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[Bug]: Island feature is completely broken, renders blank black/white #1787
Description
Bug Description
When enabling the Island feature in the Essentials app, the UI behaves erratically and becomes completely unusable.
- When triggered, it either shows a completely black, blank screen or fails to render content.
- After interacting or changing states, it sometimes abruptly turns into a solid white element instead of its normal theme.
- The feature is completely unresponsive to any settings adjustments (such as transparency, blur, or layout tweaks). It worked fine previously.
Steps to Reproduce
- Open the Essentials app and go to the display settings.
- Enable the Island toggle.
- Tap on the Island or trigger its preview/interaction state.
- Observe the rendering failure (blank black screen or turning solid white).
- Attempt to change settings — notice that it remains unchanged
Expected Behavior
The Island should smoothly expand/interact, render dynamic content properly, respect the chosen theme/colors
Screenshots
No response
Severity
Broken
Area
Interface
Android Version
Android 17 (SDK37)
Device (OEM)
Pixel
Device
Google Pixel 8 Pro
App Version
v21.3-beta.1
Additional Context
Tried resetting app settings, reinstalling, downgrading, restarting a phone, and toggling features, but the issue persists.
Reacted by Robby Duran
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storm119 commentedon Nov 12, 2026
It's happen on my device too Pixel 7 Pro Android 17 (QPR3 Beta 4) with the latest Essential v21.3-beta.1
Duo & Island broken (blank/nothing show-up on camera cutout)...tapping the camera only trigger haptic/vibration feedback but does nothing...nothing show-up even new incoming notification doesn't show-up on Island
Have to revert back to Essential v21.2 for now...
sameerasw commentedon Nov 13, 2026
@storm119 @alecadreams Are you guys using expanded dark mode option?
Also any screenshots or so?
alecadreams commentedon Nov 13, 2026
@sameerasw I do, actually. The island worked perfectly for a while before recent updates even though expanded dark mode was always on. Everything changed for me since recent updates have been implemented like Neural Expressive expanded animations.
sameerasw commentedon Nov 13, 2026
Please filter out Essentials from the expanded dark mode settings, it breaks overlays which do not have a dark/ light theme
alecadreams commentedon Nov 13, 2026
I can confirm - it's working as intended now! @sameerasw thank you so much for your great work and prompt support! @storm119 try this, it works even with the latest app version
storm119 commentedon Nov 13, 2026
Unfortunately...I never turn on expanded dark mode...something broke along the recent update but working perfectly on Essential v 21.2