I'm developing an Android app where I’ve moved only image resources (no code) into a dynamic feature module named themes. These are various background images for themes (e.g. mid_obsidian, rain_activity_background_halloween, etc.).

The base app includes a settings menu where users can change the visual appearance of the app (like a skin). When the user taps “Change Appearance”, the app checks if the themes module is installed, and downloads it on-demand using Play Core if it's not.

What works: The dynamic module installs successfully via SplitInstallManager during the appearance change flow. The resources (images) are confirmed to be present on disk after installation. When the images are included in the base module, the UI updates correctly (backgrounds change across activities).

What doesn't work: After downloading the themes module and applying a theme, the expected background images do not appear. The UI stays the same, as if the images are not found. When the exact same images are in the base module, everything works fine.

Code used to install module:

val request = SplitInstallRequest.newBuilder()
    .addModule("themes")
    .build()

splitInstallManager.startInstall(request)
    .addOnSuccessListener { sessionId = it }
    .addOnFailureListener { e ->
        // Handle error
    }

Code used to load drawables dynamically:

@SuppressLint("DiscouragedApi")
private fun getResourceId(name: String, defType: String): Int {
    val resId = appContext.resources.getIdentifier(name, defType, appContext.packageName)

    if (resId == 0) {
        android.util.Log.e("AppearanceManager", "Resource NOT FOUND: $name [$defType]")
    } else {
        android.util.Log.d("AppearanceManager", "Found: $name [$defType] → $resId")
    }

    return resId
}

And I use this to apply the background, example in MainActivity:

private fun loadBackgroundImage() {
    val appearanceManager = AppearanceManager.getInstance(this)
    val drawableName = appearanceManager.getCurrentConfig().mainMenuBackground
    val resId = appearanceManager.getResourceIdForDrawable(drawableName)

    val backgroundImageView: ImageView = findViewById(R.id.backgroundImage)
    if (resId != 0) {
        backgroundImageView.setImageResource(resId)
    } else {
        backgroundImageView.setImageResource(R.drawable.mid_emerald_grove) // fallback
    }
}

Also, my Application.kt uses:

override fun onCreate() {

    SplitCompat.install(this)

and every other activity which is affected by the appearance change.

Module Setup:

Dynamic module: :themes

Has no code: android:hasCode="false"

Uses dist:on-demand

Listed in build.gradle.kts as:

dynamicFeatures += setOf(":themes")