[Bug] FirebaseAuth anonymous sign-in fails after Application.Unload() on Android #1417

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1. NicolasDebeurme

   added

   newNew issue.New issue.

   type: bug

   on Mar 24, 2026
2. niccolo-hare

   added

   api: firestore

   api: auth

   and removed

   newNew issue.New issue.

   type: bug

   on Mar 24, 2026
3. niccolo-hare commented on Mar 25, 2026

   

   niccolo-hare

   on Mar 25, 2026

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   Hi @NicolasDebeurme, thanks for bringing this to our attention, and sorry for the wait. I tried setting up a sample app, but I couldn't reproduce the issue you encountered.

   To test this, I used our quickstart project for Firebase Firestore (here) then added some code to allow me to sign-in anonymously via Firebase Authentication and to unload the application from memory (Application.Unload). Though I did force-stop the application from the device's Settings before launching it again, and I was able to sign-in anonymously after.

   I think I might be missing some detail here to correctly reproduce the behavior you encountered. Could you share a code snippet or MCVE to help me investigate this further? In particular, I'm curious about how you implemented the Dispose() and Unload() functions.

   Let me know how it goes. Thanks.
4. niccolo-hare

   added

   needs-infoNeed information for the developerNeed information for the developer

   on Mar 25, 2026
5. NicolasDebeurme commented on Mar 26, 2026

   

   NicolasDebeurme

   on Mar 26, 2026

   Author

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   Hi, thanks for your answer!

   In your test, you mentioned:

   "I did force-stop the application from the device's Settings before launching it again"

   This fully kills the Android process right ?

   However, my issue occurs specifically when using:

   • Application.Unload() in Unity
   • WITHOUT killing the Android process
   • relaunching the unKilled process

   Here is the method called when the unload action is performed:

   private void UnloadAction()
       {
           Debug.Log($"{LOG_TAG} Button: Application.Unload()");
           auth.SignOut();
           user = null;
           auth = null;
           app.Dispose();
           app = null;
           Application.Unload();
       } 

   Here is the method called to initialized called when trying to signInAnonymously is FirebaseApp is null:

       private void InitializeFirebase()
       {
           if (app != null)
           {
               Debug.LogWarning($"{LOG_TAG} InitializeFirebase skipped (app already exists)");
               return;
           }
   
           Debug.Log($"{LOG_TAG} InitializeFirebase() called");
   
           FirebaseApp.LogLevel = LogLevel.Verbose;
   
           app = FirebaseApp.Create(DebugAppOptions.ConnectionOptions);
           auth = FirebaseAuth.GetAuth(app);
           firestore = FirebaseFirestore.GetInstance(app);
   
           Debug.Log($"{LOG_TAG} Firebase initialized. App name: {app.Name}");
       }

   After reloading:

   FirebaseApp is recreated successfully
   FirebaseAuth is non-null
   BUT SignInAnonymouslyAsync() never completes (no success, no error, no cancel)

   This does not happen if the app is force-stopped, only when staying in the same process.

   Let me know if this lifecycle (Unity unload/reload without process restart) is officially unsupported, or if there is a recommended way to fully reset Firebase in this scenario.

   Thanks!
6. niccolo-hare commented on Mar 26, 2026

   

   niccolo-hare

   on Mar 26, 2026

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   Hi @NicolasDebeurme, thanks for sharing your sample code. I noticed that some of this is code used to initialize the Firebase Admin SDK for C#, in particular this line:
   app = FirebaseApp.Create(DebugAppOptions.ConnectionOptions);

   So it looks you're trying to unload then re-initialize the Admin SDK on a server environment, instead of the client app SDK. Could you confirm my understanding of your use-case correct?

   Otherwise, the above code may not be the most recommended method for client app implementations. In addition, I don't think it's necessary to manually remove Firebase app from memory through Dispose(). For additional guidance on this, I would suggest checking the Get Started guides for Auth and Firestore (here and here). And if you need a code example, you could try checking the quickstart app for Auth and Firestore as well, or you may use them as the base for your app during development.
7. google-oss-bot commented on Apr 2, 2026

   

   google-oss-bot

   on Apr 2, 2026

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   Hey @NicolasDebeurme. We need more information to resolve this issue but there hasn't been an update in 5 weekdays. I'm marking the issue as stale and if there are no new updates in the next 5 days I will close it automatically.

   If you have more information that will help us get to the bottom of this, just add a comment!
8. guerwan commented on Apr 3, 2026

   

   guerwan

   on Apr 3, 2026

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   Hello @niccolo-hare we are still facing the issue but we need more time to investigate.
9. niccolo-hare commented on Apr 3, 2026

   

   niccolo-hare

   on Apr 3, 2026

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   Hi @guerwan. No worries, we can keep this issue open for now while you investigate. Though I would like to note that the issue automatically closes when it becomes stale. But feel free to reach back out anytime, even if this is closed, and we can re-open it to take another look.
10. google-oss-bot commented on Apr 9, 2026

    

    google-oss-bot

    on Apr 9, 2026

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    Hey @NicolasDebeurme. We need more information to resolve this issue but there hasn't been an update in 5 weekdays. I'm marking the issue as stale and if there are no new updates in the next 5 days I will close it automatically.

    If you have more information that will help us get to the bottom of this, just add a comment!
11. guerwan commented on Apr 10, 2026

    

    guerwan

    on Apr 10, 2026

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    Hey @niccolo-hare here is a sample project you can use to reproduce the issue: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1W9eR8VFfwckpBEQagsuVzkLqAhummCbB?usp=sharing
    It includes a README with instructions on how to reproduce the issue.
12. google-oss-bot commented on Apr 16, 2026

    

    google-oss-bot

    on Apr 16, 2026

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    Hey @NicolasDebeurme. We need more information to resolve this issue but there hasn't been an update in 5 weekdays. I'm marking the issue as stale and if there are no new updates in the next 5 days I will close it automatically.

    If you have more information that will help us get to the bottom of this, just add a comment!
13. niccolo-hare

    removed

    needs-infoNeed information for the developerNeed information for the developer

    on Apr 16, 2026
14. niccolo-hare commented on Apr 16, 2026

    

    niccolo-hare

    on Apr 16, 2026

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    Hi @guerwan, sorry for the confusion. Just wanted to let you know that I was able to download your sample and that I'm still investigating this. I'll update you as soon as I have more information or if I have additional questions for you.
15. niccolo-hare commented on Apr 17, 2026

    

    niccolo-hare

    on Apr 17, 2026

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    Hi @guerwan, thanks for sharing your sample project. I tried it a few times and the SignInAnonymouslyAsync call does seem to just stop working or giving a response after unloading the app. There doesn't seem to be any errors in the logs based on my initial testing, but I did receive one error after I enabled verbose logging via the following code:
    Firebase.FirebaseApp.LogLevel = Firebase.LogLevel.Debug;

    The error message I received was:

    Failed to get service from broker. 
    java.lang.SecurityException: Unknown calling package name 'com.google.android.gms'.
    

    It looks like this error may be related to some issue with the Google service broker and might possibly have been caused by unloading the app. With that, I've raised this to our engineers to confirm whether this is expected behavior or if it's a bug on the SDK. I'll update you again once I receive a response.

    Let me know if you have any questions.