React Native Android Build Failed: Could Not Resolve Dependency (Real Causes)

React Native Android builds can fail for a lot of reasons—but one of the most common (and confusing) ones is: Could not resolve dependency If you’ve seen this, you probably also noticed: the error message is long it looks very “Gradle-heavy” and it doesn’t clearly tell you what to fix Here’s what this error actually means—and how to approach it without wasting hours. What “Could not resolve dependency” really means This error usually appears when Gradle tries to fetch or link a dependency and fails. But the important part is this: 👉 it’s not always a network issue Most of the time, it’s caused by something in your project setup. 1. Version mismatch (most common cause) This is the #1 reason behind this error. Examples: a library requires a newer React Native version your Gradle or Android plugin version is outdated Kotlin version doesn’t match project setup Even a small mismatch can break dependency resolution. 2. Repository configuration issues Gradle needs to know where to download de