WebView in .NET MAUI fails to load URL with "&" character on Android despite URL encoding #26843
Description
The WebView control on Android is not loading certain URLs correctly. It has been determined that the issue arises when the URL contains the & symbol. This causes the URL to be prefixed with file:///android_asset/, preventing the page from loading.
Issue
Android: URLs containing the & symbol fail to load in the WebView. The WebView prepends the URL with file:///android_asset/, causing the navigation to fail.
iOS: The same URLs, when properly encoded, work correctly on iOS without any issues.
Web Browsers: These URLs open correctly in any web browser.
Steps to Reproduce
Create a new .NET MAUI application with a WebView.
Set the Source property of the WebView to a URL containing the & symbol (e.g., https://example.com/path?param1=value1¶m2=value2) and ensure it is properly encoded.
Run the application on an Android device or emulator.
Expected Behavior
The WebView should navigate to the URL without any prefix, and the encoded URL should load correctly.
Actual Behavior
When the URL contains the & symbol, the WebView on Android prepends file:///android_asset/ to the URL, causing the page to fail to load.
Environment
.NET MAUI version: 8.0.93
Steps to Reproduce
No response
Link to public reproduction project repository
No response
Version with bug
8.0.93 SR9.3
Is this a regression from previous behavior?
Not sure, did not test other versions
Last version that worked well
Unknown/Other
Affected platforms
Android
Affected platform versions
No response
Did you find any workaround?
No response