onIdTokenChanged / onAuthStateChanged never fire setPersistence(LOCAL) Promise hangs (Firebase JS 8.10.1)

[bhavesh-songara]

Hi all looking for guidance on an intermittent Firebase Auth issue.

What’s happening

• Some users open the app and remain stuck on the loading screen.
• onIdTokenChanged and onAuthStateChanged never fire (no logs).
• We wrapped setPersistence(Auth.Persistence.LOCAL) with .then/.catch logs—neither handler ever runs, indicating the Promise stays “pending”.
• firebase.auth().currentUser is logged right before the listener is attached, so the code path is reached.

this.firebaseAuth
  .setPersistence(Auth.Persistence.LOCAL)
  .then(() => console.log('[Auth] persistence set'))      // never prints
  .catch(err => console.error('[Auth] persistence error', err)); // never prints

Why we suspect IndexedDB

setPersistence(LOCAL) relies on IndexedDB. If the database open hangs, the Promise never settles and no auth events fire.

Environment

Item	Value
Firebase JS SDK	8.10.1
Framework	Ionic 5 + Capacitor 6 (React 17)
Persistence requested	Auth.Persistence.LOCAL
Reproducibility	Sporadic in production; not yet reproduced internally

Questions

1. Is a never-resolving setPersistence() Promise a known issue?
2. Recommended ways to detect or recover from this state?
3. Would upgrading to Firebase v9+ likely help?

Any insights or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!