Unable to record screen

[lcfrhy-star]

When UndeadWallpaper is active, I am unable to record the smartphone screen (Android native feature).
Motorola Edge Pro / Android 16.

[maocide]

Hi @lcfrhy-star, thank you so much for reporting this!

You are right. I investigated the issue and found the cause: I set the wallpaper engine to work without alpha channel, a memory optimization that, while saving a bit of RAM, caused the Android screen recorder to fail to hook into the wallpaper surface properly.

Status:
I have fixed this in the latest code (branch fix/recording-error) by restoring the standard color configuration and adding the specific EGL_RECORDABLE_ANDROID flag to ensure compatibility with screen recorders.

The fix is committed and will be available in the next release, I will decide when to publish it might be soon. You can find it already on that branch. Thanks for helping me catch this!

[lcfrhy-star]

Bad news sorry... Screen recording not working yet.. even after latest release... 😭

[maocide]

Thanks for updating me on this (and sorry for the frustration)!

I have been testing this extensively today. I managed to reproduce the "recording freeze" once, but it completely disappeared after I restarted my phone.

My hypothesis on this:
It seems this is a hardware resource conflict rather than a bug in the app code itself.
Android phones have a limited number of "Hardware Decoders" (chips that play video). When you have a Live Wallpaper + Gallery + Camera + Screen Recorder all active recently, sometimes the system runs out of "slots" or a previous app doesn't release its slot correctly. This causes the Screen Recorder to fail because the Wallpaper is "hogging" the last available chip.

The Fix:

1. Workaround: Try restarting your phone. This clears the "stuck" hardware decoders. After a reboot, you might be able to record without issues (I confirmed this on my phone).
2. Future Update: I am working on a new "Auto-Recovery" feature for another update. This will detect when the system runs out of resources and automatically restart the wallpaper engine to free up space for other apps (like the screen recorder) dynamically, hopefully.

Unfortunately, it is currently a bit difficult to reproduce consistently. Please let me know if a reboot solves it for now! We will stick with this until we get to the bottom of it.

[lcfrhy-star]

Hi there. The bug occurs even after a clean reboot. Not a big deal, just would love to share some clips using my cell with an animated wallpaper... Thank you and keep the good job! Best regards! Em sex., 9 de jan. de 2026, 08:23, まおう ***@***.***> escreveu:

…

*maocide* left a comment (maocide/UndeadWallpaper#17) <#17 (comment)> Thanks for updating me on this (and sorry for the frustration)! I have been testing this extensively today. I managed to reproduce the "recording freeze" once, but it completely disappeared after I restarted my phone. *My hypothesis on this:* It seems this is a *hardware resource conflict* rather than a bug in the app code itself. Android phones have a limited number of "Hardware Decoders" (chips that play video). When you have a Live Wallpaper + Gallery + Camera + Screen Recorder all active recently, sometimes the system runs out of "slots" or a previous app doesn't release its slot correctly. This causes the Screen Recorder to fail because the Wallpaper is "hogging" the last available chip. *The Fix:* 1. *Workaround:* Try *restarting your phone*. This clears the "stuck" hardware decoders. After a reboot, you might be able to record without issues (I confirmed this on my phone). 2. *Future Update:* I am working on a new "Auto-Recovery" feature for another update. This will detect when the system runs out of resources and automatically restart the wallpaper engine to free up space for other apps (like the screen recorder) dynamically, hopefully. Unfortunately, it is currently a bit difficult to reproduce consistently. Please let me know if a reboot solves it for now! We will stick with this until we get to the bottom of it. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#17 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/B4LSHXP5MCV5NITBJ7ARWWL4F6FUDAVCNFSM6AAAAACQY72CNSVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTOMRYGUYDQMRWGQ> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[lcfrhy-star]

Forget about it! I decided to change to another live wallpaper and it worked! So i guess the wallpaper I set before maybe was corrupted somehow. Gonna run some more tests

[maocide]

Thanks for the update again! It makes sense.

I suspect the first video wasn't "corrupted," but maybe very high quality (4K resolution, 60fps, or a very high bitrate or just more demanding than the other).

Even though the screen recorder captures the screen, the phone's video chip still has to work hard in the background to play the wallpaper.

• Heavy Video + Recorder = Overloaded Video Chip -> Recording fails.
• Lighter Video + Recorder = Success!

I'm glad it's working with the new file! I will still implement a stability fix in the next update to help the app recover better if the system gets overloaded like this.

[maocide]

Hi @lcfrhy-star, just a quick final update on this!

As promised, I have released a new version (v1.1.2) that includes the stability improvements we discussed.

What changed:

1. Memory Optimization: The app now uses about 50% less RAM. This frees up significant resources for the system, making it much easier for the Screen Recorder to run alongside high-quality wallpapers without crashing.
2. Decoder Watchdog: If the Screen Recorder temporarily "steals" the video chip, the wallpaper engine now detects the freeze and attempts to auto-recover instead of breaking.

Since you already got it working by switching files, I'll close this issue now, but this new update should make recording work even with "heavier" video files in the future.

Thanks again for the help debugging this!