diff --git a/android/app/src/main/assets/capacitor.plugins.json b/android/app/src/main/assets/capacitor.plugins.json
index bdd3e55c..28240b47 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/assets/capacitor.plugins.json
+++ b/android/app/src/main/assets/capacitor.plugins.json
@@ -54,5 +54,9 @@
 	{
 		"pkg": "SharedImage",
 		"classpath": "app.timesafari.sharedimage.SharedImagePlugin"
+	},
+	{
+		"pkg": "NotificationInspector",
+		"classpath": "app.timesafari.notifications.NotificationInspectorPlugin"
 	}
 ]
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/app/timesafari/notifications/NotificationInspectorPlugin.java b/android/app/src/main/java/app/timesafari/notifications/NotificationInspectorPlugin.java
index 82c6d0ae..963322ec 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/app/timesafari/notifications/NotificationInspectorPlugin.java
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/app/timesafari/notifications/NotificationInspectorPlugin.java
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package app.timesafari.notifications;
 
+import com.getcapacitor.JSObject;
 import com.getcapacitor.Plugin;
 import com.getcapacitor.PluginCall;
 import com.getcapacitor.PluginMethod;
@@ -12,5 +13,20 @@ public class NotificationInspectorPlugin extends Plugin {
     call.unimplemented(
         "Pending notification inspection is currently implemented on iOS only");
   }
-}
 
+  /**
+   * Whether this build carries a Firebase config, i.e. was built with
+   * -PfirebaseEnabled. Without it, PushNotifications.register() throws on the
+   * Capacitor plugin thread and kills the app, so JS must check this first.
+   * The google-services Gradle plugin generates the google_app_id resource,
+   * which is what Firebase's own auto-initialization looks for.
+   */
+  @PluginMethod
+  public void isFirebaseConfigured(PluginCall call) {
+    int resId = getContext().getResources().getIdentifier(
+        "google_app_id", "string", getContext().getPackageName());
+    JSObject ret = new JSObject();
+    ret.put("configured", resId != 0);
+    call.resolve(ret);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/scripts/restore-local-plugins.js b/scripts/restore-local-plugins.js
index 3b947d6a..1ac686c5 100755
--- a/scripts/restore-local-plugins.js
+++ b/scripts/restore-local-plugins.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 /**
  * Restore Local Capacitor Plugins
  * 
- * This script ensures that local custom plugins (SafeArea and SharedImage)
+ * This script ensures that local custom plugins (SafeArea, SharedImage, NotificationInspector)
  * are present in capacitor.plugins.json after `npx cap sync` runs.
  * 
  * The capacitor.plugins.json file is auto-generated by Capacitor and gets
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ const LOCAL_PLUGINS = [
   {
     pkg: 'SharedImage',
     classpath: 'app.timesafari.sharedimage.SharedImagePlugin'
+  },
+  {
+    pkg: 'NotificationInspector',
+    classpath: 'app.timesafari.notifications.NotificationInspectorPlugin'
   }
 ];
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/NotificationInspectorPlugin.ts b/src/plugins/NotificationInspectorPlugin.ts
index 8acecc37..27d6885b 100644
--- a/src/plugins/NotificationInspectorPlugin.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/NotificationInspectorPlugin.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ export type PendingNotificationInfo = {
 
 export interface NotificationInspectorPlugin {
   getPendingNotifications(): Promise<{ pending: PendingNotificationInfo[] }>;
+  /** Android only: whether the build has a Firebase config (-PfirebaseEnabled). */
+  isFirebaseConfigured(): Promise<{ configured: boolean }>;
 }
 
 export const NotificationInspector =
diff --git a/src/services/notifications/firebaseMessagingClient.ts b/src/services/notifications/firebaseMessagingClient.ts
index a618c610..5558c08e 100644
--- a/src/services/notifications/firebaseMessagingClient.ts
+++ b/src/services/notifications/firebaseMessagingClient.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import {
   onMessage,
 } from "firebase/messaging";
 import { logger } from "@/utils/logger";
+import { NotificationInspector } from "@/plugins/NotificationInspectorPlugin";
 import { handleCapacitorPushNotificationReceived } from "./NativeNotificationService";
 import { getNotificationApiHeaders } from "./notificationApiAuth";
 import { deferFcmRegistration } from "./notificationAuthLifecycle";
@@ -67,6 +68,24 @@ async function registerRetrievedToken(
   lastRegisteredFcmToken = trimmed;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Whether PushNotifications.register() is safe to call. Android builds without
+ * -PfirebaseEnabled (FOSS/F-Droid/APK) have no Firebase config, and register()
+ * there throws natively, crashing the app before any JS catch can run.
+ */
+async function canRegisterNativePush(): Promise<boolean> {
+  if (Capacitor.getPlatform() !== "android") {
+    return true;
+  }
+  try {
+    const { configured } = await NotificationInspector.isFirebaseConfigured();
+    return configured;
+  } catch (err) {
+    logger.warn(`${LOG} Could not check Firebase config; skipping push`, err);
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
 /** Most recent FCM token from native/web push registration (for debug UI). */
 export function getLastKnownFcmToken(): string | null {
   return lastSeenFcmToken ?? lastRegisteredFcmToken;
@@ -80,6 +99,12 @@ export async function reregisterFcmTokenNow(): Promise<string> {
     throw new Error("FCM registration is only available on native platforms");
   }
 
+  if (!(await canRegisterNativePush())) {
+    throw new Error(
+      "Push is unavailable: this Android build has no Firebase config (built without -PfirebaseEnabled)",
+    );
+  }
+
   lastRegisteredFcmToken = null;
 
   const cached = lastSeenFcmToken?.trim();
@@ -290,6 +315,13 @@ async function initializeNativePushAndFirebaseMessagingImpl(): Promise<void> {
       return;
     }
 
+    if (!(await canRegisterNativePush())) {
+      logger.info(
+        `${LOG} No Firebase config in this Android build; skipping push registration`,
+      );
+      return;
+    }
+
     await PushNotifications.register();
 
     if (app) {