Cant migrate from react-native-iap

[kbkmn]

Hi. I’m making this Android‑only app and used react-native-iap. I’ve got it connected and fetch subscriptions from the store. Haven’t tried purchases yet, but I saw expo-iap and decided to try it. I removed all of react-native-iap, installed expo-iap as instructed and nothing happened—no connection. The docs say expo-iap will add billing permission to AndroidManifest.xml, but it does not. So I’ve found out I must add "expo-iap" to the plugins section in my app.config.ts. Permissions are added but still no connection. The troubleshooting section on the docs (https://expo‑iap.hyo.dev/docs/guides/troubleshooting) says I must add IAPProvider, which isn’t present at all, and connection troubleshooting is done through connectionError, which isn’t present either. Am I missing something? Why does useIAP always show my connection as false without any error or warning? Why can i get storefront?

To clarify: I’m using a real device and react-native-iap connected fine.

[hyochan]

Hi! Thanks for trying out expo-iap!

I’ve migrated several personal projects to expo-iap and also helped integrate it into a partner app with around 2 million DAU, so the library should work reliably when set up correctly.

From your description, it sounds like most of the steps were followed, but we might need a bit more detail about your setup to pinpoint the issue — for example, your app.config.ts, useIAP() usage, and the actual device logs could be helpful.

Also, just a heads-up: expo-iap v2.7.0 was recently released with some important updates, including improvements to connection handling and StoreKit 2 support. You can check the changelog here:
👉 https://expo-iap.hyo.dev/blog/v2-7-0-release

Let me know if you're on the latest version, and feel free to share more context so I can assist you better.

[kbkmn]

Hi. I've updated to 2.7.0 but it didn't help. I'm developing android only app so the only thing i've changed since last version is implementation "com.android.billingclient:billing-ktx:8.0.0" inside build.gradle file
My setup is super simple, it's a new app. I've attached app.config.ts (as txt) and here is my useIAP() usage:

export default function DebugScreen() {
    const { connected } = useIAP();
    
    console.warn(connected);
    
    return <View>
        <Text>{JSON.stringify({ connected}, null, 2)}</Text>
    </View>
}

It stays false and sometimes when move between screens i get endConnection is not a function (it is undefined) error.

Thanks for the help

[hyochan]

Thanks for the detailed follow-up!

A few things to clarify and help move forward:

1. Android-only App
   Since you're developing for Android only, it's good that you're on billing-ktx:8.0.0 — that's what expo-iap@2.7.0 uses internally.

2. Dev Client Required (for Expo App)
   Just to confirm — are you using the Expo Development Client (expo-dev-client)?
   expo-iap requires a dev client, even for Android-only apps, since it's a custom native module. It won’t work in the default Expo Go app or with expo start.

3. Prebuild Required
   If you're using the managed workflow, make sure to run:

   npx expo prebuild

   This is necessary to generate native code (like AndroidManifest.xml and Gradle configs) based on your app.config.ts. Without this, even if the plugin is specified, it won't be applied.

4. Missing endConnection / connected always false
   If endConnection is undefined and connected is always false, it usually means the native module isn't initialized correctly. This happens when:

   • A dev client isn't used.
   • Native code hasn't been built via prebuild or npx expo run:android.
   • The expo-iap plugin isn't taking effect.

5. Suggestions to try:

   • Run a clean build with:

     npx expo prebuild --clean
     npx expo run:android

   • Restart the bundler and the app.

   • Optionally, wrap your component tree in IAPProvider. It's recommended when dealing with purchases, although useIAP() alone should work for connection state.

6. Storefront Info
   The storefront API is only supported on iOS. Android doesn’t expose this via BillingClient — it’s tied to the user’s Google account region but not accessible through the API.

---

If you're still stuck, feel free to share a minimal repro (e.g. GitHub repo), and I’ll be happy to take a look!

[kbkmn]

I see now that storefront is deprecated in the current release. I'm prebuilding clean, using the dev client, and have double-checked the AndroidManifest.
As for IAPProvider – there's no such component in your codebase.
I've tried calling initConnection(), and while it returns true, I'm still getting an endConnection error and no auto-connect and I can't use the useIAP hook. It seem that await initConnection() inside initIapWithSubscriptions function is just freezes. There is no result or LogCat logs. It just hangs forever for no apparent reason

[hyochan]

Thanks for the follow-up — and you're right, IAPProvider was part of an earlier draft and isn't currently exposed in the public API.

To help you debug further, could you take a look at the purchase-flow.tsx example in the repo?
It shows a working implementation of initConnection() and useIAP() using expo-iap@2.7.x.

If initConnection() is hanging with no Logcat output, it may still be related to:

• a misconfigured native build (even small differences in AndroidManifest.xml can cause silent failures),
• or the Dev Client not fully including the IAP module.

Feel free to copy that file into your project and try it as-is — that can help isolate whether the issue is environmental or related to your integration.

Let me know how it goes!

[kbkmn]

I've updated to 2.7.5 and still useIAP's connected property never changes in your example. Can you please check if i've missed some steps.
First of all im using expo managed workflow, no EAS or Expo GO, so my understanding is that i do not need expo-dev-client. Almost every library i'm using at the latest version (expo 53.0.20)

I've removed node_modules and android folders, added expo-iap module and installed node_modules again. Next i've added 'expo-iap' to the plugins section in app.config.ts, executed bunx expo prebuild --platform android --clean, and added useIAP hook to my first screen. Did i miss any steps?

Also im attaching my AndroidManifest.xml and build.gradle. Could you please look at them if you can spot if something wrong? Thanks

[kbkmn]

@hyochan Hi. Just letting you know, i've disabled react compiler and expo-iap seems to work fine now. Not sure what to do next

[uzun0ff]

@kbkmn Same issue occurs for me when using react compiler, have you managed to fix it with react compiler enabled?

[kbkmn]

Nope. After a couple of months, I've abandoned RN altogether. For me, it was a much better solution. Never coming back. Sorry couldn't help you