diff --git a/services/surfaceflinger/SurfaceFlinger.h b/services/surfaceflinger/SurfaceFlinger.h
index 8e48572..e39095a 100644
--- a/services/surfaceflinger/SurfaceFlinger.h
+++ b/services/surfaceflinger/SurfaceFlinger.h
@@ -146,28 +146,6 @@
 public:
     SurfaceFlingerBE();
 
-    // The current hardware composer interface.
-    //
-    // The following thread safety rules apply when accessing mHwc, either
-    // directly or via getHwComposer():
-    //
-    // 1. When recreating mHwc, acquire mStateLock. We currently recreate mHwc
-    //    only when switching into and out of vr. Recreating mHwc must only be
-    //    done on the main thread.
-    //
-    // 2. When accessing mHwc on the main thread, it's not necessary to acquire
-    //    mStateLock.
-    //
-    // 3. When accessing mHwc on a thread other than the main thread, we always
-    //    need to acquire mStateLock. This is because the main thread could be
-    //    in the process of destroying the current mHwc instance.
-    //
-    // The above thread safety rules only apply to SurfaceFlinger.cpp. In
-    // SurfaceFlinger_hwc1.cpp we create mHwc at surface flinger init and never
-    // destroy it, so it's always safe to access mHwc from any thread without
-    // acquiring mStateLock.
-    std::unique_ptr<HWComposer> mHwc;
-
     const std::string mHwcServiceName; // "default" for real use, something else for testing.
 
     // constant members (no synchronization needed for access)
@@ -694,7 +672,27 @@
      * H/W composer
      */
 
-    HWComposer& getHwComposer() const { return *getBE().mHwc; }
+    // The current hardware composer interface.
+    //
+    // The following thread safety rules apply when accessing mHwc, either
+    // directly or via getHwComposer():
+    //
+    // 1. When recreating mHwc, acquire mStateLock. We currently recreate mHwc
+    //    only when switching into and out of vr. Recreating mHwc must only be
+    //    done on the main thread.
+    //
+    // 2. When accessing mHwc on the main thread, it's not necessary to acquire
+    //    mStateLock.
+    //
+    // 3. When accessing mHwc on a thread other than the main thread, we always
+    //    need to acquire mStateLock. This is because the main thread could be
+    //    in the process of destroying the current mHwc instance.
+    //
+    // The above thread safety rules only apply to SurfaceFlinger.cpp. In
+    // SurfaceFlinger_hwc1.cpp we create mHwc at surface flinger init and never
+    // destroy it, so it's always safe to access mHwc from any thread without
+    // acquiring mStateLock.
+    HWComposer& getHwComposer() const;
 
     /* ------------------------------------------------------------------------
      * Compositing