# Android SDK not valid
**URL:** https://discourse.processing.org/t/android-sdk-not-valid/47964
**Category:** Processing for Android
**Created:** [February 24, 2026, 10:06pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/android-sdk-not-valid/47964 "2026-02-24T22:06:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@PLloyd](https://discourse.processing.org/u/PLloyd)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 10:06pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/android-sdk-not-valid/47964/1 "2026-02-24T22:06:06Z")
When I switch from Java mode to Android mode a pop-up window appears stating that the Android SDK is not valid. Both automatic and manual loading methods fail.
However the requested API (API 33) is installed as shown in the SDK manager (see below). The processing version is 4.5.2.
Does anyone have an idea?
---
### Author:  [@sableraph](https://discourse.processing.org/u/sableraph)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 8:03am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/android-sdk-not-valid/47964/2 "2026-02-25T08:03:52Z")
Hi @PLloyd and welcome to the forum!
Could you share the exact wording of the “Android SDK is not valid” popup? A screenshot would be great too.
There’s a similar issue discussed here:
> [@Android Mode crashing on my Linux](https://discourse.processing.org/t/android-mode-crashing-on-my-linux/47953/):
>
> I get this “Nasty Error” dialog: Processing 4.5.2 Android Mode for Processing 4 v4.6.1 I tried to re-install everything, but it didn’t help. Any suggestions?
Could you take a look and let us know if your error matches that one? That’ll help figure out whether it’s the same problem or something different.
Also could you tell us what operating system you’re using? Windows, Linux, macOS?
---
### Author:  [@PLloyd](https://discourse.processing.org/u/PLloyd)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 11:30am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/android-sdk-not-valid/47964/3 "2026-02-25T11:30:58Z")
Hi, and thank you for your support.
I work on Windows 10
The pop-up window is this one:
Also, I don’t find the preference.txt file where I should find the andoid SDK path
---
### Author:  [@sableraph](https://discourse.processing.org/u/sableraph)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 12:52pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/android-sdk-not-valid/47964/4 "2026-02-25T12:52:44Z")
Thanks for the screenshot.
In Processing 4.5.2, experimental preferences can be edited directly from the Preferences window. No need to manually open `preferences.txt`.
Open **Processing → Settings… → Advanced** , and enable **Show experimental settings**.
Look for `ANDROID_SDK`, which shows the current Android SDK location. You can edit the path there if needed.
However, under normal circumstances this should not be necessary and Processing should download and locate the correct SDK, so I’m not sure what is happening.
What is the value of ANDROID\_SDK for your system?
---
### Author:  [@Sal](https://discourse.processing.org/u/Sal)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2026, 12:54pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/android-sdk-not-valid/47964/5 "2026-03-02T12:54:31Z")
If I might add on to this, when I was working on the previous issue pertaining to the crash specific to the Linux platform.
I noticed that I had to reassign my path to android SDK every time I switched into android mode, it seems the path is never saved onto preferences even after the download.
I wonder if this behavior is reproducible.
---
### Author:  [@PLloyd](https://discourse.processing.org/u/PLloyd)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2026, 12:56pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/android-sdk-not-valid/47964/6 "2026-04-04T12:56:55Z")
In fact I suspect a problem due to a former installation of an old Processing 3 version that I don’t succeed to uninstall correctly. I succeed to install Processing 4 on a new PC using the procedure. Unfortunately I failed to build the sketch (see [Processing with Android, problems with Android compiling - #4 by PLloyd](https://discourse.processing.org/t/processing-with-android-problems-with-android-compiling/48290/4) ) 🤔