How to take a screenshot from a video on Android
Pause the video and press Power + Volume down at the same time. For a cleaner image without player controls, at the video's full resolution, save the frame itself with a frame capture app instead of screenshotting the screen.
The standard way: pause and screenshot
- Open the video and play it.
- Pause on the moment you want. Use the seek bar to nudge it back if you overshoot.
- Wait a second for controls to fade if your player hides them automatically.
- Press Power + Volume down together. Some phones also offer a screenshot button in the quick settings panel or a palm-swipe gesture.
- Open the screenshot and crop away black bars or interface elements.
Why video screenshots often look bad
A screenshot captures your display, not the video. That causes a few predictable problems:
- Lower resolution. A vertical phone screen may show a landscape video at only a fraction of its real size. A 4K video shown on a 1080-pixel-wide screen gives you a 1080-pixel screenshot.
- Player controls and overlays. Play buttons, progress bars, captions and notifications can end up in the image.
- Wrong moment. Pause timing is rarely precise, and many players do not let you step one frame at a time.
- Letterboxing. Black bars around the video become part of the image unless you crop them.
A cleaner alternative: save the frame, not the screen
Instead of photographing your screen, a frame capture app decodes the exact frame from the video file and saves it as an image. Nothing from the player interface is included, and the size matches the video rather than your display.
With Frame Capture:
- Tap Select Video and choose the clip.
- Scrub close to the moment, then switch to Frame stepping and tap previous/next to land on the exact frame.
- Tap save, choose JPG or PNG and a resolution (Small 720p, HD 1080p or Original), and tap Save to Gallery, or Share to send it straight to another app.
Screenshots of screen recordings
If you recorded your screen and want a still from it, use PNG. Screen recordings are full of sharp text and flat colours, which JPG compression can smear. See our JPG vs PNG guide for details.
Common mistakes
- Taking the screenshot while the video is still playing.
- Watching the video in a small, portrait window when it is a landscape video. If you must screenshot, rotate to fullscreen landscape first.
- Leaving captions switched on.
Want to go further? Learn three ways to extract frames on Android.
Try Frame Capture
Step frame by frame through any video and save the exact moment as JPG or PNG, up to original resolution. Free on Android.
Frequently asked questions
How do I screenshot a video on Android without the play button?
Wait for the player controls to fade before taking the screenshot, or avoid the problem entirely by saving the frame with a frame capture app, which never includes player controls.
Why is my screenshot from a video blurry?
Usually because you captured a frame with motion blur, or because the screenshot is limited to the size the video was displayed at on your screen. Step to a still moment and save at the video's own resolution. Learn how to get a high-quality photo from a video →
Is a screenshot the same quality as the original video frame?
Not usually. A screenshot is re-rendered at your display size and may include scaling and overlays, while an extracted frame comes straight from the video file.