firebase_dynamic_links buildShortLink() throws PlatformException on some devices

[giorgiogross]

Steps to Reproduce

It took me some reinstalls of my own application until I was able to reproduce the error. In general everything works fine but on some devices (currently ~1% of my customers) creating a short dynamic link just fails. On iOS everything works fine for everyone so far. I thought I file an issue anyway so that you know about it, I'm not sure what's causing this:

1. Add firebase_dynamic_links to your flutter app
2. Build a short dynamic link with yourDynamicLinkParameters.buildShortLink()
   -> On some devices this will throw a PlatformException. Though I think it's device independent as I have customers with the same device and on one the call succeeds and on the other one it fails.

Logs

E/flutter (16766): [ERROR:flutter/shell/common/shell.cc(181)] Dart Error: Unhandled exception:
E/flutter (16766): PlatformException(short_link_error, 8: , null)
E/flutter (16766): #0      StandardMethodCodec.decodeEnvelope (package:flutter/src/services/message_codecs.dart:551:7)
E/flutter (16766): #1      MethodChannel.invokeMethod (package:flutter/src/services/platform_channel.dart:279:18)
E/flutter (16766): <asynchronous suspension>
E/flutter (16766): #2      DynamicLinkParameters.buildShortLink (file:///Users/Giorgio/.pub-cache/hosted/pub.dartlang.org/firebase_dynamic_links-0.1.0+1/lib/src/dynamic_link_parameters.dart:99:10)
E/flutter (16766): <asynchronous suspension>
E/flutter (16766): #3      _createGroupInvitationLink (package:myapp/app_journeys.dart:235:62)
E/flutter (16766): <asynchronous suspension>
E/flutter (16766): #4      AppJourney.sharedTravel (package: myapp/app_journeys.dart:74:9)
E/flutter (16766): #5      Journey.commonTravel (package:flutter_built_redux_journeys/src/station.dart:206:11)
E/flutter (16766): <asynchronous suspension>
E/flutter (16766): #6      handleJourneyAction.<anonymous closure> (package:flutter_built_redux_journeys/src/middleware.dart:39:41)
E/flutter (16766): <asynchronous suspension>
E/flutter (16766): #7      Stream.asyncMap.onListen.<anonymous closure> (dart:async/stream.dart:441:29)
E/flutter (16766): #8      _RootZone.runUnaryGuarded (dart:async/zone.dart:1314:10)
E/flutter (16766): #9      CastStreamSubscription._onData (dart:_internal/async_cast.dart:81:11)
E/flutter (16766): #10     _RootZone.runUnaryGuarded (dart:async/zone.dart:1314:10)
E/flutter (16766): #11     _BufferingStreamSubscription._sendData (dart:async/stream_impl.dart:336:11)
E/flutter (16766): #12     _BufferingStreamSubscription._add (dart:async/stream_impl.dart:263:7)
E/flutter (16766): #13     _ForwardingStreamSubscription._add (dart:async/stream_pipe.dart:132:11)
E/flutter (16766): #14     _WhereStream._handleData (dart:async/stream_pipe.dart:207:12)
E/flutter (16766): #15     _ForwardingStreamSubscription._handleData (dart:async/stream_pipe.dart:164:13)
E/flutter (16766): #16     _RootZone.runUnaryGuarded (dart:async/zone.dart:1314:10)
E/flutter (16766): #17     _BufferingStreamSubscription._sendData (dart:async/stream_impl.dart:336:11)
E/flutter (16766): #18     _BufferingStreamSubscription._add (dart:async/stream_impl.dart:263:7)
E/flutter (16766): #19     _SyncBroadcastStreamController._sendData.<anonymous closure> (dart:async/broadcast_stream_controller.dart:387:20)
E/flutter (16766): #20     _BroadcastStreamController._forEachListener (dart:async/broadcast_stream_controller.dart:328:15)
E/flutter (16766): #21     _SyncBroadcastStreamController._sendData (dart:async/broadcast_stream_controller.dart:386:5)
E/flutter (16766): #22     _BroadcastStreamController.add (dart:async/broadcast_stream_controller.dart:254:5)
E/flutter (16766): #23     createEpicMiddleware.<anonymous closure>.<anonymous closure>.<anonymous closure> (package:built_redux_rx/src/built_redux_rx.dart:38:18)
E/flutter (16766): #24     MiddlewareBuilder.build.<anonymous closure>.<anonymous closure>.<anonymous closure> (package:built_redux/src/middleware.dart:72:21)
E/flutter (16766): #25     MiddlewareBuilder.build.<anonymous closure>.<anonymous closure>.<anonymous closure> (package:built_redux/src/middleware.dart:72:21)
E/flutter (16766): #26     ActionDispatcher.call (package:built_redux/src/action.dart:32:29)
E/flutter (16766): #27     InviteToGroupPayload.onResponseReceived (package: myapp/actions/web_actions.dart:1122:19)
E/flutter (16766): #28     WebRequestJob.processResponse (package:built_redux_apollo11/src/request.dart:154:34)
E/flutter (16766): #29     Apollo11Middleware._executeWebRequests (package:built_redux_apollo11/src/middleware.dart:204:19)
E/flutter (16766): <asynchronous suspension>
E/flutter (16766): #30     Apollo11Middleware.webRequest (package:built_redux_apollo11/src/middleware.dart:170:7)
E/flutter (16766): #31     MiddlewareBuilder.add.<anonymous closure> (package:built_redux/src/middleware.dart:42:14)
E/flutter (16766): #32     MiddlewareBuilder.build.<anonymous closure>.<anonymous closure>.<anonymous closure> (package:built_redux/src/middleware.dart:68:26)
E/flutter (16766): #33     MiddlewareBuilder.build.<anonymous closure>.<anonymous closure>.<anonymous closure> (package:built_redux/src/middleware.dart:72:21)
E/flutter (16766): #34     ActionDispatcher.call (package:built_redux/src/action.dart:32:29)
E/flutter (16766): #35     GroupSettingsWidget._buildInviteSection.<anonymous closure> (package: myapp/platforms/group_settings_view.dart:50:33)
E/flutter (16766): #36     _InkResponseState._handleTap (package:flutter/src/material/ink_well.dart:503:14)
E/flutter (16766): #37     _InkResponseState.build.<anonymous closure> (package:flutter/src/material/ink_well.dart:558:30)
E/flutter (16766): #38     GestureRecognizer.

flutter analyze shows me only some unused imports and some warnings in my test files.

[✓] Flutter (Channel beta, v0.9.4, on Mac OS X 10.13.4 17E199, locale de-DE)
    • Flutter version 0.9.4 at /Users/Giorgio/Programmierung/flutter
    • Framework revision f37c235c32 (3 weeks ago), 2018-09-25 17:45:40 -0400
    • Engine revision 74625aed32
    • Dart version 2.1.0-dev.5.0.flutter-a2eb050044

[✓] Android toolchain - develop for Android devices (Android SDK 27.0.0)
    • Android SDK at /Users/Giorgio/Library/Android/sdk
    • Android NDK at /Users/Giorgio/Library/Android/sdk/ndk-bundle
    • Platform android-27, build-tools 27.0.0
    • Java binary at: /Applications/Android Studio.app/Contents/jre/jdk/Contents/Home/bin/java
    • Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_152-release-915-b08)
    • All Android licenses accepted.

[✓] iOS toolchain - develop for iOS devices (Xcode 9.4.1)
    • Xcode at /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer
    • Xcode 9.4.1, Build version 9F2000
    • ios-deploy 2.0.0
    • CocoaPods version 1.5.0

[✓] Android Studio (version 3.0)
    • Android Studio at /Applications/Android Studio.app/Contents
    • Flutter plugin version 22.2.1
    • Dart plugin version 171.4424
    • Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_152-release-915-b08)

[!] IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Edition (version 2017.3.5)
    • IntelliJ at /Users/Giorgio/Applications/JetBrains Toolbox/IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate.app
    ✗ Flutter plugin not installed; this adds Flutter specific functionality.
    ✗ Dart plugin not installed; this adds Dart specific functionality.
    • For information about installing plugins, see
      https://flutter.io/intellij-setup/#installing-the-plugins

[!] VS Code (version 1.27.2)
    • VS Code at /Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents
    • Flutter extension not installed; install from
      https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Dart-Code.flutter

[!] Connected devices
    ! No devices available

! Doctor found issues in 3 categories.

[giorgiogross]

There is a workaround though:

Instead of calling buildShortLink() create a long link and then shorten it:

final Uri longDynamicUrl = await parameters.buildUrl();
final ShortDynamicLink shortenedLink = await DynamicLinkParameters.shortenUrl(
  longDynamicUrl,
  new DynamicLinkParametersOptions(shortDynamicLinkPathLength: ShortDynamicLinkPathLength.unguessable),
);

final Uri shortUrl = shortenedLink.shortUrl;

This seems to work at least on my debug devices, I will next consult my beta testers and post an update here if there is still an issue.

[superciccio]

I'm using that in one of my project and it works fine

final DynamicLinkParameters dynamicLink = new DynamicLinkParameters();

  await dynamicLink.buildShortLink().then((shortLink) {
    w.link = shortLink.shortUrl.toString();
  }, onError: (err) {
    print("error $err");
  })

[zoechi]

Any information about what the devices where it fails have in common,
or some names of devices where this happens?

[giorgiogross]

I know of these: One is a Motorola G with Android 5.1. After I reinstalled the App several times I ran into the problem, but it worked before and I did not change the code. The other one I know about is a Nexus 5 with Android 5.0. The only thing I see is that they both run on Lollipop. I know another customer personally and will reach out to him to find out more.
I wasn't even sure if I should file an issue as I can't exactly describe/know how to reproduce it, but I think just mentioning this will help you in case you hear about some related bug.

[zoechi]

@ordsen sure, thanks for creating the issue.
Others might encounter similar issues and may be able to provide additional information to track the root cause down.

[giorgiogross]

Okay the other customer has a Galaxy S7 with Android 7. I guess now the only thing in common is that they all have a touch screen with Android beneath 😄

[ninnepinne]

Also experiencing this on all my android emulators except one.
Nexus 5, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL all fails on API 28.

But a Pixel 2 with API 24 (and play integration setup) is working as intended...

Can the lack of play integration be the culprit?

Edit:
Tested with a Pixel 2 on API 27.
On startup the device popped up a notice saying that the app will not work if unless the play services are updated (never got that on 28...).
And indeed, sharing failed in the same way.
When I had updated the play services on the emulator everything worked as intended.

My guess is that the play services version is the cause of the bug (or perhaps the fact that it is not setup).

Edit 2:
I can also confirm that the suggested workaround works for the previously failing devices/versions.

Final guess: A specific parse method in DynamicLinkParameters.buildShortLink() is incompatible with older versions of play services.

[dblokhin]

I've got the same error on emulator Pixel device API 23.

I/flutter ( 4386): PlatformException(short_link_error, 8: , null)

final parameters = DynamicLinkParameters(
          link: Uri.parse('https://kinosov.ru/movie/${movie.id}'),
          domain: 'kinosov.page.link',
          androidParameters: AndroidParameters(
            packageName: 'ru.kinosov.kinosov',
            minimumVersion: 16,
          ),
          dynamicLinkParametersOptions: DynamicLinkParametersOptions(
            shortDynamicLinkPathLength: ShortDynamicLinkPathLength.short,
          ),
        );

        parameters.buildShortLink().then((shortLink) {
          print('${shortLink.shortUrl.toString()}');
        }).catchError((e) => print('error ${e.toString()}'));

Package version:

firebase_dynamic_links:
    dependency: "direct main"
    description:
      name: firebase_dynamic_links
      url: "https://pub.dartlang.org"
    source: hosted
    version: "0.2.0+3"

Environment:

[✓] Flutter (Channel stable, v1.2.1, on Linux, locale ru_RU.UTF-8)
    • Flutter version 1.2.1 at /home/lee/Run/flutter
    • Framework revision 8661d8aecd (5 недель назад), 2019-02-14 19:19:53 -0800
    • Engine revision 3757390fa4
    • Dart version 2.1.2 (build 2.1.2-dev.0.0 0a7dcf17eb)