java.lang.ClassNotFoundException : dalvik.system.BaseDexClassLoader.findClass

Question

I'm continuously getting this error report in my Google Play developer console. It look like MultiDex error.

java.lang.RuntimeException: 
  at android.app.LoadedApk.makeApplication(LoadedApk.java:516)
  at android.app.ActivityThread.handleBindApplication(ActivityThread.java:4514)
  at android.app.ActivityThread.access$1500(ActivityThread.java:151)
  at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:1381)
  at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:110)
  at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:193)
  at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:5299)
  at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method:0)
  at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:515)
  at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:829)
  at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:645)
  at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method:0)

Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: 
  at dalvik.system.BaseDexClassLoader.findClass(BaseDexClassLoader.java:56)
  at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:497)
  at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:457)
  at android.app.Instrumentation.newApplication(Instrumentation.java:975)
  at android.app.LoadedApk.makeApplication(LoadedApk.java:511)

I already added this to gradle.build:

defaultConfig {
...
minSdkVersion 14
targetSdkVersion 21
...

// Enabling multidex support.
multiDexEnabled true
}

dependencies {
  compile 'com.android.support:multidex:1.0.0'
}

 @Override
    protected void attachBaseContext(Context newBase) {
        super.attachBaseContext(newBase);
        try {
            MultiDex.install(this);
        }catch (RuntimeException e){
            e.printStackTrace();
        }catch (Exception e){
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

I'm still getting this error in android 4.4,5.0,5.1, 6.0. Please help !!

Primatology

Have you register MutlidexApplication class to manifest ? – Assiduous

did you set android:name="android.support.multidex.MultiDexApplication" in application section – Odin

No, I've added attachBaseContext method in main activity – Primatology

what is the reason for this error, I am also getting this error in dev console – Ferrigno

Actually, I haven't used multi-dex in my app – Ferrigno

same here. no info – Trauner

Also getting this error in dev console! It is not the MultiDex error though, as that only occurs on pre-lollipop devices. This is something else.. – Cyndie

Did you try extending your Application class from: MyApplication extends Application To: MyApplication extends MultiDexApplication – Lector

This shows in Developer Console (for devices with android 4.2, 4.4, 5.0, 5.1) for app with no multidex (around 11K methods). Should I enable multidex? – Wizen

Has anyone tried using a debugger and adding a breakpoint here: ClassLoader.java:457 or here BaseDexClassLoader.java:56 to see what class it's trying to load and investigate if it's on the class path? – Peridium

Same problem here. It is rare, but it has been happening periodically for a while. Most of the crashes are from Android 4.4, some are from Android 5.0, Very few are from Android 4.2, Android 5.1. – Weathertight

Just a comment so you can check if it works for you. I am using multidex in one app I have, but I am using another version of multidex library: 'com.android.support:multidex:1.0.2' (I'm using android studio 3.1.4) – President

It is just a question, but are you using proguard ? – Bartram

Answer 1

There are multiple variants of the java.lang.ClassNotFoundException in Android, most of them are caused by a wrong Proguard configuration, IDE not closing correctly the previous launched instance of the device during build time etc.

Follow Unexpected crash in BaseDexClassLoader for more details.

Brien

Answer 2

It might be because of conflict in dependencies (same class may exists in two libraries). So search for BaseDexClassLoader class in your dependencies.

Ophthalmologist