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Andrew Chaa
Andrew Chaa

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📱Solving React Native Challenges: A Recent Android App Issue & Its Resolution 🛠️

I wanted to share a recent challenge I encountered while working on a mobile app for Android devices, specifically something that popped up with the OnePlus 10 Pro NE2213 and other models.

🔍 The Issue: After releasing a new app version, I noticed multiple exceptions on Android devices. The error message was quite specific: "TypeError: undefined is not a function at getRandomBase64 at getRandomValues". This was intriguing, as it pointed towards a deeper compatibility issue.

🧩 Root Cause: Upon delving into the problem, I realized it was linked to the Web Crypto API. This API, which includes the getRandomValues function, is a standard in modern browsers and environments. However, it turns out that it's not universally available or fully compatible across all JavaScript environments, particularly in certain mobile contexts.

📲 OnePlus 10 Pro NE2213: This device, among others, was one of the primary affected models. The lack of or partial support for the Web Crypto API in its environment led to the mentioned errors.

💡 The Solution: To address this, I opted for installing a polyfill, react-native-get-random-values for the getRandomValues function. Polyfills are a great way to plug the gaps in functionality across different environments, ensuring a more uniform performance and experience.

👨‍💻 For Fellow React Native Engineers: This experience underlines the importance of thoroughly testing across different devices and being aware of the variances in JavaScript environment support. Also, the use of polyfills can be a lifesaver in ensuring compatibility and smoothing out these bumps.

If you're a React Native developer, I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences on similar challenges!

ReactNative #MobileDevelopment #AndroidDev #JavaScript #ExpoDev #AppDevelopment #EngineeringChallenges

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