diff --git a/android/app/build.gradle.kts b/android/app/build.gradle.kts
index 35dceab..c03445c 100644
--- a/android/app/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/android/app/build.gradle.kts
@@ -43,6 +43,14 @@ android {
     compileOptions {
         sourceCompatibility = JavaVersion.VERSION_17
         targetCompatibility = JavaVersion.VERSION_17
+        // ScheduleEval uses java.time (Instant/LocalDate/ZoneId), which is API 26 — but minSdk is
+        // 24. Without desugaring, per-item dayparting/expiry threw NoClassDefFoundError on Android
+        // 7.0/7.1, which are still common on cheap signage sticks and older TV boxes. Because that
+        // is an Error and not an Exception, the evaluator's deliberate fail-open guard did not
+        // catch it: the playlist update aborted before content downloaded, and the cold-start path
+        // then cleared the playlist cache — so the screen sat on "waiting for content" and a reboot
+        // did not help.
+        isCoreLibraryDesugaringEnabled = true
     }
 
     kotlinOptions {
@@ -63,6 +71,7 @@ android {
 }
 
 dependencies {
+    coreLibraryDesugaring("com.android.tools:desugar_jdk_libs:2.0.4")
     // AndroidX
     implementation("androidx.core:core-ktx:1.12.0")
     implementation("androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.6.1")
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/remotedisplay/player/player/ScheduleEval.kt b/android/app/src/main/java/com/remotedisplay/player/player/ScheduleEval.kt
index e9cdc4d..56261ac 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/remotedisplay/player/player/ScheduleEval.kt
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/remotedisplay/player/player/ScheduleEval.kt
@@ -43,7 +43,12 @@ object ScheduleEval {
             val nowMin = zdt.hour * 60 + zdt.minute
             val date = zdt.toLocalDate()
             blocks.any { blockMatches(it, dow, nowMin, date) }
-        } catch (e: Exception) {
+        } catch (e: Throwable) {
+            // Throwable, not Exception. A missing java.time on an old API level surfaces as
+            // NoClassDefFoundError — an Error — which sailed straight through a catch(Exception)
+            // and turned this "fail open, a blank screen is worse than an over-running promo"
+            // contract into its exact opposite: nothing played at all. Desugaring (see
+            // build.gradle.kts) is the real fix; this makes the guard mean what it says.
             true // fail open
         }
     }