diff --git a/android/build.gradle b/android/build.gradle
index 5a6873c4..7c341464 100644
--- a/android/build.gradle
+++ b/android/build.gradle
@@ -1,22 +1,30 @@
+def safeExtGet(prop, fallback) {
+    rootProject.ext.has(prop) ? rootProject.ext.get(prop) : fallback
+}
+
 buildscript {
     repositories {
+        maven {
+            url 'https://maven.google.com/'
+            name 'Google'
+        }
         jcenter()
     }
 
     dependencies {
-        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:1.3.0'
+        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.1.4'
     }
 }
 
 apply plugin: 'com.android.library'
 
 android {
-    compileSdkVersion 23
-    buildToolsVersion "23.0.1"
+    compileSdkVersion safeExtGet('compileSdkVersion', 26)
+    buildToolsVersion safeExtGet('buildToolsVersion', '26.0.3')
 
     defaultConfig {
-        minSdkVersion 16
-        targetSdkVersion 22
+        minSdkVersion safeExtGet('minSdkVersion', 16)
+        targetSdkVersion safeExtGet('targetSdkVersion', 26)
         versionCode 1
         versionName "1.0"
     }
@@ -30,5 +38,5 @@ repositories {
 }
 
 dependencies {
-    compile 'com.facebook.react:react-native:+' // from node_modules
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+    implementation "com.facebook.react:react-native:${safeExtGet('reactNativeVersion', '+')}"
+}