How to have a faster MetaMask experience approving Tokens

TLDR; Read this to find out how to change the RPC URL setting in your Metamask wallet to get more consistent access to Polygon when making approvals in marketplaces. It takes less than 5 minutes and will help with all Polygon projects.

Background - Hawku and approvals.

The very first time you use the Hawku Marketplace you need to grant the marketplace Hawku Uses (0x Protocol) approvals so it can handle the completions of your orders.  This is the one step that requires you to be on the Polygon network and submit transactions.   Afterwards all transactions can be on either network.

Unfortunately, the URL that Metamask uses to connect to Polygon (https://polygon-rpc.com) has been having problems as of late so it has become very hard to do transactions on the site.  As a result, we are encouraging people to switch the RPC to a more reliable provider.  It's free and takes 5 minutes and you only need to do it one time.  And yes, assuming you pick a reputable provider - they are as safe as polygon-rpc (whom you've probably never heard of before this blog post anyways).

Can I pick my own an RPC?

Yes. There are about 7 RPC URLs for Polygon. If you want good performance, we'd recommend a commercial company like Infura, Alchemy or Chainstack. They are free for consumer use but do require you to set up an account.

Just make it simple.  How do I make this Metamask problem go away!  

Here's the step by step process to change your URL to an Alchemy URL which is free.   Once you change, your Polygon experience will get much better.  We'll use Alchemy as our example but you can use plenty of others.

Step 1: Go to www.alchemy.com and click on Start Now

Step 2: Fill out the signup form.

Step 3: Look in your inbox to confirm your email

Step 4: Choose Ethereum as ecosystem

Step 5: Set up a new app.  Make up names for your company and app. Have fun with it.

Most importantly, make sure to select POLYGON MAINNET as your network

Step 6: Unless you want to pay money, choose Free Forever

Step 7: Click Skip now multiple times....

Step 8: For Scaling policy choose "Capped Capacity"

Step 9: For How Did you hear about us, say "Hawku" or copy the url for this post.  Or put whatever you want.

Step 10: It's go time!  Grab the HTTP URL and Copy It

Step 11: Open your Metamask, click the circle on the right side and then click Settings followed by Networks.  Choose the Network that says Polygon (or MATIC).  You want Mainnet if you have two.  

You will get to this screen:

Step 12. Replace the New RPC URL with the http link from Alchemy you copied and press save.

You did it! Time to celebrate (and get back to the Hawku Marketplace to buy and sell!).

Your experience should now be much faster on Polygon.

If you like this post, please share it with others (or just have them use the Hawku Marketplace).

Troubleshooting...

Help! It Won't Let Me Save!
Some people have had problems saving the URL to MetaMask.  The solution around this is to delete the Network and re-write it.  To do that, click "Delete Network" to delete the existing network.  Then Add a Network and include the following fields:

Network Name: Polygon Mainnet
RPC URL: <Your Alchemy URL or https://polygon-rpc.com>
Chain Id: 137
Currency Symbol: MATIC
Block Explorer URL: polygonscan.com

Note: Hawku does not get any compensation from this. We just want people to have a better experience when buying and selling.

Happy shopping!