google/ExoPlayer · error · GlException

eglCreateContext() failed to create a valid context. The dev

Error message

eglCreateContext() failed to create a valid context. The device may not support EGL version {version}

What it means

Thrown by GlUtil.Api17.createEglContext (reached from GlUtil.createEglContext) when android.opengl.EGL14.eglCreateContext returns null for the requested client version and config attributes. A null return means EGL could not create a context of that GLES version (commonly GLES 3.0 requested via version=3) with the chosen config — the message explicitly suggests the device may not support that EGL/GLES version. The display is terminated before throwing, since it cannot be reused.

Source

Thrown at library/common/src/main/java/com/google/android/exoplayer2/util/GlUtil.java:728

      checkGlError();
      return eglDisplay;
    }

    @DoNotInline
    public static EGLContext createEglContext(
        EGLContext sharedContext, EGLDisplay eglDisplay, int version, int[] configAttributes)
        throws GlException {
      int[] contextAttributes = {EGL14.EGL_CONTEXT_CLIENT_VERSION, version, EGL14.EGL_NONE};
      EGLContext eglContext =
          EGL14.eglCreateContext(
              eglDisplay,
              getEglConfig(eglDisplay, configAttributes),
              sharedContext,
              contextAttributes,
              /* offset= */ 0);
      if (eglContext == null) {
        EGL14.eglTerminate(eglDisplay);
        throw new GlException(
            "eglCreateContext() failed to create a valid context. The device may not support EGL"
                + " version "
                + version);
      }
      checkGlError();
      return eglContext;
    }

    @DoNotInline
    public static EGLSurface createEglSurface(
        EGLDisplay eglDisplay, Object surface, int[] configAttributes, int[] windowAttributes)
        throws GlException {
      EGLSurface eglSurface =
          EGL14.eglCreateWindowSurface(
              eglDisplay,
              getEglConfig(eglDisplay, configAttributes),
              surface,
              windowAttributes,

View on GitHub (pinned to dd430f7053)

Solutions

1. Detect capability up front and fall back to GLES 2.0: query the device's supported version (from EGLConfig renderable type / glGetString(GL_VERSION) on a temp context) and pick version 2 when 3 is unavailable
2. Fall back from the 10-bit path: if the 1010102 config/context fails, retry with RGBA_8888 + version 2 and an SDR (tone-mapped) pipeline
3. Ensure you release EGL contexts/surfaces you own (GlUtil.destroyContext) so context creation does not exhaust driver limits
4. On emulators, enable host GPU passthrough or test on a physical device supporting GLES 3.0

Example fix

// before
EGLContext ctx = GlUtil.createEglContext(sharedContext, eglDisplay, /* version= */ 3,
    GlUtil.EGL_CONFIG_ATTRIBUTES_RGBA_1010102); // throws on GLES2-only device
// after
boolean hasGles3 = deviceSupportsGles3(); // check via FeatureFlags or temp context glGetString
EGLContext ctx = GlUtil.createEglContext(sharedContext, eglDisplay,
    hasGles3 ? 3 : 2,
    hasGles3 ? GlUtil.EGL_CONFIG_ATTRIBUTES_RGBA_1010102
             : GlUtil.EGL_CONFIG_ATTRIBUTES_RGBA_8888);

boolean gles3 = ((ActivityManager) context.getSystemService(Context.ACTIVITY_SERVICE))
    .getDeviceConfigurationInfo().reqGlEsVersion >= 0x30000;

try { ctx = GlUtil.createEglContext(shared, display, 3, attrs1010102); }
catch (GlException e) { ctx = GlUtil.createEglContext(shared, display, 2, GlUtil.EGL_CONFIG_ATTRIBUTES_RGBA_8888); }

When it happens

Trigger: Requesting EGL_CONTEXT_CLIENT_VERSION 3 (used by RGBA_1010102 / 16-bit float / HDR pipelines) on devices whose driver only supports GLES 2.0; requesting a 10-bit config (EGL_CONFIG_ATTRIBUTES_RGBA_1010102) not exposed by the device's EGL implementation; passing a sharedContext from an incompatible context version; or EGL resources exhausted (too many live contexts).

Common situations: Transformer/effects HDR export or PQ/HLG editing on budget/older devices and some emulators lacking GLES3; apps mixing GLSurfaceView contexts with ExoPlayer-created contexts incorrectly; long-running sessions leaking EGL contexts until creation fails.

Related errors

• eglChooseConfig failed.
• Unsupported color transfer: {colorTransfer}
• No call to setSamplerTexId() before bind.
• Unexpected uniform type: {type}
• glError: {gluErrorString(error)}

AI-assisted analysis of google/ExoPlayer@dd430f7053 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e9a014e35776ae9d. Report an issue: GitHub.