1345597 - Signing into an FxA account which requires email verification will not auto-start sync on completion

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Firefox for iOS :: Firefox Accounts, enhancement, P2)

Description

[Stephan Leroux [:sleroux]]

To resolve the timed auto-navigation that was occurring on iOS after the verification logic went live in December on the FxA server (which was causing the FxA credentials to be lost after inputting), we recently deployed some logic to remove this delay and have the FxA server send us back the token right way [1]. We also added some code to auto dismiss if we were already verified.

The existing iOS client logic is to take the token that is sent from the server, create a local FirefoxAccount object, and begin syncing if it is able to [2]. Since the server is now sending the token back immediately instead of after the account has been verified, the sync doesn't auto-start because account still needs to be verified. Once that account is verified there is _no way for the server to tell the client_. I believe the assumption was that when a user forces a sync, this will sort itself out but is sub-optimal for first logins as the sync won't happen until next launch.

This in turn is causing the two reported bugs:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1344664
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1344717

[1] https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=13354
[2] https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-ios/blob/master/Client/Frontend/Settings/SettingsTableViewController.swift#L368 & https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-ios/blob/master/Providers/Profile.swift#L556

Comment 1

[Ryan Kelly [:rfkelly]]

> Once that account is verified there is _no way for the server to tell the client_.

On desktop we solve this with a combination of:

* Registering a device record with push callback (which can be done before verification completes) and listening for a push message.
* Polling the FxA server to ask whether the sessionToken has been verified.

A bit of light polling might be the easiest option until push is up and running.

Comment 2

[Stephan Leroux [:sleroux]]

> Registering a device record with push callback (which can be done before verification completes) and listening for a push message.

I think that's the end goal for iOS once we land some of the push work for send tab.

> Polling the FxA server to ask whether the sessionToken has been verified.

This would be a good option in the interim. We might be able to find a clever way of timing the poll to closely coincide with when the user expects the sync to occur.

Comment 3

[Gabriel Luong [:gl] (ΦωΦ)]

Attachment: Bug 1345597 - Add a check for the inspector toolbox when checking if the grid inspector or box model is visible.

Review commit: https://reviewboard.mozilla.org/r/118782/diff/#index_header
See other reviews: https://reviewboard.mozilla.org/r/118782/

Comment 4

[Gabriel Luong [:gl] (ΦωΦ)]

Comment on attachment 8845650 [details]
Bug 1345597 - Add a check for the inspector toolbox when checking if the grid inspector or box model is visible.

Wrong Bug Number :X

Comment 5

[Stephan Leroux [:sleroux]]

Well need to be careful to make sure we poll at the 3 points we sign in from: Home panel, intro tour, and settings

Comment 8

[Stefan Arentz | :st3fan | ⏰ EST | he/him]

I don't think this is urgent enough to deal with for 7.x. Moving back to triage to talk about that.

Comment 10

[James Hugman [:jhugman] [@jhugman]]

Attachment: Link to Github pull-request: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-ios/pull/2672

Comment 11

[Stefan Arentz | :st3fan | ⏰ EST | he/him]

This shipped for 8.0