Fix React Native Video Background Issue on Android

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How to Fix React Native Video Background Playback Issue on Android 14-15

Quick Summary

This blog post addresses a common issue in React Native where videos continue playing in the background on Android 14-15, causing battery drain and performance issues. The solution involves using React Native’s AppState API to detect when the app moves to the background and pause video playback, resuming it when the app returns to the foreground. A step-by-step implementation using react-native-video is provided, ensuring optimal resource management and a better user experience.

Introduction

At Creole Studios, a leading React Native app development company, we understand the challenges developers face when building media-rich applications. One common issue in video-based apps is ensuring smooth playback control when users switch between apps or put their devices to sleep. With the recent Android 14-15 background playback bug, videos may continue playing even when the app is in the background, leading to battery drain and performance issues. In this blog, we’ll explore an effective solution using React Native’s AppState API to manage video playback efficiently and enhance user experience.

The Problem

Android 14-15 Background Playback Bug

In recent versions of Android (specifically Android 14 and 15), there has been a bug observed where video continues to play even when the app is no longer in focus. This has been noticeable in apps, where videos automatically keep playing in the background even when the user switches to another app or the phone goes to sleep. While this may seem like a feature, it can actually cause issues such as:

Unwanted battery drain: The app keeps consuming resources unnecessarily.
Poor user experience: Users might not want video/audio to continue playing when the app is no longer active.
Performance issues: Video players running in the background can cause apps to lag or become unresponsive.

This bug has been a headache for developers looking to manage video playback behavior in a more controlled and optimized manner.

Solution: Handling Background Playback with AppState

The key to solving this problem lies in understanding how React Native handles app lifecycle events and the ability to listen to state changes such as when the app moves to the background or comes back to the foreground. React Native provides the AppState API, which can be used to detect app state transitions and manage video playback accordingly.

What is AppState?

AppState is a React Native API that allows you to track the current state of the app. It provides information on whether the app is in the active, background, or inactive state, enabling you to pause or resume video playback accordingly.

Using AppState, you can prevent video from continuing to play when the app is no longer visible and resume it when the app comes back to the foreground.

Setting Up react-native-video

First, let’s set up the react-native-video library to handle video playback in your app. To do this, install the library using npm or yarn:

npm install react-native-video

Once installed, you can begin using the <Video> component in your app.

Basic Video Playback Example

Here’s a simple example of using react-native-video to play a video:

import React from 'react';
import Video from 'react-native-video';
const MyVideoComponent = () => {
  return (
    <Video
      source={{uri: 'https://path/to/your/video.mp4'}}
      style={{width: '100%', height: 250}}
      controls={true}
    />
  );
};
export default MyVideoComponent;

In this example, we are displaying a video using a URL source and enabling video controls. However, this basic setup does not handle the case where the app goes into the background. We need to extend this code to handle that situation.

Managing Background Playback with AppState

Now, let’s incorporate AppState to pause the video when the app goes into the background and resume it when the app comes back to the foreground.

Code Example: Handling AppState Changes

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import { AppState } from 'react-native';
import Video from 'react-native-video';
const MyVideoComponent = () => {
  const [appState, setAppState] = useState(AppState.currentState);
  const [isPaused, setIsPaused] = useState(false);
  useEffect(() => {
    const subscription = AppState.addEventListener('change', nextAppState => {
      if (appState.match(/inactive|background/) && nextAppState === 'active') {
        // Resume video when the app comes to the foreground
        setIsPaused(false);
      } else if (nextAppState.match(/inactive|background/)) {
        // Pause video when the app goes to the background
        setIsPaused(true);
      }
      setAppState(nextAppState);
    });
    return () => {
      subscription.remove();
    };
  }, [appState]);
  return (
    <Video
      source={{uri: 'https://path/to/your/video.mp4'}}
      style={{width: '100%', height: 250}}
      paused={isPaused} // Control video playback based on app state
      controls={true}
    />
  );
};
export default MyVideoComponent;

How It Works:

Detect App State: We use AppState.addEventListener to listen for changes in the app’s state (i.e., when it moves to the background or foreground).
Pause or Resume Video: When the app moves to the background (background or inactive state), we set the paused prop of the <Video> component to true to stop playback. When the app returns to the foreground (active state), we resume playback by setting paused to false.
Manage State: The appState variable is used to store the current state of the app, and the isPaused state is used to control the playback of the video.

Testing the Feature

To test this feature, you can use the Android emulator or a physical Android device running Android 14-15 to observe the behavior when switching between apps. You’ll notice that the video now properly pauses when the app is sent to the background and resumes once it’s brought back to the foreground.

Conclusion

Handling background video playback effectively is crucial for delivering a seamless user experience in media-focused apps. The Android 14-15 background playback bug can lead to unintended battery drain and performance issues, but with React Native’s AppState API, developers can efficiently manage video playback based on app state transitions.At Creole Studios, our expert React Native developers specialize in building high-performance, media-rich applications with seamless user experiences. If you’re looking for a reliable React Native app development company, hire our React Native developers to create robust, optimized, and scalable mobile solutions. Get in touch today to bring your app ideas to life!

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