diff -r 37b77749523b android-project/src/org/libsdl/app/SDLActivity.java
--- a/android-project/src/org/libsdl/app/SDLActivity.java	Mon Jun 24 22:06:50 2013 -0700
+++ b/android-project/src/org/libsdl/app/SDLActivity.java	Mon Jul 01 17:24:54 2013 +0300
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
     private static final String TAG = "SDL";
 
     // Keep track of the paused state
-    public static boolean mIsPaused = false;
+    public static boolean mIsPaused = false, mIsSurfaceReady = false;
 
     // Main components
     protected static SDLActivity mSingleton;
@@ -83,14 +83,14 @@
     protected void onPause() {
         Log.v("SDL", "onPause()");
         super.onPause();
-        // Don't call SDLActivity.nativePause(); here, it will be called by SDLSurface::surfaceDestroyed
+        SDLActivity.handlePause();
     }
 
     @Override
     protected void onResume() {
         Log.v("SDL", "onResume()");
         super.onResume();
-        // Don't call SDLActivity.nativeResume(); here, it will be called via SDLSurface::surfaceChanged->SDLActivity::startApp
+        SDLActivity.handleResume();
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -120,6 +120,31 @@
         }
     }
 
+
+    /** Called by onPause or surfaceDestroyed. Even if surfaceDestroyed
+     *  is the first to be called, mIsSurfaceReady should still be set
+     *  to 'true' during the call to onPause (in a usual scenario).
+     */
+    public static void handlePause() {
+        if (!SDLActivity.mIsPaused && SDLActivity.mIsSurfaceReady) {
+            SDLActivity.mIsPaused = true;
+            SDLActivity.nativePause();
+            mSurface.enableSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER, false);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** Called by onResume or surfaceCreated. An actual resume
+     *  should be done only when the surface is ready.
+     */
+    public static void handleResume() {
+        if (SDLActivity.mIsPaused && SDLActivity.mIsSurfaceReady) {
+            SDLActivity.mIsPaused = false;
+            SDLActivity.nativeResume();
+            mSurface.enableSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER, true);
+        }
+    }
+
+
     // Messages from the SDLMain thread
     static final int COMMAND_CHANGE_TITLE = 1;
     static final int COMMAND_UNUSED = 2;
@@ -227,24 +252,6 @@
         return mSingleton;
     }
 
-    public static void startApp() {
-        // Start up the C app thread
-        if (mSDLThread == null) {
-            mSDLThread = new Thread(new SDLMain(), "SDLThread");
-            mSDLThread.start();
-        }
-        else {
-            /*
-             * Some Android variants may send multiple surfaceChanged events, so we don't need to resume every time
-             * every time we get one of those events, only if it comes after surfaceDestroyed
-             */
-            if (mIsPaused) {
-                SDLActivity.nativeResume();
-                SDLActivity.mIsPaused = false;
-            }
-        }
-    }
-    
     static class ShowTextInputTask implements Runnable {
         /*
          * This is used to regulate the pan&scan method to have some offset from
@@ -533,18 +540,17 @@
     public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {
         Log.v("SDL", "surfaceCreated()");
         holder.setType(SurfaceHolder.SURFACE_TYPE_GPU);
-        enableSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER, true);
+        // Set mIsSurfaceReady to 'true' *before* any call to handleResume
+        SDLActivity.mIsSurfaceReady = true;
     }
 
     // Called when we lose the surface
     @Override
     public void surfaceDestroyed(SurfaceHolder holder) {
         Log.v("SDL", "surfaceDestroyed()");
-        if (!SDLActivity.mIsPaused) {
-            SDLActivity.mIsPaused = true;
-            SDLActivity.nativePause();
-        }
-        enableSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER, false);
+        // Call this *before* setting mIsSurfaceReady to 'false'
+        SDLActivity.handlePause();
+        SDLActivity.mIsSurfaceReady = false;
     }
 
     // Called when the surface is resized
@@ -603,7 +609,16 @@
         SDLActivity.onNativeResize(width, height, sdlFormat);
         Log.v("SDL", "Window size:" + width + "x"+height);
 
-        SDLActivity.startApp();
+        // Set mIsSurfaceReady to 'true' *before* making a call to handleResume
+        SDLActivity.mIsSurfaceReady = true;
+        // Start up the C app thread and enable sensor input for the first time
+        if (SDLActivity.mSDLThread == null) {
+            SDLActivity.mSDLThread = new Thread(new SDLMain(), "SDLThread");
+            enableSensor(Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER, true);
+            SDLActivity.mSDLThread.start();
+        } else { // App window is restored or a similar event occurs
+            SDLActivity.handleResume();
+        }
     }
 
     // unused