diff --git a/android/CHANGELOG.md b/android/CHANGELOG.md
index 255241d..d29da95 100644
--- a/android/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/android/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -994,3 +994,13 @@
   - copies `*Application_GeneratedInjector.class` from `intermediates/javac/.../classes`
     into `intermediates/classes/.../transform...ClassesWithAsm/dirs` if missing,
   - wired task as dependency of `dexBuilder<Variant>`.
+
+### Step 135 - AppCompat launch crash fix (theme mismatch)
+- Fixed `MainActivity` startup crash:
+  - `IllegalStateException: You need to use a Theme.AppCompat theme`.
+- Root cause:
+  - `Theme.AppCompat.DayNight.NoActionBar` was accidentally overridden in app resources
+    with non-AppCompat parent (`Theme.DeviceDefault.NoActionBar`).
+- Fix applied:
+  - introduced dedicated app theme `Theme.Messenger` with parent `Theme.AppCompat.DayNight.NoActionBar`,
+  - switched `AndroidManifest.xml` application theme to `@style/Theme.Messenger`.
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml b/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
index 52b8256..428bb19 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ b/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
         android:roundIcon="@android:drawable/sym_def_app_icon"
         android:supportsRtl="true"
         android:usesCleartextTraffic="true"
-        android:theme="@style/Theme.AppCompat.DayNight.NoActionBar">
+        android:theme="@style/Theme.Messenger">
         <activity
             android:name=".MainActivity"
             android:exported="true">
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/res/values/themes.xml b/android/app/src/main/res/values/themes.xml
index ee8ce5f..6cc2a0b 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/res/values/themes.xml
+++ b/android/app/src/main/res/values/themes.xml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <resources>
-    <style name="Theme.AppCompat.DayNight.NoActionBar" parent="@android:style/Theme.DeviceDefault.NoActionBar" />
+    <style name="Theme.Messenger" parent="Theme.AppCompat.DayNight.NoActionBar" />
     <integer name="google_play_services_version">12451000</integer>
 </resources>