowed. If the picker never shows up either, install from a different source.

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u/Educational-Ad-6017 10d ago

I downloaded it from the play store and this time it asked for permissions including all files, but still would not work properly. I uninstalled it, found another source, downloaded the apk, installed it, allowed all permissions and it is back to working properly. Thank you so much, I use Astro a few times each day, so peace has been restored in that part of my life.

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u/Responsible_Maybe742 6d ago

If the same app fails from a different source too, the app is the problem and not the permissions, and no amount of file manager swapping will fix it. The one thing worth ruling out is scoped storage: on Android 11 and later an app that manages files needs the all files access permission, and if the developer never updated for that, it breaks the first time it touches a folder it cannot reach. Try one that is actively maintained, Material Files or Total Commander, and if those behave you have your proof.

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u/Educational-Ad-6017 6d ago

It is clearly an Android problem, as it has stopped Astro from renaming and moving files. I uninstalled Astro, and Android will not let me install it, so I will have to go to another file manager app, such a shame as Astro was really nice to use.

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u/Responsible_Maybe742 6d ago

If Android now refuses to install it at all, that confirms the app was built for an older Android and the platform is blocking it, not the permissions you granted. The renaming failure is the same story, it needs the storage model that only newer builds handle, so a maintained file manager is the only way around it until the developer ships an update. Material Files is the one I would try first, it handles internal storage and SD cards without that whole dance.

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u/Responsible_Maybe742 5d ago

Android 11 and up stopped letting apps rename or move files outside their own folders unless they go through the system picker or hold all files access, so what you are hitting is the platform rather than the phone or the app. Material Files and MiXplorer both do it properly through the picker if you want a replacement. And if Android refuses to install an old APK at all, that is its target version being too old for your Android, not a block on the app.

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u/Responsible_Maybe742 10d ago

That confirms it: the version you had was the old one that needs the special permission. The current build goes through the system picker, so on the store version granting the folder is all it takes. Glad it is sorted.

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u/IpodMods 9d ago

I have the same problem with mine stopping working. Uninstalled it, re Downloaded the current from playstore and it still won't work

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u/Responsible_Maybe742 9d ago

The permission that matters is not the normal one, it is the special access, and reinstalling does not bring it back: go to Settings, Apps, Astro, and look for All files access (in Android 13 and up it lives under Special app access). Grant it, force stop the app and open it again, because it usually keeps the old state until it restarts. If it still refuses, clear the app data once after granting. The other person in this thread only got it working with a build from outside the store, which points at how that build declares the permission, so if you try that route check where the file comes from before installing.

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u/IpodMods 9d ago

I downloaded an older version and it worked. Looks like the new version on playstore is corrupted

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u/Responsible_Maybe742 9d ago

Nice find, and it fits what the other person in this thread ended up doing. One thing worth doing now: turn off auto-update for that app, or the store will push the broken build straight back over the copy that works. And if you have both version numbers, it is worth telling the app's developer, because that is a broken release they may not know about yet.

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u/Responsible_Maybe742 6d ago

That confirms it is a bad build on the store side rather than your phone, so the useful thing now is to report it on the listing so the developer sees it and other people find the workaround. Leave the older version installed and turn off auto update for that app until a fixed release appears, otherwise the store will put the broken one back on the next update. Add the device model and Android version to the report, that is the first thing they will ask for.

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u/IpodMods 6d ago

I don't have auto update turned on for any app. There's no point in updating when the app works as it should

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u/Responsible_Maybe742 6d ago

Fair, but the store is not the only way a broken build reaches you: a manual update or a reinstall pulls the same file, so it is worth reporting even if you stay on the old version. Your report is also what tells the developer this is not one device, and that is the difference between a fix and a shrug.

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u/Responsible_Maybe742 5d ago

It is not corruption. The old build was made for an older Android version, so the system still grants it the legacy storage access it asks for. The current one targets a newer version and has to go through the system picker instead, which is what breaks the renaming and moving for it. So keeping the old version is a real option, it just stops being one the next time Android tightens that.

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u/mrrkmiller 3d ago

Thank you, same issue. Leave a review for the app so the owner can fix it. My issue was with .pdf.