diff --git a/android/build.gradle b/android/build.gradle
index 50350dd..0f13626 100644
--- a/android/build.gradle
+++ b/android/build.gradle
@@ -1,22 +1,27 @@
 buildscript {
     repositories {
         jcenter()
+        google()        
     }
 
     dependencies {
-        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:1.3.1'
+        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.1.4'
     }
 }
 
 apply plugin: 'com.android.library'
 
+def safeExtGet(prop, fallback) {
+    rootProject.ext.has(prop) ? rootProject.ext.get(prop) : fallback
+}
+
 android {
-    compileSdkVersion 23
-    buildToolsVersion "23.0.1"
+    compileSdkVersion safeExtGet("compileSdkVersion", 26)
+    buildToolsVersion safeExtGet("buildToolsVersion", "27.0.3")
 
     defaultConfig {
-        minSdkVersion 16
-        targetSdkVersion 22
+        minSdkVersion safeExtGet("minSdkVersion", 16)
+        targetSdkVersion safeExtGet("targetSdkVersion", 26)
         versionCode 1
         versionName "1.0"
     }
@@ -25,6 +30,10 @@ android {
     }
 }
 
+repositories {
+    mavenCentral()
+}
+
 dependencies {
-    compile 'com.facebook.react:react-native:+'
+    implementation "com.facebook.react:react-native:${safeExtGet("reactNative", "+")}" // from node_modules
 }