Android onConfigurationChanged not being called

Question

I am having trouble with telling Android to not call onCreate() when the orientation changes. I have added android:configChanges="orientation" to my manifest but still when the orientation changes onCreate() is called. Here is my code.

AndroidManifest.xml

<activity android:name="SearchMenuActivity" android:theme="@android:style/Theme.NoTitleBar" android:configChanges="orientation"></activity>

SearchMenuActivity.java

public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    // Set the current layout to the search_menu
    setContentView(R.layout.search_menu_activity);

    Log.d(TAG, "onCreate() Called");
}
@Override
public void onConfigurationChanged(Configuration newConfig) {
    //don't reload the current page when the orientation is changed
    Log.d(TAG, "onConfigurationChanged() Called");
    super.onConfigurationChanged(newConfig);
}

And my LogCat Output

06-23 12:33:20.327: DEBUG/APP(2905): onCreate() Called
//Orientation Changes
06-23 12:33:23.842: DEBUG/APP(2905): onCreate() Called

Does anyone know what I am doing wrong? Thanks.

Answer 1

This was my gremlin for the ~same problem:

Caution: Beginning with Android 3.2 (API level 13), the "screen size" also changes when the device switches between portrait and landscape orientation. Thus, if you want to prevent runtime restarts due to orientation change when developing for API level 13 or higher (as declared by the minSdkVersion and targetSdkVersion attributes), you must include the "screenSize" value in addition to the "orientation" value. That is, you must decalare android:configChanges="orientation|screenSize". However, if your application targets API level 12 or lower, then your activity always handles this configuration change itself (this configuration change does not restart your activity, even when running on an Android 3.2 or higher device).

(From http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/runtime-changes.html)

TL;DR: add "|screenSize" to android:configChanges="orientation" for API 14+