diff --git a/packages/firestore/android/src/main/java/io/invertase/firebase/firestore/UniversalFirebaseFirestoreCommon.java b/packages/firestore/android/src/main/java/io/invertase/firebase/firestore/UniversalFirebaseFirestoreCommon.java
index b241b9344c..7d9c673b5c 100644
--- a/packages/firestore/android/src/main/java/io/invertase/firebase/firestore/UniversalFirebaseFirestoreCommon.java
+++ b/packages/firestore/android/src/main/java/io/invertase/firebase/firestore/UniversalFirebaseFirestoreCommon.java
@@ -26,10 +26,14 @@
 import io.invertase.firebase.app.ReactNativeFirebaseVersion;
 import io.invertase.firebase.common.UniversalFirebasePreferences;
 import java.lang.ref.WeakReference;
-import java.util.WeakHashMap;
+import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 
 public class UniversalFirebaseFirestoreCommon {
-  static WeakHashMap<String, WeakReference<FirebaseFirestore>> instanceCache = new WeakHashMap<>();
+  // Values are already wrapped in WeakReference, so a WeakHashMap (weak keys) is not needed here
+  // and is actively harmful: firestoreKey is a freshly concatenated String with no other strong
+  // reference, so it would be eligible for GC almost immediately, evicting the cache entry.
+  static ConcurrentHashMap<String, WeakReference<FirebaseFirestore>> instanceCache =
+      new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
 
   static String createFirestoreKey(String appName, String databaseId) {
     return appName + ":" + databaseId;
@@ -50,7 +54,7 @@ static FirebaseFirestore getFirestoreForApp(String appName, String databaseId) {
 
     setFirestoreSettings(instance, firestoreKey);
 
-    instanceCache.put(appName, new WeakReference<FirebaseFirestore>(instance));
+    instanceCache.put(firestoreKey, new WeakReference<FirebaseFirestore>(instance));
 
     return instance;
   }
diff --git a/packages/firestore/e2e/issues.e2e.js b/packages/firestore/e2e/issues.e2e.js
index a01b6c4374..4a78f7f0d7 100644
--- a/packages/firestore/e2e/issues.e2e.js
+++ b/packages/firestore/e2e/issues.e2e.js
@@ -124,6 +124,77 @@ describe('firestore()', function () {
       });
     });
 
+    describe('issue 8981 - android firestore instance cache key mismatch', function () {
+      // A real, already-provisioned second database in the test project - see
+      // packages/firestore/e2e/SecondDatabase/*.e2e.js.
+      const SECOND_DATABASE_ID = 'second-rnfb';
+
+      it('does not throw when switching databases on the same app and reapplying settings', async function () {
+        if (Platform.other) {
+          // Not supported on web lite sdk - no persistent native instance cache to break
+          return;
+        }
+
+        const { initializeApp, deleteApp } = modular;
+        const { getFirestore, doc, setDoc, getDoc } = firestoreModular;
+
+        // A dedicated, dynamically created app guarantees Firestore instances that have
+        // never been started before this test runs.
+        const appName = `firestoreIssue8981${FirebaseHelpers.id}`;
+        const app = await initializeApp(FirebaseHelpers.app.config(), appName);
+
+        try {
+          // Same app, two different database IDs.
+          //
+          // Regression test for https://github.com/invertase/react-native-firebase/issues/8981:
+          // on Android, `UniversalFirebaseFirestoreCommon.getFirestoreForApp()` read the
+          // instance cache keyed by `appName:databaseId` but wrote it back keyed by
+          // `appName` alone. Both databases therefore collided on a single cache slot
+          // that could never actually be hit on lookup (which always includes the
+          // `:databaseId` suffix) - switching from one database to another and back
+          // never protects either instance's settings from being re-derived.
+          const defaultDb = getFirestore(app);
+          const secondDb = getFirestore(app, SECOND_DATABASE_ID);
+
+          // Start the default database with an initial settings value.
+          await defaultDb.settings({ cacheSizeBytes: 1048576 });
+          await setDoc(doc(defaultDb, `${COLLECTION}/issue8981/default`), { value: 1 });
+
+          // Switch to the second database under the *same* app and start it too - this
+          // is the "different db ID hitting the same app" half of the bug: both native
+          // calls are keyed by the same broken, appName-only cache slot.
+          await secondDb.settings({ cacheSizeBytes: 2097152 });
+          await setDoc(doc(secondDb, `${COLLECTION}/issue8981/second`), { value: 2 });
+
+          // Switch back to the default database and reapply *different* settings to an
+          // already-started instance. Android's `FirebaseFirestore.setFirestoreSettings()`
+          // only throws when the newly-derived settings actually differ from what's
+          // already active (identical settings passed repeatedly are an explicit no-op
+          // in the native SDK) - so this value change is what deterministically triggers
+          // `IllegalStateException: FirebaseFirestore has already been started...` before
+          // the fix, once the cache-miss-on-every-call bug re-applies it natively.
+          await defaultDb.settings({ cacheSizeBytes: 5242880 });
+          await setDoc(doc(defaultDb, `${COLLECTION}/issue8981/default`), { value: 3 });
+
+          const [snap1, snap2] = await Promise.all([
+            getDoc(doc(defaultDb, `${COLLECTION}/issue8981/default`)),
+            getDoc(doc(secondDb, `${COLLECTION}/issue8981/second`)),
+          ]);
+          snap1.data().value.should.equal(3);
+          snap2.data().value.should.equal(2);
+        } catch (e) {
+          // Fail explicitly with the regression context rather than letting the native
+          // `IllegalStateException` (surfaced here as a rejected promise) bubble up with a
+          // generic message - see https://github.com/invertase/react-native-firebase/issues/8981.
+          fail(
+            `Regression in issue 8981: switching database on the same app and reapplying settings should not throw, but got: ${e}`,
+          );
+        } finally {
+          await deleteApp(app);
+        }
+      });
+    });
+
     describe('number type consistency', function () {
       before(async function () {
         // FIXME: