Simulate slow network on Android simulator

Question

I'm building an app that uses AsyncTask to display a progress bar when it's performing network operation (Google translate). However, the problem is that I can't tell if it's working since the network is too fast and it finishes running the operation as soon as I start it. So is there a way to simulate a slow network so that I can tell if the progress bar will actually run (visible) when it's waiting for the operation to be completed? I have come across network options when creating an Android emulator. However, there are so many abbreviations that I still have trouble understanding what indicates slow network connection and I'm still not sure if that is how I should set a slow network connection.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

The emulator lets you simulate various network conditions. You can approximate the network speed for different network protocols, or you can specify Full, which transfers data as quickly as your computer allows.

Specifying a network protocol is always slower than Full. You can also specify the voice and data network status, such as roaming. The defaults are set in the AVD.

Select a Network type:

• GSM - Global System for Mobile Communications
• HSCSD - High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data
• GPRS - Generic Packet Radio Service
• EDGE - Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution
• UMTS - Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
• HSPDA - High-Speed Downlink Packet Access
• Full (default)

Speeds for reference in increasing kbps:

                        UP       DOWN                   -------- ---------- gsm   GSM/CSD         14.4       14.4 hscsd HSCSD           14.4       57.6 gprs  GPRS            28.8       57.6 umts  UMTS/3G        384.0      384.0 edge  EDGE/EGPRS     473.6      473.6 hsdpa HSDPA         5760.0   13,980.0 lte   LTE         58,000.0  173,000.0 evdo  EVDO        75,000.0  280,000.0 full  No limit           ∞          ∞ 

Select a Voice status, Data status, or both:

• Home (default)
• Roaming
• Searching
• Denied (emergency calls only)
• Unregistered (off)

For more information see https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator.html#extended

Answer 2

In OS X you can use Network Link Conditioner, very useful. Here is a link how to use it and how to install. It will affect all programs using network.

http://nshipster.com/network-link-conditioner/

Also you can send all traffic to proxy and use throttling. I used Charles (Commercial, 30 days free trial) https://www.charlesproxy.com/