[Fix] Unhandled Exception: PlatformException(channel-error, Unable to establish connection on channel

To fix the error, “Unhandled Exception: PlatformException(channel-error, Unable to establish connection on channel.”, upgrade all flutter outdated packages, remove the “pubspec.lock” file as part of a flutter clean, upgrade your firebase core and reinitialise the firebase, it would fix the error.

The Error “Unhandled Exception: PlatformException(channel-error, Unable to establish connection on channel.”, is an error that is invoked when you are working on flutter and are trying to call Firebase.initializeApp() in your main function.

Given below is the snippet of the error you might get:

Unhandled Exception: PlatformException(channel-error, Unable to establish connection on channel.

Given below is the detailed explanation as to why the error, “Unhandled Exception: PlatformException(channel-error, Unable to establish connection on channel.” is seen and how to fix the above mentioned error.

After installing the firebase messaging plugin version 11.4.4, the error, “Unhandled Exception: PlatformException(channel-error, Unable to establish connection on channel.” is displayed. One possible reason might be the modification to the firebase core platform interface.

Upgrading a Firebase dependency for a library can also be a possible cause for the issue, but you can can neglect to upgrade the other Firebase dependencies at the project’s top level.

There are some temporary workarounds to fix the error, “Unhandled Exception: PlatformException(channel-error, Unable to establish connection on channel.” which are discussed below.

To fix the error, “Unhandled Exception: PlatformException(channel-error, Unable to establish connection on channel.”, upgrade all flutter outdated packages in your system. remove the “pubspec.lock” file as part of a flutter clean, upgrade your firebase core and reinitialise the firebase, it would fix the error.

Below are the detailed solutions to fix the error “Unhandled Exception: PlatformException(channel-error, Unable to establish connection on channel.” in VS Code:

Solution 1: Upgrade all your Flutter Packages

First you will have to upgrade all your flutter packages in your system, you do this to upgrade all your outdated packages which may be causing the error.

To do so you will have to enter the following terminal commands:

flutter pub outdated

The outdated pakges will be updated using the command mentioned below:

flutter upgrade outdated_package

Then finally you will have to run the commands:

flutter clean

&

flutter pub get

This should help you fix the error, “Unhandled Exception: PlatformException(channel-error, Unable to establish connection on channel.”

Solution 2: “pubspec.lock” Should be Removed as Part of a Flutter Clean

Perform a flutter clean first, then delete “pubspec.lock”. If not, try the following solutions in hopes that it will work.

Solution 3: Upgrade your Firebase Core and Reinitialise Firebase

First Perform a flutter clean and firebase core upgrade with the below mentioned command:

flutter pub upgrade firebase_core

Then you will have to run the below mentioned command to reinitialize the firebase core:

dart pub global activate flutterfire_cli flutterfire configure

This should help you fix the error, “Unhandled Exception: PlatformException(channel-error, Unable to establish connection on channel.”.

Conclusion

To fix the error, “Unhandled Exception: PlatformException(channel-error, Unable to establish connection on channel.”, can be fixed in three ways.

First you will have to upgrade all your flutter packages in your system, you do this to upgrade all your outdated packages which may be causing the error.

The “pubspec.lock” should be removed as part of a flutter clean as the second solution.

The third and the final solution is to upgrade your firebase core and reinitialize your firebase.