Android EAS Build failing in “Prepare project” with “Unknown error” even for a fresh Expo app

[HarryUbiFuud]

Minimal reproducible example

Repo available upon request — the project is a clean create-expo-app with no modifications.

Steps to reproduce

1. Create a new Expo app:
   npx create-expo-app@latest smoke-test-app

2. cd smoke-test-app

3. Add a minimal eas.json:
   {
   "cli": { "appVersionSource": "local" },
   "build": {
   "preview": {
   "android": { "image": "latest" }
   }
   }
   }

4. Run:
   eas build --platform android --profile preview

5. EAS prompts to create the project → accept.

6. EAS prompts to generate a new Android keystore → accept.

7. Build uploads successfully, then fails in:
   “Prepare project” → “Unknown error”

Expected:

• A clean Expo app should build successfully.

Actual:

• Build fails with “Unknown error” and no logs in the Prepare project phase.

Environment

Expo CLI: latest (npx expo)
EAS CLI: latest
Platform: Windows 11
Node: 18.x
Package manager: npm
Expo account: @harry.hojabri

Issue occurs on:
- Android EAS Build (preview, production)
- Even for a fresh Expo app
- Local prebuild succeeds

Expo Doctor Diagnostics

This issue affects ALL my Android EAS builds across multiple projects.

Account: @harry.hojabri

Symptoms:
- Android EAS builds fail in “Prepare project” with “Unknown error”.
- No logs appear in the failing phase.
- Local `expo prebuild` succeeds for all apps.
- A fresh Expo app (smoke-test-app) also fails in the same phase.

Smoke-test build (fresh create-expo-app):
https://expo.dev/accounts/harry.hojabri/projects/smoke-test-app/builds/b26cc901-f15a-4401-b1ed-4103324f351e

Other affected projects:
- customer-app-v2 → fails in “Prepare project”
- chef-app → fails in “Build complete hook”

Why this is likely account-level:
- A clean Expo app with no dependencies, no plugins, and default config fails.
- The failure happens before the logger attaches.
- This pattern matches Android credentials or EAS infra issues.

Environment:
- Windows 11
- Node 18.x
- npm
- Expo CLI latest (npx expo)
- EAS CLI latest

Happy to provide any additional build IDs or metadata.

[HarryUbiFuud]

Additional data point:

A production Android build for the same fresh smoke-test app also fails in the exact same phase (“Prepare project”) with the same “Unknown error”.

Build URL:
https://expo.dev/accounts/harry.hojabri/projects/smoke-test-app/builds/ef6e2454-60bf-434a-9026-1bc2674c277b

This confirms the issue is not pipeline-specific (preview vs production) and is likely account-level or Android EAS infra-level.

[HarryUbiFuud]

Hi team - just checking in. It’s been over 72 hours and this issue is still blocking our deployment/testing workflow.
Happy to provide logs or repro steps if needed. Thanks for taking another look.

[HarryUbiFuud]

This is blocking real‑device testing and deployment.