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Ideally, you should be targeting SDK 24 and above. Apps targeting version 23 and below can still run in Desktop Mode, however, some features may not work correctly.

If you are not targeting SDK 24 and above, users will receive this message when opening the app in Samsung DeX: "Some functions of this app may not be supported in Samsung DeX.”

Unless apps declare that multi-touch or touchscreen are required, they will run in Samsung DeX.

To run your app in Desktop mode – which features a resizable window – you must follow these key requirements:

  1. Support Multi Density for xxxhdpi (640 dpi) and mdpi (160 dpi).
  2. Support Mouse or trackpad interaction.
  3. Support Android N Multi-Window and explicitly declare android:resizableActivity=”true” in the Manifest.

For more information, see Modifying your app in the DeX developer guide.

#minimum spec

Your app might have targeting the wrong targetSDKVersion. Android:resizeableActivity is supported when the targetSDK version is greater than or equal to 24 (Android N). IF targetSDKVesion is under 24, activities are only resizable when the screenOrientation is not set as fixed. Check to make sure you do not have this code in your manifest:

<activity
android:screenOrientation="portrait | landscape">
</activity>

#multi window

When an app is launched in Samsung DeX, it adopts 1 of 2 different window types:

  1. Desktop mode: Apps that comply with Android N Multi-Window Standards. They operate in Free-Form Multi-Window Mode and can be re-sized accordingly.
  2. Fixed-size Window Mode: Apps that do not comply with Android N Multi-Window standards. They operate only in a fixed mobile dimension and cannot be re-sized.

#resizing

If an app is having issues working with a mouse and keyboard in Samsung DeX, check to make sure they are not explicitly disabled. Ensure these 2 statements are not declared in the Manifest:

<uses-configuration android:reqTouchScreen="finger" >

<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.touchscreen" android:required="true">

#mouse
#keyboard
#bluetooth

This message appears when an app doesn't support Multi-Window Mode. Multi-window is a feature supported by devices with Android 7.0 Nougat or later. It allows the user to freely resize the app screen. Ensure that you are targeting SDK version 24 and have declared the following in your manifest:

<application
android:resizeableActivity="true">
</application>

For more information on implementing Multi-Window, see Android's Multi-Window reference guide.

These layout issues may occur if you have not modified your code appropriately to handle the density display changes required to run apps in Samsung DeX. For example, you may need to provision separate images in both xxhdpi & mdpi for your app in order for it to display properly.

For more information on density changes, see Androids guide on run time changes.

#multi window

This can occur if your app custom UI framework does not handle the density change from xxhdpi to mdpi properly. Try checking the onConfigurationChanged() method. Sometimes the .newConfig parameter can hold the old density value. For instance, when switching from DeX Mode to Mobile Mode, the density value in the newConfig parameter sometimes still reports 160 dpi.

For more information on density changes, see Androids guide on run time changes.

#density change

This can occur if the resources for the activity – fetched using Activity.getResources()– are not changed when switching from Samsung DeX mode to Mobile mode. To avoid this problem, ensure that resources do not remain persistent from the same application session.

No. Samsung DeX is preloaded in Galaxy S8, S8+, S9, S9+, and Note 8 devices.

Please report errors that occur while using Samsung DeX. By letting us know the issues that need to be fixed, you are directly contributing to how our service improves with future updates.
How to report issues:

  1. While using Samsung DeX, open Settings.
  2. Select the button with three vertical dots (︙More) on the upper right corner.
  3. Select: Ask Questions > Error reports
  4. Describe the error you encountered then select the "send system log data" check box.
  5. Select Report.

#error