Why does the UiAutomator2 instrumentation process crash during automation?

The UiAutomator2 instrumentation process may crash when the automation session becomes unstable or when the Appium session is not cleaned up correctly.

Common causes include:

• Stale or orphaned Appium sessions

• Improper session cleanup after test completion or failure

• Reusing the same systemPort across multiple Android sessions

• Running long sequential test suites on the same device

• Low UiAutomator2 launch timeout values

• Aggressive back-to-back executions without allowing the device to recover
  
  

To reduce UiAutomator2 instrumentation crashes, follow these best practices:

• Use a unique systemPort

  • Assign a unique systemPort for each Android session, especially during parallel execution.

• Increase UiAutomator2 launch timeout

  • Increase uiautomator2ServerLaunchTimeout to allow more time for the UiAutomator2 server to start.

• Always clean up the session

  • Ensure driver.quit() is called at the end of every test, including failed executions.

• Release the device if cleanup fails

  • If the session does not terminate properly, release the device from the platform before starting a new run.

• Split long test suites

  • Break long sequential executions into smaller batches to reduce device and automation service instability.

• Avoid immediate back-to-back execution on the same device

  • Allow a short recovery gap between executions, especially after failed or force-stopped session

If the issue continues, share the Appium logs, device name, Android version, capabilities used, execution timestamp, and the affected test case details with TestGrid Support.