WifiManager startScan deprecated. Alternative?

Question

I need to scan all the available wifi networks but the method "wifiManager.startScan()" is deprecated and I don't find an alternative.

Does anyone know a real alternative?

I tried to look for more info in the developers Android portal however, it doesn't provide any alternative, or at least I couldn't find them.

I already checked:

• https://developer.android.com/reference/android/net/wifi/WifiManager.html#startScan%28%29
• https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/connectivity/wifi-scan#java

I just need a list of the available networks and the information that we could get using "wifiManager.startScan()".

What do you recommend me?

Answer 1

It is marked deprecated with description: "The ability for apps to trigger scan requests will be removed in a future release." Currently this method works with some restrictions. In fact if you take a closer look at Wi-Fi scanning overview restrictions you can see that you can achieve your goal by meeting the conditions explained under Restrictions.

One more thing, if you are developing a system-privileged app or wondering how those apps get a wifi list even with location service turned off, they use android.Manifest.permission.NETWORK_SETUP_WIZARD or android.Manifest.permission.NETWORK_SETTINGS which are system|signature level permissions. Read WifiPermissionsUtil.java:

/**
     * API to determine if the caller has permissions to get scan results. Throws SecurityException
     * if the caller has no permission.
     * @param pkgName package name of the application requesting access
     * @param uid The uid of the package
     */
    public void enforceCanAccessScanResults(String pkgName, int uid) throws SecurityException {
        mAppOps.checkPackage(uid, pkgName);

        // Apps with NETWORK_SETTINGS & NETWORK_SETUP_WIZARD are granted a bypass.
        if (checkNetworkSettingsPermission(uid) || checkNetworkSetupWizardPermission(uid)) {
            return;
        }

        // Location mode must be enabled
        if (!isLocationModeEnabled()) {
            // Location mode is disabled, scan results cannot be returned
            throw new SecurityException("Location mode is disabled for the device");
        }

        // Check if the calling Uid has CAN_READ_PEER_MAC_ADDRESS permission.
        boolean canCallingUidAccessLocation = checkCallerHasPeersMacAddressPermission(uid);
        // LocationAccess by App: caller must have
        // Coarse Location permission to have access to location information.
        boolean canAppPackageUseLocation = checkCallersLocationPermission(pkgName, uid);

        // If neither caller or app has location access, there is no need to check
        // any other permissions. Deny access to scan results.
        if (!canCallingUidAccessLocation && !canAppPackageUseLocation) {
            throw new SecurityException("UID " + uid + " has no location permission");
        }
        // Check if Wifi Scan request is an operation allowed for this App.
        if (!isScanAllowedbyApps(pkgName, uid)) {
            throw new SecurityException("UID " + uid + " has no wifi scan permission");
        }
        // If the User or profile is current, permission is granted
        // Otherwise, uid must have INTERACT_ACROSS_USERS_FULL permission.
        if (!isCurrentProfile(uid) && !checkInteractAcrossUsersFull(uid)) {
            throw new SecurityException("UID " + uid + " profile not permitted");
        }
    }