Remote Config troubleshooting and FAQ

Why don't fetched values change the behavior and appearance of my app?

Unless you fetch values with fetchAndActivate(), values are stored locally but not activated. To activate fetched values so that they can take effect, call activate. This design lets you control when the behavior and appearance of your app changes, because you can choose when to call activate. After you call activate, your app source code determines when updated parameter values are used.

For example, you could fetch values and then activate them the next time a user starts your app, which removes the need to delay app startup while your app waits for fetched values from the service. Changes to your app's behavior and appearance then occur when your app uses the updated parameter values.

To learn more about the Remote Config API and usage model, see Remote Config API Overview.

I am making a lot of fetch requests while developing my app. Why doesn't my app always get the latest values from the service when it sends fetch requests?

During app development, you might want to fetch and activate configs very frequently (many times per hour) to let you rapidly iterate as you develop and test your app. To accommodate rapid iteration on a project with up to 10 developers, you can temporarily set a FirebaseRemoteConfigSettings object with a low minimum fetch interval (setMinimumFetchIntervalInSeconds) in your app.

How quickly does the Remote Config service return fetched values after my app sends a fetch request?

Devices usually receive fetched values in less than a second, and often receive fetched values in milliseconds. The Remote Config service handles fetch requests within milliseconds, but the time required to complete a fetch request will depend on the network speed of the device and the latency of the network connection used by the device.

If your goal is to make fetched values take effect in your app as soon as possible, but without creating a jarring user experience, consider adding calls to fetchAndActivate each time that your app does a full screen refresh.