bug: Blank white screen on Ulefone Android 14 devices after code changes; fixed by clearing app cache

[tiagoarroz]

Prerequisites

• I have read the Contributing Guidelines.
• I agree to follow the Code of Conduct.
• I have searched for existing issues that already report this problem, without success.

Ionic Framework Version

v8.x

Current Behavior

After making any code change (e.g., adding a simple

or variable to a component) and rebuilding/reinstalling the app, it launches to a completely blank white screen on specific Ulefone Android 14 devices (tested on Armor series) (MediaTek Helio G36 8 Core processor with com.google.android.webview version 126-140). No console errors or crashes occur—the app just fails to render any content.
Clearing the app's cache (Settings > Apps > [App] > Storage > Clear Cache) fixes it temporarily, and the app works until the next rebuild. This does not happen on other Android 14 devices (e.g., Samsung, Pixel) or emulators.
Logcat shows WebView initialization issues before cache clear: failed APK opens for Trichrome library, "Entry not found", odex loading failures, and DNS/HTTP cache warnings. After cache clear, WebView loads cleanly, and Capacitor bridge starts successfully.

Expected Behavior

The app should load and render normally after any rebuild/install, without requiring manual cache clearing. WebView should initialize consistently across devices.

Steps to Reproduce

Create a new Ionic Angular tabs starter app: ionic start test-blank tabs --type=angular --capacitor.
Make a minor change, e.g., in src/app/explore-container/explore-container.component.html, add

a small change for testing {{testVariable}}

and in .ts, add testVariable = "test variable".

Build and sync: ionic build && npx cap sync android.
Open in Android Studio, build, and install APK on a Ulefone Android 14 device.
Launch the app → blank white screen.
Clear app cache → app works.

Code Reproduction URL

https://github.com/tiagoarroz/testes-ecra-branco

Ionic Info

Ionic:

Ionic CLI : 7.2.1 (/usr/local/lib/node_modules/@ionic/cli)
Ionic Framework : @ionic/angular 8.7.4
@angular-devkit/build-angular : 20.3.2
@angular-devkit/schematics : 20.3.2
@angular/cli : 20.3.2
@ionic/angular-toolkit : 12.3.0

Capacitor:

Capacitor CLI : 7.4.3
@capacitor/android : 7.4.3
@capacitor/core : 7.4.3
@capacitor/ios : not installed

Utility:

cordova-res : not installed globally
native-run : 2.0.1

System:

NodeJS : v22.14.0 (/usr/local/bin/node)
npm : 11.2.0
OS : macOS Unknown

Additional Information

Logcat before cleaning cache
https://pastebin.com/raw/bnScJT0j

Logcat after cleaning cache
https://pastebin.com/raw/tGzf39Y3