Video stuck until screen is touched

[ElPenguin]

Describe the bug

1. Open Jellyfin
2. Play something

Video does not play, I have to press the screen to see the next frames before the video freezes again. Again and again.
The sounds looks good. Playing through Google Chrome resolve this problem.

Logs

No response

Application version

2.4.4

Where did you install the app from?

Google Play

Device information

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 PRo

Android version

MIUI 12.5.8

Jellyfin server version

10.8.5

Which video player implementations does this bug apply to?

• Web player (default)
• Integrated player (ExoPlayer)
• External player (VLC, mpv, MX Player)

[Tartial]

Hello, I have a similar problem with my phone. Are you resolved problem?

[ElPenguin]

Hello, I have a similar problem with my phone. Are you resolved problem?

when you launch the application, there is a popup at the bottom. This opened the android app settings for me, it's a battery saver issue in my case. In manage applications then jellyfin, you have an unrestricted mode for this saver. after a change to the recommended mode, an uninstallation of jellyfin, then a reinstallation, I had the popup which asked me to remove the energy restriction and the problem was solved in my case. I couldn't find anything on the internet, hope this helps!

[ElPenguin]

Hello, I have a similar problem with my phone. Are you resolved problem?

when you launch the application, there is a popup at the bottom. This opened the android app settings for me, it's a battery saver issue in my case. In manage applications then jellyfin, you have an unrestricted mode for this saver. after a change to the recommended mode, an uninstallation of jellyfin, then a reinstallation, I had the popup which asked me to remove the energy restriction and the problem was solved in my case. I couldn't find anything on the internet, hope this helps!

Does not work anymore...

[mikesnook]

Having the same problem with a Samsung Note20, only seems to effect the 'web player', all power saving features already disabled for the app. Other clients seem fine.

[Nazar78]

Having the same issue too with Note 20 Ultra.

Seems to be a glitch when updated to the Android WebView 106.0.5249.126. I've tried clearing cache/data but it still persist.

Workaround: Go to your Android Settings Apps, search for webview. Some will need to show system apps in the list option. Uninstall Android System WebView. It will revert to the ROM version. Then update again WebView in the app store. You might have to login again to JF Android.

[ElPenguin]

Having the same issue too with Note 20 Ultra.

Seems to be a glitch when updated to the Android WebView 106.0.5249.126. I've tried clearing cache/data but it still persist.

Workaround: Go to your Android Settings Apps, search for webview. Some will need to show system apps in the list option. Uninstall Android System WebView. It will revert to the ROM version. Then update again WebView in the app store. You might have to login again to JF Android.

Having the same issue :/

[Nazar78]

Having the same issue too with Note 20 Ultra.
Seems to be a glitch when updated to the Android WebView 106.0.5249.126. I've tried clearing cache/data but it still persist.
Workaround: Go to your Android Settings Apps, search for webview. Some will need to show system apps in the list option. Uninstall Android System WebView. It will revert to the ROM version. Then update again WebView in the app store. You might have to login again to JF Android.

Having the same issue :/

Have you tried uninstalling the WebView without upgrading to its latest version? If that works than you could probably hunt for not so recent version that works in apk mirror.

[ElPenguin]

Having the same issue too with Note 20 Ultra.
Seems to be a glitch when updated to the Android WebView 106.0.5249.126. I've tried clearing cache/data but it still persist.
Workaround: Go to your Android Settings Apps, search for webview. Some will need to show system apps in the list option. Uninstall Android System WebView. It will revert to the ROM version. Then update again WebView in the app store. You might have to login again to JF Android.

Having the same issue :/

Have you tried uninstalling the WebView without upgrading to its latest version? If that works than you could probably hunt for not so recent version that works in apk mirror.

System apps -> uninstall update -> update with Google Play. It Does not work, I will try later by another way, I keep things updated. Thanks

[Nazar78]

Try without updating to the new WebView version.

I've my phone restarted and also just did upgraded to the newer JF server/web. The video still plays fine after the workaround.

[snakeeater4526]

I found a workaround, go install WebView beta in the play store and go change web view implémentation in the dev settings of the phone, it should immediately work better ( standard WebView is version 106, the actual beta is 108)

So it's a android WebView bug

[Maxr1998]

Can confirm it as well on my Z Fold 4 with WebView beta 109.0.5414.44. Stable WebView 108.0.5359.128 works fine, so it seems to be an upstream issue and there's nothing we can do about this unfortunately. I recommend using the integrated player instead if possible.

EDIT: here's the upstream Chromium issue: https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=1405816

[danieldids]

I was having the same issue. Some jellyfin developer contacted me on google play and commented about this thread and the webview issue. I couldn't enable it on my phone (it was disabled by some other app), I've googled it, some stuff about Google Chrome disabling webview appeared, I've disabled chrome from my phone (I don't use it there), the issue with jellyfin disapeared.

[siwilk]

I found a workaround, go install WebView beta in the play store and go change web view implémentation in the dev settings of the phone, it should immediately work better ( standard WebView is version 106, the actual beta is 108)

So it's a android WebView bug

This actually solved the issue! Mine was updated to beta 109 and it worked.

[Sim0nW0lf]

I could fix it too but actually for me it was the same but I had to uninstall the "Android System Webview" App. After doing that it's working. In any case it's a webview thing I guess.

[sunnyd24]

I had the freezing/stuttering video issue appear out of nowhere, only tapping the screen constantly kept video alive. This is on Samsung S21 Ultra with Android 13 / OneUI 5.1.

**I had to uninstall "Android System WebView" from Play Store which reverted back to stock "Android System WebView" then signed up to beta by pressing the "join" button, updated app, and then the video playback worked as before.

I am now on beta version 111.0.5563.49, dated 1 Mar 2023.**

[galmok]

I tried joining the beta program for webview and got version 112.0.5615.48 installeret but it also causes freeze frames. Samsung Galaxy S10+.

[Lbcowman]

This problem seems to have a pretty easy solution! Just change the video player type to the integrated player.
settings->Client Settings->Video player type
This isn't perfect however because of some weird subtitle support, as well as no resolution options.

[Cytomax55]

I have the same problem with a pixel 5

My pixel 6 works just fine

This only happens on my osmo action videos

[Eduardo-mc]

O meu fica congelando os quadros quando é um filme FHD, se for um HD não congela!

[Maxr1998]

O meu fica congelando os quadros quando é um filme FHD, se for um HD não congela!

DeepL translation: Mine freezes when it is an FHD movie, if it is an HD movie it doesn't freeze!

Please write your comments in English so that everyone can understand them, thanks!

[danieldids]

O meu fica congelando os quadros quando é um filme FHD, se for um HD não congela!

DeepL translation: Mine freezes when it is an FHD movie, if it is an HD movie it doesn't freeze!

Please write your comments in English so that everyone can understand them, thanks!

in Portuguese (because I'm Brazilian)
@Maxr1998, alguém postou uma solução muito boa aqui, é a seguinte:
This problem seems to have a pretty easy solution! Just change the video player type to the integrated player.
settings->Client Settings->Video player type This isn't perfect however because of some weird subtitle support, as well as no resolution options.

Ela troca o player que tem no próprio jellyfin. Por padrão é usado um componente do próprio android. Fazendo essa troca, ele usa um player embutido no jellyfin, que geralmente funciona. Até agora foi a solução mais elegante pro problema.

[ElPenguin]

The subtitles no longer have problems with VLC but I have big synchronization problems between the moment I leave the media and the playback, I have other problems too with the use of an external player..

[zzzeek]

have this here on a pixel 7. videos are unwatchable. will now try some of the workarounds above

[zzzeek]

This problem seems to have a pretty easy solution! Just change the video player type to the integrated player. settings->Client Settings->Video player type This isn't perfect however because of some weird subtitle support, as well as no resolution options.

this worked immediately and videos are perfect. Why are there three video player options? integrated player seems like the best choice...

[doctorttt]

Seems like there is no permanent fix to this but workaround. Very disappointed. Im on Samsung S22 plus and having the same issue.

[mscottnielsen]

Same problem for me on Android 13 (phone) and Android 9 (tablet). Two possible work-arounds. It seems that the problem can be isolated to specific container (media) files; there's a reddit post (won't link, just search for "android app struggles to play mkv files"), and I had previously noticed and verified this as well, taking inventory of all media files (via ffprobe) and categorizing which failed & which succeeded. Not related to quality, size, format, etc; just seems to be just mkv files.

Best solution (if it works for you, see comments above): go to jellyfin client app "client settings" and click on "Video Player Type" and change from "Web Player" to "Integrated player", this might fix the problem. (Again, working for me on Android 9 so far.) If this seems to work for everyone, perhaps this can be changed to the default (noting caveats above, considering pros and cons)?

Optional work-around: Server-side, if you convert media files via ffmpeg -i file.mkv -c copy file.mp4 then both options show up in jellyfin and you can select the mp4 file (verify "Media Info" to get the right filename) and should play without a problem. (There may be issues w/ subtitles, and perhaps some files may require re-encoding, but just copying the stream takes mere seconds, vs actually re-encoding.)

[timocarnill]

Having the same problem on my Motorola G9 play. Changing to the integrated player didn't work.
Edit: changing to external media player (vlc) did work for me!

[mariowitdoek]

I had the same problem on old Philips Android TV and @Lbcowman you pointed me (and many others) in the right direction. For me, I could not select internal (it was exoplayer, vlc and external applcation). I selected libVLC (it was on exoplayer) and it worked! I then returned to Automatic and it still worked. Just before, I installed VLC and maybe that made the libVLC option possible. FYI the codec seemed to be the same as another file that played just fine. TX for the help!