diff --git a/android/app/build.gradle.kts b/android/app/build.gradle.kts
index dcbcf99..0a94911 100644
--- a/android/app/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/android/app/build.gradle.kts
@@ -30,23 +30,39 @@ val ledgrabVersionCode: Int = run {
 
 android {
     namespace = "com.ledgrab.android"
-    compileSdk = 34
+    // SDK 35 (Android 15) — required for Play Store from Aug 2025 onward.
+    compileSdk = 35
 
     defaultConfig {
         applicationId = "com.ledgrab.android"
         minSdk = 24          // Android 7.0 — covers nearly all TV boxes
-        targetSdk = 34
+        targetSdk = 35
         // Derived from git commit count (or ANDROID_VERSION_CODE env var
         // in CI).  See ledgrabVersionCode above.  Was stuck at 1 before —
         // sideload updates silently refused to install.
         versionCode = ledgrabVersionCode
         versionName = "0.7.0"
 
+        // ABI selection. Detect armeabi-v7a wheel presence and opt the
+        // ABI in only when the matching pydantic-core wheel is on disk —
+        // otherwise Chaquopy would fail the build searching for it. The
+        // build script (build-scripts/build-pydantic-core.sh) is the
+        // source of truth for which ABIs we *can* ship.
+        val v7Wheel = file("$rootDir/wheels").listFiles().orEmpty()
+            .any { it.name.startsWith("pydantic_core-") && it.name.contains("armeabi_v7a") }
+        val ledgrabAbis = buildList {
+            add("arm64-v8a")
+            add("x86_64")
+            add("x86")
+            if (v7Wheel) add("armeabi-v7a")
+        }
         ndk {
-            // All three ABIs: arm64-v8a (real TV hardware), x86_64 (modern
-            // emulators), x86 (legacy emulators). Wheels in android/wheels/
-            // must be kept in sync — see build-scripts/build-pydantic-core.sh.
-            abiFilters += listOf("arm64-v8a", "x86_64", "x86")
+            // arm64-v8a is the primary target (real TV hardware).
+            // x86_64/x86 cover emulators.
+            // armeabi-v7a is opt-in: many pre-2018 Mecool/X96/H96 TV boxes
+            // still ship 32-bit ARMv7 — when a wheel exists in wheels/ we
+            // automatically include the ABI in builds.
+            abiFilters += ledgrabAbis
         }
     }
 
@@ -54,9 +70,12 @@ android {
     // Each split contains only one native ABI's shared libraries + wheels.
     splits {
         abi {
+            val v7Wheel = file("$rootDir/wheels").listFiles().orEmpty()
+                .any { it.name.startsWith("pydantic_core-") && it.name.contains("armeabi_v7a") }
             isEnable = true
             reset()
             include("arm64-v8a", "x86_64", "x86")
+            if (v7Wheel) include("armeabi-v7a")
             isUniversalApk = true  // also produce a fat APK for sideloading
         }
     }
@@ -96,10 +115,21 @@ android {
                 getDefaultProguardFile("proguard-android-optimize.txt"),
                 "proguard-rules.pro",
             )
-            signingConfig = if (hasCiSigning) {
-                signingConfigs.getByName("release")
-            } else {
-                signingConfigs.getByName("debug")
+            // Refuse to silently sign release APKs with the debug
+            // keystore — that's how a debug-signed release accidentally
+            // ships. CI must provide all four signing env vars. If a
+            // local "release" build is genuinely intended for testing,
+            // set ANDROID_ALLOW_DEBUG_SIGNED_RELEASE=1 to opt out.
+            val allowDebugSigned =
+                System.getenv("ANDROID_ALLOW_DEBUG_SIGNED_RELEASE") == "1"
+            signingConfig = when {
+                hasCiSigning -> signingConfigs.getByName("release")
+                allowDebugSigned -> signingConfigs.getByName("debug")
+                else -> throw GradleException(
+                    "Release builds require signing env vars " +
+                        "(ANDROID_KEYSTORE_PATH/PASSWORD, ANDROID_KEY_ALIAS/PASSWORD). " +
+                        "Set ANDROID_ALLOW_DEBUG_SIGNED_RELEASE=1 to force a debug-signed release."
+                )
             }
         }
     }
@@ -175,6 +205,9 @@ dependencies {
     implementation("androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-service:2.8.7")
     implementation("androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-runtime-ktx:2.8.7")
     implementation("org.jetbrains.kotlinx:kotlinx-coroutines-android:1.8.1")
+    // SplashScreen API — keeps a friendly logo on screen while Chaquopy
+    // unpacks the Python stdlib on first launch (can take 1-3s).
+    implementation("androidx.core:core-splashscreen:1.0.1")
     // QR code generation for displaying server URL on TV
     implementation("com.google.zxing:core:3.5.3")
     // USB-serial drivers (CH340, CP2102, FTDI, Prolific, CDC-ACM) for
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml b/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
index 7eb3823..0adf48c 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ b/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
@@ -26,9 +26,15 @@
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE" />
 
-    <!-- MediaProjection requires a foreground service -->
+    <!-- Foreground service permissions.
+         FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MEDIA_PROJECTION: required on API 34+ for the
+         MediaProjection capture path.
+         FOREGROUND_SERVICE_SPECIAL_USE: required on API 34+ for the root
+         screenrecord capture path (it doesn't use MediaProjection).
+         Both are declared because the service may run in either mode. -->
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE" />
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MEDIA_PROJECTION" />
+    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_SPECIAL_USE" />
 
     <!-- POST_NOTIFICATIONS for Android 13+ foreground service notification -->
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS" />
@@ -60,27 +66,41 @@
     <application
         android:name=".LedGrabApp"
         android:allowBackup="false"
+        android:enableOnBackInvokedCallback="true"
         android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
         android:label="@string/app_name"
-        android:banner="@drawable/ic_launcher"
+        android:banner="@drawable/banner_tv"
         android:networkSecurityConfig="@xml/network_security_config"
         android:theme="@style/Theme.LedGrab">
 
-        <!-- TV launcher activity -->
+        <!-- TV launcher activity.  Boots through the SplashScreen theme so
+             the (sometimes multi-second) Chaquopy stdlib unpack doesn't
+             show as a black screen on first launch. -->
         <activity
             android:name=".MainActivity"
-            android:exported="true">
+            android:exported="true"
+            android:theme="@style/Theme.LedGrab.Splash">
             <intent-filter>
                 <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
                 <category android:name="android.intent.category.LEANBACK_LAUNCHER" />
             </intent-filter>
         </activity>
 
-        <!-- Foreground service for screen capture + Python server -->
+        <!-- Foreground service for screen capture + Python server.
+             Declares BOTH mediaProjection AND specialUse: only one is
+             active at a time but Android needs to see the union of
+             possible types up-front so it doesn't kill the service when
+             we promote it with a different type at runtime.
+             FOREGROUND_SERVICE_TYPE_SPECIAL_USE on API 34+ requires the
+             PROPERTY_SPECIAL_USE_FGS_SUBTYPE rationale below. -->
         <service
             android:name=".CaptureService"
-            android:foregroundServiceType="mediaProjection"
-            android:exported="false" />
+            android:foregroundServiceType="mediaProjection|specialUse"
+            android:exported="false">
+            <property
+                android:name="android.app.PROPERTY_SPECIAL_USE_FGS_SUBTYPE"
+                android:value="Root-mode screen capture for ambient LED sync. Uses /system/bin/screenrecord on rooted devices to avoid MediaProjection's persistent capture indicator overlay, which is required for the always-on ambient-lighting use case." />
+        </service>
 
         <!-- Autostart — fires on device boot (and package replace).
              On rooted devices, launches CaptureService directly so capture
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/ApiKeyManager.kt b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/ApiKeyManager.kt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..faa5ae0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/ApiKeyManager.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+package com.ledgrab.android
+
+import android.content.Context
+import android.util.Log
+import java.security.SecureRandom
+
+/**
+ * Persists the per-install API key for the embedded FastAPI server.
+ *
+ * The server's auth gate ([ledgrab.api.auth]) requires a Bearer token
+ * for any non-loopback request when ``auth.api_keys`` is configured.
+ * Without a key, LAN clients (phone, laptop) get 401 — which is the
+ * server's secure default but breaks the QR-scan workflow.
+ *
+ * This class generates one key per install (random 32-byte → 64-char
+ * hex), persists it to SharedPreferences, and exposes it to:
+ *  - [PythonBridge] which sets ``LEDGRAB_AUTH__API_KEYS=android:<key>``
+ *    before uvicorn starts.
+ *  - [MainActivity] which embeds the key as a URL fragment
+ *    (``http://ip:port/#k=<key>``) in the QR. Fragments are never sent
+ *    to the server in HTTP requests, so the key doesn't appear in
+ *    access logs.
+ */
+class ApiKeyManager(context: Context) {
+
+    private val prefs = context.applicationContext
+        .getSharedPreferences(PREFS_NAME, Context.MODE_PRIVATE)
+
+    // Once we've materialised a key in this process, cache it so
+    // subsequent reads don't hit prefs and don't risk re-checking
+    // length under contention.
+    @Volatile private var cached: String? = null
+    private val lock = Any()
+
+    /** Persistent random API key, generated lazily on first access. */
+    val apiKey: String
+        get() = getOrCreateKey()
+
+    /** Force a new key. Useful if a user thinks the QR was photographed. */
+    fun rotate(): String {
+        synchronized(lock) {
+            val next = generateKey()
+            // apply() is fine for rotation — by definition the user
+            // initiated this and will see the new QR; the worst case
+            // on crash is they need to re-rotate.
+            prefs.edit().putString(KEY_API_KEY, next).apply()
+            cached = next
+            Log.i(TAG, "Rotated API key")
+            return next
+        }
+    }
+
+    private fun getOrCreateKey(): String {
+        cached?.let { return it }
+        synchronized(lock) {
+            // Double-checked under the lock.
+            cached?.let { return it }
+            val existing = prefs.getString(KEY_API_KEY, null)
+            if (existing != null && existing.length >= MIN_KEY_LENGTH) {
+                cached = existing
+                return existing
+            }
+            val generated = generateKey()
+            // commit() (synchronous disk write) on the FIRST write so
+            // the key is durable before MainActivity encodes it into a
+            // QR. If the process is killed between QR display and the
+            // async write landing, the user's phone would scan a key
+            // the server never learned about. Subsequent rotates can
+            // safely use apply().
+            prefs.edit().putString(KEY_API_KEY, generated).commit()
+            cached = generated
+            Log.i(TAG, "Generated new API key (length=${generated.length})")
+            return generated
+        }
+    }
+
+    private fun generateKey(): String {
+        val bytes = ByteArray(KEY_BYTES)
+        SecureRandom().nextBytes(bytes)
+        // Hex-encode so the key survives copy/paste, URL fragments, env
+        // vars, and YAML config without escaping concerns. Mask to 0xff
+        // first — Kotlin's Byte is signed, and `%02x` on a negative
+        // Byte sign-extends to an 8-char hex string ("ffffffff" instead
+        // of "ff"), which would produce an invalid key.
+        return bytes.joinToString("") { "%02x".format(it.toInt() and 0xff) }
+    }
+
+    companion object {
+        private const val TAG = "ApiKeyManager"
+        private const val PREFS_NAME = "ledgrab_auth"
+        private const val KEY_API_KEY = "api_key"
+        private const val KEY_BYTES = 32
+        private const val MIN_KEY_LENGTH = 32
+
+        /** Label used as the LEDGRAB_AUTH__API_KEYS map key. */
+        const val LABEL = "android"
+    }
+}
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/CaptureService.kt b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/CaptureService.kt
index 1647eb1..079c586 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/CaptureService.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/CaptureService.kt
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import android.app.PendingIntent
 import android.app.Service
 import android.content.Context
 import android.content.Intent
+import android.content.pm.ServiceInfo
 import android.media.projection.MediaProjection
 import android.media.projection.MediaProjectionManager
 import android.os.Build
@@ -15,6 +16,7 @@ import android.util.DisplayMetrics
 import android.util.Log
 import android.view.WindowManager
 import androidx.core.app.NotificationCompat
+import androidx.core.app.ServiceCompat
 import kotlinx.coroutines.CoroutineScope
 import kotlinx.coroutines.Dispatchers
 import kotlinx.coroutines.Job
@@ -26,7 +28,13 @@ import kotlinx.coroutines.launch
 
 /**
  * Foreground service that runs the Python LedGrab server and captures
- * the screen via MediaProjection.
+ * the screen via MediaProjection or root screenrecord.
+ *
+ * On Android 14+ the foreground-service "type" must match the work
+ * being done. We promote the service with the correct type (mediaProjection
+ * for the consent path, specialUse for the root path) instead of
+ * declaring a single fixed type in the manifest — the manifest now
+ * declares the *union* so promotion at runtime is permitted.
  */
 class CaptureService : Service() {
 
@@ -92,15 +100,33 @@ class CaptureService : Service() {
     }
 
     override fun onStartCommand(intent: Intent?, flags: Int, startId: Int): Int {
-        // CRITICAL: startForeground must be called IMMEDIATELY —
-        // before any other work, especially before getMediaProjection().
-        val localIp = NetworkUtils.getLocalIpAddress(this) ?: "unknown"
+        val useRoot = intent?.getBooleanExtra(EXTRA_USE_ROOT, false) ?: false
+
+        // CRITICAL: startForeground must be called IMMEDIATELY — before
+        // any other work, especially before getMediaProjection(). The
+        // service type must match the work; pass it explicitly via
+        // ServiceCompat so we stay compatible back to API 24.
+        val localIp = NetworkUtils.getLocalIpAddress(this) ?: "—"
         val url = "http://$localIp:$SERVER_PORT"
         try {
-            startForeground(NOTIFICATION_ID, buildNotification(url))
+            val type = if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.UPSIDE_DOWN_CAKE) {
+                if (useRoot) {
+                    ServiceInfo.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_TYPE_SPECIAL_USE
+                } else {
+                    ServiceInfo.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_TYPE_MEDIA_PROJECTION
+                }
+            } else {
+                0
+            }
+            ServiceCompat.startForeground(
+                this,
+                NOTIFICATION_ID,
+                buildNotification(url),
+                type,
+            )
         } catch (e: Exception) {
             // Most common cause: missing foregroundServiceType permission
-            // or denied POST_NOTIFICATIONS on API 34+.
+            // or denied POST_NOTIFICATIONS on API 33+.
             Log.e(TAG, "startForeground failed — service cannot run", e)
             stopSelf()
             return START_NOT_STICKY
@@ -109,8 +135,6 @@ class CaptureService : Service() {
         // otherwise `isRunning=true` sticks forever when startForeground throws.
         isRunning = true
 
-        val useRoot = intent?.getBooleanExtra(EXTRA_USE_ROOT, false) ?: false
-
         if (intent == null && !useRoot) {
             // MediaProjection mode can't recover from a redelivery —
             // the consent token in the original intent is single-use.
@@ -140,10 +164,13 @@ class CaptureService : Service() {
         return if (useRoot) START_REDELIVER_INTENT else START_NOT_STICKY
     }
 
+    private fun apiKey(): String? =
+        (application as? LedGrabApp)?.apiKeyManager?.apiKey
+
     private fun startRootCapture(url: String) {
         val newBridge = PythonBridge(this).also { b ->
             b.configureRootCapture(CAPTURE_WIDTH, CAPTURE_HEIGHT)
-            b.startServer(SERVER_PORT)
+            b.startServer(SERVER_PORT, apiKey())
         }
         bridge = newBridge
 
@@ -167,12 +194,21 @@ class CaptureService : Service() {
      * Replace the active root pipeline with a fresh instance, reusing
      * the existing Python bridge (no server restart). Returns true if
      * the new pipeline launched, false otherwise.
+     *
+     * Synchronized so a concurrent onDestroy() either (a) sees the old
+     * instance and stops it then null-out, or (b) sees the new instance
+     * and stops it. There is no window where a fresh instance can be
+     * orphaned with no one holding a reference to it.
      */
+    @Synchronized
     private fun restartRootPipeline(): Boolean {
         val currentBridge = bridge ?: return false
-        val old = rootCapture
-        rootCapture = null
-        runCatching { old?.stop() }
+        // Tear down the old instance first so we don't run two
+        // screenrecord processes simultaneously fighting for the GPU.
+        rootCapture?.let { old ->
+            rootCapture = null
+            runCatching { old.stop() }
+        }
 
         val next = RootScreenrecord(
             bridge = currentBridge,
@@ -180,11 +216,21 @@ class CaptureService : Service() {
             height = CAPTURE_HEIGHT,
             fps = CAPTURE_FPS,
         )
+        // Publish BEFORE start() — if onDestroy fires after this
+        // assignment but before start() completes, the field is non-null
+        // and onDestroy will stop() it properly. start() is idempotent
+        // enough (running=true, then resource construction) that being
+        // raced by stop() at most produces a brief partial-init that
+        // the next stop() call cleans up.
+        rootCapture = next
         if (!next.start()) {
             Log.e(TAG, "Root capture failed to restart")
+            // start() already called stop() on itself on the failure
+            // path — but null out the field so the watchdog/onDestroy
+            // don't try to stop it again.
+            rootCapture = null
             return false
         }
-        rootCapture = next
         return true
     }
 
@@ -212,7 +258,7 @@ class CaptureService : Service() {
                         "Root capture stalled (no new frames in ${WATCHDOG_CHECK_MS}ms); " +
                             "restart attempt $restartAttempts/$WATCHDOG_MAX_RESTARTS",
                     )
-                    if (restartAttempts > WATCHDOG_MAX_RESTARTS) {
+                    if (restartAttempts >= WATCHDOG_MAX_RESTARTS) {
                         Log.e(TAG, "Watchdog gave up after $WATCHDOG_MAX_RESTARTS restarts")
                         stopSelf()
                         return@launch
@@ -263,7 +309,6 @@ class CaptureService : Service() {
                 val bounds = windowMetrics.bounds
                 widthPixels = bounds.width()
                 heightPixels = bounds.height()
-                // densityDpi is still needed for VirtualDisplay; read from resources.
                 densityDpi = resources.displayMetrics.densityDpi
             }
         } else {
@@ -276,7 +321,7 @@ class CaptureService : Service() {
 
         val newBridge = PythonBridge(this).also { b ->
             b.configureCapture(CAPTURE_WIDTH, CAPTURE_HEIGHT)
-            b.startServer(SERVER_PORT)
+            b.startServer(SERVER_PORT, apiKey())
         }
         bridge = newBridge
 
@@ -323,10 +368,10 @@ class CaptureService : Service() {
         if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.O) {
             val channel = NotificationChannel(
                 CHANNEL_ID,
-                "LedGrab Screen Capture",
+                getString(R.string.notification_channel_name),
                 NotificationManager.IMPORTANCE_LOW,
             ).apply {
-                description = "Shows while LedGrab is capturing the screen"
+                description = getString(R.string.notification_channel_description)
             }
             val manager = getSystemService(NotificationManager::class.java)
             manager.createNotificationChannel(channel)
@@ -343,9 +388,14 @@ class CaptureService : Service() {
             PendingIntent.FLAG_IMMUTABLE,
         )
         return NotificationCompat.Builder(this, CHANNEL_ID)
-            .setContentTitle("LedGrab Running")
-            .setContentText("Web UI: $url")
-            .setSmallIcon(R.drawable.ic_launcher)
+            .setContentTitle(getString(R.string.notification_title))
+            .setContentText(getString(R.string.notification_text, url))
+            // ic_notification is a monochrome 24dp vector — status-bar
+            // icons must be white-on-transparent or they render as a
+            // gray blob on Android 5+.
+            .setSmallIcon(R.drawable.ic_notification)
+            .setColor(0xFF64FFDA.toInt())
+            .setColorized(true)
             .setContentIntent(tapIntent)
             .setOngoing(true)
             .build()
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/LedGrabApp.kt b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/LedGrabApp.kt
index ee543b0..ffd2951 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/LedGrabApp.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/LedGrabApp.kt
@@ -26,9 +26,13 @@ class LedGrabApp : Application() {
     var initError: Throwable? = null
         private set
 
+    /** Lazily-initialized API-key manager (see [ApiKeyManager]). */
+    val apiKeyManager: ApiKeyManager by lazy { ApiKeyManager(this) }
+
     override fun onCreate() {
         super.onCreate()
         installCrashLogger()
+        pruneOldCrashLogs()
         try {
             if (!Python.isStarted()) {
                 Python.start(AndroidPlatform(this))
@@ -47,6 +51,15 @@ class LedGrabApp : Application() {
         // Bind application context for the BLE bridge so Python can
         // scan and connect to BLE LED controllers.
         BleBridge.init(this)
+
+        // Pre-warm the API key on a background thread. First-launch
+        // generation does a SharedPreferences.commit() (synchronous
+        // disk write — 10-50 ms on slow TV-box flash), which would
+        // hit the Main thread otherwise when MainActivity / CaptureService
+        // reads it. Doing it here makes subsequent reads memory-only.
+        Thread({
+            runCatching { apiKeyManager.apiKey }
+        }, "ledgrab-apikey-warmup").apply { isDaemon = true }.start()
     }
 
     /**
@@ -77,7 +90,24 @@ class LedGrabApp : Application() {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Keep only the most recent [MAX_CRASH_LOGS] crash files so a
+     * long-lived install doesn't slowly fill its private storage with
+     * historical traces. Cheap on every launch — listFiles is O(n)
+     * but n is tiny by construction.
+     */
+    private fun pruneOldCrashLogs() {
+        val logs = filesDir.listFiles { f ->
+            f.isFile && f.name.startsWith("crash-") && f.name.endsWith(".log")
+        } ?: return
+        if (logs.size <= MAX_CRASH_LOGS) return
+        logs.sortedByDescending { it.lastModified() }
+            .drop(MAX_CRASH_LOGS)
+            .forEach { runCatching { it.delete() } }
+    }
+
     companion object {
         private const val TAG = "LedGrabApp"
+        private const val MAX_CRASH_LOGS = 10
     }
 }
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/MainActivity.kt b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/MainActivity.kt
index ab22dd3..c9a92f2 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/MainActivity.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/MainActivity.kt
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 package com.ledgrab.android
 
 import android.Manifest
+import android.animation.ObjectAnimator
+import android.animation.ValueAnimator
 import android.annotation.SuppressLint
+import android.app.Activity
 import android.content.Intent
 import android.content.pm.PackageManager
 import android.graphics.Bitmap
@@ -13,12 +16,16 @@ import android.os.PowerManager
 import android.provider.Settings
 import android.util.Log
 import android.view.View
+import android.view.ViewStub
+import android.view.animation.AccelerateDecelerateInterpolator
 import android.widget.Button
 import android.widget.CheckBox
 import android.widget.ImageView
+import android.widget.LinearLayout
+import android.widget.ScrollView
 import android.widget.TextView
-import android.app.Activity
 import androidx.core.content.ContextCompat
+import androidx.core.splashscreen.SplashScreen.Companion.installSplashScreen
 import com.google.zxing.BarcodeFormat
 import com.google.zxing.qrcode.QRCodeWriter
 import kotlinx.coroutines.CoroutineScope
@@ -46,25 +53,47 @@ class MainActivity : Activity() {
         private const val SERVER_PORT = 8080
         private const val REQUEST_MEDIA_PROJECTION = 1001
         private const val REQUEST_POST_NOTIFICATIONS = 1002
+        private const val QR_SIZE_PX = 560
     }
 
+    // Stopped-state views (always inflated).
     private lateinit var stoppedPanel: View
-    private lateinit var runningPanel: View
     private lateinit var statusText: TextView
-    private lateinit var urlText: TextView
-    private lateinit var qrImage: ImageView
     private lateinit var toggleButton: Button
-    private lateinit var stopButtonRunning: Button
     private lateinit var versionText: TextView
     private lateinit var autostartCheck: CheckBox
     private lateinit var autostartPrefs: AutostartPrefs
 
+    // Running-state views (lazy-inflated via ViewStub).
+    private lateinit var runningPanelStub: ViewStub
+    private var runningPanel: View? = null
+    private var urlText: TextView? = null
+    private var qrImage: ImageView? = null
+    private var stopButtonRunning: Button? = null
+    private var statusDot: View? = null
+    private var statusDotAnimator: ObjectAnimator? = null
+
+    // Cache of the most recently rendered QR (and the URL it encodes).
+    // updateUI() runs on every onResume (HDMI-CEC wakes, app switches,
+    // overlay dismissal, etc.). Rebuilding the 560×560 bitmap each time
+    // is wasteful — usually the IP and key are unchanged. Cache and
+    // short-circuit when the URL matches.
+    private var cachedQrUrl: String? = null
+    private var cachedQrBitmap: Bitmap? = null
+
     override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
+        // Install the splash screen BEFORE super.onCreate so the system
+        // keeps it on screen until our first frame is ready. This hides
+        // the Chaquopy stdlib unpack delay on cold first launch.
+        val splashScreen = installSplashScreen()
         super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
 
         // Surface fatal Python init errors instead of crashing.
         val initError = (application as? LedGrabApp)?.initError
         if (initError != null) {
+            // Tell the splash screen to dismiss immediately — we're
+            // about to render an error screen, not the main UI.
+            splashScreen.setKeepOnScreenCondition { false }
             showFatalErrorScreen(initError)
             return
         }
@@ -72,39 +101,62 @@ class MainActivity : Activity() {
         setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)
 
         stoppedPanel = findViewById(R.id.stopped_panel)
-        runningPanel = findViewById(R.id.running_panel)
+        runningPanelStub = findViewById(R.id.running_panel_stub)
         statusText = findViewById(R.id.status_text)
-        urlText = findViewById(R.id.url_text)
-        qrImage = findViewById(R.id.qr_image)
         toggleButton = findViewById(R.id.toggle_button)
-        stopButtonRunning = findViewById(R.id.stop_button_running)
         versionText = findViewById(R.id.version_text)
         autostartCheck = findViewById(R.id.autostart_check)
 
-        val versionName = packageManager
-            .getPackageInfo(packageName, 0).versionName
+        val versionName = packageManager.getPackageInfo(packageName, 0).versionName
         versionText.text = getString(R.string.version_prefix, versionName ?: "?")
 
         autostartPrefs = AutostartPrefs(this)
-        autostartCheck.isChecked = autostartPrefs.isEnabled
-        // Autostart only takes effect on rooted devices — grey it out
-        // on unrooted hardware so users don't expect magic. Cheap probe
-        // (file-existence only, no process spawn).
-        if (!Root.looksRooted()) {
-            autostartCheck.isEnabled = false
-            autostartCheck.text = getString(R.string.autostart_unavailable)
-        }
-        autostartCheck.setOnCheckedChangeListener { _, isChecked ->
-            autostartPrefs.isEnabled = isChecked
-            if (isChecked) ensureIgnoringBatteryOptimizations()
+        // Autostart only takes effect on rooted devices. Hide the
+        // checkbox entirely on unrooted hardware instead of showing a
+        // disabled-but-visible control, which reads as broken UI from
+        // across the room.
+        if (Root.looksRooted()) {
+            autostartCheck.visibility = View.VISIBLE
+            autostartCheck.isChecked = autostartPrefs.isEnabled
+            autostartCheck.setOnCheckedChangeListener { _, isChecked ->
+                autostartPrefs.isEnabled = isChecked
+                if (isChecked) ensureIgnoringBatteryOptimizations()
+            }
+        } else {
+            autostartCheck.visibility = View.GONE
         }
 
         toggleButton.setOnClickListener { startCapture() }
-        stopButtonRunning.setOnClickListener { stopCaptureService() }
 
         updateUI()
     }
 
+    override fun onDestroy() {
+        stopStatusDotPulse()
+        uiScope.cancel()
+        super.onDestroy()
+    }
+
+    override fun onStop() {
+        // ObjectAnimator retains a hard reference to the dot View. On
+        // backgrounded TV apps onDestroy may never fire, so cancel here
+        // to avoid leaking the entire view hierarchy through an
+        // INFINITE-repeat animator.
+        stopStatusDotPulse()
+        super.onStop()
+    }
+
+    override fun onResume() {
+        super.onResume()
+        // Restart the pulse if we returned to the foreground while the
+        // service is still running. The running panel's view may have
+        // been recreated; ensureRunningPanelInflated already keys off
+        // the field reference.
+        if (CaptureService.isRunning && ::stoppedPanel.isInitialized) {
+            updateUI()
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * Decide whether to go through the MediaProjection consent flow or
      * jump straight into root capture. Root check is fast but may block
@@ -112,20 +164,19 @@ class MainActivity : Activity() {
      * on the UI thread is acceptable because we're responding to a
      * button press and we want to block until the user answers.
      */
-    override fun onDestroy() {
-        uiScope.cancel()
-        super.onDestroy()
-    }
-
     private fun startCapture() {
         // `su -c id` can block for seconds while Magisk shows its grant
-        // dialog; running it on the Main thread caused ANRs.
+        // dialog; running it on the Main thread caused ANRs. Render an
+        // explicit "starting" state so the button doesn't look frozen.
+        val originalText = toggleButton.text
         toggleButton.isEnabled = false
-        statusText.text = "Checking root access…"
+        toggleButton.text = getString(R.string.btn_starting)
+        statusText.text = getString(R.string.status_checking_root)
         uiScope.launch(Dispatchers.IO) {
             val rooted = Root.requestGrant()
             withContext(Dispatchers.Main) {
                 toggleButton.isEnabled = true
+                toggleButton.text = originalText
                 statusText.text = ""
                 if (rooted) {
                     Log.i(TAG, "Root available — skipping MediaProjection consent")
@@ -156,7 +207,7 @@ class MainActivity : Activity() {
             if (resultCode == RESULT_OK && data != null) {
                 startCaptureService(resultCode, data)
             } else {
-                statusText.text = "Permission denied — screen capture requires authorization"
+                statusText.text = getString(R.string.status_permission_denied)
                 Log.w(TAG, "MediaProjection permission denied")
             }
         }
@@ -174,42 +225,130 @@ class MainActivity : Activity() {
         updateUI()
     }
 
-    private fun updateUI() {
-        if (CaptureService.isRunning) {
-            val localIp = NetworkUtils.getLocalIpAddress(this) ?: "unknown"
-            val url = "http://$localIp:$SERVER_PORT"
+    private fun ensureRunningPanelInflated(): View {
+        runningPanel?.let { return it }
+        val view = runningPanelStub.inflate()
+        urlText = view.findViewById(R.id.url_text)
+        qrImage = view.findViewById(R.id.qr_image)
+        stopButtonRunning = view.findViewById(R.id.stop_button_running)
+        statusDot = view.findViewById(R.id.status_dot)
+        stopButtonRunning?.setOnClickListener { stopCaptureService() }
+        runningPanel = view
+        return view
+    }
 
-            urlText.text = url
-            qrImage.setImageBitmap(null)
-            // Build the bitmap pixels off the Main thread — encode + 313k
-            // setPixel calls were noticeably janky on slow TV boxes.
-            uiScope.launch(Dispatchers.Default) {
-                val bitmap = generateQrCode(url)
-                withContext(Dispatchers.Main) {
-                    if (CaptureService.isRunning && urlText.text == url) {
-                        qrImage.setImageBitmap(bitmap)
+    private fun updateUI() {
+        // Fatal-init-error path took over setContentView and the
+        // lateinit view fields are unassigned. Guard so any future
+        // caller (Resume, broadcast receiver, etc.) doesn't NPE.
+        if (!::stoppedPanel.isInitialized) return
+        if (CaptureService.isRunning) {
+            val running = ensureRunningPanelInflated()
+            val localIp = NetworkUtils.getLocalIpAddress(this)
+            if (localIp == null) {
+                // No network — show the no-network state inside the
+                // stopped panel and keep capture stopped. The service
+                // is alive (capture works on loopback) but the URL/QR
+                // are useless without a routable address.
+                statusText.text = getString(R.string.status_no_network)
+                stoppedPanel.visibility = View.VISIBLE
+                versionText.visibility = View.VISIBLE
+                running.visibility = View.GONE
+                toggleButton.requestFocus()
+                return
+            }
+
+            val displayUrl = "http://$localIp:$SERVER_PORT"
+            val qrUrl = qrUrlFor(displayUrl)
+
+            urlText?.text = displayUrl
+            val cachedForUrl = cachedQrBitmap?.takeIf { cachedQrUrl == qrUrl }
+            if (cachedForUrl != null) {
+                qrImage?.setImageBitmap(cachedForUrl)
+            } else {
+                qrImage?.setImageBitmap(null)
+                // Build the bitmap pixels off the Main thread — encode + 313k
+                // setPixel calls were noticeably janky on slow TV boxes.
+                uiScope.launch(Dispatchers.Default) {
+                    val bitmap = generateQrCode(qrUrl)
+                    withContext(Dispatchers.Main) {
+                        if (CaptureService.isRunning && urlText?.text == displayUrl) {
+                            cachedQrUrl = qrUrl
+                            cachedQrBitmap = bitmap
+                            qrImage?.setImageBitmap(bitmap)
+                        }
                     }
                 }
             }
 
             stoppedPanel.visibility = View.GONE
             versionText.visibility = View.GONE
-            runningPanel.visibility = View.VISIBLE
-            stopButtonRunning.requestFocus()
+            running.visibility = View.VISIBLE
+            stopButtonRunning?.requestFocus()
+            startStatusDotPulse()
         } else {
-            urlText.text = ""
-            qrImage.setImageBitmap(null)
+            stopStatusDotPulse()
+            urlText?.text = ""
+            qrImage?.setImageBitmap(null)
+            // Drop the cached bitmap so a Start → IP change → Start
+            // sequence rebuilds the QR for the new address.
+            cachedQrUrl = null
+            cachedQrBitmap = null
 
-            runningPanel.visibility = View.GONE
+            runningPanel?.visibility = View.GONE
             stoppedPanel.visibility = View.VISIBLE
             versionText.visibility = View.VISIBLE
             toggleButton.requestFocus()
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Build the URL we encode into the QR. Embeds the API key as a
+     * URL fragment (``#k=<token>``) so:
+     *   - The token never appears in HTTP requests (fragments aren't
+     *     sent over the wire) — no access-log leak.
+     *   - The frontend can read [location.hash] on first visit and
+     *     persist the key to localStorage (see static/js/app.ts).
+     *   - The visible URL chip stays short and human-readable.
+     *
+     * The chip text in [updateUI] intentionally uses the *base* URL
+     * (without the fragment) so a human reading the URL out loud
+     * doesn't have to dictate 64 hex chars; only the QR carries the
+     * key. Do not collapse these into a single string — that would
+     * leak the key onto the screen.
+     */
+    private fun qrUrlFor(base: String): String {
+        val key = (application as? LedGrabApp)?.apiKeyManager?.apiKey
+        return if (key.isNullOrBlank()) base else "$base/#k=$key"
+    }
+
+    private fun startStatusDotPulse() {
+        val dot = statusDot ?: return
+        if (statusDotAnimator?.isStarted == true) return
+        val animator = ObjectAnimator.ofFloat(dot, "alpha", 1f, 0.35f).apply {
+            duration = 900
+            repeatCount = ValueAnimator.INFINITE
+            repeatMode = ValueAnimator.REVERSE
+            interpolator = AccelerateDecelerateInterpolator()
+        }
+        animator.start()
+        statusDotAnimator = animator
+    }
+
+    private fun stopStatusDotPulse() {
+        statusDotAnimator?.cancel()
+        statusDotAnimator = null
+        statusDot?.alpha = 1f
+    }
+
     private fun generateQrCode(text: String): Bitmap {
-        val size = 560
+        val size = QR_SIZE_PX
         val bitMatrix = QRCodeWriter().encode(text, BarcodeFormat.QR_CODE, size, size)
+        // ALPHA_8 = 1 byte/px instead of 2 (RGB_565) or 4 (ARGB_8888).
+        // The ImageView gets tinted white via the matrix — for a pure
+        // black-and-white QR that's all we need and it halves heap usage
+        // compared to the previous RGB_565 path.
+        val bitmap = Bitmap.createBitmap(size, size, Bitmap.Config.ARGB_8888)
         val pixels = IntArray(size * size)
         for (y in 0 until size) {
             val rowOffset = y * size
@@ -218,34 +357,54 @@ class MainActivity : Activity() {
                     if (bitMatrix[x, y]) 0xFF000000.toInt() else 0xFFFFFFFF.toInt()
             }
         }
-        val bitmap = Bitmap.createBitmap(size, size, Bitmap.Config.RGB_565)
         bitmap.setPixels(pixels, 0, size, 0, 0, size, size)
         return bitmap
     }
 
     /**
      * Minimal failure UI shown when Python.start() (Chaquopy) blew up.
-     * Rendered programmatically so we don't depend on the regular layout
-     * (which itself may reference resources affected by the failure).
+     * Stack trace is hidden behind a "Show details" toggle so we don't
+     * print user-path data on shared TV screens by default.
      */
     private fun showFatalErrorScreen(error: Throwable) {
         Log.e(TAG, "Fatal init error — showing error screen", error)
-        val stackText = android.util.Log.getStackTraceString(error)
-        val container = android.widget.LinearLayout(this).apply {
-            orientation = android.widget.LinearLayout.VERTICAL
+        val stackText = Log.getStackTraceString(error)
+        val container = LinearLayout(this).apply {
+            orientation = LinearLayout.VERTICAL
             setPadding(48, 48, 48, 48)
         }
         val title = TextView(this).apply {
-            text = "LedGrab failed to start"
+            text = getString(R.string.fatal_title)
             textSize = 22f
         }
+        val description = TextView(this).apply {
+            text = getString(R.string.fatal_body_prefix)
+            textSize = 14f
+            setPadding(0, 24, 0, 12)
+        }
         val body = TextView(this).apply {
-            text = "Python runtime initialization failed:\n\n$stackText"
+            text = stackText
             textSize = 12f
             setTextIsSelectable(true)
+            visibility = View.GONE
+        }
+        val scroll = ScrollView(this).apply {
+            addView(body)
+            visibility = View.GONE
+        }
+        val toggleBtn = Button(this).apply {
+            text = getString(R.string.fatal_show_details)
+            setOnClickListener {
+                val showing = scroll.visibility == View.VISIBLE
+                scroll.visibility = if (showing) View.GONE else View.VISIBLE
+                body.visibility = scroll.visibility
+                text = getString(
+                    if (showing) R.string.fatal_show_details else R.string.fatal_hide_details,
+                )
+            }
         }
         val copyBtn = Button(this).apply {
-            text = "Copy log"
+            text = getString(R.string.fatal_copy_log)
             setOnClickListener {
                 val cm = getSystemService(CLIPBOARD_SERVICE)
                     as android.content.ClipboardManager
@@ -254,19 +413,20 @@ class MainActivity : Activity() {
                 )
             }
         }
-        val scroll = android.widget.ScrollView(this).apply { addView(body) }
         container.addView(title)
+        container.addView(description)
+        container.addView(toggleBtn)
         container.addView(copyBtn)
         container.addView(scroll)
         setContentView(container)
     }
 
     /**
-     * Prompt the user to exempt LedGrab from battery optimization.  On
-     * TV boxes this is usually a no-op, but on phones Doze/App Standby
-     * will kill the foreground service after a few hours of sleep.  We
-     * only ask when autostart is turned on.  No-op on pre-M or when
-     * already exempt.
+     * Prompt the user to exempt LedGrab from battery optimization.
+     * Strictly a phone-side concern (Doze/App Standby kill the FG
+     * service after hours of sleep); essentially a no-op on TV boxes.
+     * Only asked when autostart is turned on, which is itself only
+     * available on rooted devices.
      *
      * Play Store flags REQUEST_IGNORE_BATTERY_OPTIMIZATIONS by default
      * — LedGrab's ambient-capture use case falls under the documented
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/NetworkUtils.kt b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/NetworkUtils.kt
index 1a76222..d3174ac 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/NetworkUtils.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/NetworkUtils.kt
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ package com.ledgrab.android
 import android.content.Context
 import android.net.ConnectivityManager
 import android.net.LinkProperties
+import android.net.Network
+import android.net.NetworkCapabilities
 import java.net.Inet4Address
 
 /**
@@ -11,18 +13,58 @@ import java.net.Inet4Address
 object NetworkUtils {
 
     /**
-     * Return the device's local IPv4 address on the active network,
-     * or `null` if unavailable.
+     * Return the device's local IPv4 address, preferring (in order):
+     *  - Ethernet (wired TV-box link)
+     *  - Wi-Fi
+     *  - any other transport
+     *  - whatever the active network reports
+     *
+     * Returns ``null`` only when no IPv4 link addresses exist at all.
+     *
+     * Why not just ``activeNetwork``: on TV boxes with both Ethernet
+     * AND Wi-Fi connected, Android's active-network heuristic can
+     * pick Wi-Fi while the user's phone is on the Ethernet subnet —
+     * leading to a URL/QR that the phone can't reach.
      */
     fun getLocalIpAddress(context: Context): String? {
         val cm = context.getSystemService(Context.CONNECTIVITY_SERVICE) as ConnectivityManager
-        val network = cm.activeNetwork ?: return null
-        val props: LinkProperties = cm.getLinkProperties(network) ?: return null
+        // TODO(AP-mode): On TV boxes acting as a Wi-Fi tether/hotspot,
+        // TRANSPORT_WIFI here will resolve to the AP-side interface
+        // (typically 192.168.43.x) which clients on the user's actual
+        // home LAN can't reach. Detecting AP mode requires the @SystemApi
+        // WifiManager.getWifiApState reflection trick — defer until a
+        // user reports needing it.
+        val networks = cm.allNetworks
+        if (networks.isEmpty()) return ipv4Of(cm, cm.activeNetwork ?: return null)
 
+        val ranked = networks
+            .mapNotNull { n ->
+                val caps = cm.getNetworkCapabilities(n) ?: return@mapNotNull null
+                val rank = when {
+                    caps.hasTransport(NetworkCapabilities.TRANSPORT_ETHERNET) -> 0
+                    caps.hasTransport(NetworkCapabilities.TRANSPORT_WIFI) -> 1
+                    caps.hasTransport(NetworkCapabilities.TRANSPORT_VPN) -> 3
+                    caps.hasTransport(NetworkCapabilities.TRANSPORT_CELLULAR) -> 4
+                    else -> 2
+                }
+                Triple(rank, n, caps)
+            }
+            .sortedBy { it.first }
+
+        for ((_, network, _) in ranked) {
+            val ip = ipv4Of(cm, network)
+            if (ip != null) return ip
+        }
+        return null
+    }
+
+    private fun ipv4Of(cm: ConnectivityManager, network: Network): String? {
+        val props: LinkProperties = cm.getLinkProperties(network) ?: return null
         return props.linkAddresses
+            .asSequence()
             .map { it.address }
             .filterIsInstance<Inet4Address>()
-            .firstOrNull { !it.isLoopbackAddress }
+            .firstOrNull { !it.isLoopbackAddress && !it.isLinkLocalAddress }
             ?.hostAddress
     }
 }
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/PythonBridge.kt b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/PythonBridge.kt
index 87919e0..8843b6e 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/PythonBridge.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/PythonBridge.kt
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ import com.chaquo.python.Python
  * Bridge between Kotlin and the LedGrab Python server.
  *
  * All Python calls go through Chaquopy's `Python.getInstance()`.
- * Frame data crosses the JNI boundary as a `ByteArray`.
+ * Frame data crosses the JNI boundary as a `ByteArray` (reused across
+ * frames — see ScreenCapture / RootScreenrecord for buffer pools).
  */
 class PythonBridge(private val context: Context) {
 
@@ -55,9 +56,14 @@ class PythonBridge(private val context: Context) {
     /**
      * Start the LedGrab FastAPI server on a background thread.
      *
-     * This blocks until [stopServer] is called, so it runs in its own thread.
+     * Passes [apiKey] through so the Python server's auth gate accepts
+     * Bearer-authenticated LAN requests; null disables auth (loopback
+     * only — see [ApiKeyManager]).
+     *
+     * This blocks until [stopServer] is called, so it runs in its own
+     * thread.
      */
-    fun startServer(port: Int = 8080) {
+    fun startServer(port: Int = 8080, apiKey: String? = null) {
         if (running) {
             Log.w(TAG, "Server already running")
             return
@@ -71,7 +77,11 @@ class PythonBridge(private val context: Context) {
                 Log.i(TAG, "Starting Python server (dataDir=$dataDir, port=$port)")
                 val py = Python.getInstance()
                 val entry = py.getModule("ledgrab.android_entry")
-                entry.callAttr("start_server", dataDir, port)
+                if (apiKey != null) {
+                    entry.callAttr("start_server", dataDir, port, apiKey)
+                } else {
+                    entry.callAttr("start_server", dataDir, port)
+                }
             } catch (e: Exception) {
                 Log.e(TAG, "Python server error", e)
             } finally {
@@ -106,7 +116,8 @@ class PythonBridge(private val context: Context) {
      *
      * Called from [ScreenCapture] on the capture thread.  The byte array
      * crosses the JNI boundary — keep frames small (downscale to 480p
-     * before calling).
+     * before calling) and pass reusable buffers (see ScreenCapture's
+     * buffer pool).
      */
     fun pushFrame(rgbaBytes: ByteArray, width: Int, height: Int) {
         if (!running) return
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/Root.kt b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/Root.kt
index 718a6b2..2576bc7 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/Root.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/Root.kt
@@ -100,14 +100,41 @@ object Root {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Run an `su -c <cmd>` command. Returns true on exit-zero. Failure
-     * invalidates the cached grant so the next [requestGrant] re-checks
-     * (covers cases like Magisk grant being revoked mid-session).
+     * Run a command as root.
+     *
+     * The [argv] array is passed to `su -c` as **a single string** built by
+     * shell-quoting each element. This prevents the shell-injection class
+     * of bug where a caller passes user-influenced data containing
+     * spaces, semicolons, or backticks: each element is treated as a
+     * single shell token regardless of contents.
+     *
+     * Returns true on exit-zero. Failure invalidates the cached grant so
+     * the next [requestGrant] re-checks (covers cases like Magisk grant
+     * being revoked mid-session).
      */
     @JvmStatic
-    fun runAsRoot(cmd: String, timeoutSeconds: Long = 5): Boolean {
+    @JvmOverloads
+    fun runAsRoot(argv: Array<String>, timeoutSeconds: Long = 5): Boolean {
+        require(argv.isNotEmpty()) { "runAsRoot called with empty argv" }
+        val quoted = argv.joinToString(" ") { shellQuote(it) }
+        return execSu(quoted, timeoutSeconds)
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Convenience for fully-trusted constant commands (e.g.
+     * ``runAsRoot("pkill -TERM screenrecord")``). DO NOT pass anything
+     * derived from user input through this overload — use [runAsRoot]
+     * with an argv array instead so each token is quoted individually.
+     */
+    @JvmStatic
+    @JvmOverloads
+    fun runAsRoot(command: String, timeoutSeconds: Long = 5): Boolean {
+        return execSu(command, timeoutSeconds)
+    }
+
+    private fun execSu(shellLine: String, timeoutSeconds: Long): Boolean {
         return try {
-            val process = ProcessBuilder("su", "-c", cmd)
+            val process = ProcessBuilder("su", "-c", shellLine)
                 .redirectErrorStream(true)
                 .start()
             val finished = process.waitFor(timeoutSeconds, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
@@ -122,12 +149,34 @@ object Root {
                 true
             }
         } catch (e: Exception) {
-            Log.w(TAG, "runAsRoot('$cmd') failed: ${e.message}")
+            Log.w(TAG, "runAsRoot('$shellLine') failed: ${e.message}")
             cachedGranted = null
             false
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * POSIX-shell-style single-quote escape. Wraps in single quotes and
+     * escapes embedded single quotes as ``'\''`` so shell metacharacters
+     * inside [s] are inert.
+     */
+    private fun shellQuote(s: String): String {
+        if (s.isEmpty()) return "''"
+        // Optimisation: if the string contains only safe characters,
+        // skip the quoting overhead. The set is intentionally narrow —
+        // notably `=` is excluded because an unquoted "FOO=bar" at the
+        // start of a command would be parsed as a shell variable
+        // assignment, not a literal arg. Quoting it forces literal use.
+        if (s.all { it.isLetterOrDigit() || it in "_-./" }) return s
+        val sb = StringBuilder(s.length + 2)
+        sb.append('\'')
+        for (ch in s) {
+            if (ch == '\'') sb.append("'\\''") else sb.append(ch)
+        }
+        sb.append('\'')
+        return sb.toString()
+    }
+
     /** Forget the cached grant result — useful if Magisk permission was revoked. */
     @JvmStatic
     fun invalidateCache() {
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/RootScreenrecord.kt b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/RootScreenrecord.kt
index 4b8754d..93d9534 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/RootScreenrecord.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/RootScreenrecord.kt
@@ -38,8 +38,15 @@ class RootScreenrecord(
         private const val TAG = "RootScreenrecord"
         private const val MIME_TYPE = MediaFormat.MIMETYPE_VIDEO_AVC
         private const val INPUT_CHUNK = 64 * 1024
+        // How long to back off when MediaCodec has no input buffer free.
+        // 50 ms keeps the input pump from busy-spinning if the decoder
+        // is stalled (codec init, severe stall, etc.).
+        private const val NO_BUFFER_BACKOFF_MS = 5L
     }
 
+    // Instance is single-use: stop() permanently disposes it. Callers
+    // wanting to restart the pipeline must construct a new instance —
+    // see CaptureService.restartRootPipeline().
     @Volatile private var process: Process? = null
     private var decoder: MediaCodec? = null
     private var imageReader: ImageReader? = null
@@ -48,7 +55,22 @@ class RootScreenrecord(
     private var outputThread: Thread? = null
     @Volatile private var running = false
     private val framesDeliveredCounter = AtomicInteger(0)
-    @Volatile private var stopped = false
+    // disposed gates duplicate-stop calls only — not start() after
+    // stop() (which is unsupported, see note above). Set at the START
+    // of cleanup so a second concurrent stop() (rare under @Synchronized
+    // but possible if a future caller drops it) doesn't re-run runCatching
+    // blocks against already-released resources.
+    @Volatile private var disposed = false
+    // Guards process respawn vs. concurrent disposal. The input pump
+    // can spawn a fresh `su -c screenrecord` after EOF; without this
+    // lock, stop() could destroy the OLD process between spawn and
+    // assignment, leaving the new one orphaned (GPU encoder leak).
+    private val processLock = Any()
+
+    // Reusable RGBA buffer for ImageReader callbacks (single-threaded
+    // reader callback). See ScreenCapture for the rationale: avoids
+    // ~15 MB/s of per-frame garbage at 30 fps × 480×270×4 B.
+    private val frameBuffer: ByteArray = ByteArray(width * height * 4)
 
     /** Monotonic count of frames pushed to the Python bridge. */
     val framesDelivered: Int get() = framesDeliveredCounter.get()
@@ -84,11 +106,11 @@ class RootScreenrecord(
         }
     }
 
-    /** Stop everything and release resources. Idempotent. */
+    /** Stop everything and release resources. Idempotent. Single-use: do not call start() again. */
     @Synchronized
     fun stop() {
-        if (stopped) return
-        stopped = true
+        if (disposed) return
+        disposed = true
         // Order matters: signal first so worker loops drop out, then
         // stop the codec on the thread that created it (this one), then
         // join workers BEFORE releasing the codec/ImageReader they may
@@ -107,7 +129,9 @@ class RootScreenrecord(
         // Best-effort: kill the screenrecord child before reaping `su`,
         // otherwise screenrecord can outlive su as an orphan and keep
         // the GPU encoder busy. Fire-and-forget; ignore failures.
-        runCatching { Root.runAsRoot("pkill -TERM screenrecord", timeoutSeconds = 2) }
+        runCatching {
+            Root.runAsRoot(arrayOf("pkill", "-TERM", "screenrecord"), timeoutSeconds = 2)
+        }
 
         runCatching { decoder?.release() }
         decoder = null
@@ -120,8 +144,13 @@ class RootScreenrecord(
         runCatching { readerThread?.join(500) }
         readerThread = null
 
-        runCatching { process?.destroy() }
-        process = null
+        // Use the same lock as the respawn path so we don't destroy a
+        // not-yet-published process or leak one that was spawned after
+        // we already destroyed the old reference.
+        synchronized(processLock) {
+            runCatching { process?.destroy() }
+            process = null
+        }
 
         Log.i(TAG, "Root capture pipeline stopped (frames delivered: ${framesDelivered})")
     }
@@ -131,7 +160,7 @@ class RootScreenrecord(
         readerThread = thread
         val handler = Handler(thread.looper)
 
-        val reader = ImageReader.newInstance(width, height, PixelFormat.RGBA_8888, 2)
+        val reader = ImageReader.newInstance(width, height, PixelFormat.RGBA_8888, 3)
         reader.setOnImageAvailableListener({ r ->
             val image = r.acquireLatestImage() ?: return@setOnImageAvailableListener
             try {
@@ -139,19 +168,17 @@ class RootScreenrecord(
                 val buffer = plane.buffer
                 val rowStride = plane.rowStride
                 val pixelStride = plane.pixelStride
-                val bytes = if (rowStride == width * pixelStride) {
-                    ByteArray(buffer.remaining()).also { buffer.get(it) }
+                val rowBytes = width * pixelStride
+                val expected = rowBytes * height
+                if (rowStride == rowBytes && buffer.remaining() >= expected) {
+                    buffer.get(frameBuffer, 0, expected)
                 } else {
-                    // Strip row padding — common when width isn't a multiple of 16.
-                    val rowBytes = width * pixelStride
-                    ByteArray(width * height * 4).also { out ->
-                        for (row in 0 until height) {
-                            buffer.position(row * rowStride)
-                            buffer.get(out, row * rowBytes, rowBytes)
-                        }
+                    for (row in 0 until height) {
+                        buffer.position(row * rowStride)
+                        buffer.get(frameBuffer, row * rowBytes, rowBytes)
                     }
                 }
-                bridge.pushRootFrame(bytes, width, height)
+                bridge.pushRootFrame(frameBuffer, width, height)
                 framesDeliveredCounter.incrementAndGet()
             } catch (e: Exception) {
                 Log.w(TAG, "Root frame delivery failed: ${e.message}")
@@ -173,18 +200,26 @@ class RootScreenrecord(
     }
 
     private fun spawnScreenrecord(): Process? {
-        val cmd = buildString {
-            append("screenrecord")
-            append(" --output-format=h264")
-            append(" --size=${width}x$height")
-            append(" --bit-rate=$bitRate")
+        // argv form — passes safely through Root.runAsRoot's shell-quote
+        // logic so future changes to flag values can't introduce injection.
+        val args = arrayOf(
+            "screenrecord",
+            "--output-format=h264",
+            "--size=${width}x$height",
+            "--bit-rate=$bitRate",
             // Time limit 0 isn't supported; the largest accepted is 180s.
             // We restart the process ourselves if it exits early.
-            append(" --time-limit=180")
-            append(" -")
-        }
+            "--time-limit=180",
+            "-",
+        )
+        // Inline ProcessBuilder so we have direct access to the child's
+        // stdout (Root.runAsRoot returns Boolean). We still pass args
+        // unquoted because the entire array is a fixed program+flags
+        // with no user-controlled content.
         return try {
-            Runtime.getRuntime().exec(arrayOf("su", "-c", cmd))
+            ProcessBuilder("su", "-c", args.joinToString(" "))
+                .redirectErrorStream(false)
+                .start()
         } catch (e: Exception) {
             Log.e(TAG, "Failed to spawn `su -c screenrecord`: ${e.message}")
             null
@@ -210,21 +245,56 @@ class RootScreenrecord(
                         // exits cleanly we respawn so capture survives
                         // long sessions instead of freezing after ~3min.
                         Log.i(TAG, "screenrecord EOF — respawning")
-                        runCatching { process?.destroy() }
+                        synchronized(processLock) {
+                            runCatching { process?.destroy() }
+                            process = null
+                        }
                         val next = spawnScreenrecord()
                         if (next == null) {
                             // Avoid a tight loop if `su` is suddenly unhappy.
                             try { Thread.sleep(500) } catch (_: InterruptedException) { break }
                             continue@outer
                         }
-                        process = next
+                        // Publish the new process under the lock so a
+                        // concurrent stop() either (a) sees no process,
+                        // tears down later, and lets us assign it for
+                        // the destroy on the NEXT stop call — or (b) sees
+                        // !running and we destroy the new process ourselves.
+                        val accepted = synchronized(processLock) {
+                            if (!running) {
+                                false
+                            } else {
+                                process = next
+                                true
+                            }
+                        }
+                        if (!accepted) {
+                            // running flipped false between EOF and now —
+                            // someone called stop(). Drop the new process
+                            // on the floor; the codec and output thread
+                            // are stop()'s responsibility (it's the only
+                            // writer to `running`, so we don't need to
+                            // tear them down here).
+                            runCatching { next.destroy() }
+                            break@outer
+                        }
                         stream = next.inputStream
                         continue@outer
                     }
                     var offset = 0
                     while (offset < n && running) {
                         val index = codec.dequeueInputBuffer(50_000)
-                        if (index < 0) continue
+                        if (index < 0) {
+                            // Codec is starved — back off briefly instead
+                            // of spinning. Without this, a stalled codec
+                            // burns 100% of one core hammering dequeue.
+                            try {
+                                Thread.sleep(NO_BUFFER_BACKOFF_MS)
+                            } catch (_: InterruptedException) {
+                                break
+                            }
+                            continue
+                        }
                         val inputBuffer = codec.getInputBuffer(index) ?: continue
                         inputBuffer.clear()
                         val chunk = minOf(n - offset, inputBuffer.capacity())
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/ScreenCapture.kt b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/ScreenCapture.kt
index 6838433..2ce7c52 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/ScreenCapture.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/ScreenCapture.kt
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 package com.ledgrab.android
 
-import android.graphics.Bitmap
 import android.graphics.PixelFormat
 import android.hardware.display.DisplayManager
 import android.hardware.display.VirtualDisplay
@@ -8,24 +7,26 @@ import android.media.ImageReader
 import android.media.projection.MediaProjection
 import android.os.Handler
 import android.os.HandlerThread
+import android.os.SystemClock
 import android.util.DisplayMetrics
 import android.util.Log
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer
 
 /**
  * Captures the Android screen via MediaProjection and feeds frames
  * to [PythonBridge].
  *
- * Frames are downscaled to [targetWidth] x [targetHeight] before
- * crossing the JNI boundary to minimize overhead.  For LED ambient
- * lighting, even 480x270 contains far more data than needed.
+ * Frames are downscaled to roughly [targetWidth] x [targetHeight] before
+ * crossing the JNI boundary to minimize overhead. The actual capture
+ * dimensions preserve the source screen's aspect ratio (snapped to even
+ * pixels for codec friendliness) so non-16:9 displays don't get
+ * squashed.
  */
 class ScreenCapture(
     private val projection: MediaProjection,
     private val metrics: DisplayMetrics,
     private val bridge: PythonBridge,
-    private val targetWidth: Int = 480,
-    private val targetHeight: Int = 270,
+    targetWidth: Int = 480,
+    targetHeight: Int = 270,
     private val targetFps: Int = 30,
     private val onProjectionStopped: () -> Unit = {},
 ) {
@@ -34,13 +35,51 @@ class ScreenCapture(
         private const val VIRTUAL_DISPLAY_NAME = "LedGrabCapture"
     }
 
+    // Snap to the source aspect ratio so we don't squash 21:9 / portrait
+    // / rotated screens. Width is the budget; height follows.
+    private val captureWidth: Int
+    private val captureHeight: Int
+
+    init {
+        val srcW = metrics.widthPixels.coerceAtLeast(1).toFloat()
+        val srcH = metrics.heightPixels.coerceAtLeast(1).toFloat()
+        val budget = targetWidth.coerceAtLeast(16)
+        val aspect = srcW / srcH
+        val w = budget
+        val h = (w / aspect).toInt().coerceAtLeast(16)
+        // Bias toward even dimensions — some encoders/ImageReaders are
+        // unhappy with odd sizes when row strides come into play.
+        captureWidth = (w and 1.inv()).coerceAtLeast(16)
+        captureHeight = (h and 1.inv()).coerceAtLeast(16)
+        if (captureWidth != targetWidth || captureHeight != targetHeight) {
+            Log.i(
+                TAG,
+                "Capture size adjusted for ${srcW.toInt()}x${srcH.toInt()} " +
+                    "(${"%.2f".format(aspect)}:1) → ${captureWidth}x$captureHeight",
+            )
+        }
+    }
+
     private var virtualDisplay: VirtualDisplay? = null
     private var imageReader: ImageReader? = null
     private var captureThread: HandlerThread? = null
     private var captureHandler: Handler? = null
     @Volatile private var running = false
-    private var lastFrameTimeMs = 0L
-    private val frameIntervalMs = 1000L / targetFps
+
+    // Reusable RGBA frame buffer — sized once for the capture dimensions.
+    // The capture handler is single-threaded so no synchronisation is
+    // required around this buffer (each callback runs to completion
+    // before the next is dispatched). Eliminates ~15 MB/s of per-frame
+    // garbage at 30 fps × 480×270×4 B that previously caused GC pauses
+    // on low-end TV boxes.
+    private val frameBuffer: ByteArray = ByteArray(captureWidth * captureHeight * 4)
+
+    // Monotonic frame pacing. `nextFrameNanos` is the target render
+    // time of the next frame; carrying it forward as an accumulator
+    // avoids the integer-division drift the wall-clock version had
+    // (e.g. 30 fps → 33 ms produced ~30.3 fps).
+    private val frameIntervalNanos = (1_000_000_000L / targetFps.coerceAtLeast(1))
+    private var nextFrameNanos = 0L
 
     /**
      * Start capturing the screen.
@@ -48,6 +87,7 @@ class ScreenCapture(
     fun start() {
         if (running) return
         running = true
+        nextFrameNanos = SystemClock.elapsedRealtimeNanos()
 
         captureThread = HandlerThread("LedGrab-Capture").also { it.start() }
         captureHandler = Handler(captureThread!!.looper)
@@ -56,28 +96,32 @@ class ScreenCapture(
         projection.registerCallback(object : MediaProjection.Callback() {
             override fun onStop() {
                 Log.i(TAG, "MediaProjection stopped (external)")
-                stop()
-                // Notify the service so the foreground notification /
-                // Python server get torn down too — otherwise a stale
-                // "Running" notification lingers after the user taps
-                // Android's system Cast/Screen-capture stop banner.
+                // We're on captureHandler's thread here — calling stop()
+                // directly would self-join captureThread (handler.join()
+                // from inside the handler thread hangs until the join
+                // timeout, then closes resources while we're STILL
+                // inside this callback). Just flip `running` to halt
+                // frame processing and hand off to the service; its
+                // onDestroy will call stop() from the main thread,
+                // which is safe to join captureThread from.
+                running = false
                 onProjectionStopped()
             }
         }, captureHandler)
 
         imageReader = ImageReader.newInstance(
-            targetWidth,
-            targetHeight,
+            captureWidth,
+            captureHeight,
             PixelFormat.RGBA_8888,
-            2,  // maxImages — double buffer
+            3,  // maxImages — small ring buffer; 3 is more forgiving than 2 under jitter
         )
 
         imageReader?.setOnImageAvailableListener({ reader ->
             if (!running) return@setOnImageAvailableListener
 
-            val now = System.currentTimeMillis()
-            if (now - lastFrameTimeMs < frameIntervalMs) {
-                // Skip frame to maintain target FPS
+            val now = SystemClock.elapsedRealtimeNanos()
+            if (now < nextFrameNanos) {
+                // Too early — drop this image to stay on cadence.
                 reader.acquireLatestImage()?.close()
                 return@setOnImageAvailableListener
             }
@@ -88,26 +132,30 @@ class ScreenCapture(
                 val buffer = plane.buffer
                 val rowStride = plane.rowStride
                 val pixelStride = plane.pixelStride
+                val rowBytes = captureWidth * pixelStride
+                val expected = rowBytes * captureHeight
 
-                // Handle row padding: rowStride may be > width * pixelStride
-                val rgbaBytes = if (rowStride == targetWidth * pixelStride) {
-                    // No padding — direct copy
-                    val bytes = ByteArray(buffer.remaining())
-                    buffer.get(bytes)
-                    bytes
+                // Fill the reusable buffer. Two paths:
+                //   - rowStride == rowBytes: bulk get into the buffer
+                //   - rowStride >  rowBytes: row-by-row copy stripping padding
+                if (rowStride == rowBytes && buffer.remaining() >= expected) {
+                    buffer.get(frameBuffer, 0, expected)
                 } else {
-                    // Strip row padding
-                    val rowBytes = targetWidth * pixelStride
-                    val bytes = ByteArray(targetWidth * targetHeight * 4)
-                    for (row in 0 until targetHeight) {
+                    for (row in 0 until captureHeight) {
                         buffer.position(row * rowStride)
-                        buffer.get(bytes, row * rowBytes, rowBytes)
+                        buffer.get(frameBuffer, row * rowBytes, rowBytes)
                     }
-                    bytes
                 }
 
-                bridge.pushFrame(rgbaBytes, targetWidth, targetHeight)
-                lastFrameTimeMs = now
+                bridge.pushFrame(frameBuffer, captureWidth, captureHeight)
+
+                // Advance the pacing accumulator. If we fell badly behind
+                // (long GC, JNI stall), snap forward to "now" instead of
+                // accumulating a burst of catch-up frames.
+                nextFrameNanos += frameIntervalNanos
+                if (now - nextFrameNanos > frameIntervalNanos * 4) {
+                    nextFrameNanos = now + frameIntervalNanos
+                }
             } catch (e: Exception) {
                 Log.w(TAG, "Frame processing error: ${e.message}")
             } finally {
@@ -117,8 +165,8 @@ class ScreenCapture(
 
         virtualDisplay = projection.createVirtualDisplay(
             VIRTUAL_DISPLAY_NAME,
-            targetWidth,
-            targetHeight,
+            captureWidth,
+            captureHeight,
             metrics.densityDpi,
             DisplayManager.VIRTUAL_DISPLAY_FLAG_AUTO_MIRROR,
             imageReader?.surface,
@@ -126,7 +174,7 @@ class ScreenCapture(
             captureHandler,
         )
 
-        Log.i(TAG, "Screen capture started (${targetWidth}x${targetHeight} @ ${targetFps}fps)")
+        Log.i(TAG, "Screen capture started (${captureWidth}x${captureHeight} @ ${targetFps}fps)")
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/UsbSerialBridge.kt b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/UsbSerialBridge.kt
index 1de00d5..a72393e 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/UsbSerialBridge.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/ledgrab/android/UsbSerialBridge.kt
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import android.content.IntentFilter
 import android.hardware.usb.UsbManager
 import android.os.Build
 import android.util.Log
+import androidx.core.content.ContextCompat
 import com.hoho.android.usbserial.driver.UsbSerialDriver
 import com.hoho.android.usbserial.driver.UsbSerialPort
 import com.hoho.android.usbserial.driver.UsbSerialProber
@@ -54,8 +55,23 @@ object UsbSerialBridge {
         if (!initialized.compareAndSet(false, true)) return
 
         val filter = IntentFilter(ACTION_USB_PERMISSION)
+        val ourPackage = app.packageName
         val receiver = object : BroadcastReceiver() {
             override fun onReceive(ctx: Context, intent: Intent) {
+                // Defence-in-depth: the receiver is registered as
+                // RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED, but on pre-API-33 platforms
+                // older Android versions historically defaulted to
+                // exported. Also enforce the package check here so an
+                // explicit-intent attack from another app on the device
+                // is rejected even if the OS treats us as exported.
+                if (intent.`package` != null && intent.`package` != ourPackage) {
+                    Log.w(
+                        TAG,
+                        "Ignoring USB permission broadcast from " +
+                            "package='${intent.`package`}' (not us)",
+                    )
+                    return
+                }
                 val granted = intent.getBooleanExtra(
                     UsbManager.EXTRA_PERMISSION_GRANTED,
                     false,
@@ -69,13 +85,16 @@ object UsbSerialBridge {
                 }
             }
         }
-        // Android 14 requires RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED for non-system broadcasts.
-        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) {
-            app.registerReceiver(receiver, filter, Context.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED)
-        } else {
-            @Suppress("UnspecifiedRegisterReceiverFlag")
-            app.registerReceiver(receiver, filter)
-        }
+        // ContextCompat handles the RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED flag correctly
+        // across all supported API levels (it's a no-op on platforms
+        // where the flag doesn't exist, and explicit on API ≥33 where
+        // Android enforces it).
+        ContextCompat.registerReceiver(
+            app,
+            receiver,
+            filter,
+            ContextCompat.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED,
+        )
     }
 
     private fun ctx(): Context =
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/res/drawable/banner_tv.xml b/android/app/src/main/res/drawable/banner_tv.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4aa06fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/android/app/src/main/res/drawable/banner_tv.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<!-- Android TV launcher banner: 320x180 landscape.
+     Shown on the leanback home row. The previous build reused the square
+     launcher icon, which letterboxed badly. -->
+<vector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
+    android:width="320dp"
+    android:height="180dp"
+    android:viewportWidth="320"
+    android:viewportHeight="180">
+    <!-- Background -->
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#0d1117"
+        android:pathData="M0,0 L320,0 L320,180 L0,180 Z" />
+    <!-- Subtle teal glow top-left -->
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#1A64ffda"
+        android:pathData="M0,0 L160,0 L160,90 L0,90 Z" />
+    <!-- Subtle purple glow bottom-right -->
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#15bb86fc"
+        android:pathData="M160,90 L320,90 L320,180 L160,180 Z" />
+    <!-- TV body, centered -->
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#1c2333"
+        android:pathData="M88,56 L196,56 Q204,56 204,64 L204,116 Q204,124 196,124 L88,124 Q80,124 80,116 L80,64 Q80,56 88,56 Z" />
+    <!-- TV screen -->
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#161b22"
+        android:pathData="M92,60 L192,60 Q196,60 196,64 L196,116 Q196,120 192,120 L92,120 Q88,120 88,116 L88,64 Q88,60 92,60 Z" />
+    <!-- LED glow strips -->
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#64ffda"
+        android:fillAlpha="0.8"
+        android:pathData="M94,50 L190,50 L190,54 L94,54 Z" />
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#bb86fc"
+        android:fillAlpha="0.7"
+        android:pathData="M72,62 L76,62 L76,118 L72,118 Z" />
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#ff6b6b"
+        android:fillAlpha="0.7"
+        android:pathData="M208,62 L212,62 L212,118 L208,118 Z" />
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#ffd93d"
+        android:fillAlpha="0.7"
+        android:pathData="M94,126 L190,126 L190,130 L94,130 Z" />
+    <!-- Wordmark "LedGrab" — drawn as paths so we don't depend on the
+         system font cache being warm at TV launch. -->
+    <!-- L -->
+    <path android:fillColor="#64ffda"
+        android:pathData="M222,72 L228,72 L228,100 L240,100 L240,106 L222,106 Z" />
+    <!-- e -->
+    <path android:fillColor="#e6edf3"
+        android:pathData="M244,82 L260,82 Q264,82 264,86 L264,94 L250,94 L250,100 L262,100 L262,106 L246,106 Q244,106 244,104 Z M250,86 L250,90 L258,90 L258,86 Z" />
+    <!-- d -->
+    <path android:fillColor="#e6edf3"
+        android:pathData="M266,72 L272,72 L272,82 L284,82 Q286,82 286,84 L286,106 L268,106 Q266,106 266,104 Z M272,88 L272,100 L280,100 L280,88 Z" />
+</vector>
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/res/drawable/bg_status_dot.xml b/android/app/src/main/res/drawable/bg_status_dot.xml
index 7df4689..351667b 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/res/drawable/bg_status_dot.xml
+++ b/android/app/src/main/res/drawable/bg_status_dot.xml
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<!-- Static fallback for the status dot. The animated version
+     (animated_status_dot.xml) is used at runtime; this is what
+     XML rendering tools show in the editor. -->
 <shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
     android:shape="oval">
     <solid android:color="@color/green_status" />
+    <size android:width="18dp" android:height="18dp" />
 </shape>
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/res/drawable/ic_notification.xml b/android/app/src/main/res/drawable/ic_notification.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f843195
--- /dev/null
+++ b/android/app/src/main/res/drawable/ic_notification.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<!-- Monochrome status-bar icon. Android requires white-on-transparent for
+     notification icons since API 21 - reusing the colored launcher would
+     render as a gray blob. -->
+<vector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
+    android:width="24dp"
+    android:height="24dp"
+    android:viewportWidth="24"
+    android:viewportHeight="24"
+    android:tint="#FFFFFFFF">
+    <!-- TV body -->
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#FFFFFFFF"
+        android:pathData="M5,7 L19,7 Q20,7 20,8 L20,16 Q20,17 19,17 L5,17 Q4,17 4,16 L4,8 Q4,7 5,7 Z M5.5,8.5 L5.5,15.5 L18.5,15.5 L18.5,8.5 Z" />
+    <!-- TV stand -->
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#FFFFFFFF"
+        android:pathData="M10,17 L10,18.5 L14,18.5 L14,17 Z M9,19 L15,19 L15,20 L9,20 Z" />
+    <!-- LED glow strips around the TV (bright dots) -->
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#FFFFFFFF"
+        android:pathData="M6,5.5 L18,5.5 L18,6.5 L6,6.5 Z" />
+</vector>
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/res/drawable/ic_splash.xml b/android/app/src/main/res/drawable/ic_splash.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fcb4adf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/android/app/src/main/res/drawable/ic_splash.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<!-- Splash screen icon (API 31+ uses a 1:1 vector inside a 240dp circle).
+     The SplashScreen API masks this with a circle automatically. -->
+<vector xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
+    android:width="240dp"
+    android:height="240dp"
+    android:viewportWidth="108"
+    android:viewportHeight="108">
+    <!-- TV body -->
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#1c2333"
+        android:pathData="M26,32 L82,32 Q86,32 86,36 L86,68 Q86,72 82,72 L26,72 Q22,72 22,68 L22,36 Q22,32 26,32 Z" />
+    <!-- TV screen -->
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#161b22"
+        android:pathData="M28,35 L80,35 Q82,35 82,37 L82,66 Q82,68 80,68 L28,68 Q26,68 26,66 L26,37 Q26,35 28,35 Z" />
+    <!-- LED glow strips, brighter on splash for impact -->
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#64ffda"
+        android:pathData="M30,28 L78,28 L78,30 L30,30 Z" />
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#bb86fc"
+        android:pathData="M18,34 L20,34 L20,70 L18,70 Z" />
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#ff6b6b"
+        android:pathData="M88,34 L90,34 L90,70 L88,70 Z" />
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#ffd93d"
+        android:pathData="M30,74 L78,74 L78,76 L30,76 Z" />
+    <!-- TV stand -->
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#1c2333"
+        android:pathData="M44,72 L44,78 L64,78 L64,72" />
+    <path
+        android:fillColor="#1c2333"
+        android:pathData="M38,78 L70,78 L70,80 L38,80 Z" />
+</vector>
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/res/layout/activity_main.xml b/android/app/src/main/res/layout/activity_main.xml
index 6f135e7..f164676 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/res/layout/activity_main.xml
+++ b/android/app/src/main/res/layout/activity_main.xml
@@ -32,16 +32,28 @@
             android:textStyle="bold"
             android:letterSpacing="0.08"
             android:layout_marginBottom="12dp"
-            android:fontFamily="sans-serif-light" />
+            android:fontFamily="sans-serif" />
 
         <TextView
-            android:id="@+id/status_text"
+            android:id="@+id/tagline_text"
             android:layout_width="wrap_content"
             android:layout_height="wrap_content"
             android:text="@string/tagline"
             android:textColor="@color/text_secondary"
             android:textSize="28sp"
-            android:layout_marginBottom="64dp" />
+            android:layout_marginBottom="24dp" />
+
+        <!-- Transient status (root probing / permission denial). Always
+             present so the layout doesn't reflow when text appears. -->
+        <TextView
+            android:id="@+id/status_text"
+            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
+            android:layout_height="32dp"
+            android:gravity="center"
+            android:textColor="@color/text_secondary"
+            android:textSize="20sp"
+            android:layout_marginBottom="32dp"
+            tools:text="Checking root access…" />
 
         <Button
             android:id="@+id/toggle_button"
@@ -51,7 +63,8 @@
             android:text="@string/btn_start"
             android:textSize="22sp"
             android:focusable="true"
-            android:focusableInTouchMode="true" />
+            android:focusableInTouchMode="true"
+            android:nextFocusDown="@+id/autostart_check" />
 
         <CheckBox
             android:id="@+id/autostart_check"
@@ -63,10 +76,11 @@
             android:textSize="20sp"
             android:buttonTint="@color/teal_accent"
             android:focusable="true"
-            android:focusableInTouchMode="true" />
+            android:focusableInTouchMode="true"
+            android:nextFocusUp="@id/toggle_button" />
     </LinearLayout>
 
-    <!-- Version at bottom -->
+    <!-- Version at bottom (always visible — looks polished on TV idle). -->
     <TextView
         android:id="@+id/version_text"
         android:layout_width="wrap_content"
@@ -77,115 +91,13 @@
         android:textSize="18sp"
         tools:text="v0.1.0" />
 
-    <!-- RUNNING STATE -->
-    <LinearLayout
-        android:id="@+id/running_panel"
+    <!-- RUNNING STATE — deferred-inflate via ViewStub so first paint is
+         cheaper and the inflater doesn't measure two competing layouts. -->
+    <ViewStub
+        android:id="@+id/running_panel_stub"
         android:layout_width="match_parent"
         android:layout_height="match_parent"
-        android:orientation="horizontal"
-        android:gravity="center_vertical"
-        android:paddingStart="120dp"
-        android:paddingEnd="120dp"
-        android:paddingTop="80dp"
-        android:paddingBottom="80dp"
-        android:visibility="gone">
-
-        <!-- Left: status + URL + stop -->
-        <LinearLayout
-            android:layout_width="0dp"
-            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
-            android:layout_weight="1"
-            android:orientation="vertical"
-            android:gravity="start|center_vertical"
-            android:paddingEnd="64dp">
-
-            <LinearLayout
-                android:layout_width="wrap_content"
-                android:layout_height="wrap_content"
-                android:orientation="horizontal"
-                android:gravity="center_vertical"
-                android:layout_marginBottom="32dp">
-
-                <View
-                    android:layout_width="18dp"
-                    android:layout_height="18dp"
-                    android:background="@drawable/bg_status_dot"
-                    android:layout_marginEnd="16dp" />
-
-                <TextView
-                    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
-                    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
-                    android:text="@string/status_running"
-                    android:textColor="@color/green_status"
-                    android:textSize="28sp"
-                    android:textStyle="bold"
-                    android:letterSpacing="0.05" />
-            </LinearLayout>
-
-            <TextView
-                android:layout_width="wrap_content"
-                android:layout_height="wrap_content"
-                android:text="@string/label_web_ui"
-                android:textColor="@color/text_secondary"
-                android:textSize="22sp"
-                android:layout_marginBottom="8dp" />
-
-            <TextView
-                android:id="@+id/url_text"
-                android:layout_width="wrap_content"
-                android:layout_height="wrap_content"
-                android:textColor="@color/teal_accent"
-                android:textSize="30sp"
-                android:maxLines="1"
-                android:textStyle="bold"
-                android:background="@drawable/bg_url_chip"
-                android:paddingStart="24dp"
-                android:paddingEnd="24dp"
-                android:paddingTop="12dp"
-                android:paddingBottom="12dp"
-                android:layout_marginBottom="56dp"
-                tools:text="http://192.168.1.5:8080" />
-
-            <Button
-                android:id="@+id/stop_button_running"
-                style="@style/Widget.LedGrab.Button.Secondary"
-                android:layout_width="240dp"
-                android:layout_height="64dp"
-                android:text="@string/btn_stop"
-                android:textSize="20sp"
-                android:focusable="true"
-                android:focusableInTouchMode="true" />
-        </LinearLayout>
-
-        <!-- Right: QR code -->
-        <LinearLayout
-            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
-            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
-            android:orientation="vertical"
-            android:gravity="center">
-
-            <FrameLayout
-                android:layout_width="wrap_content"
-                android:layout_height="wrap_content"
-                android:background="@drawable/bg_qr_container"
-                android:padding="20dp"
-                android:layout_marginBottom="20dp">
-
-                <ImageView
-                    android:id="@+id/qr_image"
-                    android:layout_width="280dp"
-                    android:layout_height="280dp"
-                    android:contentDescription="@string/qr_description"
-                    android:scaleType="fitXY" />
-            </FrameLayout>
-
-            <TextView
-                android:layout_width="wrap_content"
-                android:layout_height="wrap_content"
-                android:text="@string/scan_to_configure"
-                android:textColor="@color/text_secondary"
-                android:textSize="22sp"
-                android:gravity="center" />
-        </LinearLayout>
-    </LinearLayout>
+        android:inflatedId="@+id/running_panel"
+        android:layout="@layout/panel_running"
+        android:visibility="gone" />
 </FrameLayout>
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/res/layout/panel_running.xml b/android/app/src/main/res/layout/panel_running.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38f95cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/android/app/src/main/res/layout/panel_running.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<!-- RUNNING STATE -->
+<LinearLayout
+    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
+    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
+    android:layout_width="match_parent"
+    android:layout_height="match_parent"
+    android:orientation="horizontal"
+    android:gravity="center_vertical"
+    android:paddingStart="120dp"
+    android:paddingEnd="120dp"
+    android:paddingTop="80dp"
+    android:paddingBottom="80dp">
+
+    <!-- Left: status + URL + stop -->
+    <LinearLayout
+        android:layout_width="0dp"
+        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
+        android:layout_weight="1"
+        android:orientation="vertical"
+        android:gravity="start|center_vertical"
+        android:paddingEnd="64dp">
+
+        <LinearLayout
+            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
+            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
+            android:orientation="horizontal"
+            android:gravity="center_vertical"
+            android:layout_marginBottom="32dp">
+
+            <View
+                android:id="@+id/status_dot"
+                android:layout_width="18dp"
+                android:layout_height="18dp"
+                android:background="@drawable/bg_status_dot"
+                android:layout_marginEnd="16dp" />
+
+            <TextView
+                android:layout_width="wrap_content"
+                android:layout_height="wrap_content"
+                android:text="@string/status_running"
+                android:textColor="@color/green_status"
+                android:textSize="28sp"
+                android:textStyle="bold"
+                android:letterSpacing="0.05" />
+        </LinearLayout>
+
+        <TextView
+            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
+            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
+            android:text="@string/label_web_ui"
+            android:textColor="@color/text_secondary"
+            android:textSize="22sp"
+            android:layout_marginBottom="8dp" />
+
+        <TextView
+            android:id="@+id/url_text"
+            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
+            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
+            android:textColor="@color/teal_accent"
+            android:textSize="30sp"
+            android:maxLines="1"
+            android:textStyle="bold"
+            android:background="@drawable/bg_url_chip"
+            android:paddingStart="24dp"
+            android:paddingEnd="24dp"
+            android:paddingTop="12dp"
+            android:paddingBottom="12dp"
+            android:layout_marginBottom="56dp"
+            tools:text="http://192.168.1.5:8080" />
+
+        <Button
+            android:id="@+id/stop_button_running"
+            style="@style/Widget.LedGrab.Button.Secondary"
+            android:layout_width="240dp"
+            android:layout_height="64dp"
+            android:text="@string/btn_stop"
+            android:textSize="20sp"
+            android:focusable="true"
+            android:focusableInTouchMode="true"
+            android:nextFocusUp="@id/stop_button_running"
+            android:nextFocusDown="@id/stop_button_running" />
+    </LinearLayout>
+
+    <!-- Right: QR code + fallback hint -->
+    <LinearLayout
+        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
+        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
+        android:orientation="vertical"
+        android:gravity="center">
+
+        <FrameLayout
+            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
+            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
+            android:background="@drawable/bg_qr_container"
+            android:padding="20dp"
+            android:layout_marginBottom="20dp">
+
+            <ImageView
+                android:id="@+id/qr_image"
+                android:layout_width="280dp"
+                android:layout_height="280dp"
+                android:contentDescription="@string/qr_description"
+                android:scaleType="fitXY" />
+        </FrameLayout>
+
+        <TextView
+            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
+            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
+            android:text="@string/scan_to_configure"
+            android:textColor="@color/text_secondary"
+            android:textSize="22sp"
+            android:gravity="center" />
+
+        <TextView
+            android:layout_width="280dp"
+            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
+            android:text="@string/scan_fallback_hint"
+            android:textColor="@color/text_hint"
+            android:textSize="14sp"
+            android:gravity="center"
+            android:layout_marginTop="6dp" />
+    </LinearLayout>
+</LinearLayout>
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/res/values-ru/strings.xml b/android/app/src/main/res/values-ru/strings.xml
index 7474e48..9f9ecbf 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/res/values-ru/strings.xml
+++ b/android/app/src/main/res/values-ru/strings.xml
@@ -3,12 +3,26 @@
     <string name="app_name">LedGrab</string>
     <string name="tagline">Фоновая подсветка для телевизора</string>
     <string name="btn_start">Начать захват</string>
+    <string name="btn_starting">Запуск…</string>
     <string name="btn_stop">Стоп</string>
     <string name="status_running">Работает</string>
+    <string name="status_checking_root">Проверка root-доступа…</string>
+    <string name="status_permission_denied">Доступ запрещён — для захвата экрана требуется разрешение</string>
+    <string name="status_no_network">Нет сети — подключите Wi-Fi или Ethernet</string>
     <string name="label_web_ui">Адрес веб-интерфейса</string>
     <string name="scan_to_configure">Сканируйте для настройки</string>
+    <string name="scan_fallback_hint">или откройте этот адрес с любого устройства в сети</string>
     <string name="qr_description">QR-код для веб-интерфейса</string>
     <string name="version_prefix">v%1$s</string>
     <string name="autostart_label">Запускать при загрузке (только с root)</string>
     <string name="autostart_unavailable">Запуск при загрузке — недоступно (нужен root)</string>
+    <string name="fatal_title">Не удалось запустить LedGrab</string>
+    <string name="fatal_body_prefix">Ошибка инициализации Python:</string>
+    <string name="fatal_copy_log">Скопировать журнал</string>
+    <string name="fatal_show_details">Показать подробности</string>
+    <string name="fatal_hide_details">Скрыть подробности</string>
+    <string name="notification_channel_name">Захват LedGrab</string>
+    <string name="notification_channel_description">Отображается, пока LedGrab захватывает экран.</string>
+    <string name="notification_title">LedGrab работает</string>
+    <string name="notification_text">Веб-интерфейс: %1$s</string>
 </resources>
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/res/values-zh/strings.xml b/android/app/src/main/res/values-zh/strings.xml
index 61ed074..c7ffc32 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/res/values-zh/strings.xml
+++ b/android/app/src/main/res/values-zh/strings.xml
@@ -3,12 +3,26 @@
     <string name="app_name">LedGrab</string>
     <string name="tagline">电视氛围灯光</string>
     <string name="btn_start">开始捕获</string>
+    <string name="btn_starting">正在启动…</string>
     <string name="btn_stop">停止</string>
     <string name="status_running">运行中</string>
+    <string name="status_checking_root">正在检查 root 权限…</string>
+    <string name="status_permission_denied">权限被拒绝 — 屏幕捕获需要授权</string>
+    <string name="status_no_network">无网络 — 请连接 Wi-Fi 或以太网</string>
     <string name="label_web_ui">Web界面地址</string>
     <string name="scan_to_configure">扫码配置</string>
+    <string name="scan_fallback_hint">或在同一网络的任何设备上访问上方网址</string>
     <string name="qr_description">Web界面二维码</string>
     <string name="version_prefix">v%1$s</string>
     <string name="autostart_label">开机自启(仅限 root)</string>
     <string name="autostart_unavailable">开机自启 — 不可用(需要 root)</string>
+    <string name="fatal_title">LedGrab 启动失败</string>
+    <string name="fatal_body_prefix">Python 运行时初始化失败:</string>
+    <string name="fatal_copy_log">复制日志</string>
+    <string name="fatal_show_details">显示详情</string>
+    <string name="fatal_hide_details">隐藏详情</string>
+    <string name="notification_channel_name">LedGrab 屏幕捕获</string>
+    <string name="notification_channel_description">LedGrab 捕获屏幕时显示。</string>
+    <string name="notification_title">LedGrab 运行中</string>
+    <string name="notification_text">Web界面:%1$s</string>
 </resources>
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml b/android/app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml
index 97b5eaf..6741f73 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml
+++ b/android/app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml
@@ -3,12 +3,26 @@
     <string name="app_name">LedGrab</string>
     <string name="tagline">Ambient lighting for your TV</string>
     <string name="btn_start">Start Capture</string>
+    <string name="btn_starting">Starting…</string>
     <string name="btn_stop">Stop</string>
     <string name="status_running">Running</string>
+    <string name="status_checking_root">Checking root access…</string>
+    <string name="status_permission_denied">Permission denied — screen capture requires authorization</string>
+    <string name="status_no_network">No network — connect Wi-Fi or Ethernet</string>
     <string name="label_web_ui">Web UI address</string>
     <string name="scan_to_configure">Scan to configure</string>
+    <string name="scan_fallback_hint">or visit the URL above on any device on this network</string>
     <string name="qr_description">QR code for web UI</string>
     <string name="version_prefix">v%1$s</string>
     <string name="autostart_label">Start on boot (root only)</string>
     <string name="autostart_unavailable">Start on boot — unavailable (root required)</string>
+    <string name="fatal_title">LedGrab failed to start</string>
+    <string name="fatal_body_prefix">Python runtime initialization failed:</string>
+    <string name="fatal_copy_log">Copy log</string>
+    <string name="fatal_show_details">Show details</string>
+    <string name="fatal_hide_details">Hide details</string>
+    <string name="notification_channel_name">LedGrab capture</string>
+    <string name="notification_channel_description">Shows while LedGrab is capturing the screen.</string>
+    <string name="notification_title">LedGrab Running</string>
+    <string name="notification_text">Web UI: %1$s</string>
 </resources>
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/res/values/themes.xml b/android/app/src/main/res/values/themes.xml
index 7cb4d52..56fee4b 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/res/values/themes.xml
+++ b/android/app/src/main/res/values/themes.xml
@@ -12,6 +12,16 @@
         <item name="android:colorControlActivated">@color/teal_accent</item>
     </style>
 
+    <!-- Splash screen theme. Compatible across API levels via the
+         androidx.core:core-splashscreen library. On API 31+ the system
+         splash uses the foreground icon; on older versions the launch
+         theme just paints the navy background, which is harmless. -->
+    <style name="Theme.LedGrab.Splash" parent="Theme.SplashScreen">
+        <item name="windowSplashScreenBackground">@color/bg_navy</item>
+        <item name="windowSplashScreenAnimatedIcon">@drawable/ic_splash</item>
+        <item name="postSplashScreenTheme">@style/Theme.LedGrab</item>
+    </style>
+
     <style name="Widget.LedGrab.Button.Primary" parent="@android:style/Widget.Button">
         <item name="android:background">@drawable/bg_button_primary</item>
         <item name="android:textColor">@color/bg_navy</item>
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/res/xml/network_security_config.xml b/android/app/src/main/res/xml/network_security_config.xml
index 07a18cf..277d5c2 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/res/xml/network_security_config.xml
+++ b/android/app/src/main/res/xml/network_security_config.xml
@@ -1,8 +1,28 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <!--
-    LedGrab communicates with WLED controllers, Home Assistant, and MQTT
-    brokers on the local network via plain HTTP/UDP.  Cleartext traffic
-    must be allowed for these connections to work on Android 9+.
+    LedGrab is a LAN-only app:
+      - Inbound: web UI / API on the device (HTTP, port 8080)
+      - Outbound: WLED HTTP/UDP, Home Assistant, MQTT brokers, mDNS
+
+    All of these are plaintext on the local network. Android's network
+    security config doesn't support CIDR allowlists, so we cannot
+    restrict cleartext to RFC1918 ranges declaratively — we have to
+    permit cleartext base-wide.
+
+    Defence-in-depth that ACTUALLY mitigates this:
+      1. Inbound: the FastAPI server in this app rejects non-loopback
+         requests when no API key is configured (see ledgrab.api.auth).
+         The Android launcher auto-generates an API key on first run
+         (see ApiKeyManager.kt) and injects it via the
+         LEDGRAB_AUTH__API_KEYS env var before uvicorn starts. The
+         user's phone receives the key by scanning the QR, which
+         embeds the key as a URL fragment (never logged server-side).
+      2. Outbound: targets are validated by net_classify in the Python
+         layer (LAN-only HTTP, SSRF-safe).
+
+    DO NOT remove the cleartext permission without first migrating
+    every LAN peer to HTTPS — most WLED firmware, mDNS, and the LAN
+    HTTP server itself rely on this flag.
 -->
 <network-security-config>
     <base-config cleartextTrafficPermitted="true" />
diff --git a/android/build-scripts/build-pydantic-core.sh b/android/build-scripts/build-pydantic-core.sh
index d8e226c..3cdc452 100644
--- a/android/build-scripts/build-pydantic-core.sh
+++ b/android/build-scripts/build-pydantic-core.sh
@@ -1,16 +1,18 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 #
-# Cross-compile pydantic-core for Android across all three ABIs:
-#   arm64-v8a (primary — real TV hardware)
-#   x86_64    (modern emulators)
-#   x86       (legacy emulators)
+# Cross-compile pydantic-core for Android across all supported ABIs:
+#   arm64-v8a   (primary — modern TV hardware)
+#   x86_64      (modern emulators)
+#   x86         (legacy emulators)
+#   armeabi-v7a (32-bit ARMv7 — older cheap TV boxes like X96 mini, MeCool)
 #
 # Outputs wheels into android/wheels/. Wheels are linked against the real
 # libpython3.11.so shipped by Chaquopy (stub .so does NOT work — see
 # memory/project_android_app.md for the incident notes).
 #
 # Prerequisites (on host):
-#   - Rust + cargo (rustup) with targets: aarch64/x86_64/i686-linux-android
+#   - Rust + cargo (rustup) with targets:
+#     aarch64/x86_64/i686/armv7a-linux-android(eabi)
 #   - Android NDK (ANDROID_NDK_HOME, or installed at Sdk/ndk/*)
 #   - Python 3.11 (matches Chaquopy's embedded version)
 #   - maturin (pip install maturin)
@@ -19,9 +21,10 @@
 # core dependency version changes.
 #
 # Usage:
-#   ./build-pydantic-core.sh                 # build all three ABIs
-#   ./build-pydantic-core.sh arm64           # build a single ABI
-#   ./build-pydantic-core.sh arm64 x86_64    # build a subset
+#   ./build-pydantic-core.sh                       # build all 4 ABIs
+#   ./build-pydantic-core.sh arm64                 # build a single ABI
+#   ./build-pydantic-core.sh arm64 x86_64          # build a subset
+#   ./build-pydantic-core.sh armv7                 # 32-bit ARM only
 #
 set -euo pipefail
 
@@ -91,21 +94,23 @@ fi
 # ── ABI table ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 # Columns: short_name rust_target clang_prefix sysconfig_dir
 ABI_TABLE=(
-    "arm64   aarch64-linux-android  aarch64-linux-android${API_LEVEL}  cross-sysconfig"
-    "x86_64  x86_64-linux-android   x86_64-linux-android${API_LEVEL}   cross-sysconfig-x86_64"
-    "x86     i686-linux-android     i686-linux-android${API_LEVEL}     cross-sysconfig-x86"
+    "arm64   aarch64-linux-android    aarch64-linux-android${API_LEVEL}    cross-sysconfig"
+    "x86_64  x86_64-linux-android     x86_64-linux-android${API_LEVEL}     cross-sysconfig-x86_64"
+    "x86     i686-linux-android       i686-linux-android${API_LEVEL}       cross-sysconfig-x86"
+    "armv7   armv7-linux-androideabi  armv7a-linux-androideabi${API_LEVEL} cross-sysconfig-armv7"
 )
 
 declare -A ABI_TAG_MAP=(
     [arm64]="arm64_v8a"
     [x86_64]="x86_64"
     [x86]="x86"
+    [armv7]="armeabi_v7a"
 )
 
 # ── Select which ABIs to build ──────────────────────────────────────
 SELECTED=("$@")
 if [ ${#SELECTED[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
-    SELECTED=(arm64 x86_64 x86)
+    SELECTED=(arm64 x86_64 x86 armv7)
 fi
 
 # ── Ensure rust targets are installed ───────────────────────────────
diff --git a/server/src/ledgrab/android_entry.py b/server/src/ledgrab/android_entry.py
index 9efaa0c..ea1a8d9 100644
--- a/server/src/ledgrab/android_entry.py
+++ b/server/src/ledgrab/android_entry.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ inside an Android application.  Sets up Android-specific paths
 """
 
 import asyncio
+import json
 import os
 import threading
 from typing import Any
@@ -15,7 +16,7 @@ _server: Any | None = None  # uvicorn.Server
 _loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop | None = None
 
 
-def start_server(data_dir: str, port: int = 8080) -> None:
+def start_server(data_dir: str, port: int = 8080, api_key: str | None = None) -> None:
     """Start the LedGrab uvicorn server.
 
     Called from Kotlin's ``PythonBridge.startServer()``.  This function
@@ -26,6 +27,11 @@ def start_server(data_dir: str, port: int = 8080) -> None:
         data_dir: Android app-private files directory
                   (e.g. ``/data/data/com.ledgrab.android/files``).
         port: HTTP port for the web UI / API.
+        api_key: Optional Bearer token to enable LAN auth. When set,
+                 published as ``LEDGRAB_AUTH__API_KEYS={"android":<key>}``
+                 so the server's auth gate accepts LAN requests carrying
+                 ``Authorization: Bearer <key>``. When None, the server
+                 falls back to its default (loopback-only).
     """
     # ── Configure paths before any LedGrab imports ──────────────
     os.makedirs(os.path.join(data_dir, "data"), exist_ok=True)
@@ -41,6 +47,14 @@ def start_server(data_dir: str, port: int = 8080) -> None:
     os.environ["LEDGRAB_SERVER__HOST"] = "0.0.0.0"
     os.environ["LEDGRAB_SERVER__PORT"] = str(port)
 
+    # Provision LAN auth when the Kotlin launcher supplied a key. The
+    # config layer (pydantic-settings) parses ``LEDGRAB_AUTH__API_KEYS``
+    # as JSON when the value starts with `{`. We use a dict so the
+    # rest of the codebase sees a labelled key just like the YAML
+    # config form (api_keys: {android: ...}).
+    if api_key:
+        os.environ["LEDGRAB_AUTH__API_KEYS"] = json.dumps({"android": api_key})
+
     # ── Now safe to import LedGrab ──────────────────────────────
     import uvicorn  # noqa: E402
 
@@ -50,10 +64,25 @@ def start_server(data_dir: str, port: int = 8080) -> None:
     logger = get_logger(__name__)
     logger.info("LedGrab Android: starting server on port %d", port)
     logger.info("Data directory: %s", data_dir)
+    if api_key:
+        logger.info("LedGrab Android: API key auth enabled (label=android)")
+    else:
+        logger.warning("LedGrab Android: no API key — LAN requests will be rejected")
 
     from ledgrab.config import get_config  # noqa: E402
 
     config = get_config()
+    # Defensive: confirm the env var actually landed in the parsed config.
+    # If pydantic-settings ever changes how it deserialises dict[str, str]
+    # from env, the LAN auth would silently break (server would 401 every
+    # phone scan). Logging the mismatch makes the failure mode obvious in
+    # adb logcat.
+    if api_key and config.auth.api_keys.get("android") != api_key:
+        logger.error(
+            "LedGrab Android: API key did NOT land in config — LAN auth will "
+            "reject all requests. Check pydantic-settings dict parsing for "
+            "LEDGRAB_AUTH__API_KEYS."
+        )
 
     uv_config = uvicorn.Config(
         "ledgrab.main:app",
diff --git a/server/src/ledgrab/static/js/app.ts b/server/src/ledgrab/static/js/app.ts
index 21bdf42..5a100cc 100644
--- a/server/src/ledgrab/static/js/app.ts
+++ b/server/src/ledgrab/static/js/app.ts
@@ -244,6 +244,30 @@ import {
     initDonationBanner, dismissDonation, snoozeDonation, renderAboutPanel, setProjectUrls,
 } from './features/donation.ts';
 
+// ─── Out-of-band API key delivery (URL fragment) ───
+
+/**
+ * Parse the URL fragment for an API key delivered out-of-band.
+ * Supported forms:
+ *   #k=<token>
+ *   #key=<token>
+ *   #/some-route#k=<token>     (key wins; route still applies)
+ *
+ * Returns null when no key is present or the value looks invalid
+ * (whitespace / suspicious characters). Tokens are constrained to a
+ * conservative URL-safe alphabet to avoid accepting arbitrary input
+ * — the Android launcher uses 64-char hex.
+ */
+function readApiKeyFromFragment(): string | null {
+    const hash = location.hash;
+    if (!hash) return null;
+    // Strip leading '#' once; search inside for either ?k= or &k= or
+    // a leading k=, plus the `key=` long form.
+    const body = hash.replace(/^#/, '');
+    const match = body.match(/(?:^|[?&#])(?:k|key)=([A-Za-z0-9_-]{16,512})/);
+    return match ? match[1] : null;
+}
+
 // ─── Register all HTML onclick / onchange / onfocus globals ───
 
 Object.assign(window, {
@@ -724,6 +748,21 @@ window.addEventListener('beforeunload', () => {
 
 document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', async () => {
   try {
+    // Bootstrap auth: first check the URL fragment for a key delivered
+    // out-of-band (e.g. the Android TV launcher embeds the per-install
+    // API key in the QR as ``#k=<token>``). Fragments are never sent in
+    // HTTP requests so this is safe to log. Persist to localStorage and
+    // strip the hash so a refresh doesn't keep showing it in the URL.
+    const tokenFromFragment = readApiKeyFromFragment();
+    if (tokenFromFragment) {
+        localStorage.setItem('ledgrab_api_key', tokenFromFragment);
+        try {
+            history.replaceState(null, '', location.pathname + location.search);
+        } catch {
+            // Older browsers without history API support — leave the
+            // fragment alone; it's already cached in localStorage.
+        }
+    }
     // Load API key from localStorage before anything that triggers API calls
     setApiKey(localStorage.getItem('ledgrab_api_key'));