Obsidian App No Longer Working on Samsung Tablet on Android 7.1.1

Help
1

What I’m trying to do

Hello! The obsidian app is no longer working on my samsung galaxy tab A that is currently running Android 7.1.1. I had little to no issues with the app and after debloating/not using the app for around a month, the app can’t get past a blank screen.

Things I have tried

I’ve tried restarting the device, deleting and redownloading, checking what android version is needed to run the app, checking the WebView App to see if there was any way to fix it there. As for forums I have checked, I looked at a number of forums that related to older devices on android being unable to run the app. Most of the responses were in regards to Chome WebView and updating it. I looked in the google playstore and f-droid for an app with this name, and looked at some forums to see what this app is, but didn’t find anything.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!

2

Hi,

If your copy of Obsidian worked a month ago, then any older Android version shouldn’t be the problem. Android 7.1.1 is quite a bit old, though.
Samsung phones usually are pretty performat, so “maybe” you could consider to update to version 9, better 10 too, just as additional option to consider.

Samsung is a well known brand, I assume their updater is well written and painless to apply. New updates shouldn’t penalize responsiveness of your phone and your apps should keep quick and snappy after updates.

On desktop computers the updating process isn’t smooth if your device is too old, eg more than 5 years old. Phone apps aren’t so demanding like desktop apps.

Debloating? Ok, but maybe try to launch again your debloat app and check the settings you made to be sure, essential services are working normally. Basically, services you need to use your phone.

I know, it’s boring to read the descriptions of services you want to deactivate, but you’ve to. Some services cover multiple features, so you need to know what you’re doing.

Maybe there’s yet another issue, like old themes, old snippets or old plugins to stop obsidian to work correctly. Deactivate them, at least to see if Obs starts up.

Webview then, is responsible to render what you see on-screen, therefore if your browser works correctly with your updated Webview, then you don’t need to worry about Webview.

Just document all the steps you went through for you own sanity so you have an idea what you did already or what you could research more.

Maybe you could try to backup (zip) your obsidian vault, uninstall obsidian and get an older version of Obs. If so, you need to update your Samsung phone.