Kotlin ImageView Not Loading: Glide Fix Guide

If you’re working on an Android app using Kotlin and your ImageView is not loading images with Glide, you’re not alone. Many Android developers face this issue, especially when handling dynamic content from APIs. Glide is a powerful image loading library, but small mistakes can prevent images from rendering properly.

Here’s a complete step-by-step guide to fix the Glide not loading images problem in Kotlin using Android Studio.

Common Causes Why Glide Fails to Load Images:

• Invalid or null image URLs
• Glide not initialized correctly
• Image loading inside a RecyclerView with incorrect context
• Missing Internet permission
• Using the wrong lifecycle context

1. Add Glide to Your Project

Open your build.gradle (Module) file and add:

dependencies {
    implementation 'com.github.bumptech.glide:glide:4.16.0'
    kapt 'com.github.bumptech.glide:compiler:4.16.0'
}

Don’t forget to apply the Kotlin KAPT plugin at the top:

apply plugin: 'kotlin-kapt'

Then sync the project.

2. Add Internet Permission

In your AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

3. Full Example: Load Image into ImageView

Here is the layout XML (activity_main.xml):

<ImageView
    android:id="@+id/imageView"
    android:layout_width="200dp"
    android:layout_height="200dp"
    android:layout_centerInParent="true"
    android:scaleType="centerCrop"
    android:contentDescription="ImageView"/>

4. Kotlin Activity Code (MainActivity.kt)

package com.example.glidefix

import android.os.Bundle
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
import com.bumptech.glide.Glide
import com.example.glidefix.databinding.ActivityMainBinding

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    private lateinit var binding: ActivityMainBinding

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        
        binding = ActivityMainBinding.inflate(layoutInflater)
        setContentView(binding.root)

        val imageUrl = "https://example.com/image.jpg" // Ensure this URL is valid
        loadImage(imageUrl)
    }

    private fun loadImage(url: String) {
        Glide.with(this)
            .load(url)
            .placeholder(R.drawable.placeholder)
            .error(R.drawable.error_image)
            .into(binding.imageView)
    }
}

5. Additional Tips

• Make sure the URL is reachable in the browser.
• Use .placeholder() and .error() to help debug.
• Use Glide.with(applicationContext) only if inside non-UI class.
• For dynamic URLs or RecyclerView, ensure ViewHolder uses itemView.context.

For more detailed documentation, you can visit the official Glide GitHub repository.