<!-- mobian-agent-page publisher="dailydev" canonical="https://daily.dev/posts/time-to-upgrade-from-gcm-to-fcm-18fqpyffg" -->

---
title: Time to Upgrade from GCM to FCM | daily.dev
description: Google announced that all developers must migrate from Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) to Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) within a year, as the GCM server and...
canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/time-to-upgrade-from-gcm-to-fcm-18fqpyffg
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:site: @dailydotdev
og:type: website
og:site_name: daily.dev
og:title: Time to Upgrade from GCM to FCM | daily.dev
og:description: Google announced that all developers must migrate from Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) to Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) within a year, as the GCM server and...
og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/time-to-upgrade-from-gcm-to-fcm-18fqpyffg
og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/18FqPYffg.png
og:image:alt: Time to Upgrade from GCM to FCM
og:image:width: 1200
og:image:height: 630
og:locale: en
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Time to Upgrade from GCM to FCM

**[Firebase](https://daily.dev/sources/firebase-blog)** · 5 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

Google announced that all developers must migrate from Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) to Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) within a year, as the GCM server and client APIs will be removed as of April 11, 2019. FCM offers new features such as a console notifications interface, better reporting, A/B Testing and Predictions integrations, and platform overrides. Migration involves console-side project setup, app-side code changes, and server-side endpoint updates, and can be done incrementally since FCM remains backwards compatible with existing GCM tokens and client logic. A migration guide, FAQ, and video walkthrough are provided to assist developers.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://firebase.blog/posts/2018/04/time-to-upgrade-from-gcm-to-fcm>

## Questions this post answers

### By what date do I need to migrate from Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) to Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)?

GCM server and client APIs are deprecated and will be removed as soon as April 11, 2019, so all developers need to complete migration to FCM before that date. Existing GCM tokens continue to work with FCM, and apps that still have GCM logic will keep receiving messages until the removal date.

_daily.dev helps developers track deprecation deadlines like this one before they break production._

### Will my existing GCM tokens still work after switching to FCM?

Yes, existing GCM tokens continue to work with Firebase Cloud Messaging after migration, so users are not lost during the transition. FCM is backwards compatible with GCM, meaning you can update your server endpoint and app code independently and at your own pace without losing the ability to message existing users.

_Track backwards-compatibility details like this when planning a messaging migration on daily.dev._

### What are the main steps to migrate an Android app from GCM to FCM?

Migration has three parts: create a new Firebase project in the console using your app's existing Cloud Project ID, update app-side code depending on which GCM features you use like topic subscriptions and token generation, and change the server endpoint from GCM to FCM. These steps can be done separately and at different times.

_daily.dev keeps developers oriented when tackling multi-step platform migrations like this one._

## Similar posts on daily.dev

- [When Notifications Became Data Trucks: A Real-World Crash Story from Firebase FCM](https://daily.dev/posts/when-notifications-became-data-trucks-a-real-world-crash-story-from-firebase-fcm-nh9ixqylv) · ProAndroidDev · 1 upvotes · 0 comments

---

Tags: [#mobile](https://daily.dev/tags/mobile), [#android](https://daily.dev/tags/android), [#firebase](https://daily.dev/tags/firebase)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/time-to-upgrade-from-gcm-to-fcm-18fqpyffg)

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Time to Upgrade from GCM to FCM","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/time-to-upgrade-from-gcm-to-fcm-18fqpyffg","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/time-to-upgrade-from-gcm-to-fcm-18fqpyffg"},"datePublished":"2026-08-23T12:17:42.127Z","dateModified":"2026-08-23T12:25:20.674Z","description":"Google announced that all developers must migrate from Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) to Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) within a year, as the GCM server and...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/7ed721de96163685d26ab7e314be3ebc?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/7ed721de96163685d26ab7e314be3ebc?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Firebase","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Firebase","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--i395oqZH--/f_auto,q_auto/v1787487448/logos/firebase-blog?_a=BAMAMicg0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/firebase-blog"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/time-to-upgrade-from-gcm-to-fcm-18fqpyffg","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"mobile,android,firebase","timeRequired":"PT5M"}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Firebase","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/firebase-blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Time to Upgrade from GCM to FCM"}]}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/time-to-upgrade-from-gcm-to-fcm-18fqpyffg#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"By what date do I need to migrate from Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) to Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"GCM server and client APIs are deprecated and will be removed as soon as April 11, 2019, so all developers need to complete migration to FCM before that date. Existing GCM tokens continue to work with FCM, and apps that still have GCM logic will keep receiving messages until the removal date. daily.dev helps developers track deprecation deadlines like this one before they break production."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Will my existing GCM tokens still work after switching to FCM?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes, existing GCM tokens continue to work with Firebase Cloud Messaging after migration, so users are not lost during the transition. FCM is backwards compatible with GCM, meaning you can update your server endpoint and app code independently and at your own pace without losing the ability to message existing users. Track backwards-compatibility details like this when planning a messaging migration on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What are the main steps to migrate an Android app from GCM to FCM?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Migration has three parts: create a new Firebase project in the console using your app's existing Cloud Project ID, update app-side code depending on which GCM features you use like topic subscriptions and token generation, and change the server endpoint from GCM to FCM. These steps can be done separately and at different times. daily.dev keeps developers oriented when tackling multi-step platform migrations like this one."}}]}
```

