Reset Push Notifications/Device Registration/Instance Id - App Update via TestFlight or App Store - Firebase Cloud Messaging iOS/React Native Firebase

Question

Been doing a lot of research on this issue, first my setup:

React-native: 0.61.5
react-native-firebase: 5.6.0
Firebase Messaging 6.15.0

My issue quite simple and straight forward though I do not seem to be able to find a clear way to resolve the issue.

I deployed version 4.2 of my app. Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) in iOS works just dandy. I then deployed 4.3 to TestFlight to begin testing. Installed 4.3 via TestFlight and FCM stopped working, no push notifications. If I delete the app and install 4.3 via TestFlight push notifications work again, the device is registered.

I can also reproduce this issue updating the installed version of my app from the App Store published latest, no surprise there.

I know that the InstanceId/device token is based on the app build+device so it makes sense that the token changes when the app Updates but my token is the same when I update from 4.2 to 4.3:

const fcmToken = await firebase.messaging().getToken(); //same whether 4.2 or 4.3

And yes firebase.messaging().getToken() is cached on initial creation.

So I am wired up to listen to token change events:

firebase.messaging().onTokenRefresh(async () => {
  console.log('======onTokenRefresh=========');
  AsyncStorage.removeItem(FCM_TOKEN_KEY);
  await getToken();
});

That never seems to fire. I have even added a button to my app to try and force a new InstanceId and register with FCM after updating the version from TestFlight or the AppStore, this does not help:

export async function forceRefresh() {
  console.log('================force a new registration!!!==========');
  AsyncStorage.removeItem(FCM_TOKEN_KEY);
  firebase.messaging().deleteToken();
  firebase.iid().deleteToken();
  registerForPushNotificationsAsync(true);
}

Nah, doesn't work.

So the moral of the story is, when I update the version of my app, my customers, whom's push notifications were working dandy, will no longer be registered for push notifications when they update their app to the next version.

References that might be leads I have been studying:

Interesting on app update start, where push notifications will stop working because of the app update I see two different tokens, perhaps this first one is the APN token from Apple:

2020-01-17 18:48:09.371741-0800 native[4462:1287461] -[RNFirebaseMessaging messaging:didReceiveRegistrationToken:] [Line 86] Received new FCM token: eBBgznWj1FU:APA91bF8vTmpkwcojp4oDSKFzlPDp6ylEIe_WGNzu24SKHS6RR-3xPu2-cX-Qyc8rrMIQMvkCJftT9711ll1WdshBWS4iEpZ3XpiPeTynqM-nvDjpAUUUWJpfT5aeo6G_scDsN9iipwI
2020-01-17 18:48:09.378382-0800 native[4462:1287621] 6.15.0 - [Firebase/InstanceID][I-IID014012] Invalidating cached token for 255558254149 (*) due to token is no longer fresh.

Then a bit later my prior token from the previous version of the app where push notifications working is loaded I and see the work "default token" in the logs:

2020-01-17 18:48:09.987571-0800 native[4462:1287610] 6.15.0 - [Firebase/InstanceID][I-IID014001] Token fetch successful, token: dUY5psWDnkv2td1kB_t6Gs:APA91bEaREBt07CWiEyGvP4YAGjxmVQmF0IcXgef5XcvL5KWrHsqcxZZ8L9PqwGzKTPFGy6cdmuVXSvg6kDQjj-652jt5_jbbKMhUFTcam_-FeBp2vGZvBjaBd4aAOtQf1m48htQ8d6B, authorizedEntity: 255558254149, scope:*
2020-01-17 18:48:09.987764-0800 native[4462:1287461] -[RNFirebaseMessaging messaging:didReceiveRegistrationToken:] [Line 86] Received new FCM token: dUY5psWDnkv2td1kB_t6Gs:APA91bEaREBt07CWiEyGvP4YAGjxmVQmF0IcXgef5XcvL5KWrHsqcxZZ8L9PqwGzKTPFGy6cdmuVXSvg6kDQjj-652jt5_jbbKMhUFTcam_-FeBp2vGZvBjaBd4aAOtQf1m48htQ8d6B
2020-01-17 18:48:09.993088-0800 native[4462:1287610] 6.15.0 - [Firebase/InstanceID][I-IID003010] Successfully fetched default token.
2020-01-17 18:48:09.993755-0800 native[4462:1287610] 6.15.0 - [Firebase/InstanceID][I-IID003008] Got default token dUY5psWDnkv2td1kB_t6Gs:APA91bEaREBt07CWiEyGvP4YAGjxmVQmF0IcXgef5XcvL5KWrHsqcxZZ8L9PqwGzKTPFGy6cdmuVXSvg6kDQjj-652jt5_jbbKMhUFTcam_-FeBp2vGZvBjaBd4aAOtQf1m48htQ8d6B

As interesting, after deleting the current version app and installing the latest version (in previous log it was the update version) we can see the same process in reverse, first my current token is found and is considered no longer fresh:

messaging:didReceiveRegistrationToken:] [Line 86] Received new FCM token: dUY5psWDnkv2td1kB_t6Gs:APA91bEaREBt07CWiEyGvP4YAGjxmVQmF0IcXgef5XcvL5KWrHsqcxZZ8L9PqwGzKTPFGy6cdmuVXSvg6kDQjj-652jt5_jbbKMhUFTcam_-FeBp2vGZvBjaBd4aAOtQf1m48htQ8d6B
2020-01-17 19:03:06.651179-0800 native[4475:1291698] 6.15.0 - [Firebase/InstanceID][I-IID014012] Invalidating cached token for 255558254149 (*) due to token is no longer fresh.

Subsequently the new token is loaded and is considered the default token and my new install receives FCM notifications right away:

2020-01-17 19:03:07.997209-0800 native[4475:1291564] -[RNFirebaseMessaging messaging:didReceiveRegistrationToken:] [Line 86] Received new FCM token: ebz2ACPpBkg0kGsgs9yF7_:APA91bGErCaPMuLyRk-_BLZXUk8_U6FyxvKHbI0NPgddFWl_-nLZuCc6HbHg8kaLMDJiO7sHFS8THAuV132xgri8uQ9YV4g8zDXJySrKsSTNiDq9HcXpzUQXQlPy8bTaxZ3gyRxyCy3p
2020-01-17 19:03:08.018870-0800 native[4475:1291684] 6.15.0 - [Firebase/InstanceID][I-IID014001] Token fetch successful, token: ebz2ACPpBkg0kGsgs9yF7_:APA91bGErCaPMuLyRk-_BLZXUk8_U6FyxvKHbI0NPgddFWl_-nLZuCc6HbHg8kaLMDJiO7sHFS8THAuV132xgri8uQ9YV4g8zDXJySrKsSTNiDq9HcXpzUQXQlPy8bTaxZ3gyRxyCy3p, authorizedEntity: 255558254149, scope:*
2020-01-17 19:03:08.019018-0800 native[4475:1291684] 6.15.0 - [Firebase/InstanceID][I-IID003010] Successfully fetched default token.
2020-01-17 19:03:08.019065-0800 native[4475:1291684] 6.15.0 - [Firebase/InstanceID][I-IID003008] Got default token ebz2ACPpBkg0kGsgs9yF7_:APA91bGErCaPMuLyRk-_BLZXUk8_U6FyxvKHbI0NPgddFWl_-nLZuCc6HbHg8kaLMDJiO7sHFS8THAuV132xgri8uQ9YV4g8zDXJySrKsSTNiDq9HcXpzUQXQlPy8bTaxZ3gyRxyCy3p

Just found this interest statement in the logs:

APNS device token not set before retrieving FCM Token for Sender ID '255558254149'. Notifications to this FCM Token will not be delivered over APNS.Be sure to re-retrieve the FCM token once the APNS device token is set.

It is hard to believe this is happening so consistently but it does certainly seem to be the case, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Brian Ogden · Accepted Answer · 2020-01-18T21:54:13.767

Well it ended up being a race condition, I found a great hint here

Seems with react-native-firebase Firebase.messaging().getToken() will not always return the latest token - use onTokenRefresh instead. My app was saving and using an old token and not updating a new one - very small race condition.

Simply use Firebase.messaging.onTokenRefresh() as a source of truth to avoid issues with migrating apps. Also to be sure you get a token that works. You may want to delete your token on a migration such as this with v4 -> await Firebase.iid().deleteToken(), or v5 (Firebase.messaging().deleteToken(). Then rely onTokenRefresh to send you a new one to send to your server.

Now firebase.messaging().deleteToken() mentioned in quote above isn't "good enough" to cause a a tokenRefresh when there is an app update from TestFlight or the Apple App Store.

I had to call the asynchronous (everything is asynchronous when it comes to this problem is the rule of thumb):

firebase.iid().delete();

This React Native Firebase api method deletes the InstanceId which is really what Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) is using for the token.

This will fire the onTokenRefresh. So what I did is I am checking the version and build number of the app and storing this in the app user data (NSDefaults for iOS), I check if this version and build exists, if it doesn't I "flush" the device token. That way this only happens once.

I am going to add my code in the hopes it helps others with this problem, essentially, from my research, using React Native Firebase 5.x this is what you have to do to maintain seamless push notification registration with Firebase Cloud Messaging across iOS app updates:

In your App.js add the following:

   configureFirebaseCloudMessaging = async () => {
    //wire up Firebase Cloud Messaging onTokenRefresh listener

    this.fcmOnTokenRefreshUnsubscribe = await firebase.messaging().onTokenRefresh(async fcmToken => {
      console.log('*********************** onTokenRefresh *****************');
      //this is callBack called typically sometime in the future but can be call with app loaded but user not logged in
      //check for that case and exit if there is no accessToken to call APIs
      const accessToken = await AsyncStorage.getItem('access-token');
      if (!accessToken) {
        console.log('************** user is not logged in exit onTokenRefresh do not register device ************');
        return;
      }
      await this.registerDevice(fcmToken, BASE_URL);
      await AsyncStorage.setItem('fcmToken', fcmToken);
      firebase.crashlytics().log(`flushed new fcmToken: ${fcmToken}`);
      console.log('***************** success  account updated with latest token **************');
    });

    //Firebase Cloud Messaging time
    await this.requestPushPermission();
    await this.checkFlushv();
  }

  checkFlushv = async () => {
    let FLUSHV = `${DeviceInfo.getVersion()}-build-${DeviceInfo.getBuildNumber()}`;

    const flush = await AsyncStorage.getItem(FLUSHV);
    console.log('======= checking FLUSHV=========', flush);
    if (flush) {
      console.log('***** device token already been flushed ******');
      return;
    }

    const accessToken = await AsyncStorage.getItem('access-token');
    console.log('flushy access token:', accessToken);
    if (!accessToken) {
      console.log('******** user is not logged in do not flush ************');
      return;
    }

    //force push notifications, this will fire onTokenRefresh callback
    await firebase.iid().delete();

    //iterate all keys and remove other builds to keep tidy and TestFlighters possibly going up and back down build versions for testing
    const keys = await AsyncStorage.getAllKeys();
    const buildKeys = keys.filter(key => {
      return key.indexOf('build') !== -1;
    });
    await AsyncStorage.multiRemove(buildKeys);

    //add current build key so no more flushy
    await AsyncStorage.setItem(FLUSHV, FLUSHV);
    console.log(`=================FLUSHV clear: ${FLUSHV}===================`)
  }

  registerDevice = async (token, baseUrl) => {
    console.log(`******** registerDevice token: ${token}, baseUrl: ${baseUrl}`);
    let data = {
      device: 'firebase',
      token: token
    }

    //register token with  account
    axios.post(`${baseUrl}/myapi/register_device`, data)
      .then(response => {
        return {}
      })
      .catch(err => {
        console.log(err)
        return {}
      })
  }

And then in your App.js:

  async componentDidUpdate() {
    //a new version of the app could be loaded post/after App.componentDidMount
    await this.checkFlushv();
  }

  async componentWillUnmount() {
    console.log('app componentWillUnmount');
    this.fcmOnTokenRefreshUnsubscribe(); //not really sure unsubcribe is needed but keeping tidy
    this.fcmOnTokenRefreshUnsubscribe = null;
  }

  async componentDidMount() {
    await this.configureFirebaseCloudMessaging();
  }

This is one of the best answer, can it be more accurate then this? Thank a ton @Brian — Swap, Sep 24 '20 at 12:23

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 28 '20 at 14:30

I spent a lot of time before the found a solution.

So, if you call firebase.iid().delete() in iOS you need to register your new token in APNs. I didn't see this in react native firebase documentation, just found in lib's types

await firebase.messaging().ios.registerForRemoteNotifications()

Please, call this method after generate new token

Reset Push Notifications/Device Registration/Instance Id - App Update via TestFlight or App Store - Firebase Cloud Messaging iOS/React Native Firebase

2 Answers2