[$250] Account - Avatar doesn't load when login from public room as existing user

[nlemma]

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Version Number: 9.3.0-0
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: https://github.com/Expensify/Expensify/issues/581598
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Regression TC Execution
Device used: Windows Windows 11 - Chrome

Action Performed:

1. Sign out if you are signed in
2. Open a public room
3. Sign in with existing user
4. Click on account setting icon

Expected Result:

Avatar and user name should load on account page

Actual Result:

Avatar and user name doesn't load on account page

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7040734_1767385259219.Recording__3056.mp4

View all open jobs on GitHub

Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022014062121683669823
• Upwork Job ID: 2014062121683669823
• Last Price Increase: 2026-02-04
• Automatic offers:
• situchan | Reviewer | 110423100

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @heyjennahay (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details. Please add this bug to a GH project, as outlined in the SO.

[annaweber830]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

When a user opens a public room while signed out, then signs in with an existing account and navigates to Account settings, the avatar and user name don’t load on the account page

What is the root cause of that problem?

In the public-room flow, the app can create an ANONYMOUS session and mount AuthScreens. If the user then signs in, the session transitions from ANONYMOUS → authenticated without remounting AuthScreens, so the normal post-login bootstrapping (OpenApp) isn’t re-triggered. As a result, the authenticated user’s personalDetails (used for displayName/avatar) are never populated/refreshed in Onyx for that session, causing Settings/Profile to render loading placeholders.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

Add a guard in AuthScreens to detect when the session upgrades from ANONYMOUS → non-anonymous and:

• Force the new authToken into NetworkStore immediately (avoid timing issues)
• Call App.confirmReadyToOpenApp()
• Call App.openApp(true) to re-bootstrap while preserving public rooms

const wasAnonymousUserRef = useRef(Session.isAnonymousUser(session));
    useEffect(() => {
        const wasAnonymous = wasAnonymousUserRef.current;
        const isAnonymous = Session.isAnonymousUser(session);
        wasAnonymousUserRef.current = isAnonymous;

        // When opening a public room, the user can be "authenticated" as an anonymous user (AuthScreens is already mounted).
        // If they then sign in with an existing account, we need to re-run OpenApp to hydrate full account data such as personal details (avatar/display name).
        if (!wasAnonymous || isAnonymous) {
            return;
        }

        if (!session?.authToken) {
            return;
        }

        // Ensure subsequent requests use the new token immediately (don't rely on async Onyx subscriber timing).
        NetworkStore.setAuthToken(session.authToken);
        App.confirmReadyToOpenApp();
        App.openApp(true);
    }, [session]);

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

App/src/pages/signin/SignInModal.tsx

Lines 45 to 47 in e54cfd4

	waitForIdle().then(() => {
	openApp(true);
	});

waitForIdle().then(() => {
                confirmReadyToOpenApp();
                openApp(true);
            });

[melvin-bot]

@heyjennahay Whoops! This issue is 2 days overdue. Let's get this updated quick!

[melvin-bot]

@heyjennahay 6 days overdue. This is scarier than being forced to listen to Vogon poetry!

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022014062121683669823

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to Contributor-plus team member for initial proposal review - @situchan (External)