Playwright (C#) cannot detect elements when connected to Android Chrome via ADB port forwarding using ConnectOverCDP

I'm building a C# WinForms application that automates login on Android devices using ADB and Playwright.

The workflow works partially:

Chrome opens successfully on the Android device using an ADB intent

Remote debugging is enabled with --remote-debugging-port=9222

Port forwarding is created with adb forward tcp:9222 tcp:9222

Playwright connects using Chromium.ConnectOverCDPAsync

The website loads correctly on the Android device, but Playwright cannot detect or interact with any DOM elements.

Selectors return null and JavaScript injection fails to find elements.

No exceptions are thrown.

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Environment

Language: C#
Framework: .NET 6 / .NET Framework 4.8
Automation library: Microsoft.Playwright
ADB library: AdvancedSharpAdbClient
Target: Android devices running Chrome
Host OS: Windows 10 / 11

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ADB setup and Chrome launch

await Invio_ComandoAsync("am force-stop com.android.chrome", deviceIndex, cancellationToken); string chromeCommand = "am start -n com.android.chrome/com.google.android.apps.chrome.Main " + "--es com.android.chrome.command_line \"--remote-debugging-port=9222\" " + "-a android.intent.action.VIEW -d about:blank"; await Invio_ComandoAsync(chromeCommand, deviceIndex, cancellationToken); var adbClient = new AdbClient(); var devices = await adbClient.GetDevicesAsync(); var device = devices.FirstOrDefault(d => d.Serial == deviceSerial); await adbClient.CreateForwardAsync(device, "tcp:9222", "tcp:9222", true, cancellationToken); await Invio_ComandoAsync( $"am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d \"{url}\"", deviceIndex, cancellationToken );

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Playwright connection

_playwright = await Playwright.CreateAsync(); _browser = await _playwright.Chromium.ConnectOverCDPAsync( "http://localhost:9222" ); var pages = _browser.Contexts.SelectMany(c => c.Pages).ToList(); _page = pages.LastOrDefault();

The page appears in the browser and the URL is visible on the Android device.

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Attempt to interact with the page

string jsCode = @" (function() { const username = document.querySelector('#username'); const password = document.querySelector('#password'); const button = document.querySelector('button[type=""submit""]'); if(username && password && button) { username.value = 'test'; password.value = 'test'; button.click(); return 'success'; } return 'elements_not_found'; })(); "; var result = await _page.EvaluateAsync(jsCode);

The result returned is:

elements_not_found

However, the login fields are clearly visible on the Android device screen.

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Expected result

Playwright should detect the DOM elements and fill the login form.

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Actual result

No elements are detected and no interaction happens.

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What I've tried

Waiting for page load using delays

Using different selectors

Using JavaScript injection instead of Playwright selectors

Checking _browser.Contexts and Pages

Testing with multiple Android devices

The same Playwright code works correctly with desktop Chrome, but not with Android Chrome via ADB CDP connection.

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Questions

How can I ensure Playwright is connected to the correct Android Chrome tab/page?

Is there a recommended way to wait for the page to be fully interactive when connecting via CDP?

Is launching Chrome this way the correct approach for enabling remote debugging on Android?

Could this be related to Chrome contexts or DevTools targets?