Showing error - "Returned value cannot be converted to WebElement: {ELEMENT=1} " in appium using java

Question

I have below configurations :

Javaclient : java-client-5.0.2

Selenium : 3.0.1

Java : 144

Appium v1.4.16

This is my code :

package com.metatag.poc;


import io.appium.java_client.MobileElement;
import io.appium.java_client.android.AndroidDriver;
import io.appium.java_client.android.AndroidDriver;
import java.io.File;
import java.net.MalformedURLException;
import java.net.URL;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import org.openqa.selenium.remote.CapabilityType;
import org.openqa.selenium.remote.DesiredCapabilities;
import org.apache.bcel.generic.Select;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;
import org.openqa.selenium.SessionNotCreatedException;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriverException;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;


public class DesignLayout {

    //private static AndroidDriver driver;
    static AndroidDriver<MobileElement> driver;
    static WebElement ele;
    
    
    public static void main(String[] args) throws MalformedURLException, InterruptedException, WebDriverException {

        File classpathRoot = new File(System.getProperty("user.dir"));
        File appDir = new File(classpathRoot, "/Apps/");
        File app = new File(appDir, "MetaTag_V0.0.13_preview.apk");

        DesiredCapabilities capabilities = new DesiredCapabilities();
        capabilities.setCapability(CapabilityType.BROWSER_NAME, "");
//set capabilities          
        capabilities.setCapability("deviceName", "3G7");
        capabilities.setCapability("platformVersion", "4.4.1");
        capabilities.setCapability("platformName", "Android");
        capabilities.setCapability("app", app.getAbsolutePath());
        capabilities.setCapability("appPackage", "com.markspryor.markingmachine");
        capabilities.setCapability("appActivity", "in.opencombine.instrument.ui.HomeActivity");
        driver = new AndroidDriver<MobileElement>(new URL("http://127.0.0.1:4723/wd/hub"), capabilities);
        driver.findElement(By.id("btnStartApp")).click();


}

}

If I run, Application gets install on real device and it shows following error :

Sep 08, 2017 4:09:51 PM org.openqa.selenium.remote.ProtocolHandshake createSession
INFO: Attempting bi-dialect session, assuming Postel's Law holds true on the remote end
Sep 08, 2017 4:10:04 PM org.openqa.selenium.remote.ProtocolHandshake createSession
INFO: Detected dialect: OSS
Exception in thread "main" org.openqa.selenium.WebDriverException: Returned value cannot be converted to WebElement: {ELEMENT=1}
Build info: version: 'unknown', revision: '1969d75', time: '2016-10-18 09:43:45 -0700'
System info: host: 'DTP315', ip: '10.219.1.17', os.name: 'Windows 10', os.arch: 'amd64', os.version: '10.0', java.version: '1.8.0_144'
Driver info: driver.version: AndroidDriver
at org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteWebDriver.findElement(RemoteWebDriver.java:375)
at io.appium.java_client.DefaultGenericMobileDriver.findElement(DefaultGenericMobileDriver.java:62)
at io.appium.java_client.AppiumDriver.findElement(AppiumDriver.java:1)
at io.appium.java_client.android.AndroidDriver.findElement(AndroidDriver.java:1)
at org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteWebDriver.findElementById(RemoteWebDriver.java:417)
at io.appium.java_client.DefaultGenericMobileDriver.findElementById(DefaultGenericMobileDriver.java:70)
at io.appium.java_client.AppiumDriver.findElementById(AppiumDriver.java:1)
at io.appium.java_client.android.AndroidDriver.findElementById(AndroidDriver.java:1)
at org.openqa.selenium.By$ById.findElement(By.java:218)
at org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteWebDriver.findElement(RemoteWebDriver.java:360)
at io.appium.java_client.DefaultGenericMobileDriver.findElement(DefaultGenericMobileDriver.java:58)
at io.appium.java_client.AppiumDriver.findElement(AppiumDriver.java:1)
at io.appium.java_client.android.AndroidDriver.findElement(AndroidDriver.java:1)
at com.metatag.poc.DesignLayout.main(DesignLayout.java:46)
Caused by: java.lang.ClassCastException: java.util.HashMap cannot be cast to org.openqa.selenium.WebElement
at org.openqa.selenium.remote.RemoteWebDriver.findElement(RemoteWebDriver.java:373)

Answer 1

I was using following combination:

Appium : 1.6.5
Selenium : selenium-java-3.3.1
Appium Java Client : java-client-5.0.3

I downgraded the Appium client to:

Appium Java Client : java-client-5.0.0-BETA6

and the problem was solved.

I am not aware how/where to raise the issue of the version incompatibility issue.

Answer 2

I found the solution, but can't explain how it works. But it works for me as a miracle.

Just add the below line, and magic happens. I don't have any idea how that makes it work:

capability.setCapability(MobileCapabilityType.NEW_COMMAND_TIMEOUT, "60");

Answer 3

It's issue with Version compatibility.

When i have upgraded Appium Server, It worked for me. Please try upgrading your Appium Server.

I am the author of the below video in which i explained how i reolved.

https://youtu.be/FTODdczjfDc

Please let me know if you have resolved in any other ways.