How to Safely Use Expo OTA Updates Without Crashing Your App
Expo's over-the-air (OTA) update system via eas update lets developers push JavaScript changes to users instantly, but misconfiguration can cause permanent crash loops. The most critical setting is runtimeVersion, which must match between a native build and any OTA update delivered to it — a mismatch can break an app before it can even fetch a fix. Developers are advised to use the fingerprint policy instead of appVersion, as it automatically detects changes to native code, config plugins, and dependencies. Certain changes — such as adding native packages, modifying config plugins, or bumping the Expo SDK — always require a full store build and cannot be safely shipped as OTA updates. Additional best practices include testing updates on preview builds with dedicated channels and understanding that rollback means republishing a previously working update, not pressing an undo button.
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