ViewModelProviders is deprecated in 1.1.0

Android

ViewModelProviders

Deprecated

Jetpack

Android Development

ViewModelProviders is deprecated in 1.1.0

Interview Questions practice on Codemia

Over 8,000 real interview questions from top companies, searchable by company and role.

Browse interview questions

iOS & Android

Introduction

ViewModelProviders.of() was deprecated in AndroidX Lifecycle version 1.1.0 and removed in later versions. The replacement is ViewModelProvider(owner) constructor or the Kotlin by viewModels() delegate. The migration is straightforward — replace ViewModelProviders.of(this).get(MyViewModel::class.java) with ViewModelProvider(this).get(MyViewModel::class.java) or use by viewModels() for the cleanest Kotlin syntax.

The Deprecated Code

kotlin

1// DEPRECATED — ViewModelProviders.of()
2import androidx.lifecycle.ViewModelProviders
3
4class MyActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
5    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
6        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
7        val viewModel = ViewModelProviders.of(this).get(MyViewModel::class.java)
8    }
9}
10
11// In a Fragment
12class MyFragment : Fragment() {
13    override fun onViewCreated(view: View, savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
14        val viewModel = ViewModelProviders.of(this).get(MyViewModel::class.java)
15    }
16}

Fix 1: ViewModelProvider Constructor (Java & Kotlin)

kotlin

1// CORRECT — ViewModelProvider(owner)
2import androidx.lifecycle.ViewModelProvider
3
4class MyActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
5    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
6        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
7        val viewModel = ViewModelProvider(this).get(MyViewModel::class.java)
8    }
9}
10
11// In a Fragment
12class MyFragment : Fragment() {
13    override fun onViewCreated(view: View, savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
14        val viewModel = ViewModelProvider(this).get(MyViewModel::class.java)
15    }
16}

Java equivalent:

java

// Java
MyViewModel viewModel = new ViewModelProvider(this).get(MyViewModel.class);

Fix 2: by viewModels() Delegate (Kotlin — Recommended)

The cleanest approach using Kotlin property delegates:

kotlin

1// Add dependency: implementation "androidx.activity:activity-ktx:1.8.0"
2// or: implementation "androidx.fragment:fragment-ktx:1.6.0"
3
4class MyActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
5    private val viewModel: MyViewModel by viewModels()
6
7    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
8        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
9        // viewModel is lazily created on first access
10        viewModel.loadData()
11    }
12}
13
14class MyFragment : Fragment() {
15    // Fragment-scoped ViewModel
16    private val viewModel: MyViewModel by viewModels()
17
18    // Activity-scoped ViewModel (shared between fragments)
19    private val sharedViewModel: SharedViewModel by activityViewModels()
20}

With Custom ViewModelFactory

When your ViewModel needs constructor parameters:

kotlin

1// ViewModel with parameters
2class UserViewModel(private val userId: String) : ViewModel() {
3    // ...
4}
5
6// Custom factory
7class UserViewModelFactory(private val userId: String) : ViewModelProvider.Factory {
8    override fun <T : ViewModel> create(modelClass: Class<T>): T {
9        if (modelClass.isAssignableFrom(UserViewModel::class.java)) {
10            @Suppress("UNCHECKED_CAST")
11            return UserViewModel(userId) as T
12        }
13        throw IllegalArgumentException("Unknown ViewModel class")
14    }
15}
16
17// Usage with ViewModelProvider
18val viewModel = ViewModelProvider(this, UserViewModelFactory("user123"))
19    .get(UserViewModel::class.java)
20
21// Usage with by viewModels()
22private val viewModel: UserViewModel by viewModels {
23    UserViewModelFactory("user123")
24}

kotlin

1// SharedViewModel.kt
2class SharedViewModel : ViewModel() {
3    val selectedItem = MutableLiveData<String>()
4}
5
6// FragmentA — sets the value
7class FragmentA : Fragment() {
8    private val sharedViewModel: SharedViewModel by activityViewModels()
9
10    fun onItemSelected(item: String) {
11        sharedViewModel.selectedItem.value = item
12    }
13}
14
15// FragmentB — observes the value
16class FragmentB : Fragment() {
17    private val sharedViewModel: SharedViewModel by activityViewModels()
18
19    override fun onViewCreated(view: View, savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
20        sharedViewModel.selectedItem.observe(viewLifecycleOwner) { item ->
21            textView.text = item
22        }
23    }
24}

Gradle Dependencies

groovy

1dependencies {
2    // Core lifecycle (required)
3    implementation "androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-viewmodel-ktx:2.7.0"
4
5    // For by viewModels() in Activity
6    implementation "androidx.activity:activity-ktx:1.8.2"
7
8    // For by viewModels() and by activityViewModels() in Fragment
9    implementation "androidx.fragment:fragment-ktx:1.6.2"
10
11    // Optional: SavedStateHandle support
12    implementation "androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-viewmodel-savedstate:2.7.0"
13}

Migration Checklist

kotlin

1// Step 1: Remove old import
2// import androidx.lifecycle.ViewModelProviders  ← DELETE
3
4// Step 2: Add new import
5import androidx.lifecycle.ViewModelProvider
6// or for delegates:
7import androidx.activity.viewModels
8import androidx.fragment.app.viewModels
9import androidx.fragment.app.activityViewModels
10
11// Step 3: Replace all usages
12// OLD: ViewModelProviders.of(this).get(MyViewModel::class.java)
13// NEW: ViewModelProvider(this).get(MyViewModel::class.java)
14// BEST: private val viewModel: MyViewModel by viewModels()

Common Pitfalls

Missing activity-ktx or fragment-ktx dependency: The by viewModels() delegate is an extension function in activity-ktx and fragment-ktx. Without the dependency, the compiler reports "Unresolved reference: viewModels".
Using by viewModels() vs by activityViewModels(): by viewModels() in a Fragment creates a ViewModel scoped to that fragment. To share state between fragments, use by activityViewModels() which scopes the ViewModel to the parent activity.
Accessing ViewModel before onCreate: by viewModels() is lazy — it creates the ViewModel on first access. Accessing it before onCreate (e.g., in property initializers) causes a crash because the ViewModelStore is not yet available.
ViewModelProviders class not found at compile time: If you updated the lifecycle dependency but still reference ViewModelProviders, the class is not in the new artifact. Remove all references and replace with ViewModelProvider.
Custom factory with by viewModels(): The lambda in by viewModels { factory } must return a ViewModelProvider.Factory. Returning the ViewModel directly causes a type mismatch error.

Summary

Replace ViewModelProviders.of(this).get(VM::class.java) with ViewModelProvider(this).get(VM::class.java)
Use by viewModels() Kotlin delegate for the cleanest, lazily-initialized syntax
Use by activityViewModels() to share a ViewModel between fragments
Add activity-ktx and fragment-ktx dependencies for the delegate extensions
Pass a ViewModelProvider.Factory for ViewModels that need constructor parameters

Tackling System Design Interview Problems

A short course that equips you with the skills to approach system design interviews methodically.

Start the free course

Track what you have practised

A free account saves your progress, solutions and study plan across every problem on Codemia.

Interview Questions practice on Codemia

Over 8,000 real interview questions from top companies, searchable by company and role.

Browse interview questions

ViewModelProviders is deprecated in 1.1.0

Interview Questions practice on Codemia

Introduction

The Deprecated Code

Fix 1: ViewModelProvider Constructor (Java & Kotlin)

Fix 2: by viewModels() Delegate (Kotlin — Recommended)

With Custom ViewModelFactory

Sharing ViewModel Between Fragments

Gradle Dependencies

Migration Checklist

Common Pitfalls

Summary

Related reading

Tackling System Design Interview Problems

Track what you have practised

Interview Questions practice on Codemia