diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/engine.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/engine.rs
index 4247238..6120d03 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/engine.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/engine.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 //! Call engine for the desktop app — wraps wzp-client audio + transport
 //! into a clean async interface for Tauri commands.
+//!
+//! Step C of the incremental Android rewrite: the module now compiles on
+//! Android too (previously cfg-gated out entirely in lib.rs), but the
+//! actual `CallEngine::start()` body uses CPAL via `wzp_client::audio_io`
+//! which is only available on desktop. On Android we expose a stub
+//! `start()` that returns an error, so the frontend's `connect` command
+//! still fails cleanly but the rest of the engine code links in.
 
 use std::net::SocketAddr;
 use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, AtomicU32, AtomicU64, Ordering};
@@ -7,12 +14,21 @@ use std::sync::Arc;
 use std::time::Instant;
 
 use tokio::sync::Mutex;
+#[cfg(not(target_os = "android"))]
 use tracing::{error, info};
 
+#[cfg(not(target_os = "android"))]
 use wzp_client::audio_io::{AudioCapture, AudioPlayback};
+#[cfg(not(target_os = "android"))]
 use wzp_client::call::{CallConfig, CallEncoder};
+#[cfg(not(target_os = "android"))]
 use wzp_proto::{CodecId, MediaTransport, QualityProfile};
 
+// On Android we still need MediaTransport (for transport.close()) and nothing
+// else from wzp_proto — this keeps the struct/stop()/status() code compiling.
+#[cfg(target_os = "android")]
+use wzp_proto::MediaTransport;
+
 const FRAME_SAMPLES_40MS: usize = 1920;
 
 /// Resolve a quality string from the UI to a QualityProfile.
@@ -80,6 +96,26 @@ pub struct CallEngine {
 }
 
 impl CallEngine {
+    /// Android stub — the real audio pipeline depends on wzp_client's
+    /// CPAL-backed audio_io module, which isn't available here. Returns an
+    /// error so the `connect` Tauri command fails cleanly. We'll replace
+    /// this in a later step with an Oboe-backed implementation.
+    #[cfg(target_os = "android")]
+    pub async fn start<F>(
+        _relay: String,
+        _room: String,
+        _alias: String,
+        _os_aec: bool,
+        _quality: String,
+        _event_cb: F,
+    ) -> Result<Self, anyhow::Error>
+    where
+        F: Fn(&str, &str) + Send + Sync + 'static,
+    {
+        Err(anyhow::anyhow!("audio engine not yet wired on Android (step C)"))
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(not(target_os = "android"))]
     pub async fn start<F>(
         relay: String,
         room: String,
diff --git a/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs b/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
index 71074cf..3125c25 100644
--- a/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
+++ b/desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
@@ -6,11 +6,13 @@
     windows_subsystem = "windows"
 )]
 
-// CPAL-backed audio engine — desktop only. On Android we'll plug in an
-// oboe/AAudio backend in a later step.
-#[cfg(not(target_os = "android"))]
+// Call engine — now compiled on every platform. On desktop it runs the real
+// CPAL/VPIO audio pipeline; on Android `CallEngine::start()` currently returns
+// an error stub (see engine.rs — that's step C of the Oboe integration).
 mod engine;
 
+// CallEngine is only referenced from the non-Android connect/disconnect/etc
+// commands; the Android stubs return errors directly.
 #[cfg(not(target_os = "android"))]
 use engine::CallEngine;