Flutter Can’t Open Default Mail App in Android: Solved!

What’s the Issue?

Native Android Approach

Intent class to launch the default mail app. Here’s an example:

Intent emailIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
emailIntent.setType("message/rfc822");
startActivity(emailIntent);

Intent with the action ACTION_SEND and sets the type to message/rfc822, which is the MIME type for email. Finally, it starts the activity using the startActivity() method.

Flutter Approach

Intent class directly. Instead, you need to use the url_launcher package to launch the default mail app. Here’s an example:

import 'package:url_launcher/url_launcher.dart';

Future _launchEmailApp() async {
  final mailUrl = 'mailto:');
  if (await canLaunch(mailUrl)) {
    await launch(mailUrl);
  } else {
    throw 'Could not launch mail app';
  }
}

url_launcher package to launch the default mail app. It creates a mailto: URL and checks if it can be launched using the canLaunch() method. If it can be launched, it uses the launch() method to open the mail app.

Solution

Step 1: Add the url_launcher Package

url_launcher package to your Flutter project. Open your pubspec.yaml file and add the following dependency:

dependencies:
  flutter:
    sdk: flutter
  url_launcher: ^5.7.10

flutter pub get to install the package.

Step 2: Import the Package

url_launcher package in your Dart file:

import 'package:url_launcher/url_launcher.dart';

Step 3: Create the launchEmailApp Function

launchEmailApp that will launch the default mail app:

Future _launchEmailApp() async {
  final mailUrl = 'mailto:example@example.com';
  if (await canLaunch(mailUrl)) {
    await launch(mailUrl);
  } else {
    throw 'Could not launch mail app';
  }
}

mailto: scheme to create a URL that will launch the default mail app. You can replace example@example.com with the email address you want to use.

Step 4: Call the launchEmailApp Function

launchEmailApp function when you want to open the default mail app:

ElevatedButton(
  onPressed: _launchEmailApp,
  child: Text('Open Mail App'),
)

ElevatedButton to call the launchEmailApp function when the button is pressed.

Troubleshooting

• Make sure you’ve added the url_launcher package to your pubspec.yaml file and installed it.
• Check that you’ve imported the url_launcher package in your Dart file.
• Verify that you’re using the correct email address in the mailto: URL.
• If you’re using a physical Android device, ensure that a default mail app is set.

Conclusion

Platform	Scheme
Android	mailto:
iOS	mailto:

As a bonus, the url_launcher package works on both Android and iOS, so you can use the same code to launch the default mail app on both platforms. Just remember to use the correct scheme for each platform, as shown in the table above.

I hope this article has been helpful in solving the “Flutter can’t open default mail app in Android” issue. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask in the comments below!

Happy coding, and don’t forget to share your experiences and solutions with the Flutter community!

Frequently Asked Question

Are you having trouble opening the default mail app in Android using Flutter? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here are some common questions and answers to help you resolve the issue.