Marker not rendering on Android with RN 0.81 + react-native-maps 1.26.x

[Amanroy9658]

Summary

Markers are not rendering on Android when using React Native 0.81.0 with react-native-maps 1.26.x.
The same code works correctly after downgrading react-native-maps to 1.15.x.

This appears to be a regression in recent versions.

Environment

react-native: 0.81.0

react: 19.1.0

react-native-maps: 1.26.18

Platform: Android

Maps provider: Google

Device: Physical

Expected Behavior

Markers should render normally on the map.

Actual Behavior

Markers do not appear on the map even though:

Coordinates are valid numbers

Map renders correctly

Camera moves correctly

No errors in Logcat

Minimal Repro Code
<MapView
provider={PROVIDER_GOOGLE}
style={{ flex: 1 }}
initialRegion={{
latitude: 28.6139,
longitude: 77.2090,
latitudeDelta: 0.01,
longitudeDelta: 0.01
}}

<Marker
coordinate={{ latitude: 28.6139, longitude: 77.2090 }}
title="Test Marker"
/>

Workaround / Temporary Fix

Downgrading react-native-maps fixes the issue:

npm install react-native-maps@1.15.6

After downgrade, markers render correctly without any code changes.

Additional Notes

Issue seems related to rendering timing / Fabric / Android renderer.

tracksViewChanges, anchor, rotation changes do not fix it.

Problem occurs even with default markers.

Map itself renders fine — only markers fail.

Question

Is this a known regression in 1.26.x?
Is there a planned fix or recommended configuration for RN 0.81?

Thanks

Reproducible sample code

import React from 'react';
import { StyleSheet, View } from 'react-native';
import MapView, { Marker, PROVIDER_GOOGLE } from 'react-native-maps';

export default function App() {
  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <MapView
        provider={PROVIDER_GOOGLE}
        style={StyleSheet.absoluteFill}
        initialRegion={{
          latitude: 28.6139,
          longitude: 77.2090,
          latitudeDelta: 0.01,
          longitudeDelta: 0.01,
        }}
      >
        <Marker
          coordinate={{ latitude: 28.6139, longitude: 77.2090 }}
          title="Test Marker"
          description="Marker should be visible"
        />
      </MapView>
    </View>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    flex: 1,
  },
});

Steps to reproduce

Steps to reproduce

Create a new React Native project using React Native 0.81.0.

Install react-native-maps@1.26.18.

Configure Google Maps for Android with a valid API key.

Replace App.tsx with the reproducible sample code provided above.

Run the app on an Android emulator or physical device.

Observe that the map renders correctly but the marker is not visible.

Downgrade react-native-maps to 1.15.6.

Rebuild and run the app again — the marker now renders correctly.

Expected result

Marker should be visible with 1.26.18.

Actual result

Marker is not visible with 1.26.18.

Marker is visible with 1.15.6.

React Native Maps Version

1.26.18

What platforms are you seeing the problem on?

Android

React Native Version

0.81.0

What version of Expo are you using?

Not using Expo

Device(s)

physical Android devices

Additional information

No response

[Amanroy9658]

Hey @huextrat , thanks for sharing such a clear and well-documented reproduction — it really helped connect the dots.

I faced a similar marker rendering issue on Android with react-native-maps 1.26.x on RN 0.81, and downgrading to 1.15.x fixed it for me. Your navigation-based repro makes it even clearer that this is a broader Android overlay regression in the newer versions.

I’m currently building production apps from India and still very much in a learning and growth phase, so it’s really inspiring to see how clearly you analyze and document issues like this. I’d genuinely love to learn from your approach and collaborate or exchange findings whenever possible.

If I discover anything useful while debugging this further, I’ll definitely share it here as well.

Really glad to connect through this issue — open source truly brings great people together.