Getting null value from method outside OnCreate on real device - variables

Question

I have this quite simple app, to upload pictures to Firebase directly from camera, written following the original documentation from Android developpers page. It works very well on emulators, but on my Galaxy S4 it crashes. The variable imageFileName gets null on onActivityResult, but only in GS4. Here is what is get in emulators:
I/TAG 0:: FILENAME JPEG_20170420_005617_
I/TAG 1:: FILENAME JPEG_20170420_005617_
And here is what is get in GS4:
I/TAG 0:: FILENAME JPEG_20170420_005617_
I/TAG 1:: FILENAME null
Why it gets null out of nothing? Why on S4? Without this value I cant putFile to Firebase. Only with GS4.
Thanks for your help.
private FirebaseAuth firebaseAuth = FirebaseAuth.getInstance();
private StorageReference mStorage;
private Button mSelect, mCam;
public Uri uri, photoURI;
private String imageFileName;
private ProgressDialog mProgressDialog;
private static final int GALLERY_INTENT = 2;
private static final int CAMERA_REQUEST_CODE = 1;
static final int REQUEST_TAKE_PHOTO = 1;
String mCurrentPhotoPath;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
mStorage = FirebaseStorage.getInstance().getReference();
mSelect = (Button) findViewById(R.id.first_but);
mCam = (Button) findViewById(R.id.sec_but);
mProgressDialog = new ProgressDialog(this);
mCam.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View view) {
//Intent intent = new Intent(MediaStore.ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE);
//startActivityForResult(intent, CAMERA_REQUEST_CODE);
dispatchTakePictureIntent();
}
});
}
#Override
protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
if(requestCode == REQUEST_TAKE_PHOTO && resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
Log.i("TAG 1: ", "FILENAME " + imageFileName);
}
}
private File createImageFile() throws IOException {
// Create an image file name
String timeStamp = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyyMMdd_HHmmss").format(new Date());
imageFileName = "JPEG_" + timeStamp + "_";
File storageDir = getExternalFilesDir(Environment.DIRECTORY_PICTURES);
File image = File.createTempFile(
imageFileName, /* prefix */
".jpg", /* suffix */
storageDir /* directory */
);
// Save a file: path for use with ACTION_VIEW intents
mCurrentPhotoPath = image.getAbsolutePath();
return image;
}
private void dispatchTakePictureIntent() {
Intent takePictureIntent = new Intent(MediaStore.ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE);
// Ensure that there's a camera activity to handle the intent
if (takePictureIntent.resolveActivity(getPackageManager()) != null) {
// Create the File where the photo should go
File photoFile = null;
try {
photoFile = createImageFile();
} catch (IOException ex) {
// Error occurred while creating the File
}
// Continue only if the File was successfully created
if (photoFile != null) {
photoURI = FileProvider.getUriForFile(this,
"com.example.android.fileprovider",
photoFile);
Log.i("TAG 0: ", "FILENAME " + imageFileName);
takePictureIntent.putExtra(MediaStore.EXTRA_OUTPUT, photoURI);
startActivityForResult(takePictureIntent, REQUEST_TAKE_PHOTO);
}
}
}

Answer 1

Weirdly, what solved the probem was adding this to AdroidManifest.xml
<activity
android:name=".YourActivity"
android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden|screenSize"
android:screenOrientation="portrait" >
</activity>
Thanks to #Janine Kroser
original post: Photo capture Intent causes NullPointerException on Samsung phones only
I still would like some explanation to that, other than "Samsung is weird". Is it possible that the orientation change would destroy some activity containing data?