Notes on Android emulator on Win 11 PC with 16 GB RAM; Related React Native and Expo Go notes

Last updated on 27 Dec. 2025

These notes are about Android emulator usage on my current Win 11, Intel i3 12th gen processor, 16 GB RAM PC.

An older post which may not be of much use but I think I should mention it here: Notes on Android Emulator for running React Native developed app on 4 GB RAM PC.

Quick Info

Navigate the emulator screen (Android docs)

Some notable points from above link, other sources and my trials:

To terminate an app: Recent Apps -> Quick mouse scroll wheel down
To terminate all running apps: Recent Apps -> Swipe to extreme left -> Tap 'Clear All' button
To see all apps in phone from home screen -> Mouse scroll wheel down.
F1 shows keyboard shortcuts for emulator program itself.

-------

To solve error of APK install failing due to not having enough free storage on Android emulator, on 9 Dec. 2025, I added 4 GB to Internal storage of Android emulator - Medium Phone API 35 (only device).

It was 7168 MB earlier. I made it around 11264 MB. Search for "Procedure followed to do it" in Details section below to get related details.

-------

The earlier command I was using to start Android emulator from Powershell was not having the '-gpu angle -no-snapshot-load' flags/options. I was facing two problems with the emulator, off and on:

Emulator itself freezes. No change on any action.
Emulator screen goes black but does not freeze. However I cannot read the screen.

Based on ChatGPT (CG) advice, command I am using now to start Android emulator from Powershell:

C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Android\Sdk\emulator\emulator.exe" -avd Medium_Phone_API_35 -gpu angle -no-snapshot-load"

-gpu angle
This forces the emulator to use ANGLE (Direct3D 11) instead of native OpenGL or Vulkan.
On Windows 11, ANGLE is generally more stable and avoids many GPU driver incompatibilities that can lead to freezes or black screens.
-no-snapshot-load
This forces a true cold boot, ignoring any previously saved Quick Boot snapshots.
As per CG, emulator snapshots can sometimes preserve corrupted graphics or framebuffer state, which then causes rendering issues on subsequent launches.

With above command, in initial usage, the emulator freezing or its screen going black problems did not happen. But the emulator is slightly slower.

-------

My PC display adapter is: Intel(R) UHD Graphics 730.

Device Manager Driver tab shows:

Driver Provider: Intel Corporation
Driver Date: 18-10-2024
Driver Version: 32.0.101.6129

As per CG, this is a modern Intel graphics driver for 12th-gen CPUs. So my emulator issues were not caused by an obsolete or incorrect GPU driver.

Intel® Driver & Support Assistant (IDSA) said UHD Graphics update is available - Driver version 32.0.101.7082 released on December 8, 2025.

But I was hesitant to update it in case it caused issues as it would be a key driver update done outside of Windows Update. If that broke the OS or made it unstable, I would have to rollback the driver. See details section for more. Below in this Quick Info section itself, there is a short account of my exchange with CG on my decision to defer the driver update.

----

With help from CG, I checked my system settings related to Android emulator. Based on my inputs, as per CG my current system state summary is as follows:

Virtualization & Hypervisor

BIOS VT-x: effectively enabled (WHPX usable)
Virtual Machine Platform: Enabled
WHPX: Installed and usable
Hypervisor: Active
Hyper-V UI: Disabled (this is fine)

Security

Memory Integrity: OFF (good for emulator graphics)

AVD

RAM: 2048 MB
VM heap: 336 MB
Cold boot
No snapshots
Graphics: Automatic (ANGLE override applied)

Emulator launch


-gpu angle -no-snapshot-load

As per CG, this is a clean, correct, and conservative configuration.

----------

My view about Intel Graphics driver update is:

If angle gives me stable behaviour then I will stick with it.
If angle too gives me issues then I will consider driver update and all the time investement for that.

As per CG, sticking with -gpu angle and deferring the Intel graphics driver update is a rational and efficient choice given my goals and constraints (I don't want to spend too much time on it when probability of improvement seems limited).

===============================================

Details

Some, if not all entries below (with date) are in reverse chronological order.

27 Dec. 2025

Associated private ChatGPT (CG) chat: Android Emulator Freeze Windows 11

Me: Android emulator issues on Windows 11 PC.

Error shown in console from which the android emulator program was started:

Created VkInstance:0000022919406760 for application: engine:.

INFO | Critical:

INFO | Created VkInstance:0000022919406760 for application:Impeller engine:Impeller.

INFO | Created VkDevice:00000229AFA5C478 for application:Impeller engine:Impeller ASTC emulation:off CPU decoding:off.

INFO | Created VkInstance:0000022919406760 for application:Impeller engine:Impeller.

INFO | Created VkDevice:00000229AFA3ED08 for application:Impeller engine:Impeller ASTC emulation:off CPU decoding:off.

---------------

The emulator itself is frozen. No change on any action.

[Update on above: As I inspected the above lines closely, I think I made an error in not providing CG more data. I saw the word Critical in the console log and thought it is an error. But now it seems it could only be Critical info. and Critical error. There were many other lines in the console log but I did not want to overload CG with info as I thought I had got the key error line. ... I shared this later with CG and CG agreed.

Next time around if I try without angle and get this freeze error, I will zero in on the main error statements in the log and share that with CG to try to confirm whether it is a Vulkan related error. end-Update]

...

Me: For now, I will close and restart the emulator.That should fix this issue. Later I may consider some of your above suggestions.

...

Me: Another class of emulator error I face:

The emulator screen goes black but does not freeze. However I cannot read the screen.

Console shows:

C:/buildbot/src/android/emu-35-3-release/hardware/google/gfxstream/host/gl/glestranslator/GLES_V2/GLESv2Imp.cpp:glReadPixels:3310 error 0x506

C:/buildbot/src/android/emu-35-3-release/hardware/google/gfxstream/host/gl/glestranslator/GLES_V2/GLESv2Imp.cpp:glPixelStorei:3288 error 0x501

C:/buildbot/src/android/emu-35-3-release/hardware/google/gfxstream/host/gl/glestranslator/GLES_V2/GLESv2Imp.cpp:glReadPixels:3310 error 0x506

C:/buildbot/src/android/emu-35-3-release/hardware/google/gfxstream/host/gl/glestranslator/GLES_V2/GLESv2Imp.cpp:glPixelStorei:3288 error 0x501

...

CG: ...

1. Switch emulator graphics backend

Since your previous log involved Impeller + Vulkan, and this one is OpenGL ES errors:

Open Device Manager → Edit AVD → Advanced Settings
Emulated Performance → Graphics
- If currently Automatic or OpenGL, switch to:
  - ANGLE (D3D11) → safest for Windows 11
  - If still black, try Software (SwiftShader) temporarily

Reason: ANGLE translates OpenGL ES to Direct3D, which avoids most driver-specific OpenGL bugs.

...

Me: Emulated Performance → Graphics is automatic but I cannot change it.

...

Me: In Device Manager → Edit AVD → Advanced Settings

“Enable snapshot” is not shown.

Emulator Performance -> boot option : is set to Quick Boot. I can change it to Cold Boot.

...

Me: changed it to cold boot. closed emul.

Now command I use to start emulator:

C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Android\Sdk\emulator\emulator.exe" -avd Medium_Phone_API_35"

U r suggesting change to:

C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Android\Sdk\emulator\emulator.exe" -avd Medium_Phone_API_35 -gpu angle -no-snapshot-load"

Am I right?

CG: Exactly right. ...

Me: This time around I did not face the issue for few minutes that I used emulator. But it seemed to be a little slower.

...

Me: As advised by you, I am now using the command to start the emulator as:

C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Android\Sdk\emulator\emulator.exe" -avd Medium_Phone_API_35 -gpu angle -no-snapshot-load"

-----

Please give me a summary note to publish on my blog about why I should use the above variation (with -gpu angle and -no-snapshot-load).

CG (slight edits by me within [Ravi: ]): ...

Why I launch the Android emulator with `-gpu angle -no-snapshot-load` on Windows 11

On my Windows 11 PC, I occasionally face Android Emulator issues such as:

Emulator window freezing [Ravi: at times after usage].
Emulator screen turning completely black while still responding to input
Repeated OpenGL / GLES errors in the console (for example, glReadPixels or framebuffer-related errors)

These issues are typically graphics backend–related, not app-related.

To improve stability, I now launch the emulator using the following command-line options:

-gpu angle
This forces the emulator to use ANGLE (Direct3D 11) instead of native OpenGL or Vulkan.
On Windows 11, ANGLE is generally more stable and avoids many GPU driver incompatibilities that can lead to freezes or black screens.
-no-snapshot-load
This forces a true cold boot, ignoring any previously saved Quick Boot snapshots.
In my experience, emulator snapshots can sometimes preserve corrupted graphics or framebuffer state, which then causes rendering issues on subsequent launches.

Using this combination trades a small amount of startup performance for significantly better reliability. The emulator may start a little slower, but it launches consistently and remains usable, which is more important for day-to-day development and testing.

This approach is especially helpful when the emulator UI locks the graphics setting to “Automatic” and does not allow manual changes.

---

Me: You had earlier said: Update GPU drivers (do not rely on Windows Update)

Go directly to the vendor site:

=================

I will now share my PC configuration:

Budget PC configuration of Intel Core i3-12100 processor, GIGABYTE H610M K motherboard, 16 GB (as 2 x 8 GB) Crucial DDR4 RAM, 240 GB SSD, 400 Watts SMPS , PC cabinet, 22 inch. monitor, keyboard and mouse

Please guide me to check whether I have got the correct GPU drivers

...

Me: Device Manager says:

Display adapters

Intel(R) UHD Graphics 730

Right-click Intel(R) UHD Graphics 730 -> Properties -> Driver tab shows:

Driver Provider: Intel Corporation

Driver Date: 18-10-2024

Driver Version: 32.0.101.6129

Digital Signer: Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher

...

CG: ...

Your GPU driver is correct and up to date

This is a modern Intel graphics driver for 12th-gen CPUs. There is no indication here of:

Missing drivers
Generic Microsoft fallback drivers
Outdated OpenGL / DirectX stacks

So your emulator issues were not caused by an obsolete or incorrect GPU driver.

...

Me: ... Google search gave: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/detect.html

It does not mention Windows 11. Is it Ok to download and try it out?

CG ... Even though that page does not explicitly mention “Windows 11”, the tool does support Windows 11. ...

Me: I have installed IDSA. It runs in the browser, is it? It opened in the browser and asked for some permissions to access devices which I gave.

...

Me: It said UHD Graphics update is available. I am downloading it.

[This download (seems to be 800 MB) stalled after 30% and did not restart even after page refresh, cancelling download and visiting page again etc.]

Me: The download froze at 30%. Meanwhile I looked at its release notes - https://downloadmirror.intel.com/870640/ReleaseNotes_101.7082.pdf

...

Me: My driver version is only 32.0.101.6129

so lot of new releases seem to have happened

[I noted that it did not get auto updated when I did Windows Update in early December to some version prior to this which was made available by Intel. CG gave some input about how and why Microsoft delays such driver updates ...]

Me: My concern is that if I download and install this Intel update, since Microsoft Update may not have tested it, I could run into Windows 11 issues.

...

Me: Can u check whether between Driver Version: 32.0.101.6129 and Driver version 32.0.101.7082 there have been significant improvements that will help me run Android emulator more efficiently?

[CG was not able to give a clear answer.]

Me: I would like to check other settings like Hypervisor or whatever. Please guide me.

CG: Understood. Let us approach this methodically and conservatively, focusing on hypervisor and virtualization-related settings that directly affect Android Emulator stability and performance on Windows 11 + Intel i3-12100 (UHD 730).

I will structure this as a checklist, with what to check, why it matters, and what to do depending on the result.

1. CPU Virtualization in BIOS (mandatory)

What to check

Reboot PC → Enter BIOS/UEFI (usually DEL or F2 on Gigabyte boards)
Look for:
- Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x) → Enabled
- VT-d → Enabled (optional but recommended)

Why it matters

Android Emulator relies heavily on CPU virtualization.
If VT-x is disabled, the emulator either:
- Falls back to very slow software mode, or
- Exhibits instability during graphics operations.

Expected state

✔ VT-x: Enabled

If already enabled → good, move on.

2. Windows Hypervisor Platform (WHPX)

What to check

Open Windows Features (optionalfeatures.exe) and verify:

✔ Windows Hypervisor Platform → Enabled

Why it matters

Android Emulator uses WHPX on Windows 11 (even when Hyper-V itself is not explicitly used).
Missing WHPX causes:
- Slower emulator
- Odd freezes
- Graphics timing issues

Important note

You do NOT need full Hyper-V enabled just for Android Emulator.

3. Hyper-V (controlled decision)

What to check

In Windows Features:

Hyper-V
- Hyper-V Platform
- Hyper-V Management Tools

Recommendation for your system

For Intel UHD 730 + Android Emulator:

Either configuration works, but do not partially enable it
- If enabled → enable both platform + management
- If disabled → disable both

Practical advice

If you do not use:

Docker Desktop
WSL2 heavily
VirtualBox (Hyper-V compatible mode)

Then:

Hyper-V can stay disabled
WHPX alone is sufficient

4. Virtual Machine Platform (important)

What to check

In Windows Features:

✔ Virtual Machine Platform → Enabled

Why it matters

Required for:
- Modern Android Emulator acceleration
- WSL2 compatibility
Helps with consistent CPU scheduling for the emulator

5. Core Isolation / Memory Integrity (common hidden culprit)

What to check

Windows Security
Device Security
Core isolation details
Memory integrity

Recommended setting (for emulator stability)

Memory integrity: OFF

Why this matters

Memory Integrity uses virtualization-based security (VBS).
On Intel iGPU systems, this can:
- Interfere with GPU driver memory mapping
- Cause black screens or GLES readback failures
This is a well-known emulator stability issue.

⚠ This is a trade-off:

Turning it off slightly reduces kernel protection
But improves emulator stability significantly

6. Verify which hypervisor is actually active

Command to run (PowerShell, Admin)

systeminfo | findstr /i "Hyper-V"

Interpretation

If you see:
```
A hypervisor has been detected.
```
→ Windows hypervisor is active (expected)

If you see:

Hyper-V Requirements: A hypervisor has been detected

→ Good

If nothing hypervisor-related appears:

Emulator may fall back to slower paths

7. Android Emulator-specific verification

Run once to confirm acceleration

$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Android\Sdk\emulator\emulator.exe -accel-check

Expected output

WHPX is installed and usable

If it says:

“WHPX is not installed” → Windows feature issue
“VT-x not enabled” → BIOS issue

8. AVD configuration (quick review)

Inside AVD Advanced Settings:

Graphics: leave as Automatic (your ANGLE override already handles it)
RAM: 2048–3072 MB (do not exceed 4 GB on a 16 GB system)
VM heap: 256 MB
Snapshots: Disabled (since you already use -no-snapshot-load)
Cold boot: Preferred

9. Final recommended emulator launch (your baseline)

You are already using the correct stable command:

-gpu angle -no-snapshot-load

This is appropriate for:

Intel UHD 730
Windows 11
Emulator graphics issues

Summary: what matters most for you

Priority order for stability:

BIOS VT-x enabled
Windows Hypervisor Platform ON
Virtual Machine Platform ON
Memory Integrity OFF
ANGLE GPU backend
Cold boot / no snapshot

Next step (optional but useful)

If you want, you can reply with:

Which of the above were already enabled
Which ones you had to change

I can then tell you which change is most likely responsible for the black-screen / freeze behavior you observed, and whether further tuning is worth it or not.

You are taking the right, careful approach here.

Me: Windows Hypervisor Platform is NOT Enabled

Hyper-V is not enabled.

Virtual Machine Platform is Enabled

--user-snip--> systeminfo | findstr /i "Hyper-V"

Hyper-V Requirements: A hypervisor has been detected. Features required for Hyper-V will not be displayed.

----

--user-snip--> & "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Android\Sdk\emulator\emulator.exe" -accel-check

accel:

WHPX(10.0.26100) is installed and usable.

accel

----

AVD settings:

RAM: 2048 MB

VM heap: 336 MB

Graphics: Automatic (cannot be changed)

Boot option: Cold boot

-------------

Core Isolation / Memory Integrity (common hidden culprit) -> Where do I look for it.

Boot : 1. CPU Virtualization in BIOS (mandatory) : Will check later.

...

Me: Start -> Windows Security -> Device Security -> Core isolation -> Memory integrity is off

...

CG: ...

1. Your current system state (validated)

Based on everything you have checked:

Virtualization & Hypervisor

BIOS VT-x: effectively enabled (WHPX usable)
Virtual Machine Platform: Enabled
WHPX: Installed and usable
Hypervisor: Active
Hyper-V UI: Disabled (this is fine)

Security

Memory Integrity: OFF (good for emulator graphics)

AVD

RAM: 2048 MB
VM heap: 336 MB
Cold boot
No snapshots
Graphics: Automatic (ANGLE override applied)

Emulator launch


-gpu angle -no-snapshot-load

This is a clean, correct, and conservative configuration.

2. Why you still see black screens / GLES errors

At this point, the explanation is not misconfiguration.
It is Intel iGPU + emulator graphics backend instability.

Specifically:

Intel UHD 730
Windows 11
Android Emulator (gfxstream + GLES translator)
Impeller rendering path

The errors you posted earlier:


glReadPixels error 0x506
glPixelStorei error 0x501

are host-side OpenGL state errors occurring inside:


hardware/google/gfxstream/host/gl/glestranslator

This means:

The emulator is issuing valid GLES calls
The host GPU driver or translation layer is intermittently failing
The emulator does not crash — it just cannot render correctly

This matches:

Black screen
Emulator still responsive
Issue resolves after restart or backend change

3. Why `-gpu angle` helps (and why it is slower)

ANGLE forces:


OpenGL ES → Direct3D 11 → Intel driver

instead of:


OpenGL ES → OpenGL/Vulkan → Intel driver

On Intel iGPUs:

D3D11 path is far more stable
Slight performance loss is expected
But visual correctness is much higher

So your observation:

“It seemed a little slower”

is expected and acceptable. Stability > raw FPS for development.

4. What about BIOS checking now?

You can still check BIOS later, but realistically:

WHPX works
Hypervisor is detected
Emulator is accelerated

So BIOS is not your bottleneck.

Do not expect BIOS changes to:

Fix black screen issues
Improve graphics reliability

...

Me: The impression I have is that the Intel driver update, in all probability, is not going to fix the Vulkan issue. So I have to continue to use angle and accept its slightly slower performance. In which case, I don't want to spend time on downloading latest Intel graphics driver, creating a rollback point, installating, testing and going back to rollback point if there is some issue.

If angle gives me stable behaviour then I will stick with it.

If angle too gives me issues then I will consider driver update and all the time investement for that.

What's ur view.

CG: ... Your decision is correct.

Sticking with -gpu angle and deferring the Intel graphics driver update is a rational and efficient choice given your goals and constraints.

...

Final verdict

You are:

Thinking correctly
Avoiding unnecessary risk
Prioritizing productivity over theoretical improvements

Stick with ANGLE. Defer the driver update. Re-evaluate only if stability regresses.

That is the most sensible course of action for your system.

=================

[Below entry seems to be dated 10 Dec. 2025]

With my React Native development work, I was frequently facing an error of APK install failing due to not having enough free storage on Android emulator. I had to uninstall previous React Native app APKs and could install only one APK at a time. Some of my notes in previous posts about my React Native project work mention that, IFIRC.

On 9 Dec. 2025, I added 4 GB to Internal storage of Android emulator - Medium Phone API 35 (only device).

It was 7168 MB earlier. I made it around 11264 MB

Procedure followed to do it:

Android Studio -> Device Manager -> Medium Phone API 35: Clicked ⋮ (three dots)

-> Show Advanced Settings -> "Memory and Storage" -> made it around 11264 MB -> Finish
-> 'Wipe Data' command (From same ⋮ (three dots) menu) [***NOT*** 'Delete' command]

'Wipe Data' command only deletes all user data whereas 'Delete' command deletes entire AVD.

This ensured that the emulator internal storage increased. Small downside was that all user data was deleted.

Storage showed 5.6 GB used out of 16 GB total!

Signed in with a Google a/c and so the new emulator device got fully set up.

...

Expo Go APK can be downloaded from Android emulator option on Expo page: https://expo.dev/go

Downloaded it and installed on emulator.

The download was 177 MB. Expo-Go-54.0.6.apk [Perhaps if I had downloaded via google Play on emulator it would have been smaller download size].

IFIRC, I was able to run a tiny React Native app - img-landscape-viewer that I am doing when I have some free time - on Expo Go on Android emulator. The app worked as expected on emulator.

-----------

=============================

15:49, 09 December 2025

[Not about Android emulator but related to above]

I uninstalled old Expo Go from Samsung M21 Android phone and installed latest version from Google Play. The download was only around 45 MB

I could not find what version of Expo Go is being downloaded on Google Play.

Opened Expo Go app on phone. Settings -> App Info shows:

Client version 54.0.6

Supported SDK 54

----------

Later I came to know that Google Play has an About this app link that opens up another screen in contrast to accordian like drop down sections for App Support and Data Safety. I had missed it in my earlier quick scan. When I did follow About this app link, the next screen had to be scrolled down to App Info section which has the version number info.

On M21 phone, used Expo Go to see img-landscape-viewer app. Both Expo Go and the app worked as expected.