bug: Android app doesn't receive push token from firebase

[just-engineer]

Describe the Bug

Push notifications doesn't work.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Clean app storage.
2. Launch app, it ask for Notifications permissions. See logs

Expected Behavior

Push token received and send to server.

Actual Behavior

02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: Error when communicating with the Firebase Installations server API. HTTP response: [403 Forbidden: {
02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.rpc.ErrorInfo",
02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: "reason": "API_KEY_HTTP_REFERRER_BLOCKED",
02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: "domain": "googleapis.com",
02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: "service": "firebaseinstallations.googleapis.com",
02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: "httpReferrer": "\u003cempty\u003e"
02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.rpc.LocalizedMessage",

Rocket.Chat Server Version

8.1.1

Rocket.Chat App Version

4.69.0

Device Name

Pixel 6

OS Version

Android 16

Additional Context

02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: Error when communicating with the Firebase Installations server API. HTTP response: [403 Forbidden: {
02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.rpc.ErrorInfo",
02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: "reason": "API_KEY_HTTP_REFERRER_BLOCKED",
02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: "domain": "googleapis.com",
02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: "service": "firebaseinstallations.googleapis.com",
02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: "httpReferrer": "\u003cempty\u003e"
02-22 18:15:54.788 6431 6467 W Firebase-Installations: "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.rpc.LocalizedMessage",
02-22 18:15:54.792 6431 6468 E FirebaseMessaging: java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException: com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallationsException
02-22 18:15:54.792 6431 6468 E FirebaseMessaging: Caused by: com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallationsException
02-22 18:15:54.792 6431 6468 E FirebaseMessaging: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations.doNetworkCallIfNecessary(FirebaseInstallations.java:414)
02-22 18:15:54.792 6431 6468 E FirebaseMessaging: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations.lambda$doRegistrationOrRefresh$3$com-google-firebase-installations-FirebaseInstallations(FirebaseInstallations.java:372)
02-22 18:15:54.792 6431 6468 E FirebaseMessaging: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations$$ExternalSyntheticLambda1.run(D8$$SyntheticClass:0)
02-22 18:15:54.798 6431 6463 W InstallationId: com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallationsException
02-22 18:15:54.798 6431 6463 W InstallationId: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations.doNetworkCallIfNecessary(FirebaseInstallations.java:414)
02-22 18:15:54.798 6431 6463 W InstallationId: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations.lambda$doRegistrationOrRefresh$3$com-google-firebase-installations-FirebaseInstallations(FirebaseInstallations.java:372)
02-22 18:15:54.798 6431 6463 W InstallationId: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations$$ExternalSyntheticLambda1.run(D8$$SyntheticClass:0)
02-22 18:15:54.938 6431 6469 W InstallationId: com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallationsException: Firebase Installations Service is unavailable. Please try again later.
02-22 18:15:54.938 6431 6469 W InstallationId: at com.google.firebase.installations.remote.FirebaseInstallationServiceClient.createFirebaseInstallation(FirebaseInstallationServiceClient.java:154)
02-22 18:15:54.938 6431 6469 W InstallationId: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations.registerFidWithServer(FirebaseInstallations.java:533)
02-22 18:15:54.938 6431 6469 W InstallationId: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations.doNetworkCallIfNecessary(FirebaseInstallations.java:387)
02-22 18:15:54.938 6431 6469 W InstallationId: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations.lambda$doRegistrationOrRefresh$3$com-google-firebase-installations-FirebaseInstallations(FirebaseInstallations.java:372)
02-22 18:15:54.938 6431 6469 W InstallationId: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations$$ExternalSyntheticLambda1.run(D8$$SyntheticClass:0)
02-22 18:15:55.602 23783 23834 I PlayCommon: [527] Connecting to server: https://play.googleapis.com/play/log?format=raw&proto_v2=true
02-22 18:15:56.599 6431 6464 E FirebaseMessaging: java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException: com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallationsException: Firebase Installations Service is unavailable. Please try again later.
02-22 18:15:56.599 6431 6464 E FirebaseMessaging: Caused by: com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallationsException: Firebase Installations Service is unavailable. Please try again later.
02-22 18:15:56.599 6431 6464 E FirebaseMessaging: at com.google.firebase.installations.remote.FirebaseInstallationServiceClient.createFirebaseInstallation(FirebaseInstallationServiceClient.java:154)
02-22 18:15:56.599 6431 6464 E FirebaseMessaging: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations.registerFidWithServer(FirebaseInstallations.java:533)
02-22 18:15:56.599 6431 6464 E FirebaseMessaging: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations.doNetworkCallIfNecessary(FirebaseInstallations.java:387)
02-22 18:15:56.599 6431 6464 E FirebaseMessaging: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations.lambda$doRegistrationOrRefresh$3$com-google-firebase-installations-FirebaseInstallations(FirebaseInstallations.java:372)
02-22 18:15:56.599 6431 6464 E FirebaseMessaging: at com.google.firebase.installations.FirebaseInstallations$$ExternalSyntheticLambda1.run(D8$$SyntheticClass:0)

[2bfree1]

Confirming this exact issue.

Server: Self-hosted Rocket.Chat 8.1.1
App: v4.69.0 (108205) from Play Store
Device: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Android 16
Plan: Starter (self-managed)
Same behavior — app calls GET /api/v1/push.info (returns pushGatewayEnabled: true) but never calls POST /api/v1/push.token. The _raix_push_app_tokens collection stays empty.

Server-side everything is verified correct:

Workspace registered with RC Cloud (fresh registration via Setup Wizard)
Cloud sync confirmed working in logs ("Synced with Rocket.Chat Cloud")
Push enabled, gateway enabled, production mode on
Manual token exchange with cloud.rocket.chat works fine
Tested with fresh app install, multiple users, all Android permissions granted, battery optimization disabled. The app simply never attempts to register an FCM token.

Is there a timeline for a fix? This completely blocks push notifications for self-hosted instances on Android 16. Our team relies on mobile notifications for business communications.

[diegolmello]

@just-engineer @2bfree1 can you try creating an account on https://open.rocket.chat to check if push notifications work there?
This way we can isolate if it's an issue on the app or a configuration on admin.
Thanks!

[2bfree1]

Okay I'm in, I messaged a colleague of yours in React channel. We will see if it pops up.

[just-engineer]

@diegolmello Ok, i've registred.
username: daniil.klenin

[ZakhariyaV]

Hi, I have faced the same issue in RocketChat 8.0 and 8.2 native installed.
When user install rocketChat app in first time and login, push works perfectly, but after reinstall app, push stop working because “There are no tokens for this user”

[Tzana-MP]

I ran into the exact same issue and spent several hours debugging before finding the root cause.

My setup:

• Device: Nothing Phone 3 (Android 16 / Nothing OS 4.0)
• Rocket.Chat server versions tested: 8.0.1 LTS, then downgraded to 7.13.2 LTS
• App versions tested: v4.65.0, v4.67.1, v4.68.2, v4.69.0, v4.70.0

What I tried:

• Multiple server migrations (Unraid → Scaleway cloud)
• ROOT_URL/Site_Url set correctly to HTTPS
• Nginx reverse proxy with proper WebSocket configuration
• Workspace registered on cloud.rocket.chat (status: Active)
• Push gateway enabled and configured
• Cleared app data and cache repeatedly
• Tested with multiple Android devices
• Checked MongoDB _raix_push_app_tokens collection → always empty

After all this, I connected via ADB and captured logcat during app login. The Firebase logs immediately revealed the issue:

W/Firebase-Installations: Error when communicating with the Firebase Installations server API. HTTP response: [403 Forbidden
  "reason": "API_KEY_HTTP_REFERRER_BLOCKED",
  "service": "firebaseinstallations.googleapis.com",
  "httpReferrer": "<empty>"
E/FirebaseMessaging: Failed to get FIS auth token
E/FirebaseMessaging: Topic sync or token retrieval failed on hard failure exceptions: FIS_AUTH_ERROR. Won't retry the operation.

The API key AIzaSy...5YP8 (project rocketchat-9e9be, 1:673693445664:android:16da2e50aff9f0c9) has an HTTP referrer restriction enabled in the Google Cloud Console. This restriction is intended for web apps, not Android apps — it blocks all requests with an empty referrer, which is exactly what native Android apps send.

The server side is perfectly fine. The issue is exclusively in the Firebase API key configuration on Rocket.Chat's Google Cloud project.

This affects all official app versions tested on Android 16. A fix on the Firebase Console side (removing or correcting the HTTP referrer restriction on that API key) should resolve the issue without requiring an app update.

[diegolmello]

Thanks for your debug, @Tzana-MP.

We updated the API Keys.
Can you all try again?

[ZakhariyaV]

Great! It works again!

@diegolmello , @Tzana-MP Thank you!

[diegolmello]

Closing, but please give feedback if it's fixed or not.
Thanks!

[Tzana-MP]

It's working
Thx u a lot !
@diegolmello