diff --git a/docs/index.md b/docs/index.md
index 09d8b85379..027c12042d 100644
--- a/docs/index.md
+++ b/docs/index.md
@@ -267,10 +267,10 @@ React Native Firebase internally sets the versions of the native SDKs which each
 is tested against a fixed set of SDK versions (e.g. Firebase SDKs), allowing us to be confident that every feature the
 library supports is working as expected.
 
-Sometimes it's required to change these versions to play nicely with other React Native libraries; therefore we allow
+Sometimes it's required to change these versions to play nicely with other React Native libraries or to work around temporary build failures; therefore we allow
 manually overriding these native SDK versions.
 
-> Using your own SDK versions is generally not recommended as it can lead to breaking changes in your application. Proceed with caution.
+> Using your own SDK versions is not recommended and not supported as it can lead to unexpected build failures when new react-native-firebase versions are released that expect to use new SDK versions. Proceed with caution and remove these overrides as soon as possible when no longer needed.
 
 #### Android
 
@@ -305,11 +305,13 @@ Open your projects `/ios/Podfile` and add any of the globals shown below to the
 
 ```ruby
 # Override Firebase SDK Version
-$FirebaseSDKVersion = '11.4.0'
+$FirebaseSDKVersion = '11.5.0'
 ```
 
 Once changed, reinstall your projects pods via pod install and rebuild your project with `npx react-native run-ios`.
 
+Alternatively, if you cannot edit the Podfile easily (as when using Expo), you may add the environment variable `FIREBASE_SDK_VERSION=11.5.0` (or whatever version you need) to the command line that installs pods. For example `FIREBASE_SDK_VERSION=11.5.0 yarn expo prebuild --clean`
+
 ### Increasing Android build memory
 
 As you add more Firebase modules, there is an incredible demand placed on the Android build system, and the default memory
diff --git a/packages/app/RNFBApp.podspec b/packages/app/RNFBApp.podspec
index 2a907161ed..d37d9e4b99 100644
--- a/packages/app/RNFBApp.podspec
+++ b/packages/app/RNFBApp.podspec
@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@ Pod::Spec.new do |s|
   # React Native dependencies
   s.dependency          'React-Core'
 
+  if (ENV.include?('FIREBASE_SDK_VERSION'))
+    Pod::UI.puts "#{s.name}: Found Firebase SDK version in environment '#{ENV['FIREBASE_SDK_VERSION']}'"
+    $FirebaseSDKVersion = ENV['FIREBASE_SDK_VERSION']
+  end
+
   if defined?($FirebaseSDKVersion)
     Pod::UI.puts "#{s.name}: Using user specified Firebase SDK version '#{$FirebaseSDKVersion}'"
     firebase_sdk_version = $FirebaseSDKVersion