ReVanced black screen: step-by-step fix
- Note when the screen goes black: At launch, when a video starts, or only on certain videos. Each points at a different cause, and skipping this makes the rest guesswork
- Update GmsCore: Install the current build from the official ReVanced GitHub. A black screen at launch is most often the app waiting on a GmsCore that is missing, outdated, or not running
- Check the patch selection: Rebuild with the client spoof and video playback patches enabled. The spoof patch decides what YouTube serves your app, and a black player with working audio is the classic sign it is missing
- Check the base version: Compare the version you patched against the one Manager recommends. A build that installed cleanly can still fail at playback if the base was wrong
- Clear the cache: App info, Storage, Clear cache. Reopen the app and try a video you have not played recently. This does not sign you out
- Disable battery optimization: Do this for GmsCore as well as the patched app. Intermittent black screens that clear on relaunch are usually the system suspending GmsCore
- Re-patch from scratch: Uninstall the patched app, download a fresh base APK, patch with defaults, and test before adding optional patches back
If none of this worked
- Check whether audio plays while the picture is black. Sound with no image is a decoding or spoofing problem. Silence with a black screen is the app failing to start properly.
- Try one video in the official YouTube app on the same device. If that is black too, the problem is the device or its display driver rather than the patch.
- If it started right after a YouTube change and other people are reporting the same thing, no local fix exists. It gets repaired in a patch bundle update, and re-patching repeatedly in the meantime achieves nothing.
- If the app crashes instead of showing black, treat it as a crash: the Manager crashing guide covers the build side and ReVanced not working covers the app side.
- Some devices with unusual video hardware never handle certain formats well. Where that is the cause, forcing a lower resolution is the practical workaround rather than a real fix.
Questions people ask
- Why does audio play with no picture? The audio stream decoded and the video stream did not. That points at the client spoof patch or at hardware decoding, not at your connection.
- Does a black screen mean the patch failed? No. A failed patch produces no installable file. A black screen means the build installed and something later went wrong.
- Will clearing data fix it? Sometimes, at the cost of signing you out and resetting settings. Clear cache first and only escalate if the black screen survives.
- Is GmsCore needed if I do not sign in? For playback, usually not, but the patched app can still stall at launch waiting for it depending on which patches you applied.
Extra notes before you retry
If the problem comes back after a fix, note your YouTube base version, your ReVanced Manager build, and whether GmsCore is installed before trying anything else. A version mismatch between those is behind most repeat failures.
Causes and fixes
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Black screen on launch | GmsCore missing or outdated | Install or update GmsCore |
| Black screen during playback | Missing "Client spoof" patch | Re-patch with client spoof enabled |
| Black screen after patching | Incompatible base YouTube version | Use the version Manager recommends |
| Intermittent black screen | Battery optimization killing GmsCore | Disable battery optimization for GmsCore |
| Black screen on specific videos | Codec or hardware acceleration issue | Clear the app cache, try the VP9 codec override |
Read the table by timing rather than by symptom name. Anything that happens before you press play is a startup problem, and startup problems are nearly always GmsCore: the patched app waits on it, and if it is missing, stale, or suspended by the system, the app never finishes drawing its first screen.
Anything that happens after you press play is a playback problem, and playback problems trace back to what YouTube served your app. The client spoof patch controls how the app identifies itself, which controls which streams come back. Without it, the player can be handed something it will not render, so you get sound and a black rectangle instead of an error message.
The last row is the odd one out. A black screen on a handful of videos while everything else plays is a decoding limit on your specific hardware, not a patching mistake. Lower the resolution on the affected video and see whether it plays; if it does, you have found the answer and there is nothing left to fix.