diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 31e9541dba7..598a7563119 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 - Deduplicate events happening in multiple threads simultaneously (e.g. `OutOfMemoryError`) ([#2845](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-java/pull/2845))
   - This will improve Crash-Free Session Rate as we no longer will send multiple Session updates with `Crashed` status, but only the one that is relevant
+- Ensure no Java 8 method reference sugar is used for Android ([#2857](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-java/pull/2857))
 
 ## 6.26.0
 
diff --git a/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/ANRWatchDog.java b/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/ANRWatchDog.java
index 04c18df910c..88075a45519 100644
--- a/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/ANRWatchDog.java
+++ b/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/ANRWatchDog.java
@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@ final class ANRWatchDog extends Thread {
       @NotNull ANRListener listener,
       @NotNull ILogger logger,
       final @NotNull Context context) {
+    // avoid method refs on Android due to some issues with older AGP setups
+    // noinspection Convert2MethodRef
     this(
         () -> SystemClock.uptimeMillis(),
         timeoutIntervalMillis,
diff --git a/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/AppLifecycleIntegration.java b/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/AppLifecycleIntegration.java
index a6fc0c4721a..7f4724967f4 100644
--- a/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/AppLifecycleIntegration.java
+++ b/sentry-android-core/src/main/java/io/sentry/android/core/AppLifecycleIntegration.java
@@ -130,6 +130,8 @@ public void close() throws IOException {
     } else {
       // some versions of the androidx lifecycle-process require this to be executed on the main
       // thread.
+      // avoid method refs on Android due to some issues with older AGP setups
+      // noinspection Convert2MethodRef
       handler.post(() -> removeObserver());
     }
   }
diff --git a/sentry/src/main/java/io/sentry/HostnameCache.java b/sentry/src/main/java/io/sentry/HostnameCache.java
index 9de35ee1f03..bacc8c04d96 100644
--- a/sentry/src/main/java/io/sentry/HostnameCache.java
+++ b/sentry/src/main/java/io/sentry/HostnameCache.java
@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ private HostnameCache() {
   }
 
   HostnameCache(long cacheDuration) {
+    // avoid method refs on Android due to some issues with older AGP setups
+    // noinspection Convert2MethodRef
     this(cacheDuration, () -> InetAddress.getLocalHost());
   }
 
diff --git a/sentry/src/main/java/io/sentry/JsonObjectDeserializer.java b/sentry/src/main/java/io/sentry/JsonObjectDeserializer.java
index b015a95bb03..e7753d44ea7 100644
--- a/sentry/src/main/java/io/sentry/JsonObjectDeserializer.java
+++ b/sentry/src/main/java/io/sentry/JsonObjectDeserializer.java
@@ -103,13 +103,17 @@ private void parse(@NotNull JsonObjectReader reader) throws IOException {
         pushCurrentToken(new TokenName(reader.nextName()));
         break;
       case STRING:
-        done = handlePrimitive(reader::nextString);
+        // avoid method refs on Android due to some issues with older AGP setups
+        // noinspection Convert2MethodRef
+        done = handlePrimitive(() -> reader.nextString());
         break;
       case NUMBER:
         done = handlePrimitive(() -> nextNumber(reader));
         break;
       case BOOLEAN:
-        done = handlePrimitive(reader::nextBoolean);
+        // avoid method refs on Android due to some issues with older AGP setups
+        // noinspection Convert2MethodRef
+        done = handlePrimitive(() -> reader.nextBoolean());
         break;
       case NULL:
         reader.nextNull();
diff --git a/sentry/src/main/java/io/sentry/SentryEnvelopeItem.java b/sentry/src/main/java/io/sentry/SentryEnvelopeItem.java
index 595fcb17057..f095dea15bc 100644
--- a/sentry/src/main/java/io/sentry/SentryEnvelopeItem.java
+++ b/sentry/src/main/java/io/sentry/SentryEnvelopeItem.java
@@ -87,7 +87,8 @@ public final class SentryEnvelopeItem {
         new SentryEnvelopeItemHeader(
             SentryItemType.Session, () -> cachedItem.getBytes().length, "application/json", null);
 
-    // Don't use method reference. This can cause issues on Android
+    // avoid method refs on Android due to some issues with older AGP setups
+    // noinspection Convert2MethodRef
     return new SentryEnvelopeItem(itemHeader, () -> cachedItem.getBytes());
   }
 
@@ -124,7 +125,8 @@ public final class SentryEnvelopeItem {
             "application/json",
             null);
 
-    // Don't use method reference. This can cause issues on Android
+    // avoid method refs on Android due to some issues with older AGP setups
+    // noinspection Convert2MethodRef
     return new SentryEnvelopeItem(itemHeader, () -> cachedItem.getBytes());
   }
 
@@ -161,7 +163,8 @@ public static SentryEnvelopeItem fromUserFeedback(
             "application/json",
             null);
 
-    // Don't use method reference. This can cause issues on Android
+    // avoid method refs on Android due to some issues with older AGP setups
+    // noinspection Convert2MethodRef
     return new SentryEnvelopeItem(itemHeader, () -> cachedItem.getBytes());
   }
 
@@ -206,7 +209,8 @@ public static SentryEnvelopeItem fromAttachment(
             attachment.getFilename(),
             attachment.getAttachmentType());
 
-    // Don't use method reference. This can cause issues on Android
+    // avoid method refs on Android due to some issues with older AGP setups
+    // noinspection Convert2MethodRef
     return new SentryEnvelopeItem(itemHeader, () -> cachedItem.getBytes());
   }
 
@@ -271,7 +275,8 @@ private static void ensureAttachmentSizeLimit(
             "application-json",
             traceFile.getName());
 
-    // Don't use method reference. This can cause issues on Android
+    // avoid method refs on Android due to some issues with older AGP setups
+    // noinspection Convert2MethodRef
     return new SentryEnvelopeItem(itemHeader, () -> cachedItem.getBytes());
   }
 
@@ -340,7 +345,8 @@ private static byte[] readBytesFromFile(String pathname, long maxFileLength)
             "application/json",
             null);
 
-    // Don't use method reference. This can cause issues on Android
+    // avoid method refs on Android due to some issues with older AGP setups
+    // noinspection Convert2MethodRef
     return new SentryEnvelopeItem(itemHeader, () -> cachedItem.getBytes());
   }