title: Firebase: How can I ensure compatibility with various versions of Google Play Services?
body: <p>I want to incorporate messaging/Push notifications in my Android App and since FCM is the newest version recommended, I just checked the Firebase prerequisites and it says,</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p><strong>Prerequisites</strong></p>
    
    <ul>
    <li><p>A device running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or newer, and    Google Play services 10.2.0 or higher</p></li>
    <li><p>The Google Play services SDK from the Google Repository, available in    the Android SDK Manager</p></li>
    <li><p>The latest version of Android Studio, version 1.5 or higher</p></li>
    </ul>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>But, it isn't so that all the devices running ICS will have Google Play Services >= 10.2.0. Infact, this is the latest version of it. So, if I decide to go with FCM, all the devices having Play Services &lt;= 10.2.0 will be out of my reach. If then I decide to bump the version down, Firebase doesn't seem to support any.</p>
  
  <p>I want to use Firebase's and Google Play Services newest features and extend my support for devices running Google Play services >= 9.0.0. </p>
  
  <p>This seems to be a fundamental problem with any library. Android provides Support library to mitigate this.</p>
  
  <p>What is the recommended approach to support all these Play Services versions?</p>