diff --git a/modules/mpv-player/android/src/main/java/expo/modules/mpvplayer/MPVLayerRenderer.kt b/modules/mpv-player/android/src/main/java/expo/modules/mpvplayer/MPVLayerRenderer.kt
index 9a5ad6385..52a451ea1 100644
--- a/modules/mpv-player/android/src/main/java/expo/modules/mpvplayer/MPVLayerRenderer.kt
+++ b/modules/mpv-player/android/src/main/java/expo/modules/mpvplayer/MPVLayerRenderer.kt
@@ -125,6 +125,14 @@ class MPVLayerRenderer(private val context: Context) : MPVLib.EventObserver {
     private var currentUrl: String? = null
     private var currentHeaders: Map<String, String>? = null
     private var pendingExternalSubtitles: List<String> = emptyList()
+    // Persistent record of the external subtitle URLs attached to the
+    // current item. pendingExternalSubtitles above is a one-shot staging
+    // list: load() fills it and the FILE_LOADED handler drains it via
+    // sub-add, so it is always empty by the time a resume-recovery reload
+    // runs. This copy survives that drain so recoverVideoOutput() can hand
+    // the same sidecar URLs back to load() and the tracks re-attach after
+    // the decoder reset.
+    private var activeExternalSubtitles: List<String> = emptyList()
     private var initialSubtitleId: Int? = null
     private var initialAudioId: Int? = null
     
@@ -159,13 +167,6 @@ class MPVLayerRenderer(private val context: Context) : MPVLib.EventObserver {
             this.mpv = mpv
             mpv.addObserver(this)
 
-            // Resolved once — TV gets the memory-pressure customizations
-            // (SCUDO_OPTIONS, hwdec/profile, demuxer-seekable-cache, larger
-            // audio-buffer) that would be counterproductive on higher-RAM
-            // mobile devices. Demuxer cache sizes are NOT included here —
-            // those come from user settings via load().
-            val isTV = isTvDevice()
-
             // mpv config directory — used by the config-dir option below and
             // as XDG_CONFIG_HOME for fontconfig.
             val mpvDir = File(context.getExternalFilesDir(null) ?: context.filesDir, "mpv")
@@ -219,7 +220,7 @@ class MPVLayerRenderer(private val context: Context) : MPVLib.EventObserver {
             //  - Real phone: `mediacodec-copy` (broadest compatibility).
             when {
                 isEmulator() -> mpv?.setOptionString("hwdec", "no")
-                isTV -> {
+                isTv -> {
                     mpv?.setOptionString("hwdec", "mediacodec")
                     mpv?.setOptionString("profile", "fast")
                     // Don't retain already-played content for backward
@@ -277,6 +278,7 @@ class MPVLayerRenderer(private val context: Context) : MPVLib.EventObserver {
         currentUrl = null
         currentHeaders = null
         pendingExternalSubtitles = emptyList()
+        activeExternalSubtitles = emptyList()
         initialSubtitleId = null
         initialAudioId = null
         cachedPosition = 0.0
@@ -438,7 +440,8 @@ class MPVLayerRenderer(private val context: Context) : MPVLib.EventObserver {
             headers = currentHeaders,
             startPosition = cachedPosition,
             initialAudioId = savedAid,
-            initialSubtitleId = savedSid
+            initialSubtitleId = savedSid,
+            externalSubtitles = activeExternalSubtitles
         )
 
         // Hold the paused state explicitly — we only get here while paused,
@@ -461,6 +464,7 @@ class MPVLayerRenderer(private val context: Context) : MPVLib.EventObserver {
         currentUrl = url
         currentHeaders = headers
         pendingExternalSubtitles = externalSubtitles ?: emptyList()
+        activeExternalSubtitles = pendingExternalSubtitles
         this.initialSubtitleId = initialSubtitleId
         this.initialAudioId = initialAudioId
 
@@ -620,6 +624,11 @@ class MPVLayerRenderer(private val context: Context) : MPVLib.EventObserver {
     fun addSubtitleFile(url: String, select: Boolean = true) {
         val flag = if (select) "select" else "cached"
         mpv?.command(arrayOf("sub-add", url, flag))
+        // Track runtime side-loads too, so they survive a resume-recovery
+        // reload just like external subs passed to load().
+        if (url.isNotEmpty() && url !in activeExternalSubtitles) {
+            activeExternalSubtitles = activeExternalSubtitles + url
+        }
     }
     
     // MARK: - Subtitle Positioning