diff --git a/android/build.gradle b/android/build.gradle
index 101b4e07..392a39a9 100644
--- a/android/build.gradle
+++ b/android/build.gradle
@@ -14,13 +14,17 @@ buildscript {
 apply plugin: 'com.android.library'
 apply plugin: 'maven'
 
+def safeExtGet(prop, fallback) {
+    rootProject.ext.has(prop) ? rootProject.ext.get(prop) : fallback
+}
+
 android {
-    compileSdkVersion 26
-    buildToolsVersion "26.0.3"
+    compileSdkVersion safeExtGet('compileSdkVersion', 26)
+    buildToolsVersion safeExtGet('buildToolsVersion', '26.0.3')
 
     defaultConfig {
-        minSdkVersion 16
-        targetSdkVersion 22
+        minSdkVersion safeExtGet('minSdkVersion', 16)
+        targetSdkVersion safeExtGet('targetSdkVersion', 22)
         versionCode 1
         versionName "1.0"
     }
@@ -40,8 +44,8 @@ repositories {
 }
 
 dependencies {
-    compile 'com.facebook.react:react-native:+'
-    compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:26.+'
+    implementation 'com.facebook.react:react-native:+'
+    implementation  "com.android.support:appcompat-v7:${safeExtGet('supportLibVersion', '26.+')}"
 }
 
 def configureReactNativePom(def pom) {