Storage Files app deleted

[abhineet_sinha]

In my unrooted Asus6z, firmware WW_18.0610.2101.12, i thought it as a duplicate of file manager app and accidently deleted the Files app from the app list. In the settings can not access files in the storage. Can it be recovered as It is not on the google play store.

[Lambaste]

This happened to me as well. I'd characterise it as a bug, as this APK ought be to be system-app or at least a priv-app. Uninstalling it inadvertently will break any app that relies on the OPEN_DOCUMENT and OPEN_DOCUMENT_TREE intents. Given A11's scoped storage, any app that writes to or reads from storage will broadcast those intents. If there are no apps installed on the phone that register those intents in their manifest file, the call can crash the app if the failure case is not handled elegantly.
This only appears to be an issue for those that updated to A11 OTA. Performing a factory reset solves it.

[_jis_]

This only appears to be an issue for those that updated to A11 OTA. Performing a factory reset solves it.
It is highly unlikely that it would not be possible to use the OTA upgrade to Android 11 and that the upgrade to Android 11 would require a factory reset.
Perhaps we will see the moderators start answering again here. One would expect them to be more active after a major upgrade to the A11, but unfortunately the opposite is true so far. But users cannot reply to everything themselves.
@Anders_ASUS
@CH_ASUS

[Monark]

This only appears to be an issue for those that updated to A11 OTA. Performing a factory reset solves it.
For me after factory reset the app is not there

[skylerwolfe]

So one person did a factory reset and the app reappeared and another did a reset and it didn't? I'm curious if you were both on the same version of A11 when that was done.

[_jis_]

I hope the moderators will convey an official statement from the developers.