Integrating Crashlytics into your Android Studio project is a smart move for effortlessly managing app stability. This guide walks you through seamlessly incorporating Crashlytics, enabling you to log ad response IDs for better troubleshooting. Learn how to configure and test Crashlytics, along with logging ad response IDs effectively.
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Integrating Crashlytics into Your Android Studio Project
Crashlytics, a nifty real-time crash reporter offered by Firebase, simplifies the management of stability issues within your app. It’s designed to streamline troubleshooting efforts by cleverly grouping crashes and shedding light on the events leading up to them.
This guide is tailored to walk you through the process of seamlessly integrating Crashlytics into your Android Studio project. By doing so, you’ll be equipped to log ad response IDs, which proves invaluable when you’re grappling with app crashes. Later on, armed with these response IDs, you can effortlessly navigate to the Ad Review Center within AdMob. There, you’ll have the ability to pinpoint and block specific ads that might be causing the trouble.
Step 1: Adding Firebase to Your Android Application
To begin logging with Firebase in a clean app, you can get started by downloading or cloning the Google Mobile Ads SDK examples for Android repository from GitHub. Specifically, this guide will use the Banner Example.
If you already have an existing app, you can proceed with the steps using your app’s package name. The same process can be adapted for other examples in the repository with minor adjustments.
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| Integrating Crashlytics into Your Android Studio Project | Crashlytics, a real-time crash reporter provided by Firebase, simplifies the management of stability issues within your app. This step guides you through seamlessly integrating Crashlytics into your Android Studio project. Once integrated, you’ll be able to log ad response IDs, aiding in troubleshooting app crashes. Later, you can use these response IDs to identify and block specific ads within the Ad Review Center in AdMob. |
| Step 1: Adding Firebase to Your Android Application | This step involves downloading or cloning the Google Mobile Ads SDK examples for Android repository from GitHub, specifically using the Banner Example. It also covers creating a Firebase project, registering your app within it, and configuring Crashlytics. Instructions are provided for adding necessary dependencies in your build.gradle files. Testing your setup with a crash button is also discussed. |
| Step 2: Logging the Ad Response ID | If your app loads multiple ads at different times, it’s recommended to log each ad response ID with a separate key. This step demonstrates how to log the ad response ID as the “banner_ad_response_id” key in your MyActivity.java file. The code snippet utilizes FirebaseCrashlytics.setCustomKey() within the onAdLoaded() callback function to ensure proper logging. |
| Optional: Test Your Setup | Instructions are provided for testing your setup by adding a crash button in the onCreate() method of an Activity. This allows you to simulate crashes and verify that the crash logs are uploaded to Crashlytics. It’s noted that while crash and session data may appear instantly in the Firebase console, custom keys might take longer to propagate, possibly up to an hour. |
| Congratulations | This final note celebrates the successful integration of Crashlytics into your project. It highlights the visibility of the most recent “banner_ad_response_id” in the key section of crash sessions on your Crashlytics dashboard, with a reminder that some keys may take time to become visible. |
Firstly, in order to utilize Firebase Crashlytics, you need to create a Firebase project and add your app to it. If you haven’t done this yet, go ahead and create a Firebase project and register your app within it.
Navigate to the Crashlytics page within the Firebase console and click on “Set up Crashlytics”.
In the prompted screen, select “No” and then choose “Set up a new Firebase app”.
Next, in your build.gradle file, add the dependencies for Google Analytics, Fabric, and Crashlytics.
app/build.gradle
apply plugin: 'com.android.application'
apply plugin: 'com.google.gms.google-services'
// Add the Fabric plugin
apply plugin: 'io.fabric'
dependencies {
// ...
// Add the Google Mobile Ads SDK
implementation 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads:23.0.0'
// Add the Firebase Crashlytics dependency.
implementation 'com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics:18.6.4'
}project/build.gradle
buildscript {
repositories {
// ...
// Add Google's Maven repository.
google()
}
dependencies {
// ...
classpath 'com.google.gms:google-services:4.4.1'
// Add the Fabric Crashlytics plugin.
classpath 'com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics-gradle:2.9.9'
}
}
allprojects {
// ...
repositories {
// Check that Google's Maven repository is included (if not, add it).
google()
// ...
}
}Once you’ve added these dependencies, build and run your app to ensure that Crashlytics is configured correctly. Upon successful configuration, you’ll be able to access the Crashlytics dashboard.
(Optional): Test Your Setup
To test your setup, you can add a crash button that forces a crash with each button press.
Below is an example demonstrating how to add a crash button in the onCreate() method of an Activity:
MainActivity.java
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_my);
// Gets the ad view defined in layout/ad_fragment.xml with ad unit ID set in
// values/strings.xml.
adView = findViewById(R.id.ad_view);
// Start loading the ad in the background.
adView.loadAd(new AdRequest.Builder().build());
// Add a crash button.
Button crashButton = new Button(this);
crashButton.setText("Crash!");
crashButton.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
throw new RuntimeException("Test Crash"); // Force a crash
}
});
addContentView(crashButton, new ViewGroup.LayoutParams(
ViewGroup.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT,
ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT));
}In Android Studio, build and run your app on an emulator or a connected device. After the app is loaded, you can click the Crash button. Relaunch the app from the device or Android Studio for the crash log to be uploaded to Crashlytics.
Key Point: While the crash and session data might be visible instantly in the Firebase console, custom keys may take an hour or more to propagate.
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Step 2: Logging the Ad Response ID
If you’re loading multiple ads and showing them at different times, it’s a good practice to log each ad response ID with a separate key. For example, if your app has only one banner ad, you can log the ad response ID as the “banner_ad_response_id” key.
Below is the code snippet to add to your MyActivity.java file. This code utilizes the FirebaseCrashlytics.setCustomKey() function within the onAdLoaded() callback function to ensure that the ad has loaded before attempting to retrieve the response ID.
MyActivity.java
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_my);
// Gets the ad view defined in layout/ad_fragment.xml with ad unit ID set in
// values/strings.xml.
adView = findViewById(R.id.ad_view);
adView.setAdListener(new AdListener() {
@Override
public void onAdLoaded() {
String adResponseId = adView.getResponseInfo().getResponseId();
FirebaseCrashlytics.getInstance().setCustomKey(
"banner_ad_response_id", adResponseId);
}
});
// Start loading the ad in the background.
adView.loadAd(new AdRequest.Builder().build());
// Add a crash button.
Button crashButton = new Button(this);
crashButton.setText("Crash!");
crashButton.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View view) {
throw new RuntimeException("Test Crash"); // Force a crash
}
});
addContentView(crashButton, new ViewGroup.LayoutParams(
ViewGroup.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT,
ViewGroup.LayoutParams.WRAP_CONTENT));
}Congratulations! You will now see the most recent “banner_ad_response_id” in the key section of crash sessions on your Crashlytics dashboard. Note that some keys may take up to an hour to become visible in your dashboard.
FAQs about Integrating Crashlytics into Your Android Studio Project
Q: What is Crashlytics and why should I integrate it into my app?
A: Crashlytics is a real-time crash reporter provided by Firebase, designed to simplify the management of stability issues within your app. It intelligently groups crashes and provides insights into the events leading up to them, making troubleshooting more efficient.
Q: How do I add Firebase to my Android application?
A: To add Firebase to your Android app, you need to first create a Firebase project and add your app to it. Then, you can integrate Firebase Crashlytics into your app by adding the necessary dependencies in your build.gradle files and configuring Crashlytics through the Firebase console.
Q: Can I test if Crashlytics is configured correctly in my app?
A: Yes, you can test your Crashlytics setup by adding a crash button to your app that forces a crash when clicked. This allows you to verify if crash reports are being properly uploaded to Crashlytics.
Q: How do I log the ad response ID using Crashlytics?
A: To log the ad response ID using Crashlytics, you can utilize the FirebaseCrashlytics.setCustomKey() function within the onAdLoaded() callback function of your ad listener. This ensures that the ad has loaded before attempting to retrieve the response ID.
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Q: Why is logging the ad response ID important?
A: Logging the ad response ID is important for troubleshooting app crashes related to specific ads. By associating ad response IDs with crash reports in Crashlytics, you can easily identify and address issues caused by problematic ads.
Q: How long does it take for custom keys to appear in the Crashlytics dashboard?
A: While crash and session data might appear instantly in the Firebase console, custom keys may take an hour or more to propagate and become visible in the Crashlytics dashboard.