Delay video offline state to show loader during intermittent network by MelvinBot · Pull Request #84197 · Expensify/App

MelvinBot · 2026-03-04T22:37:01Z

Explanation of Change

During intermittent/slow network conditions, isOffline from useNetwork() flips rapidly as NetInfo detects brief connectivity drops. In BaseVideoPlayer, this causes:

The loading spinner to disappear immediately (because shouldShowLoadingIndicator requires !isOffline)
The "No Connection" offline indicator to flash briefly
replaceAsync('') to fire destructively, clearing the video source mid-stream

This PR introduces a local isVideoOffline state that only becomes true after isOffline has been continuously true for 7 seconds (CONST.VIDEO_PLAYER.OFFLINE_THRESHOLD). When isOffline flips back to false, isVideoOffline resets immediately. This delayed state is used in place of isOffline for the loading indicator, offline indicator, error indicator, and the replaceAsync('') effect.

Result:

Intermittent network (offline < 7s): Loading spinner stays visible, video can continue buffering from CDN, replaceAsync('') does not fire
Confirmed sustained offline (offline >= 7s): Offline indicator appears, loading spinner hides, replaceAsync('') fires to stop the stalled load

Fixed Issues

$ #82779
PROPOSAL: #82779 (comment)

Tests

Open the app on web (Chrome)
Navigate to a workspace chat
Send a short video (<24MB)
Open Chrome DevTools → Network tab → set throttling to "Slow 3G"
Open/play the video
Verify the loading spinner remains visible consistently while the video is buffering
Verify no "No Connection" indicator flashes during the slow loading
Set DevTools to "Offline" mode
Wait at least 7 seconds
Verify the offline indicator appears after the threshold
Re-enable the network
Verify the loading spinner reappears (or video resumes playing)

Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

Offline tests

Start playing a video on web
Toggle network to offline in DevTools
Verify the loading spinner stays visible for ~7 seconds before the offline indicator appears
Toggle network back to online
Verify the offline indicator disappears immediately and the video resumes loading/playing
Rapidly toggle offline/online several times (simulating intermittent connectivity)
Verify the loading spinner remains stable and does not flicker between loading/offline states

QA Steps

On staging web (Chrome), navigate to a chat with a video attachment
Use DevTools to throttle network to "Slow 3G"
Open the video and verify the loading spinner shows consistently
Set network to "Offline" and wait 7+ seconds — verify the offline indicator appears
Re-enable network — verify video resumes loading/playing
Rapidly toggle offline/online — verify no flickering between loading and offline indicators

Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

PR Author Checklist

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: Native

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

…etwork During intermittent network conditions, the isOffline flag from useNetwork() flips rapidly, causing the video loading spinner to disappear and the offline indicator to flash. This also triggers replaceAsync('') which destructively clears the video source mid-stream. Introduce a local isVideoOffline state in BaseVideoPlayer that only becomes true after isOffline has been continuously true for 10 seconds. This keeps the loading spinner visible during brief offline blips while still showing the offline indicator for confirmed sustained offline periods. Co-authored-by: Jules <Julesssss@users.noreply.github.com>

codecov · 2026-03-04T22:55:16Z

Codecov Report

✅ Changes either increased or maintained existing code coverage, great job!

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
src/CONST/index.ts	`94.30% <ø> (ø)`
src/components/VideoPlayer/BaseVideoPlayer.tsx	`48.87% <75.00%> (+0.42%)`	⬆️
... and 263 files with indirect coverage changes

rojiphil · 2026-03-05T01:03:41Z

@MelvinBot Considering that the threshold used for intermittent networks via Simulate poor internet connection is 5 sec, let us set our CONST.VIDEO_PLAYER.OFFLINE_THRESHOLD to 7 sec. 10 sec seems a bit too high.

The threshold for intermittent networks via 'Simulate poor internet connection' is 5 seconds, so 7 seconds is a more appropriate threshold to distinguish brief connectivity drops from sustained offline state. Co-authored-by: Roji Philip <rojiphil@users.noreply.github.com>

MelvinBot · 2026-03-05T01:07:29Z

Good point — updated CONST.VIDEO_PLAYER.OFFLINE_THRESHOLD from 10000ms (10s) to 7000ms (7s) in a46ff50. Since the "Simulate poor internet connection" threshold is 5s, 7s gives enough buffer to avoid false positives while being more responsive than 10s. Also updated the PR description and test steps to reflect the new threshold.

rojiphil · 2026-03-05T11:32:18Z

While testing, I noticed an existing issue with the latest main specifically with respect to web chrome version (Mac OS). I have raised this in expensify bugs here

Julesssss · 2026-03-05T17:53:07Z

While testing, I noticed an existing issue with the latest main specifically with respect to web chrome version (Mac OS). I have raised this in expensify bugs here

Issues here

rojiphil · 2026-03-06T09:03:54Z

@MelvinBot LGTM. Please mark the PR as Ready for review

melvin-bot · 2026-03-06T09:05:17Z

@rojiphil Please copy/paste the Reviewer Checklist from here into a new comment on this PR and complete it. If you have the K2 extension, you can simply click: [this button]

MelvinBot · 2026-03-06T09:05:19Z

PR has been marked as Ready for review ✅

rojiphil · 2026-03-06T09:06:06Z

Reviewer Checklist

I have verified the author checklist is complete (all boxes are checked off).
I verified the correct issue is linked in the ### Fixed Issues section above
I verified testing steps are clear and they cover the changes made in this PR
- I verified the steps for local testing are in the Tests section
- I verified the steps for Staging and/or Production testing are in the QA steps section
- I verified the steps cover any possible failure scenarios (i.e. verify an input displays the correct error message if the entered data is not correct)
- I turned off my network connection and tested it while offline to ensure it matches the expected behavior (i.e. verify the default avatar icon is displayed if app is offline)
I checked that screenshots or videos are included for tests on all platforms
I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
I verified that the composer does not automatically focus or open the keyboard on mobile unless explicitly intended. This includes checking that returning the app from the background does not unexpectedly open the keyboard.
I verified tests pass on all platforms & I tested again on:
- Android: HybridApp
- Android: mWeb Chrome
- iOS: HybridApp
- iOS: mWeb Safari
- MacOS: Chrome / Safari
If there are any errors in the console that are unrelated to this PR, I either fixed them (preferred) or linked to where I reported them in Slack
I verified there are no new alerts related to the canBeMissing param for useOnyx
I verified proper code patterns were followed (see Reviewing the code)
- I verified that any callback methods that were added or modified are named for what the method does and never what callback they handle (i.e. toggleReport and not onIconClick).
- I verified that comments were added to code that is not self explanatory
- I verified that any new or modified comments were clear, correct English, and explained "why" the code was doing something instead of only explaining "what" the code was doing.
- I verified any copy / text shown in the product is localized by adding it to src/languages/* files and using the translation method
- I verified all numbers, amounts, dates and phone numbers shown in the product are using the localization methods
- I verified any copy / text that was added to the app is grammatically correct in English. It adheres to proper capitalization guidelines (note: only the first word of header/labels should be capitalized), and is either coming verbatim from figma or has been approved by marketing (in order to get marketing approval, ask the Bug Zero team member to add the Waiting for copy label to the issue)
- I verified proper file naming conventions were followed for any new files or renamed files. All non-platform specific files are named after what they export and are not named "index.js". All platform-specific files are named for the platform the code supports as outlined in the README.
- I verified the JSDocs style guidelines (in STYLE.md) were followed
If a new code pattern is added I verified it was agreed to be used by multiple Expensify engineers
I verified that this PR follows the guidelines as stated in the Review Guidelines
I verified other components that can be impacted by these changes have been tested, and I retested again (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar have been tested & I retested again)
I verified all code is DRY (the PR doesn't include any logic written more than once, with the exception of tests)
I verified any variables that can be defined as constants (ie. in CONST.ts or at the top of the file that uses the constant) are defined as such
If a new component is created I verified that:
- A similar component doesn't exist in the codebase
- All props are defined accurately and each prop has a /** comment above it */
- The file is named correctly
- The component has a clear name that is non-ambiguous and the purpose of the component can be inferred from the name alone
- The only data being stored in the state is data necessary for rendering and nothing else
- For Class Components, any internal methods passed to components event handlers are bound to this properly so there are no scoping issues (i.e. for onClick={this.submit} the method this.submit should be bound to this in the constructor)
- Any internal methods bound to this are necessary to be bound (i.e. avoid this.submit = this.submit.bind(this); if this.submit is never passed to a component event handler like onClick)
- All JSX used for rendering exists in the render method
- The component has the minimum amount of code necessary for its purpose, and it is broken down into smaller components in order to separate concerns and functions
If any new file was added I verified that:
- The file has a description of what it does and/or why is needed at the top of the file if the code is not self explanatory
If a new CSS style is added I verified that:
- A similar style doesn't already exist
- The style can't be created with an existing StyleUtils function (i.e. StyleUtils.getBackgroundAndBorderStyle(theme.componentBG)
If the PR modifies code that runs when editing or sending messages, I tested and verified there is no unexpected behavior for all supported markdown - URLs, single line code, code blocks, quotes, headings, bold, strikethrough, and italic.
If the PR modifies a generic component, I tested and verified that those changes do not break usages of that component in the rest of the App (i.e. if a shared library or component like Avatar is modified, I verified that Avatar is working as expected in all cases)
If the PR modifies a component related to any of the existing Storybook stories, I tested and verified all stories for that component are still working as expected.
If the PR modifies a component or page that can be accessed by a direct deeplink, I verified that the code functions as expected when the deeplink is used - from a logged in and logged out account.
If the PR modifies the UI (e.g. new buttons, new UI components, changing the padding/spacing/sizing, moving components, etc) or modifies the form input styles:
- I verified that all the inputs inside a form are aligned with each other.
- I added Design label and/or tagged @Expensify/design so the design team can review the changes.
If a new page is added, I verified it's using the ScrollView component to make it scrollable when more elements are added to the page.
For any bug fix or new feature in this PR, I verified that sufficient unit tests are included to prevent regressions in this flow.
If the main branch was merged into this PR after a review, I tested again and verified the outcome was still expected according to the Test steps.
I have checked off every checkbox in the PR reviewer checklist, including those that don't apply to this PR.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: HybridApp

Unable to test in simulator. Raised the issue here. But I think it should be fine considering that the changes are not platform specific.

Android: mWeb Chrome

84197-mweb-chrome-001.mp4

iOS: HybridApp

84197-ios-hybrid-001.mp4

iOS: mWeb Safari

84197-mweb-safari-001.mp4

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

84197-web-chrome-003.mp4

rojiphil

@Julesssss Changes LGTM. Over to you. Thanks.

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src/components/VideoPlayer/BaseVideoPlayer.tsx

rojiphil · 2026-03-06T11:09:26Z

@MelvinBot What do you think of the concern here?

…r reconnection Adds isOffline as an extra condition to the effect that calls replaceAsync('') so it never fires when the network has already reconnected, closing a theoretical race window where isVideoOffline could still be true for one render cycle after isOffline flips to false. Co-authored-by: Roji Philip <rojiphil@users.noreply.github.com>

melvin-bot · 2026-03-06T19:09:59Z

@rojiphil Please copy/paste the Reviewer Checklist from here into a new comment on this PR and complete it. If you have the K2 extension, you can simply click: [this button]

rojiphil

LGTM

84197-web-chrome-005.mp4

OSBotify · 2026-03-06T22:58:25Z

✋ This PR was not deployed to staging yet because QA is ongoing. It will be automatically deployed to staging after the next production release.

github-actions · 2026-03-06T23:03:36Z

🚧 @Julesssss has triggered a test Expensify/App build. You can view the workflow run here.

github-actions · 2026-03-06T23:08:05Z

🧪🧪 Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, and Web. Happy testing! 🧪🧪
Built from App PR #84197.

Android 🤖	iOS 🍎
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/rock-artifacts/ad-hoc/rock-android-Adhoc-5f7f5ff-cfae0f9-ab18b6b79be21bdc21004adc06838e6729ad8cd3/index.html	https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/rock-artifacts/ad-hoc/rock-ios-device-AdHoc-5f7f5ff-cfae0f9-252063280f5b3f19bbf05ef60fc95cdf38273e4d/index.html

Web 🕸️
https://84197.pr-testing.expensify.com

👀 View the workflow run that generated this build 👀

MelvinBot assigned Julesssss Mar 4, 2026

MelvinBot requested a review from a team March 4, 2026 22:37

MelvinBot mentioned this pull request Mar 4, 2026

Web - BaseVideoPlayer - Loader does not appear consistently during slow network #82779

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Julesssss merged commit 5f7f5ff into main Mar 6, 2026
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Julesssss deleted the claude-videoPlayerOfflineThreshold branch March 6, 2026 22:48

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Explanation of Change

Fixed Issues

Tests

Offline tests

QA Steps

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