diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/PlushLife/MainActivity.java b/android/app/src/main/java/com/PlushLife/MainActivity.java
index 4496815..20cae72 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/PlushLife/MainActivity.java
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/PlushLife/MainActivity.java
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ public class MainActivity extends BridgeActivity {
     public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
         EdgeToEdge.enable(this);
         registerPlugin(WidgetBridgePlugin.class);
+        registerPlugin(NotificationPermissionPlugin.class);
         super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
         checkForUpdate();
     }
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/PlushLife/NotificationPermissionPlugin.java b/android/app/src/main/java/com/PlushLife/NotificationPermissionPlugin.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f29223
--- /dev/null
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/PlushLife/NotificationPermissionPlugin.java
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+package com.PlushLife;
+
+import android.Manifest;
+import android.os.Build;
+import androidx.activity.result.ActivityResultLauncher;
+import androidx.activity.result.contract.ActivityResultContracts;
+import com.getcapacitor.JSObject;
+import com.getcapacitor.Plugin;
+import com.getcapacitor.PluginCall;
+import com.getcapacitor.PluginMethod;
+import com.getcapacitor.annotation.CapacitorPlugin;
+
+// Requests POST_NOTIFICATIONS directly with Android's own permission API,
+// bypassing @capacitor/push-notifications' requestPermissions() — which
+// routes through Bridge.getPermissionStates(), a Capacitor core method with
+// an open, unfixed upstream bug (ionic-team/capacitor#8400) that throws a
+// NullPointerException and crashes the whole app. Confirmed via Crashlytics
+// stack traces on real releases, not just suspected.
+@CapacitorPlugin(name = "NotificationPermission")
+public class NotificationPermissionPlugin extends Plugin {
+    private PluginCall pendingCall;
+    private ActivityResultLauncher<String> requestLauncher;
+
+    @Override
+    protected void load() {
+        // Runs during the Bridge's own onCreate-time setup, so this is well
+        // before the activity reaches STARTED — same timing rule as any
+        // registerForActivityResult call.
+        requestLauncher = getActivity().registerForActivityResult(
+            new ActivityResultContracts.RequestPermission(),
+            granted -> {
+                if (pendingCall != null) {
+                    JSObject result = new JSObject();
+                    result.put("granted", granted);
+                    pendingCall.resolve(result);
+                    pendingCall = null;
+                }
+            }
+        );
+    }
+
+    @PluginMethod
+    public void requestPostNotifications(PluginCall call) {
+        // Not a runtime permission before Android 13 — nothing to request.
+        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) {
+            JSObject result = new JSObject();
+            result.put("granted", true);
+            call.resolve(result);
+            return;
+        }
+        pendingCall = call;
+        requestLauncher.launch(Manifest.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/index.html b/index.html
index bdbf2e1..fa6efb2 100644
--- a/index.html
+++ b/index.html
@@ -20,6 +20,11 @@
 <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="./icon-192.png">
 <title>PlushLife</title>
 <style>
+  /* Edge-to-edge (Android) extends the WebView under the status bar, and
+     without an explicit background here that strip falls back to the
+     WebView's own default canvas color instead of the app's actual color —
+     this is what showed up as a black bar at the top on native builds. */
+  html, body { background-color: #FFF6FB; }
   :focus-visible { outline: 3px solid #4C8FE8 !important; outline-offset: 3px; }
   .skip-link { position: fixed; left: 12px; top: -60px; z-index: 99999; padding: 10px 14px; border-radius: 10px; background: #5B4B6B; color: white; font: 800 14px system-ui, sans-serif; }
   .skip-link:focus { top: 12px; }
@@ -3899,16 +3904,21 @@ <h3 style={{ fontFamily: "'Baloo 2',sans-serif", fontSize: 22, margin: "0 0 10px
 
   const enableNativeNotifications = async () => {
     const PushNotifications = window.Capacitor?.Plugins?.PushNotifications;
+    const NotificationPermission = window.Capacitor?.Plugins?.NotificationPermission;
     try {
-      // Used to also call LocalNotifications.requestPermissions() first —
-      // on Android 13+ both plugins request the same underlying
-      // POST_NOTIFICATIONS permission, and firing two native permission
-      // requests back to back (even sequentially in JS) is a known crash
-      // risk in Android's permission-request bookkeeping. Local reminders
-      // elsewhere (syncDailyReminders) already schedule without calling
-      // this first, so it wasn't actually load-bearing here.
-      const permission = await PushNotifications.requestPermissions();
-      if (permission?.receive !== "granted") {
+      // PushNotifications.requestPermissions() routes through a Capacitor
+      // core method (Bridge.getPermissionStates) with an open, unfixed
+      // upstream bug (ionic-team/capacitor#8400) that throws a real native
+      // NullPointerException — a full app crash, not a catchable JS error —
+      // confirmed via Crashlytics stack traces on real releases. Our own
+      // native plugin requests the same POST_NOTIFICATIONS permission
+      // directly with Android's own API, sidestepping that code path
+      // entirely. Falls back to the Capacitor call only if that plugin is
+      // somehow unavailable (e.g. a stale cached build).
+      const permission = NotificationPermission
+        ? await NotificationPermission.requestPostNotifications()
+        : await PushNotifications.requestPermissions().then((result) => ({ granted: result?.receive === "granted" }));
+      if (!permission?.granted) {
         setSettingsMessage("Notifications are still off. You can allow them in this device's app settings.");
         return;
       }
@@ -4729,7 +4739,7 @@ <h3 style={{ fontFamily: "'Baloo 2',sans-serif", fontSize: 22, margin: "0 0 10px
       progress: pct,
       weeklyProgress: weeklyOverallPct,
       tasks: rows.slice(0, 3).map((row) => ({ label: row.label, done: !!viewDone[row.key] })),
-    }).catch(() => {});
+    }).catch((error) => console.error("[widget] updateWidget failed:", error));
   }, [user?.id, selectedProgressDate, period.date, dailyCheckIn.day_type, pct, weeklyOverallPct, JSON.stringify(rows.slice(0, 3).map((row) => [row.key, row.label, !!viewDone[row.key]]))]);
 
   const previousWeekHistoryByDate = new Map(previousWeekHistory.map((entry) => [entry.progress_date, new Set(entry.completed_keys || [])]));