Hello have you experienced this error after generate an apk with command ./gradlew assembleDebug
??
I just see this error after download the apk on my android phone...
"react-native": "~0.61.5",
The apk that you built is still debug version.
./gradlew assembleDebug
Thats why it still need the metro server to debug and run normally.
If you want to test out a release version of the apk you need to build and run the apk in release mode:
Either, build a signed apk https://reactnative.dev/docs/signed-apk-android or
Let react native run a release variant on your device(you may still need metro server)
react-native run-android --variant=release
If the above command doesn't work try:
react-native run-android --configuration=release