Android: Dex cannot parse version 52 byte code

I just switched to Android Studio 2.1 and this error showed up when trying to compile an app the was previously working:

> Error:Error converting bytecode to dex: > Cause: Dex cannot parse version 52 byte code. > This is caused by library dependencies that have been compiled using Java 8 or above. > If you are using the 'java' gradle plugin in a library submodule add > targetCompatibility = '1.7' > sourceCompatibility = '1.7' > to that submodule's build.gradle file.

I had already updated the main project's gradle.build file to force Java 1.7 code generation:

buildscript {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
    }
    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:2.1.0'
        apply plugin: 'java'
        sourceCompatibility = 1.7
        targetCompatibility = 1.7
    }
}

I had also updated the module gradle.build as follows to set the java version:

android {
compileSdkVersion 19
buildToolsVersion "23.0.2"

defaultConfig {
    applicationId "com.abc.def"
    minSdkVersion 19
    targetSdkVersion 19
}

buildTypes {
    release {
        minifyEnabled false
        proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.txt'
    }
}
compileOptions {
    sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_7
    targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_7
}
}

The submodule being built with Maven. In the pom.xml file I have also tried to force 1.7 code generation.
I understand that I am using an assembly artifact, which incorporates subordinate modules, but i have not changed any of the subordinate modules and the resulting .jar file for the module ran fine last time I compiled.

	<build>
	<plugins>
		<plugin>
			<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
			<artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId> <!-- maven-compiler-plugin -->
			<version>2.6</version>
			<configuration>
				<source>1.7</source>
				<target>1.7</target> 
				<descriptorRefs>
					<descriptorRef>jar-with-dependencies</descriptorRef>
				</descriptorRefs>
			</configuration>
			<executions>
				<execution>
					<id>make-assembly</id> <!-- this is used for inheritance merges -->
					<phase>package</phase> <!-- bind to the packaging phase -->
					<goals>
						<goal>single</goal>
					</goals>
				</execution>
			</executions>
		</plugin>
	</plugins>
</build>

My question:

1. Is this an Android Studio 2.1 problem? Have others seen it?
2. Assuming this is my error and since the error message gives no help in finding the bad module, are there any recommendations on finding the V52 code? I can't just omit the libraries without breaking large amount of code. Can one inspect a .jar file to find the code revision? Thanks in advance. -Hephaestus

just use java 1.8 with Android Studio 3.0+ and set following works for me: it seems need the latest build tools

classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.0.0'

and

android {
    compileSdkVersion 26
    buildToolsVersion "26.0.1"

    defaultConfig {
        ...        
        //jackOptions { // DEPRECATED
            //enabled true
        //}
    }
    dexOptions {
        incremental true
    }

    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
    }
}

If you have a module with a java library that is not Android-specific, this should work: apply plugin:'java'

Put it at the top of the build.gradle file, then rebuild.

    apply plugin: 'java'
    apply plugin: 'jacoco'
    
    dependencies {
        compile fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
        testCompile 'junit:junit:4.11'
    
        sourceCompatibility = 1.7
        targetCompatibility = 1.7
    }

If you use org.jetbrains:annotation:15 and retrolambda plugin then remove line compile org.jetbrains:annotations:15.0 from your build.gradle and the error will disappear. It works for me.

Possibly, some of your dependencies was compiled with Java 8, not for Android especially. Try to switch that dependencies to older version. I don't exactly know which library you should downgrade, because you haven't attached a list of dependencies of your main module.

For example: I had the same problem. After hours of searching, I've found that library org.codehaus.httpcache4j.uribuilder:2.0.0 requires Java 8, as of github. So, when i've switched to 1.1.0, project has been successfully builded and deployed.

Try to add to main build.gradle in section allprojects

tasks.withType(JavaCompile) {
    sourceCompatibility = "1.7"
    targetCompatibility = "1.7"
}

or add this in dependencies

    sourceCompatibility = 1.7
    targetCompatibility = 1.7

in all modules manually

I was able to solve this issue by adding the following lines:

jackOptions {
    enabled true
}

to defaultConfig in build.gradle file.

You can follow the guidelines for Java 8 on the link - https://developer.android.com/guide/platform/j8-jack.html

I had the same problem with the greendao-generator dependency. I mistakenly added that dependency into my build.gradle (compile 'org.greenrobot:greendao-generator:3.1.0') and AndroidStudio showed me the same error message.

Probably it's because that module has been compiled with Java 8.

So I removed that dependency from my build.gradle and all compiled happily :)

I solved this problem as belowed :

apply plugin: 'java'

sourceCompatibility = 1.7
targetCompatibility = 1.7

dependencies {
    compile fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
}

Switching off Instant Run in Android Studio 2.2 with Gradle plugin 2.2.2 fixed it for me. Switching back to an older version of the Gradle plugin (such as 2.2.0) also fixed it, but that's less desirable imho.

This happened to me with Android Studio 2.3.3. The solution I found was to delete the build folder and then Rebuild Project. It was as simple as that.

I also faced same error in Android 2.3.3, after adding few JAR depencies. Problem was due to the depenecy io.netty:netty-all:4.1.16.Final. This 4.1.16 version JAR was compiled with Java 1.8 and all others was generated with Java 1.7.

This get resolved, after including older version of netty(which was generated with Java 1.7) in my build.gradle file.

compile 'io.netty:netty-all:4.1.5.Final'

I have come across this issue when trying to upgrade to auto-value v 1.5 in Android Studio v 2.3.3. Auto-value 1.5 will presumably be compatible with AS 3 (It requires an updated java compiler)

For now auto-value 1.4.1 works.

I face the same issue with Reactive Location APIs Library for Android and RxJava 2.Just update build.gradle to 3.0.1 and reduce the Reactive Location APIs Library for Android and RxJava 2 library version from 1.0.4 to 1.0.3 It works fine in my case.

I have come across this issue when trying to import a jar compiled by jdk 1.8 in Android Studio 3.0. I tried all above solution, but none work. so, I asked the developer of that jar to re-compile it with jdk 1.7, and then it work well, not come across this issue again.

If possible for you:

1. Upgrade android tools to: classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.0.0'
2. buildToolsVersion "26.0.2"

This should take care of the issue.

Reference: https://developer.android.com/studio/write/java8-support