[SDK 55] fetch(fileUri) failing on Android with "Network request failed" after upgrading to Expo 55 / RN 0.83

Hi everyone,

I recently upgraded my project from Expo SDK 53 (RN 0.79.5) to Expo SDK 55 (RN 0.83.4), and I’m hitting a breaking issue specifically on Android 12+.

I have a piece of code that tries to convert a local audio recording URI to a Blob using fetch():

const blobResponse = await fetch(audioRecorder.uri); 
// audioRecorder.uri is a local file:// path

The Issue:

• On iOS: It works perfectly as before.
• On Android: It throws the following error: ERROR Failed to create note: [TypeError: Network request failed]

Trace:
The error originates from fetch.umd.js:

566 |   xhr.onerror = function() {
567 |     reject(new TypeError('Network request failed')); // <--- Fails here
568 |   };

My questions:

1. Has anyone else encountered this after upgrading to SDK 55/RN 0.83?
2. Is there a new recommended way to convert a local file URI to a Blob/ArrayBuffer without using fetch?
3. Does the New Architecture require a specific configuration to allow local file access via XHR/fetch?

I'm looking for a solution that doesn't break the existing logic for both platforms. Any help or workaround would be greatly appreciated!

Environment:

• Expo SDK 55
• React Native 0.83.4
• Android 12 (API 31)