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App Crashes Silently When Calling RtmClient.release()

Updated

Issue Description

Some developers have reported that their Android app crashes silently (without any visible error) when calling the RtmClient.release() method during cleanup — usually right after ending a call or logging out from Agora RTM.
The crash typically occurs inconsistently and may not be reproducible every time.

 

Platform/SDK

  • Platform: Android

  • SDK: Agora RTM SDK v2.2.4

  • Product: Video Calling (Signaling)

Error Message

The crash log may look like the following:

Fatal signal 11 (SIGSEGV), code 1 (SEGV_MAPERR), fault addr 0xffff00000018 
in tid 17942 (DefaultDispatch), pid 17340 (com.simpleviralgames.hopmate.debug)

Cmdline: pid: 11729, tid: 11763, name: DefaultDispatch
#00 pc 000000000040d648 /data/app/.../libagora-rtm-sdk.so

Step-by-Step Solution

Step 1: Ensure All RTM Operations Are Completed Before Release

Before calling RtmClient.release(), make sure that no asynchronous operations are still in progress, such as:

  • Presence or attribute updates

  • Logout requests

  • Any pending callbacks

👉 Always wait for completion callbacks:

// Logout example
rtmClient.logout(new ResultCallback<Void>() {
    @Override
    public void onSuccess(Void response) {
        // Wait for logout success before releasing
        new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper()).postDelayed(() -> {
            rtmClient.release();
        }, 300); // small delay (300ms)
    }

    @Override
    public void onFailure(ErrorInfo errorInfo) {
        Log.e("Agora", "Logout failed: " + errorInfo);
    }
});

Step 2: Maintain the Correct Operation Order

Follow this sequence to ensure safe cleanup:

  1. Complete all presence or attribute operations.

  2. Call logout().

  3. Wait for onLogout() success callback.

  4. Add a short delay (200–500ms).

  5. Then call release().

Step 3: Avoid Accessing Released Client Instances

Ensure no background tasks, listeners, or callbacks attempt to use the RTM client after release.

  • Null-check all references before reuse.

  • Clear event handlers/listeners before calling release().

Step 4: Optional – Add a Defensive Try-Catch

In debug builds, you may wrap the cleanup logic in a try-catch to log unexpected behavior:

try {
    rtmClient.release();
} catch (Exception e) {
    Log.e("Agora", "Safe release failed: ", e);
}

 

Root Cause

The crash occurs when RtmClient.release() is called while the SDK’s internal threads are still processing callbacks or background operations (e.g., presence update, logout event).
This causes a segmentation fault inside the native libagora-rtm-sdk.so library because underlying resources are freed prematurely.

 

Prevention / Best Practices

  • Always wait for asynchronous callbacks (like onLogout()) before releasing.

  • Add a short grace delay (200–500ms) after logout to ensure background threads terminate cleanly.

  • Avoid calling release() from within callback threads that may still be using the SDK.

  • Implement state flags to prevent duplicate release calls.

Corresponding Document / Link

 

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