Bolt Expo app with broken auth or payments? What to fix first
If an AI-generated Bolt or Expo app has broken authentication, payment, or subscription flows, use this order of operations before you keep patching screens.
When an AI-generated Expo app starts breaking, founders usually chase the most visible bug.
That is backwards.
If auth or payments are broken, the issue is often not one screen. It is the app's state model. Fixing individual errors without understanding state is how a simple prototype turns into weeks of patching.
First, map the real user states
Before editing code, write down every state the app needs to handle:
signed out
signed in
onboarding incomplete
onboarding complete
free user
trialing user
paid user
expired user
user with failed purchase
deleted account
If the app does not have a clear model for these states, auth and payment bugs will keep returning.
Fix auth before payments
Do not wire subscription logic on top of unstable auth.
Auth should answer:
who is the user?
is the session restored on app open?
can protected screens load before auth is ready?
does logout clear local state?
is account deletion supported?
does onboarding know which user it belongs to?
If these are unclear, payment logic will attach to the wrong assumptions.
Then fix entitlement logic
The paywall is not the source of truth.
The app needs an entitlement layer that decides:
can this user access the feature?
did the purchase succeed?
did restore purchases work?
has the subscription expired?
what happens if product loading fails?
what happens after app restart?
Many AI-built apps create a paywall screen and then let users bypass it because no entitlement system exists.
Keep payment code out of random screens
Payment logic should not be copied into every feature screen.
Use a central purchase or subscription helper for:
product loading
purchase call
restore call
entitlement refresh
purchase error state
analytics events
Then screens should ask one simple question: can this user access the feature?
Add analytics while fixing the flow
Do not wait until launch.
Track:
signup
onboarding complete
paywall viewed
product loaded
purchase started
purchase completed
purchase failed
restore tapped
restore successful
paid feature accessed
These events reveal whether your fix actually works.
Avoid the patch trap
The patch trap looks like this:
prompt the AI to fix login
login works, onboarding breaks
prompt it to fix onboarding
onboarding works, paywall breaks
prompt it to fix paywall
paid state disappears after restart
At that point, you do not have a bug list. You have an architecture problem.
When to use a rescue sprint
Use AI App Rescue when auth, payments, and state are tangled enough that you cannot trust the product.
Silpho audits the codebase, decides what can stay, and fixes or rebuilds the core flow so the app can launch with onboarding, subscriptions, analytics, and App Store preparation.
Read next:
FAQ
Should I fix auth or payments first?
Fix auth first. Payment and entitlement logic depend on knowing who the user is and what state they are in.
Why does my AI-generated paywall work once and then break?
Because many generated paywalls are screens, not systems. They often skip entitlement refresh, restore purchases, subscription expiry, and app restart state.