diff --git a/pythonforandroid/bootstraps/qt/build/src/main/java/org/kivy/android/PythonActivity.java b/pythonforandroid/bootstraps/qt/build/src/main/java/org/kivy/android/PythonActivity.java
index 81cad0161..169fd323b 100644
--- a/pythonforandroid/bootstraps/qt/build/src/main/java/org/kivy/android/PythonActivity.java
+++ b/pythonforandroid/bootstraps/qt/build/src/main/java/org/kivy/android/PythonActivity.java
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@
 import android.content.pm.PackageManager;
 
 import org.qtproject.qt.android.bindings.QtActivity;
-import org.qtproject.qt.android.QtNative;
 
 public class PythonActivity extends QtActivity {
 
@@ -52,6 +51,18 @@ public String getEntryPoint(String search_dir) {
         return "main.py";
     }
 
+    public void setEnvironmentVariable(String key, String value) {
+        /**
+         * Sets an environment variable based on key/value.
+         **/
+        try {
+            android.system.Os.setenv(key, value, true);
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            Log.e("Qt bootstrap", "Unable set environment variable:" + key + "=" + value);
+            e.printStackTrace();
+        }
+    }
+
     @Override
     public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
         this.mActivity = this;
@@ -69,14 +80,14 @@ public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
         String entry_point = getEntryPoint(app_root_dir);
 
         Log.v(TAG, "Setting env vars for start.c and Python to use");
-        QtNative.setEnvironmentVariable("ANDROID_ENTRYPOINT", entry_point);
-        QtNative.setEnvironmentVariable("ANDROID_ARGUMENT", app_root_dir);
-        QtNative.setEnvironmentVariable("ANDROID_APP_PATH", app_root_dir);
-        QtNative.setEnvironmentVariable("ANDROID_PRIVATE", mFilesDirectory);
-        QtNative.setEnvironmentVariable("ANDROID_UNPACK", app_root_dir);
-        QtNative.setEnvironmentVariable("PYTHONHOME", app_root_dir);
-        QtNative.setEnvironmentVariable("PYTHONPATH", app_root_dir + ":" + app_root_dir + "/lib");
-        QtNative.setEnvironmentVariable("PYTHONOPTIMIZE", "2");
+        setEnvironmentVariable("ANDROID_ENTRYPOINT", entry_point);
+        setEnvironmentVariable("ANDROID_ARGUMENT", app_root_dir);
+        setEnvironmentVariable("ANDROID_APP_PATH", app_root_dir);
+        setEnvironmentVariable("ANDROID_PRIVATE", mFilesDirectory);
+        setEnvironmentVariable("ANDROID_UNPACK", app_root_dir);
+        setEnvironmentVariable("PYTHONHOME", app_root_dir);
+        setEnvironmentVariable("PYTHONPATH", app_root_dir + ":" + app_root_dir + "/lib");
+        setEnvironmentVariable("PYTHONOPTIMIZE", "2");
 
         Log.v(TAG, "About to do super onCreate");
         super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
diff --git a/pythonforandroid/bootstraps/qt/build/templates/libs.tmpl.xml b/pythonforandroid/bootstraps/qt/build/templates/libs.tmpl.xml
index d423f4152..9093aa6f8 100644
--- a/pythonforandroid/bootstraps/qt/build/templates/libs.tmpl.xml
+++ b/pythonforandroid/bootstraps/qt/build/templates/libs.tmpl.xml
@@ -1,5 +1,13 @@
 <?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
 <resources>
+
+    <!--
+    The bunlded_libs placeholder is needed for QtLoader.java. Otherwise the application will crash.
+    Adding extra libraries can be done through buildozer directly with android.add_libs_* option
+    -->
+    <array name="bundled_libs">
+    </array>
+
     <array name="qt_libs">
         <item>{{ arch }};c++_shared</item>
         {%- for qt_lib in qt_libs %}