diff --git a/debuggerd/debuggerd.cpp b/debuggerd/debuggerd.cpp
index 6064568..258bd76 100644
--- a/debuggerd/debuggerd.cpp
+++ b/debuggerd/debuggerd.cpp
@@ -25,9 +25,11 @@
 #include <sys/poll.h>
 #include <sys/prctl.h>
 #include <sys/ptrace.h>
+#include <sys/socket.h>
 #include <sys/stat.h>
 #include <sys/types.h>
 #include <sys/wait.h>
+#include <sys/un.h>
 #include <time.h>
 
 #include <set>
@@ -248,6 +250,43 @@
   return 0;
 }
 
+static int activity_manager_connect() {
+  android::base::unique_fd amfd(socket(PF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0));
+  if (amfd.get() < -1) {
+    ALOGE("debuggerd: Unable to connect to activity manager (socket failed: %s)", strerror(errno));
+    return -1;
+  }
+
+  struct sockaddr_un address;
+  memset(&address, 0, sizeof(address));
+  address.sun_family = AF_UNIX;
+  // The path used here must match the value defined in NativeCrashListener.java.
+  strncpy(address.sun_path, "/data/system/ndebugsocket", sizeof(address.sun_path));
+  if (TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY(connect(amfd.get(), reinterpret_cast<struct sockaddr*>(&address),
+                                 sizeof(address))) == -1) {
+    ALOGE("debuggerd: Unable to connect to activity manager (connect failed: %s)", strerror(errno));
+    return -1;
+  }
+
+  struct timeval tv;
+  memset(&tv, 0, sizeof(tv));
+  tv.tv_sec = 1;  // tight leash
+  if (setsockopt(amfd.get(), SOL_SOCKET, SO_SNDTIMEO, &tv, sizeof(tv)) == -1) {
+    ALOGE("debuggerd: Unable to connect to activity manager (setsockopt SO_SNDTIMEO failed: %s)",
+          strerror(errno));
+    return -1;
+  }
+
+  tv.tv_sec = 3;  // 3 seconds on handshake read
+  if (setsockopt(amfd.get(), SOL_SOCKET, SO_RCVTIMEO, &tv, sizeof(tv)) == -1) {
+    ALOGE("debuggerd: Unable to connect to activity manager (setsockopt SO_RCVTIMEO failed: %s)",
+          strerror(errno));
+    return -1;
+  }
+
+  return amfd.release();
+}
+
 static bool should_attach_gdb(const debugger_request_t& request) {
   if (request.action == DEBUGGER_ACTION_CRASH) {
     return property_get_bool("debug.debuggerd.wait_for_gdb", false);
@@ -375,7 +414,7 @@
 
 static bool perform_dump(const debugger_request_t& request, int fd, int tombstone_fd,
                          BacktraceMap* backtrace_map, const std::set<pid_t>& siblings,
-                         int* crash_signal) {
+                         int* crash_signal, int amfd) {
   if (TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY(write(fd, "\0", 1)) != 1) {
     ALOGE("debuggerd: failed to respond to client: %s\n", strerror(errno));
     return false;
@@ -393,7 +432,7 @@
         if (request.action == DEBUGGER_ACTION_DUMP_TOMBSTONE) {
           ALOGV("debuggerd: stopped -- dumping to tombstone");
           engrave_tombstone(tombstone_fd, backtrace_map, request.pid, request.tid, siblings, signal,
-                            request.original_si_code, request.abort_msg_address);
+                            request.original_si_code, request.abort_msg_address, amfd);
         } else if (request.action == DEBUGGER_ACTION_DUMP_BACKTRACE) {
           ALOGV("debuggerd: stopped -- dumping to fd");
           dump_backtrace(fd, -1, backtrace_map, request.pid, request.tid, siblings);
@@ -419,7 +458,7 @@
         ALOGV("stopped -- fatal signal\n");
         *crash_signal = signal;
         engrave_tombstone(tombstone_fd, backtrace_map, request.pid, request.tid, siblings, signal,
-                          request.original_si_code, request.abort_msg_address);
+                          request.original_si_code, request.abort_msg_address, amfd);
         break;
 
       default:
@@ -505,6 +544,12 @@
   // Generate the backtrace map before dropping privileges.
   std::unique_ptr<BacktraceMap> backtrace_map(BacktraceMap::Create(request.pid));
 
+  int amfd = -1;
+  if (request.action == DEBUGGER_ACTION_CRASH) {
+    // Connect to the activity manager before dropping privileges.
+    amfd = activity_manager_connect();
+  }
+
   bool succeeded = false;
 
   // Now that we've done everything that requires privileges, we can drop them.
@@ -514,7 +559,8 @@
   }
 
   int crash_signal = SIGKILL;
-  succeeded = perform_dump(request, fd, tombstone_fd, backtrace_map.get(), siblings, &crash_signal);
+  succeeded = perform_dump(request, fd, tombstone_fd, backtrace_map.get(), siblings,
+                           &crash_signal, amfd);
   if (succeeded) {
     if (request.action == DEBUGGER_ACTION_DUMP_TOMBSTONE) {
       if (!tombstone_path.empty()) {
@@ -558,6 +604,8 @@
     uninit_getevent();
   }
 
+  close(amfd);
+
   exit(!succeeded);
 }
 
diff --git a/debuggerd/tombstone.cpp b/debuggerd/tombstone.cpp
index 7cf2ffc..d802c8c 100644
--- a/debuggerd/tombstone.cpp
+++ b/debuggerd/tombstone.cpp
@@ -28,9 +28,7 @@
 #include <string.h>
 #include <time.h>
 #include <sys/ptrace.h>
-#include <sys/socket.h>
 #include <sys/stat.h>
-#include <sys/un.h>
 
 #include <memory>
 #include <string>
@@ -59,9 +57,6 @@
 #define TOMBSTONE_DIR   "/data/tombstones"
 #define TOMBSTONE_TEMPLATE (TOMBSTONE_DIR"/tombstone_%02d")
 
-// Must match the path defined in NativeCrashListener.java
-#define NCRASH_SOCKET_PATH "/data/system/ndebugsocket"
-
 static bool signal_has_si_addr(int sig) {
   switch (sig) {
     case SIGBUS:
@@ -711,39 +706,9 @@
   return fd;
 }
 
-static int activity_manager_connect() {
-  int amfd = socket(PF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
-  if (amfd >= 0) {
-    struct sockaddr_un address;
-    int err;
-
-    memset(&address, 0, sizeof(address));
-    address.sun_family = AF_UNIX;
-    strncpy(address.sun_path, NCRASH_SOCKET_PATH, sizeof(address.sun_path));
-    err = TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY(connect(
-        amfd, reinterpret_cast<struct sockaddr*>(&address), sizeof(address)));
-    if (!err) {
-      struct timeval tv;
-      memset(&tv, 0, sizeof(tv));
-      tv.tv_sec = 1;  // tight leash
-      err = setsockopt(amfd, SOL_SOCKET, SO_SNDTIMEO, &tv, sizeof(tv));
-      if (!err) {
-        tv.tv_sec = 3;  // 3 seconds on handshake read
-        err = setsockopt(amfd, SOL_SOCKET, SO_RCVTIMEO, &tv, sizeof(tv));
-      }
-    }
-    if (err) {
-      close(amfd);
-      amfd = -1;
-    }
-  }
-
-  return amfd;
-}
-
 void engrave_tombstone(int tombstone_fd, BacktraceMap* map, pid_t pid, pid_t tid,
                        const std::set<pid_t>& siblings, int signal, int original_si_code,
-                       uintptr_t abort_msg_address) {
+                       uintptr_t abort_msg_address, int amfd) {
   log_t log;
   log.current_tid = tid;
   log.crashed_tid = tid;
@@ -756,10 +721,6 @@
   log.tfd = tombstone_fd;
   // Preserve amfd since it can be modified through the calls below without
   // being closed.
-  int amfd = activity_manager_connect();
   log.amfd = amfd;
   dump_crash(&log, map, pid, tid, siblings, signal, original_si_code, abort_msg_address);
-
-  // This file descriptor can be -1, any error is ignored.
-  close(amfd);
 }
diff --git a/debuggerd/tombstone.h b/debuggerd/tombstone.h
index 2b8b8be..7f3eebe 100644
--- a/debuggerd/tombstone.h
+++ b/debuggerd/tombstone.h
@@ -34,6 +34,6 @@
 /* Creates a tombstone file and writes the crash dump to it. */
 void engrave_tombstone(int tombstone_fd, BacktraceMap* map, pid_t pid, pid_t tid,
                        const std::set<pid_t>& siblings, int signal, int original_si_code,
-                       uintptr_t abort_msg_address);
+                       uintptr_t abort_msg_address, int amfd);
 
 #endif // _DEBUGGERD_TOMBSTONE_H