The auth().onAuthStateChanged() is NOT initially triggered for SIGNED OUT users

[cbdeveloper]

Once my app loads, I have this useEffect to init user authentication.

import auth, { firebase, FirebaseAuthTypes } from '@react-native-firebase/auth';

(...)

useEffect(() => {
  console.log('Running useEffect...');
  console.log('auth().currentUser', auth().currentUser?.email);
  const unsubscribe = auth().onAuthStateChanged((firebaseUser) => {
    console.log('Running onAuthStateChanged...');
    console.log('firebaseUser', firebaseUser?.email);
    setUser(firebaseUser);
    setIsInitializing(false);
    hideSplash();
  });
  return unsubscribe;
}, []);

This is what happens when user is already signed-in:

LOG  Running useEffect...
LOG  auth().currentUser: xxx@example.com
LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...       // <---- onAuthStateChanged is triggered
LOG  firebaseUser: xxx@example.com

This is what happens when user is initially signed out:

LOG  Running useEffect...
LOG  auth().currentUser null
// <---- onAuthStateChanged is NOT triggered

When I realized that it does get triggered in the SIGNED_IN scenerio, but not in the SIGNED_OUT scenario, I thought this was weird. Is this the intended behavior?

Version:

"@react-native-firebase/app": "^20.4.0",
"@react-native-firebase/auth": "^20.4.0",
"@react-native-firebase/firestore": "^20.4.0",
"@react-native-firebase/functions": "^20.4.0",
"expo": "~51.0.28",
"react-native": "0.74.5",

[mikehardy]

Can you update and retest? Posting issues or discussions on old versions is unproductive - I'm certain this area just changed recently because I changed it, to fix an issue that sounds pretty similar to this...

https://github.com/invertase/react-native-firebase/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md#2150-2024-11-16
#8139
#7819

[cbdeveloper]

Hey Mike, sorry about that. I've updated to v21.6.0 and here are the results.

It seems like there is a difference between first load and the subsequent loads of the app while using the expo-dev-client. After further testing, I've found that this is probably related to how Expo dev client handles the app reloads. I was testing on a local dev build.

Now that I've tested in preview build (without the Expo dev client), it looks like it's being triggered just fine. If I kill and reopen the app, I can always see the splash being hidden (which happens inside the onAuthStateChanged handler), regardless if user is signed in or out.

Thanks a lot for checking in.

Android Bundled 4315ms node_modules/expo/AppEntry.js (2568 modules)             // Loaded the app
 LOG  Running useEffect...              // Set onAuthStateChanged listener
 LOG  auth().currentUser null
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...     // On first load it seems to trigger it for signed out
 LOG  firebaseUser null
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...     // Then I've signed in and it triggers
 LOG  firebaseUser xxx@example.com
 LOG  Rendering Paywall...
Android Bundled 149ms node_modules/expo/AppEntry.js (1 module)                  // Reloaded the app
 LOG  Running useEffect...              // Set onAuthStateChanged listener
 LOG  auth().currentUser xxx@example.com
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...     // It triggers for the signed in case
 LOG  firebaseUser xxx@example.com
 LOG  Rendering Paywall...
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...     // Then I've signed out and it triggers
 LOG  firebaseUser null
Android Bundled 149ms node_modules/expo/AppEntry.js (1 module)                  // Reloaded the app
 LOG  Running useEffect...             // Set onAuthStateChanged listener
 LOG  auth().currentUser null
                                       // It does not trigger for the signed out case

[mikehardy]

Interesting. I'd say that's still an error, the call trace is very useful, I should be able to reproduce that.
What platform are you reproducing this on - android, or iOS (or both?)

[cbdeveloper]

Hey Mike,

I don't remember exactly what I was using to test that day. I think it was on my Android device.

So today I tried reproducing it both on iOS simulator and Android device, but it didn't happen again.

Today, both platforms were triggering the onAuthStateChanged listener for null user both for initial loads and app reloads using the Expo dev client.

Maybe it was some weird caching issue on the dev client. If I run into it again, I'll update this thread with the specific details.

Again, thanks for the amazing support!

---

iOS Simulator | iPhone SE (3rd gen) iOS 16.4

iOS Bundled 4233ms node_modules/expo/AppEntry.js (2550 modules) // Initial load for null user
 LOG  Running useEffect...
 LOG  auth().currentUser null
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...
 LOG  firebaseUser null
iOS Bundled 130ms node_modules/expo/AppEntry.js (1 module) // Reloaded the dev client
 LOG  Running useEffect...
 LOG  auth().currentUser null
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...
 LOG  firebaseUser null
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...  // Signed in
 LOG  firebaseUser xxx@example.com
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged... // Signed out
 LOG  firebaseUser null
iOS Bundled 125ms node_modules/expo/AppEntry.js (1 module) // Reloaded dev client
 LOG  Running useEffect...
 LOG  auth().currentUser null
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...
 LOG  firebaseUser null
iOS Bundled 137ms node_modules/expo/AppEntry.js (1 module) // Reloaded dev client
 LOG  Running useEffect...
 LOG  auth().currentUser null
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...
 LOG  firebaseUser null

Galaxy S21 device (Android 14)

Android Bundled 4037ms node_modules/expo/AppEntry.js (2558 modules) // Initial load for null user
 LOG  Running useEffect...
 LOG  auth().currentUser null
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...
 LOG  firebaseUser null
Android Bundled 112ms node_modules/expo/AppEntry.js (1 module) // Reloaded dev client
 LOG  Running useEffect...
 LOG  auth().currentUser null
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...
 LOG  firebaseUser null
Android Bundled 106ms node_modules/expo/AppEntry.js (1 module) // Reloaded dev client
 LOG  Running useEffect...
 LOG  auth().currentUser null
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...
 LOG  firebaseUser null
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged... // Signed in
 LOG  firebaseUser xxx@example.com
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged... // Signed out
 LOG  firebaseUser null
Android Bundled 112ms node_modules/expo/AppEntry.js (1 module) // Reloaded dev client
 LOG  Running useEffect...
 LOG  auth().currentUser null
 LOG  Running onAuthStateChanged...
 LOG  firebaseUser null

[mikehardy]

Okay, I've marked my "please update and retest" as the answer since the updated code appears to be working
This exact problem was definitely occurring, it was a real problem but I think it's settled now, glad it appears so for you
Good luck with your project!