Android System Webview update causing sluggish response in BridgePal - solution

[johng]

My Pixel 6a phone, running android version 13, was displaying sluggish response in the BridgePal app. For example, in the contract entry screen, tapping a key would result in a noticeable delay (less than one second) before the character was echoed to the display. I heard today from a contact that uninstalling updates to the Android System Webview component fixes this problem. I've tried it out and this solution works for my phone.

To uninstall updates, go to the Play Store and search for WebView. Scroll down the list and tap on "Android System Webview", and then on Uninstall. This will remove the updates and revert to the version of Android System Webview that was shipped with the android version that came with the device. Click on the menu at the top right of the Play Store entry and untick "Enable auto-update". This will disable future updates to the Webview app, but does not affect the auto-update status for other apps.

Note that if the BridgePal app is running it is necessay to exit the app and restart it in order for it to use the restored version of WebView.

[johng]

Further to the above: Page Lawson from Akaroa Bridge Club in New Zealand, who came up with the above solution, has located an installable version of Android System Webview that also fixes this problem. Navigate to the page https://www.androidapksbox.com/versions/17460 and download version 110.0.5481.154 dated 7th March 2023. This version is suitable for android 5.0 and above. It needs to be copied to the device and installed (click on the file name in the device's file manager). It will be necessary to enable intallation of apps from 3rd party sources in the device's security settings if this has not been done before. The advantage of this approach is that it guarantees a known version of the Webview, whereas simply uninstalling updates reverts to a version of the WebView which is likely to be different for different versions of android. Make sure to disable future updates to the WebView app in its play store entry, as described in the original post.

[johng]

I've just discovered another solution to this problem. On the google play store there is another version of the android system webview app called "Android System Webview Dev". This is a development version of the webview which is more up to date than the current live version and is released by google on a weekly basis. The current version (29th June 2023) is 116.0.5842.3 and it appears to eliminate the short delay after tapping a key.

To install it, go to the Play Store and search for "webview dev" (including the quotes). Tap on "Install". When the install completes tap on "Open". You will see a message saying that Android System Webview Dev is not the system's currently selected WebView provider. Tap on "Change Provider", then tap on "Android System Webview Dev" to select it.

If the BridgePal app is already running then exit from it using the back key (or swipe left) and restart it, in order to pick up the new version of Webview.

I suggest disabling auto updates to Android System Webview Dev in the play store entry (click on the three dots at the top right of the play store entry and untick "Enable auto-Update"

[johng]

For the equivalent solution for an Amazon Fire tablet see this thread  https://mirgo2.co.uk/bridgepal_forum/index.php?topic=244.0

[johng]

For standard android phones/tablet (not Amazon Fire) this problem seems to have been fixed in Android System Webview version 116, now available on the google play store. Presumably this fix will eventually make its way into the corresponding Amazon System Webview component for the Fire tablet, as that is based on the same software.

This version does introduce one very minor quirk. When the BridgePal app is initially launched it does not respond to taps on the screen or the menu button for a couple of seconds after launch. After that it's ok and responds to taps on the screen immediately without the lag of up to a second that was noticeable in the older Webview version.

Note: Android System Webview version 117 is now available, and eliminates the minor issue referred to in the previous paragraph.