Android - How do I detect that my app has lost internet connection although i'm still connected to WiFi

Question

I have an Application that has one feature that tells users when they are online/offline. But there is a case that fails completely.

I've searched all the web (searched correctly I hope) for a solution for my problem, but never really found one. The use case is the following:

Pre-conditions:

• Android device
• Wi-Fi

Description of the problem:

1 - I'm connected to a wireless router
2 - The router is connected to the internet
3 - For some reason the router looses connection to the internet (I'm still connected to the router but it doesn't have connection to the Internet)

Problem:

• I've tried to use a Broadcast Receiver with different types of actions, but they are all triggered ONLY when WiFi connection is lost/connected... NOT when WiFi does not offer web access.

What I need:

• I need to catch (if possible) an event that tells me "Hey, your internet status have changed", so that I can check if I can access.

Answer 1

I think what you want/need to do is to create a background service, configured to run periodically using the AlarmManager, that will check whether a reliable network resource is available (i.e. ping a server that you trust to be online all the time).

If your ping action succeeds than you are online and connected to the internet; if it fails then you're connected but not online.

There is a compromise you will have to make between accuracy (frequency of checks) and performance with respect to battery life because waking up the service and making a web request will not be easy on the battery if you do it all the time.