Bug User reporting no connectivity to remote config when using an adblocker

Hello!

I just released a game on iOS and Android. When testing I never had an issue with remote config, but after release, a few users have reported not being able to connect to the services that use remote config. Both users informed me that they were using some form of an adblocker. I had never tested remote config with an adblocker. Is there something I can do to enable it to still function as normal while they continue to keep on their adblocker? One of the users is using an adblocker called dns66.

Is there a DNS that they can whitelist so remote config can function properly?

 

Yes, this is a known issue with adblockers. They can try to whitelist *.unity.*:* and *.unity3d.*:* In the meantime, you will want to ensure to implement default values, it's the second parameter for the GET methods.

myString = ConfigManager.appConfig.GetString("myRemoteKey", myDefaultValue);

 

Thanks for the reply, Jeff! I'll let them know to whitelist those two. I can try adding the default values, but I am curling my own aws server so not sure that will help. Neither user has gotten back to me if both requests are the issue or if it is just the remote config curl. Once they get back to me I will be sure to post an update. I believe adding the default values in case of failure would fix any issue with remote config. Thanks for your help!

Edit: To clarify, I specify they have network issues if either curl request fails as both are required to load specific game data.

 

If the user cannot access the internet at all for example, the default values will be used. No network access is required, I would encourage you to test. And can you elaborate, your own AWS server? Remote Config does not use AWS and does not use cURL.

 

Sorry, yes I can clarify. I am using a separate aws server from remote config for other game data. It is just a simple rest API that gets the current world time in UTC to prevent time-skipping. If either the remote config or the aws server request fails, I specify that they have a network connection issue. I asked one of them to whitelist the two you had specified but had no luck. It could now be the aws server, but they have fully whitelisted that url already.

 

As mentioned, ensure you are using sensible default values for Remote Config in this case. Your users should be able to continue to use your game.

 

They are still able to play the full game - just some functionality is removed. I am using remote config to set calendar reward data or rotating shop data, which changes weekly or monthly. Due to how it changes, it can not have hardcoded default values.

 

The user was able to retrieve remote config settings after whitelisting unity3d.com and restarting their device. I am unsure why the more general *.unity3d.*:* did not work for them. Thanks for the help Jeff!

 

Well that syntax is probably not what the user would enter, each app is different. The * character means wildcard, and the :* means all ports.

 

What is rather odd is other whitelisted links the user previously had were using wildcards. I posted for users to try both and see which fits the format for their adblocker.

 

I'm glad you were able to resolve the issue.