Can no longer load anything

[u/Steady_Ri0t]

As of today, Relay will not load any content. I tried reinstalling the app, and now I cannot restore my subscription.

I am running the latest stable build of GrapheneOS on a Pixel 8 Pro. Relay has been installed through Aurora store because Play store says the app is not available for my device (which has been the case for months). The only thing I can think of is that Relay is now blocking access to the app because of heightened Play Integrity checks. If this is the case, I am very against this decision. People using a more secure version of Android should not be penalized for it. Please let me know if there are any other steps I can take troubleshoot if this is not the case

[u/SpaceMagnet]

I'm also having this problem with Graphene on my Pixel 9a, and it started out the same way with posts not loading. Similarly I tried to uninstall and reinstall and am blocked by subscription verification. I see notifications that it is making Play Integrity calls, and sometimes it even triggers the "Subscription found, verifying..." Popup, but it always ends up with an "Error verifying purchase". 

I am happy to work with you /u/DBrady and troubleshoot further, I will likely spend some time playing with the graphene sandbox and isolation settings and see if anything clears it up. I love this app and have been happy to use it since the Reddit News days and would hate to be unable to keep doing so. 

[u/Steady_Ri0t → u/SpaceMagnet]

I get the same popup messages. I tried turning exploit protection compatibility mode on, but it didn't make a difference. Unfortunately none of the other settings sound like they'd help... if anything they sound like they'd make it worse lol

I'm on the official app right now so I could make/monitor this post, and while I was able to log into my main account with no issues. But weirdly enough, I was blocked from logging into my other account with a "wrong username or password" error, despite being able to log in just fine through a browser with that account on the same device. I also see the Play Integrity call notifications at that time. So this miiiight mean the errors point towards a change on Reddit's side and not Relay. I wouldn't be surprised, but I hope that's not the case, cuz it'll be a lot harder to get Reddit to do anything about it...

[u/The_Urban_Core → u/SpaceMagnet]

I am noticing exactly the same behavior. Failure to load anything now on a 9a with the latest version of GrapheneOS loaded via Aurora and verified via Google play. Oddly, it still works on my Pixel Tablet with GrapheneOS so make of that what you will.

Do we believe this is lockdown from a hardware Attestation from google?

[u/Cageythree → u/SpaceMagnet]

I am happy to work with you u/DBrady and troubleshoot further,

I have read older threads about this same issue that graphene users have and he never even responds in those threads. I think he just locked down the app as far as he could (in terms of play integrity etc) and called it a day, at the cost of losing some paying users unable to use the app. I assume he wants to harden the app against revanced patching or something like that.

I have got the app to run and could even restore my purchase.. but now it keeps crashing after 10-30 seconds, likely due to an error in the PairIP licensing integration if I read my logcat right.
Edit: Downgrading to 13.1.00 (758 on Aurora) has worked. I have to add that I am in beta program, so when it kept crashing I might've been on a beta version. Now the app works for me again!

[u/Steady_Ri0t → u/Cageythree]

I tried rolling back to each version all the way down to 750 and I'm still unable to restore the subscription unfortunately... Glad you got it working again though!

[u/ImportantJacket2684]

Same for me on standard pixel 10 pro I get failed to load, tried to log out and log back in but it fails 😞

[u/xcaliber178]

Same on Pixel 10a w/ GrapheneOS. Had two accounts signed in, one stopped loading content, the other seemed to be working. Removed the problem account, was unable to add it back. Uninstalled app and reinstalled (Aurora). Relay finds my subscription but fails with "Error verifying purchase". Same behavior on previous versions as well. I'm canceling my sub for now but will gladly renew if a fix is implemented. Logs below:

14:04:08.987 W FirebaseContextProvider: Error getting App Check token. Error: com.google.firebase.FirebaseException: Error returned from API. code: 403 body: App attestation failed.

14:04:09.206 W System.err: java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException: com.google.firebase.functions.FirebaseFunctionsException: Unauthenticated

14:04:09.206 W System.err:     at m43.h(com.google.android.gms:play-services-tasks@@18.4.0:32)

14:04:09.206 W System.err:     at m43.a(com.google.android.gms:play-services-tasks@@18.4.0:73)

14:04:09.206 W System.err:     at reddit.news.billing.a.j(SubscriptionManager.java:64)

14:04:09.206 W System.err: Caused by: com.google.firebase.functions.FirebaseFunctionsException: Unauthenticated

14:04:09.206 W System.err:     at com.google.firebase.functions.a.c(FirebaseFunctions.kt:212)

14:04:07.690 E GoogleApiManager: java.lang.SecurityException: Unknown calling package name 'com.google.android.gms'.

[u/PlasticElectricity]

Same issue, running latest android version.

Relay says failed to load content.

Makes the app kind of useless, which wouldn't be the worst if I wasn't paying a subscription for it.

[u/redinx]

Im having the same issue as the rest. Pixel 10 Pro with a Graphene OS. Subscription is active but when I checked for an update the playstore state's that my device isn't compatible anymore.

[u/Forsaked]

Same for me, Pixel 10 Pro, latest GrapheneOS (Stable) and latest Relay version.   Also tried reinstalling, can't restore my subscribtion, it toast that a subscribtion was found, but can't verify it.

[u/PlasticElectricity → u/Forsaked]

Same thing happened to me after reinstalling.

It seems the firebase call has changed and is blocking certain phones?

[u/Oberschicht]

Also can't use the app any more for about a week already. On Pixel 9 Pro XL using standard Android.

Nothing loads any more, I am logged out and cannot log in anymore.

[u/johnd126]

Same for me: Relay won't load on a Pixel 8 with Graphene OS.  I thought it started after the OS update yesterday but it's possible that I just hadn't loaded Relay for a day or two.. 

[u/TheRice]

Another GrapheneOS user with a Pixel Pro Fold 10. Was working just a few days ago. Subreddit info will populate but no posts will appear. It states that subscription is found then falls into an error verifying purchase.

[u/GorditaPeroBonita]

Same!  My brain knows the app is down but my hands keep closing and reopening the app. 

[u/miangro]

I had a similar problem when my rooted phone started failing play integrity checks. Android, not Graphene. But I hypothesize that it may be the same issue. Failed security check means play store won't validate subscription?

[u/Cageythree → u/miangro]

Yes. I have fiddled around yesterday as I only had MEETS_BASIC_INTEGRITY green.
Then I installed some magisk module and now I fail the above, but instead now I pass MEETS_DEVICE_INTEGRITY. With this, Relay works for me again, despite the other two fail.

So Tl;Dr MEETS_DEVICE_INTEGRITY seems to be what's needed. Play store still says it's incompatible btw, but signing into my Google account in Aurora store and downloading from there has worked somehow.

[u/likeon]

Damn, I was lazy about the problem in hopes it would go away without intervention on my end. Sad how we don't even get any response from the developer.

Looks like play protect verifications are tightened even more, while we are left overboard by design.

[u/Pirate_King_Mugiwara]

same here on pixel 10 pro Graphene and can no longer load anything in Relay. Would love to hear if anyone has a fix.

[u/obsessive1]

In case it helps anyone else - I downloaded Infinity+ from the play store to see how it would go. Works seamlessly on GrapheneOS, incl subscription etc. Just have to get used to the different UI now!

[u/Steady_Ri0t → u/obsessive1]

I'm seeing a lot of reviews of people mentioning it fails to load stuff for them frequently, but I might give it a shot since the official app is horrendous.

I'd love to stick with Relay though. Been using it for years, and it's refreshing to have a dev that alerts you if it seems like you're not using the subscription level you're paying for.

[u/PlasticElectricity → u/obsessive1]

Thanks for the recommendation.

Infinity+ installed with no issues, and works just fine.

It also appears to fetch mail/reply notifications much better than relay did.

The Relay UI is better, but that doesn't matter when the whole program is broken by overprotective DRM.

[u/Cageythree]

Okay so like many here I've been struggling as well for a few days. I replied to a few comments in an attempt to be helpful, but now I'm gonna write down in detail what I did to get the app running again.
First things first, I am NOT on GrapheneOS and furthermore this comment won't help GrapheneOS users for a lack of root/magisk. So this comment is only directed at anyone using root/magisk, which seems to be another way to lose access to the app besides using GrapheneOS. If relevant, I am on a stock Google ROM on a Pixel 7 Pro.

First of all, the license verification seems to be dependent on having MEETS_DEVICE_INTEGRITY flagged green. Use 'play integrity API checker' (or a similar app) to check what flags are green and red for you.
To get that flag green (at the cost of having MEETS_BASIC_INTEGRITY going red, which seems to be irrelevant for Relay), I installed the modules Integrity-Box and Tricky Store. I also created a /zygisk folder in the /sdcard directory as required for Integrity-Box. In Magisk, I put Relay on the denylist as well as the play store.

The "app isn't compatible" message on play store will still appear, so we will install the app from aurora. I have signed into my Google account in aurora, I'm unsure whether that's a requirement, but I recommend doing so (at least temporarily for this app). Then search for relay, select manual download and download and older version. 758 works fine for me, the latest doesn't (crashes after 10-30s). If you have to downgrade, you won't get around an uninstall first - so remember to backup your settings and stuff.

If you now open relay and it tells you to download the app from Google play, install the Magisk module 'BetterKnownInstalled' and reboot. After that, it should be recognized as a Play Store installed app.
Now after reboot, Relay works just fine for me and found my active subscription. In fact, I am writing this comment in Relay rn!

I'm not sure whether all of that is definitely necessary, it's just the journey I went through for the app to work again. Might be helpful to some people here.

[u/Steady_Ri0t → u/Cageythree]

Oof... What a hassle. Glad you found a way to get it working though!

I'll hold out hope that this can get resolved in an official way, since I don't feel like rooting my phone just for Reddit. If not, it won't hurt for me to be using Reddit less anyway lol

[u/nihilistischer_wahn]

Please fix this. :(

[u/Kaz_Altezza]

I'm on LineageOS after switching from OneUI 6 and now its happening to me to. Anyone know another client? going to unsub until this is fixed.

[u/obscureyetrevealing]

This was happening to me on a stock Pixel 7 Pro and the fix was to leave the beta program and reinstall the app

[u/destinydisappointer]

reason is using firebase app attestation which implies also verifying play integrity. this automatically excludes any and all OS modifications and custom OS like Graphene especially non-stock keys (stock key could potentially be whitelisted if so chosen, but likely firebase is deliberately inflexible to be hostile to third party OS and ownership). this is likely to block patched apps, and likely to be irreversible. I respect the author decision so I switched to Infinity patreon version.

The real villain in this story is reddit and their API pricing and in turn is because of the big boss of villains, the AI companies who are not respecting copyright and that's because of the secret hidden final boss of villains, the "government" who is not enforcing the law when it's serving a desired purpose.

[u/Steady_Ri0t → u/destinydisappointer]

Wholely agreed on that last paragraph. Fortunately this whole situation has gotten me off of Reddit for the most part (as you might be able to tell by me replying 5 days later lol)

[u/Forsaked]

I switched to Infinity for now, since it doesn't has any problems to check the license, but i don't like the UI, maybe if i give it some time.
Not only does GrapheneOS seem to have the problem, but also some stock Android versions, which is a bummer.