material-components/material-components-android · error · IllegalStateException

Cannot change indeterminate animation type while the progres

Error message

Cannot change indeterminate animation type while the progress indicator is show in indeterminate mode.

What it means

CircularProgressIndicator.setIndeterminateAnimationType throws IllegalStateException when the animation type is changed while the indicator is currently visible to the user and in indeterminate mode. Swapping the animator delegate mid-flight would restart/glitch a running animation, so the API refuses at runtime (a state error, not an argument error).

Source

Thrown at lib/java/com/google/android/material/progressindicator/CircularProgressIndicator.java:215

  public int getIndeterminateAnimationType() {
    return spec.indeterminateAnimationType;
  }

  /**
   * Sets the type of indeterminate animation.
   *
   * @param indeterminateAnimationType The new type of indeterminate animation.
   * @see #getIndeterminateAnimationType()
   * @attr ref
   *     com.google.android.material.progressindicator.R.styleable#CircularProgressIndicator_indeterminateAnimationType
   */
  public void setIndeterminateAnimationType(
      @IndeterminateAnimationType int indeterminateAnimationType) {
    if (spec.indeterminateAnimationType == indeterminateAnimationType) {
      return;
    }
    if (visibleToUser() && isIndeterminate()) {
      throw new IllegalStateException(
          "Cannot change indeterminate animation type while the progress indicator is show in"
              + " indeterminate mode.");
    }
    spec.indeterminateAnimationType = indeterminateAnimationType;
    spec.validateSpec();
    IndeterminateAnimatorDelegate<ObjectAnimator> animatorDelegate =
        indeterminateAnimationType == INDETERMINATE_ANIMATION_TYPE_RETREAT
            ? new CircularIndeterminateRetreatAnimatorDelegate(getContext(), spec)
            : new CircularIndeterminateAdvanceAnimatorDelegate(spec);
    getIndeterminateDrawable().setAnimatorDelegate(animatorDelegate);
    registerSwitchIndeterminateModeCallback();
    invalidate();
  }

  /**
   * Returns the indicator animating direction used in this progress indicator.
   *
   * @see #setIndicatorDirection(int)

View on GitHub (pinned to ac7e18efee)

Solutions

Hide() the indicator first, change the type, then show() again
Set indeterminateAnimationType in XML or before the indicator becomes visible
Guard with: if (!indicator.visibleToUser() || !indicator.isIndeterminate()) before switching

Example fix

// before
indicator.show()
indicator.setIndeterminateAnimationType(CircularProgressIndicator.INDETERMINATE_ANIMATION_TYPE_RETREAT)
// after
indicator.hide()
indicator.setIndeterminateAnimationType(CircularProgressIndicator.INDETERMINATE_ANIMATION_TYPE_RETREAT)
indicator.show()

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

fun switchIndeterminateType(indicator: CircularProgressIndicator, type: Int) {
    if (indicator.isShown && indicator.isIndeterminate) indicator.hide()
    indicator.setIndeterminateAnimationType(type)
}

Try / catch

catch (e: IllegalStateException) { Log.w(TAG, "Cannot switch animation type while shown; hiding first", e); indicator.hide() }

Prevention

Set indeterminateAnimationType before show() or in XML
Hide the indicator before changing animation type
Treat animation-type switching as a setup-time concern

When it happens

Trigger: Calling setIndeterminateAnimationType(CONTAGIOUS/RETREAT vs ADVANCE) while the circular indicator is shown and animating indeterminately; typically right after show() or while it is visible on screen.

Common situations: Toggling between retreat and advance animation based on app state (e.g. theme or data-driven) without hiding the indicator first; calling in onResume while a loading spinner is active.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of material-components/material-components-android@ac7e18efee (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c2c564adad5217b9. Report an issue: GitHub.