diff --git a/include/ui/GraphicBuffer.h b/include/ui/GraphicBuffer.h
index a3e85a96a..6edc3caab 100644
--- a/include/ui/GraphicBuffer.h
+++ b/include/ui/GraphicBuffer.h
@@ -88,12 +88,15 @@ public:
     status_t lock(uint32_t usage, const Rect& rect, void** vaddr);
     status_t lock(GGLSurface* surface, uint32_t usage);
     status_t unlock();
-    
+
     android_native_buffer_t* getNativeBuffer() const;
     
     void setIndex(int index);
     int getIndex() const;
 
+    // for debugging
+    static void dumpAllocationsToSystemLog();
+
 private:
     virtual ~GraphicBuffer();
 
diff --git a/include/ui/GraphicBufferAllocator.h b/include/ui/GraphicBufferAllocator.h
index 54b8236e2..dffa788f4 100644
--- a/include/ui/GraphicBufferAllocator.h
+++ b/include/ui/GraphicBufferAllocator.h
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ public:
     status_t free(buffer_handle_t handle);
 
     void dump(String8& res) const;
+    static void dumpToSystemLog();
 
 private:
     struct alloc_rec_t {
diff --git a/libs/ui/GraphicBuffer.cpp b/libs/ui/GraphicBuffer.cpp
index 519c277c6..828a988be 100644
--- a/libs/ui/GraphicBuffer.cpp
+++ b/libs/ui/GraphicBuffer.cpp
@@ -99,6 +99,11 @@ status_t GraphicBuffer::initCheck() const {
     return mInitCheck;
 }
 
+void GraphicBuffer::dumpAllocationsToSystemLog()
+{
+    GraphicBufferAllocator::dumpToSystemLog();
+}
+
 android_native_buffer_t* GraphicBuffer::getNativeBuffer() const
 {
     return static_cast<android_native_buffer_t*>(
diff --git a/libs/ui/GraphicBufferAllocator.cpp b/libs/ui/GraphicBufferAllocator.cpp
index d51664dde..fa46ab7b3 100644
--- a/libs/ui/GraphicBufferAllocator.cpp
+++ b/libs/ui/GraphicBufferAllocator.cpp
@@ -73,6 +73,13 @@ void GraphicBufferAllocator::dump(String8& result) const
     result.append(buffer);
 }
 
+void GraphicBufferAllocator::dumpToSystemLog()
+{
+    String8 s;
+    GraphicBufferAllocator::getInstance().dump(s);
+    LOGD("%s", s.string());
+}
+
 status_t GraphicBufferAllocator::alloc(uint32_t w, uint32_t h, PixelFormat format,
         int usage, buffer_handle_t* handle, int32_t* stride)
 {
@@ -104,10 +111,6 @@ status_t GraphicBufferAllocator::alloc(uint32_t w, uint32_t h, PixelFormat forma
         rec.usage = usage;
         rec.size = h * stride[0] * bytesPerPixel(format);
         list.add(*handle, rec);
-    } else {
-        String8 s;
-        dump(s);
-        LOGD("%s", s.string());
     }
 
     return err;
diff --git a/services/surfaceflinger/Layer.cpp b/services/surfaceflinger/Layer.cpp
index a060d316d..5018fb3c4 100644
--- a/services/surfaceflinger/Layer.cpp
+++ b/services/surfaceflinger/Layer.cpp
@@ -347,6 +347,7 @@ sp<GraphicBuffer> Layer::requestBuffer(int index,
     err = buffer->initCheck();
 
     if (err || buffer->handle == 0) {
+        GraphicBuffer::dumpAllocationsToSystemLog();
         LOGE_IF(err || buffer->handle == 0,
                 "Layer::requestBuffer(this=%p), index=%d, w=%d, h=%d failed (%s)",
                 this, index, w, h, strerror(-err));