diff --git a/android/app/build.gradle.kts b/android/app/build.gradle.kts
index 552480f0..e3955e2f 100644
--- a/android/app/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/android/app/build.gradle.kts
@@ -1,7 +1,23 @@
+import java.util.Properties
+
 plugins {
     alias(libs.plugins.android.application)
 }
 
+val localProperties = Properties().apply {
+    val file = rootProject.file("local.properties")
+    if (file.exists()) {
+        file.inputStream().use { load(it) }
+    }
+}
+
+fun quoted(value: String): String = "\"$value\""
+
+val emulatorBackendUrl =
+    (localProperties.getProperty("petstore.backend.emulatorUrl") ?: "http://10.0.2.2:8080/").trim()
+val deviceBackendUrl =
+    (localProperties.getProperty("petstore.backend.deviceUrl") ?: "http://10.0.0.200:8080/").trim()
+
 android {
     namespace = "com.example.petstoremobile"
     compileSdk = 36
@@ -14,6 +30,13 @@ android {
         versionName = "1.0"
 
         testInstrumentationRunner = "androidx.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
+
+        buildConfigField("String", "EMULATOR_BACKEND_URL", quoted(emulatorBackendUrl))
+        buildConfigField("String", "DEVICE_BACKEND_URL", quoted(deviceBackendUrl))
+    }
+
+    buildFeatures {
+        buildConfig = true
     }
 
     buildTypes {
@@ -62,4 +85,4 @@ dependencies {
     testImplementation(libs.junit)
     androidTestImplementation(libs.ext.junit)
     androidTestImplementation(libs.espresso.core)
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/android/app/src/main/java/com/example/petstoremobile/api/RetrofitClient.java b/android/app/src/main/java/com/example/petstoremobile/api/RetrofitClient.java
index 3a93deb2..b08af532 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/java/com/example/petstoremobile/api/RetrofitClient.java
+++ b/android/app/src/main/java/com/example/petstoremobile/api/RetrofitClient.java
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ package com.example.petstoremobile.api;
 
 import android.content.Context;
 import android.os.Build;
+import android.util.Log;
 
+import com.example.petstoremobile.BuildConfig;
 import com.example.petstoremobile.api.auth.AuthApi;
 import com.example.petstoremobile.api.auth.AuthInterceptor;
 
@@ -15,22 +17,28 @@ import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 
 //Retrofit client Used for API calls
 public class RetrofitClient {
+    private static final String TAG = "RetrofitClient";
     public static final String BASE_URL = getBaseUrl();
 
     // Helper function to determine BASE_URL based on whether we are testing on an emulator or a real device
     private static String getBaseUrl() {
-        if (Build.FINGERPRINT.contains("generic")
-                || Build.FINGERPRINT.contains("unknown")
+        String url = isEmulator() ? BuildConfig.EMULATOR_BACKEND_URL : BuildConfig.DEVICE_BACKEND_URL;
+        Log.i(TAG, "Using backend URL: " + url + " (emulator=" + isEmulator() + ")");
+        return url;
+    }
+
+    private static boolean isEmulator() {
+        return Build.FINGERPRINT.startsWith("generic")
+                || Build.FINGERPRINT.startsWith("unknown")
                 || Build.MODEL.contains("google_sdk")
                 || Build.MODEL.contains("Emulator")
                 || Build.MODEL.contains("Android SDK built for x86")
                 || Build.MANUFACTURER.contains("Genymotion")
-                || (Build.BRAND.startsWith("generic") && Build.DEVICE.startsWith("generic"))
-                || "google_sdk".equals(Build.PRODUCT)) {
-            return "http://10.0.2.2:8080/"; //emulator testing
-        } else {
-            return "http://10.0.0.200:8080/"; //Hardware testing
-        }
+                || Build.HARDWARE.contains("goldfish")
+                || Build.HARDWARE.contains("ranchu")
+                || Build.PRODUCT.contains("sdk")
+                || Build.PRODUCT.contains("sdk_gphone")
+                || (Build.BRAND.startsWith("generic") && Build.DEVICE.startsWith("generic"));
     }
 
     private static Retrofit retrofit = null;
@@ -123,4 +131,4 @@ public class RetrofitClient {
         return getClient(context).create(CategoryApi.class);
     }
 
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/android/local.properties.template b/android/local.properties.template
index 788baf64..e41a73bc 100644
--- a/android/local.properties.template
+++ b/android/local.properties.template
@@ -9,3 +9,10 @@
 # Copy this file to local.properties and update the path below:
 
 sdk.dir=/path/to/your/android/sdk
+
+# Optional backend overrides for Android development:
+# Emulator default should usually stay 10.0.2.2 for the local machine.
+petstore.backend.emulatorUrl=http\://10.0.2.2\:8080/
+
+# Physical device example. Replace with the machine IP running the backend.
+petstore.backend.deviceUrl=http\://10.0.0.200\:8080/