Android Screen Mirroring Shows a Black Screen: Causes and Fixes

You mirror an Android phone to your computer and get a black picture, either for one app or for everything. The cause decides the fix, so first notice when it is black.

Black only in some apps

This is almost always on purpose. Apps can mark their windows as secure (FLAG_SECURE), and Android then hides them from screenshots, screen recording and mirroring. You see black while that app is open, and the picture comes back when you leave it.

Typical examples:

• Banking, payment and wallet apps
• Password managers and authenticator apps
• Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and other paid streaming apps (protected video)
• Some messaging apps in private or incognito chats
• Screens where you type a PIN or password

There is no setting in ADB or the mirroring tool that changes this, and that is a good thing. Test those screens directly on the phone.

Black for the whole screen

The phone is locked or the screen is off

Some phones stop sending frames while the screen is off or the lock screen is shown. Unlock the phone and wake the screen. Turn on Stay awake in Developer options while you work.

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO

Without USB debugging (Security settings), Xiaomi phones may show the screen but block input, and some models also limit capture. Turn it on as described in Xiaomi USB debugging and security settings.

The video codec failed

Mirroring tools encode the screen as video on the phone. A few phones have problems with a particular codec or resolution, which shows as a black or frozen picture.

• scrcpy: try scrcpy --video-codec=h265, or lower the size with scrcpy -m 1024.
• ADBKit: open More tools › Stream quality and choose 1080p or 720p instead of native.

Another app is recording the screen

Only one screen recorder can usually run at a time. Stop other recording or casting apps on the phone, and stop any adb shell screenrecord you started.

A work profile or device policy

Company-managed phones can disable screen capture entirely. That applies to every mirroring tool.

Black only for video, not for the menus

That is protected (DRM) video, as above. Menus and the rest of the app capture normally, the video area stays black. Screenshots taken with adb exec-out screencap -p behave the same.

Quick checklist

1. Black in one app only? It is protected. Test that screen on the phone itself.
2. Whole screen black? Unlock and wake the phone.
3. Xiaomi? Turn on USB debugging (Security settings).
4. Still black? Lower the stream quality or change the codec.
5. Stop other screen recorders and casting apps.

More mirroring tips in Android screen mirroring tips.