News: Android

This minor update focuses on improving the stability and reliability of background services.

The most notable change: FBReader no longer automatically rescans your library at startup. Instead, you can manually initiate a rescan from the Library view menu. If you prefer automatic rescanning at each launch, you can enable this in the Library section of the preferences.

For users on older Android versions (9 and below), there's now an optional setting to use the Storage Access Framework (SAF) for file access. This may allow access to files on secondary storage (e.g., SD cards) that were previously inaccessible. Please note: this option is experimental and potentially unsafe. To enable it, go to About FBReader → Developer options.

This update addresses file access issues affecting some devices. If you continue experiencing difficulties, please consult our F.A.Q.

Additional improvements in this version:

• Notifications permission is no longer required
• Updated Chinese interface translations (both Simplified and Traditional)
• On Android 9 and earlier, the old file dialog is now used for folder selection
• Fixed crashes occurring specifically on Honor devices

We’ve identified an issue affecting FBReader version 3.8.* on some Android devices, where FB2 files fail to open, even though other formats continue to work as expected. Unfortunately, there is no definitive fix at this time.

However, we’ve published an article outlining the issue and suggesting possible workarounds. We're actively working on a more reliable solution and hope to resolve this soon.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

This update for the 3.8 series addresses several major issues:

• File opening from third-party file managers and other applications now works correctly.
• Access to FB2 files inside ZIP archives is restored, even for non-ASCII filenames.
• In PDF mode, zooming no longer conflicts with the navigation panel.
• Overall app performance has been improved.

Additionally, this version introduces the highly requested Dark Blue interface theme — a variation of the default Blue theme with consistently dark colours. This theme is available exclusively in the Premium edition.

This update addresses most major issues found in versions 3.8 and 3.8.1. The startup freeze has been resolved, and FBReader on Android 10 now adopts the same file access scheme as on newer Android versions.

File access issues have been fixed. However, in rare cases, you may need to adjust your device settings as described in our guide.