getExternalStoragePublicDirectory is deprecated and getExternalFilesDir is not working - file-upload

Question

i'm trying to take a photo and upload it. weird thing is, it's working on my android 9 device, but not working on the android 11 device... input field remains as "no file chosen" even after taking the photo.
here are the codes related to photo upload system
private String mCM;
private ValueCallback<Uri[]> mUMA;
private final static int FCR=1;
ActivityResultLauncher<Intent> startActivityIntent = registerForActivityResult(
new ActivityResultContracts.StartActivityForResult(),
result -> {
Uri[] results = null;
if (result.getResultCode() == Activity.RESULT_OK) {
if(null == mUMA){
return;
}
if(result.getData() == null || result.getData().getData() == null){
if(mCM != null){
results = new Uri[]{Uri.parse(mCM)};
}
}else{
String dataString = result.getData().getDataString();
if(dataString != null){
results = new Uri[]{Uri.parse(dataString)};
}
}
}
mUMA.onReceiveValue(results);
mUMA = null;
});
public boolean onShowFileChooser(WebView webView, ValueCallback<Uri[]> filePathCallback, FileChooserParams fileChooserParams) {
String[] perms = {Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, Manifest.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, Manifest.permission.CAMERA};
if (ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(MainActivity.this, Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED && ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(MainActivity.this, Manifest.permission.CAMERA) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(MainActivity.this, perms, FCR);
} else if (ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(MainActivity.this, Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(MainActivity.this, new String[]{Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE, Manifest.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE}, FCR);
} else if (ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(MainActivity.this, Manifest.permission.CAMERA) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(MainActivity.this, new String[]{Manifest.permission.CAMERA}, FCR);
}
if (mUMA != null) {
mUMA.onReceiveValue(null);
}
mUMA = filePathCallback;
Intent takePictureIntent = new Intent(MediaStore.ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE);
if (MainActivity.this.getPackageManager().resolveActivity(takePictureIntent, 0) != null) {
File photoFile = null;
try {
photoFile = createImageFile();
takePictureIntent.putExtra("PhotoPath", mCM);
} catch (IOException ex) {
Log.e("TAG", "ioexception log", ex);
}
if (photoFile != null) {
mCM = "file:" + photoFile.getAbsolutePath();
takePictureIntent.putExtra(MediaStore.EXTRA_OUTPUT, Uri.fromFile(photoFile));
} else {
takePictureIntent = null;
}
}
Intent contentSelectionIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_GET_CONTENT);
contentSelectionIntent.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_OPENABLE);
contentSelectionIntent.setType("image/*");
Intent[] intentArray;
if (takePictureIntent != null) {
intentArray = new Intent[]{takePictureIntent};
} else {
intentArray = new Intent[0];
}
Intent chooserIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_CHOOSER);
chooserIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_INTENT, contentSelectionIntent);
chooserIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_INITIAL_INTENTS, intentArray);
startActivityIntent.launch(chooserIntent);
return true;
}
private File createImageFile() throws IOException{
String imageFileName = java.util.UUID.randomUUID().toString();
File storageDir = Environment.getExternalStoragePublicDirectory(Environment.DIRECTORY_PICTURES);
// File storageDir = getExternalFilesDir(Environment.DIRECTORY_PICTURES);
return File.createTempFile(imageFileName,".jpg",storageDir);
}
this is the last deprecation warning i have left in my app. it's working fine on all 3 of my test devices(android 7-9-11) with "getExternalStoragePublicDirectory"
I tried again with "getExternalFilesDir" and checked "Internal shared storage\Android\data-myapp-\files\Pictures"
there are files but 0bytes...
i can hardcode like this and it works on all 3 devices without any deprecation warnings...
File storageDir = new File("/storage/emulated/0/Pictures/");
but its probably even worse than using deprecated api?