Android: Header briefly flashes white when going back after overriding NavigationContainer theme colors.card
Author: chungheCreated May 29, 2026Updated Sep 15, 2026
Labelsbugpackage:stackplatform:androidrepro provided
Current behavior
Description
When overriding the React Navigation theme and changing colors.card, Android shows a brief white flash in the top-left area of the header during back navigation transitions.
This only happens for a single frame while returning from a pushed screen.
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/900ccabf-d3fc-4171-8baa-208511dfafdb
Expected behavior
Back navigation transition should remain visually stable without any white flash or transparent frame.
Reproduction
https://github.com/chunghe/react-navigation-flicker
Platform
- Android (pixel 9, android simulator)
- iOS
- Web
- Windows
- MacOS
Packages
- @react-navigation/bottom-tabs
- @react-navigation/drawer
- @react-navigation/material-top-tabs
- @react-navigation/stack
- @react-navigation/native-stack
- react-native-drawer-layout
- react-native-tab-view
Environment
- [] I've removed the packages that I don't use
| package | version |
|---|---|
| @react-navigation/native | 7.2.5 |
| @react-navigation/bottom-tabs | 7.16.2 |
| @react-navigation/stack | 7.9.3 |
| react-native | 0.83.6 |
| expo | 55.0.26 |
| node | 24.14.0 |
| npm or yarn | yarn |
Source: react-navigation/react-navigation