While developing a React Native app using Expo, I ran into a really confusing issue.
Every time I tried to run my project, the app would open normally but immediately show this message inside the app:
“Please update Expo Go to the latest version from Google Play Store”
The strange part?
My Expo Go was already updated to the latest version from the Google Play Store.
I double-checked multiple times, uninstalled and reinstalled it, but the error still kept showing.
Environment
React Native (Expo)
Expo SDK (latest at the time of writing)
Android (Google Play Store version of Expo Go)
No errors in terminal
What I tried
Before finding the actual fix, I tried the usual debugging steps:
Reinstalling Expo Go from Google Play Store
Logging out and logging back into Expo
Reconnecting the project
Restarting Metro bundler
Clearing cache and node modules
Rebuilding the project
Nothing worked ❌
Everything looked fine… except the error inside the app.
The real issue
The problem wasn’t in my code or Expo setup.
It was a version mismatch between the Play Store Expo Go build and the required SDK version of my project.
Even though the app showed as “updated”, it was still not compatible with my project’s Expo SDK version.
The solution
Instead of relying on the Play Store version, I installed the latest Expo Go build manually from the official source.
After installing it manually:
The app launched successfully
The error disappeared immediately
Everything worked as expected
Key takeaway
If you ever see this message:
“Please update Expo Go…”
even when your app is already updated from the Play Store:
👉 Don’t assume it’s actually up to date
👉 Try installing the latest version manually from the official Expo releases instead
It saved me hours of confusion and debugging.
Final thoughts
This was one of those annoying issues where everything looks correct, but the problem is actually in version alignment between tools rather than your code.
Hopefully this helps someone avoid the same headache 🙂
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