diff --git a/internal/oboe/binding_android.cpp b/internal/oboe/binding_android.cpp
index 05bc529..574ebd9 100644
--- a/internal/oboe/binding_android.cpp
+++ b/internal/oboe/binding_android.cpp
@@ -354,6 +354,15 @@ void Stream::DeferStartLocked() {
 
 const char *Stream::Play(int sample_rate, int channel_num,
                          int buffer_size_in_bytes) {
+  // The frame counts and the read wait below divide by these, so a value the
+  // caller left at zero would fault instead of reporting a bad configuration.
+  if (sample_rate <= 0) {
+    return "oto_oboe_Play: sample rate must be positive";
+  }
+  if (channel_num <= 0) {
+    return "oto_oboe_Play: channel count must be positive";
+  }
+
   std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock{mutex_};
   sample_rate_ = sample_rate;
   channel_num_ = channel_num;