Horizon Platform SDK: React Native Compatibility Issue

[hyochan]

Description

The Horizon Platform SDK works perfectly in pure Android and Flutter applications, but is incompatible with React Native due to wrapped C++ symbol requirements (__wrap__ prefix). This blocks all React Native developers from integrating Horizon Billing and targeting the Quest Store.

Also posted facebook/react-native#54220

The Issue

When React Native apps try to use Horizon Platform SDK, they crash with:

java.lang.UnsatisfiedLinkError: dlopen failed:
cannot locate symbol "__wrap__ZTVSt12length_error"
referenced by "/data/app/.../lib/arm64-v8a/libpsdk_jni.so"

Platform Compatibility

Platform	Status	Repository
Pure Android (Kotlin)	✅ Works perfectly	Example
Flutter	✅ Works perfectly	Example
React Native	❌ Runtime crash	Tested on Expo SDK 52, 53, 54 (RN 0.76.x-0.81.x)

Environment Tested

• React Native: 0.76.9 (Expo SDK 52), 0.79.x (Expo SDK 53), 0.81.x (Expo SDK 54)
• Platform: Android
• Device: Meta Quest 3
• SDK: Meta Horizon Platform SDK (com.meta.horizon.platform.ovr:android-platform-sdk:72)
• Horizon Billing: com.meta.horizon.billingclient.api:horizon-billing-compatibility:1.1.1

Why React Native Is Different

React Native has a specific native library loading architecture:

1. Early Loading: React Native loads libc++_shared.so during static initialization before any third-party code runs
2. Standard Symbols: The loaded libc++ contains standard C++ symbols (no __wrap__ prefix)
3. Fixed Symbol Table: Once loaded, the symbol table is fixed and cannot be modified
4. Ecosystem Standard: All React Native modules use ANDROID_STL=c++_shared with standard symbols

Result: When libpsdk_jni.so tries to load and searches for wrapped symbols, they don't exist in the already-loaded libc++, causing an immediate crash.

Technical Details

Symbol Mismatch:

APK's libc++_shared.so (from React Native):

$ strings libc++_shared.so | grep "length_error"
_ZTVSt12length_error          # Standard symbol (no __wrap__ prefix)

What libpsdk_jni.so expects:

__wrap__ZTVSt12length_error   # Wrapped symbol

React Native's Loading Sequence:

1. App starts → React Native initializes → SoLoader.init()
2. ReactNativeJNISoLoader.staticInit() loads native libs → libc++_shared.so loaded (standard symbols)
3. Symbol table fixed in memory
4. Later: HorizonBillingClient.startConnection() → tries to load libpsdk_jni.so → searches for __wrap__ symbols → not found → crash

Steps to Reproduce

Full reproducer available: hyochan/expo-iap#105

1. Create React Native Project

npx create-expo-app@latest HorizonTest
cd HorizonTest

2. Add Horizon Platform SDK

android/build.gradle:

allprojects {
  repositories {
    maven { url "https://maven.horizon.meta.com/" }
  }
}

android/app/build.gradle:

dependencies {
  implementation 'com.meta.horizon.platform.ovr:android-platform-sdk:72'
  implementation 'com.meta.horizon.billingclient.api:horizon-billing-compatibility:1.1.1'
}

3. Add App ID to AndroidManifest.xml

<meta-data
  android:name="com.oculus.application_id"
  android:value="YOUR_APP_ID" />

4. Initialize Horizon Billing

val billingClient = HorizonBillingClient.newBuilder(context)
    .setListener { billingResult, purchases -> }
    .build()

billingClient.startConnection(object : BillingClientStateListener {
    override fun onBillingSetupFinished(billingResult: BillingResult) { }
    override fun onBillingServiceDisconnected() { }
})

5. Run on Quest

cd android && ./gradlew assembleDebug
adb install app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

6. Observe Crash

App crashes immediately when startConnection() is called.

Stacktrace

FATAL EXCEPTION: main
Process: dev.hyo.martie, PID: 398
java.lang.UnsatisfiedLinkError: dlopen failed: cannot locate symbol "__wrap__ZTVSt12length_error" referenced by "/data/app/~~XXX/dev.hyo.martie-YYY/base.apk!/lib/arm64-v8a/libpsdk_jni.so"...
    at java.lang.Runtime.loadLibrary0(Runtime.java:1071)
    at java.lang.System.loadLibrary(System.java:1893)
    at com.meta.horizon.platform.PlatformSDK.<clinit>(PlatformSDK.java)
    at com.meta.horizon.billingclient.api.HorizonBillingClient.startConnection(HorizonBillingClient.java)

Screenshots and Videos

Expo App (Failed 😞)

expo.mp4

Shows React Native/Expo app crashing when attempting to connect to Horizon Billing.

Android App (Success ✅)

android.mp4

Same Horizon SDK works perfectly in pure Android (Kotlin) implementation.

Flutter App (Success ✅)

flutter.mp4

Same Horizon SDK works perfectly in Flutter implementation.

All three apps tested on the same device (Meta Quest 3) with the same SDK version.

Questions

1. Why does the SDK use wrapped symbols?

• Is the __wrap__ prefix intentional or a build artifact?
• What is the purpose of symbol wrapping?
• How does it work in pure Android/Flutter if they also use standard libc++?

2. Is React Native officially supported?

• Are you aware of this compatibility issue?
• Is there a React Native-compatible version available?
• Are there plans to support React Native?

3. Is there a wrapped libc++ we're missing?

We searched these SDK artifacts but didn't find a wrapped libc++_shared.so:

• android-platform-sdk-72.aar
• horizon-billing-compatibility-1.1.1.aar

If it exists:

• Where is it located in the SDK?
• How should it be configured?
• Why does Flutter find it but React Native doesn't?

[sgtcoolguy]

Hi @hyochan - You are correct, there is an issue with the native library having wrapped the libc++ symbols. We were made aware of this earlier and had already landed a fix internally, but still need to push out a new android-platform-sdk AAR with the build fixes to address this. We're hoping to do that within the next day or two.

[hyochan]

@sgtcoolguy Looking forward to it!

[sgtcoolguy]

@hyochan We've published a 77.0.1 bugfix release available now at https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/com.meta.horizon.platform.ovr/android-platform-sdk

This should fix the issue for you, but please let me know.

[hyochan]

@sgtcoolguy SDK 77.0.1 successfully fixes the symbol wrapping issue! The app now launches and initializes without the dlopen failed: cannot locate symbol "__wrap__ZTVSt12length_error" crash.

❌ New React Native-Specific Bug Found

A different crash occurs during purchase flow in React Native:

FATAL EXCEPTION: pool-5-thread-9
java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method
'java.lang.String android.content.ComponentName.flattenToString()' on a null object reference
at com.oculus.platform.OVRServiceManager$25.run(:116)

Crash Timeline:

1. App initialization: ✅ Success
2. Horizon billing connection: ✅ Success
3. Product fetching: ✅ Success
4. Purchase flow initiated: ✅ launchBillingFlow() called
5. SDK crashes immediately ❌ NullPointerException in OVRServiceManager

Platform Comparison:

• ✅ Pure Android (Kotlin): Works perfectly
• ✅ Flutter: Works perfectly
• ❌ React Native (all Expo SDK versions): Crashes

Root Cause: The OVRServiceManager receives a null ComponentName when called from React Native, but works correctly when called from pure Android/Flutter. This suggests the SDK has assumptions about the Android Context or Activity lifecycle that don't hold true in React Native's architecture.

Test Environment:

• SDK: com.meta.horizon.platform.ovr:android-platform-sdk:77.0.1
• React Native: 0.81.x
• Device: Meta Quest 3

Conclusion: While the symbol wrapping fix is greatly appreciated, this NullPointerException appears to be a separate React Native compatibility bug that needs to be addressed.

[sgtcoolguy]

@hyochan Do you have any logs during the initialization? There should be an INFO level line starting with "Initialized OVRPlatform with returnComponent".

The error suggests to me that the Platform SDK is being initialized with a null return component. I'm not aware of the exact flow that ends up initializing the billing connection here, but typically you'd pass in a Context object to the BillingClient.newBuilder() call. This suggests the Context is null, or we're somehow not able to properly grab the return component from it.

[hyochan]

@sgtcoolguy Thank you for asking about the initialization logs and for your patience. I apologize - this was indeed an issue on our side with how I was initializing the Horizon Billing Client in React Native.

The issue was that I was building the BillingClient in the module's init block with a Context (React Native's BridgelessReactContext) instead of an Activity. This caused OVRPlatform to initialize with a null returnComponent:

10-28 02:02:30.776 W/OVR: OVRPlatform is in limited mode. Some features won't work. You likely want to init with an Activity or Application.
10-28 02:02:30.776 I/OVR: Initialized OVRPlatform with returnComponent (null)  👈 Root cause

Later when launchBillingFlow() was called, the SDK tried to access this null ComponentName, causing the crash:

java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'java.lang.String android.content.ComponentName.flattenToString()' on a null object reference
	at com.oculus.platform.OVRServiceManager$25.run(:116)

Why This Only Affected React Native

• Pure Android/Kotlin: Activity is directly available at construction time
• Flutter: Similar direct Activity access
• React Native: The module is instantiated with an application/react context, and the Activity reference must be obtained later through the framework's activity provider

Our code was building BillingClient immediately in the constructor before an Activity was available, which is incompatible with the Horizon SDK's requirements.

I've updated the OpenIAP library to prioritize activity over context in hyodotdev/openiap#27

[hyochan]

@sgtcoolguy Feel free to close the issue!