diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f88b23b..a8a8311 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ firebase-debug.log
 /flutter/fastlane/Preview.html
 # "scan" action temporary files.
 /flutter/fastlane/test_output
+# fastlane updates the README templates way too often, resulting in CI failures.
+/**/fastlane/README.md
 
 # File created by "flutter generate".
 /flutter/.packages.generated
diff --git a/.vscode/settings.json b/.vscode/settings.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..35cdb86
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.vscode/settings.json
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+  "dart.flutterSdkPath": "flutter/.flutter"
+}
diff --git a/fastlane/Fastfile b/fastlane/Fastfile
index 1983838..171cb52 100644
--- a/fastlane/Fastfile
+++ b/fastlane/Fastfile
@@ -18,20 +18,11 @@ lane :update do
   update_analysis_options
   Dir.chdir('..') do
     Dir.chdir('flutter') do
-      # This will automatically upgrade flutter, if necessary. It won't run
-      # "flutter update-packages", but we don't need it.
-      flutter_root = flutter_bootstrap(flutter_channel: 'stable')
-
-      # Copy over .gitignore from official templates.
-      FileUtils.cp(
-        File.join(
-          flutter_root,
-          'packages/flutter_tools/templates/app/.gitignore.tmpl',
-        ),
-        '.gitignore',
-      )
-
       Dir.chdir('fastlane') do
+        # This will automatically upgrade flutter, if necessary. It won't run
+        # "flutter update-packages", but we don't need it.
+        flutter_bootstrap(flutter_channel: 'stable')
+
         # Upgrade current application packages (within pubspec.yaml spec).
         flutter(args: %w(packages upgrade))
       end
@@ -44,7 +35,9 @@ lane :update do
       if RUBY_PLATFORM.include? 'darwin'
         # These files will be automatically re-generated by the build.
         podfile_path = 'ios/Podfile'
-        File.delete(podfile_path, "#{podfile_path}.lock")
+        [podfile_path, "#{podfile_path}.lock"].each do |fn|
+          File.delete(fn) if File.exist?(fn)
+        end
         Dir.chdir('fastlane') do
           flutter_build(
             build: 'ios',
@@ -136,7 +129,9 @@ INFO
 
     project_id = "#{product}-debug-#{_github_fork_name()}"
     sh %w(npm install)
-    Dir.chdir('functions') { sh %w(npm install) }
+    if File.directory?('functions')
+      Dir.chdir('functions') { sh %w(npm install) }
+    end
     fastlane_require 'shellwords'
     # Give Firebase login interactive mode and do not crop lines.
     exec %W(npm start -- #{project_id}).shelljoin
diff --git a/flutter/fastlane/Fastfile b/flutter/fastlane/Fastfile
index 73b2d10..7e265e2 100644
--- a/flutter/fastlane/Fastfile
+++ b/flutter/fastlane/Fastfile
@@ -281,6 +281,12 @@ platform :ios do
       if lane_context[SharedValues::PROMOTE_RELEASE]
         retry_on_exception do
           upload_to_app_store(
+            # Publishing to AppStore fails with message
+            # Precheck cannot check In-app purchases with the App Store
+            # Connect API Key
+            # Therefore we set this property to false as described here:
+            # https://github.com/fastlane/fastlane/issues/18250
+            precheck_include_in_app_purchases: false,
             app_identifier: APP_IDENTIFIER,
             overwrite_screenshots: true,
             submit_for_review: true,