diff --git a/libs/binder/include/binder/IServiceManager.h b/libs/binder/include/binder/IServiceManager.h
index ea40db8..bb55831 100644
--- a/libs/binder/include/binder/IServiceManager.h
+++ b/libs/binder/include/binder/IServiceManager.h
@@ -56,8 +56,16 @@
     static const int DUMP_FLAG_PROTO = 1 << 4;
 
     /**
-     * Retrieve an existing service, blocking for a few seconds
-     * if it doesn't yet exist.
+     * Retrieve an existing service, blocking for a few seconds if it doesn't yet exist. This
+     * does polling. A more efficient way to make sure you unblock as soon as the service is
+     * available is to use waitForService or to use service notifications.
+     *
+     * Warning: when using this API, typically, you should call it in a loop. It's dangerous to
+     * assume that nullptr could mean that the service is not available. The service could just
+     * be starting. Generally, whether a service exists, this information should be declared
+     * externally (for instance, an Android feature might imply the existence of a service,
+     * a system property, or in the case of services in the VINTF manifest, it can be checked
+     * with isDeclared).
      */
     virtual sp<IBinder>         getService( const String16& name) const = 0;
 
diff --git a/libs/binder/ndk/include_platform/android/binder_manager.h b/libs/binder/ndk/include_platform/android/binder_manager.h
index 2a66941..dfa8ea2 100644
--- a/libs/binder/ndk/include_platform/android/binder_manager.h
+++ b/libs/binder/ndk/include_platform/android/binder_manager.h
@@ -53,11 +53,19 @@
 /**
  * Gets a binder object with this specific instance name. Blocks for a couple of seconds waiting on
  * it. This also implicitly calls AIBinder_incStrong (so the caller of this function is responsible
- * for calling AIBinder_decStrong).
+ * for calling AIBinder_decStrong). This does polling. A more efficient way to make sure you
+ * unblock as soon as the service is available is to use AIBinder_waitForService.
  *
  * WARNING: when using this API across an APEX boundary, do not use with unstable
  * AIDL services. TODO(b/139325195)
  *
+ * WARNING: when using this API, typically, you should call it in a loop. It's dangerous to
+ * assume that nullptr could mean that the service is not available. The service could just
+ * be starting. Generally, whether a service exists, this information should be declared
+ * externally (for instance, an Android feature might imply the existence of a service,
+ * a system property, or in the case of services in the VINTF manifest, it can be checked
+ * with AServiceManager_isDeclared).
+ *
  * \param instance identifier of the service used to lookup the service.
  */
 __attribute__((warn_unused_result)) AIBinder* AServiceManager_getService(const char* instance)