In my Android application I first get the users location using either GPS, the GSM network or a text value that is manually input via a Settings screen.
At first I used the Geocoder class to get the users locale with latitude and longitude provided by GPS or GSM but it seemed unreliable, now I used Google's web API to get the locale by making a HTTP request and parsing the XML document returned. This is using the following URL:
http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/xmllatlng=blahblahlat,blahblahlong&sensor=true
After getting the users locale I then send another HTTP request to free.worldweatheronline.com's weather API and parse the XML returned. With a stable internet connection the application runs fine, however my house has a rubbish signal and even worse mobile data connection.
I am aware there is a simple method to check if the device has a mobile data connection, however what I want to know is whether there is a way of measuring the signal strength as the problem arises when there is a connection, but it is too bad to successfully run. For example, if there is a way to get mobile data signal strength which returns a value from 0 (no signal) to 100 (full signal), I can then only carry out the location and weather retrieval if signal strength is above a certain amount.
Would it be best to just surround the location and weather retrieval code with a try/catch so it doesn't cause a runtime exception, allowing it to just fail gracefully then update when a better signal is acquired? Any ideas on how to accomplish this, or any other suggestions to make my app more friendly for users with bad signal?
Thanks in advance!
You can check it but remember to handle, in any case, drop of connections.
In my apps I had some problems while writing files or stuff like that with an open connection, so just remember that a fail may always occur (for example switching from gprs to wifi).
If you can easily check the signal strength I would do both.
Give a look at the SignalStrength class (never used it btw). Here a nice explanation.
You can check cell service signal strength by creating a PhoneStateListener and handle the onSignalStrengthChanged callback. For more info look at this question How to get cell service signal strength in Android?
EDIT :
You can pause PhoneStateListener by calling telephony.listen(listener, PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_NONE); to not receive updates when you don't need them.
Related
I'm using Connectivity library to see the internet(Wifi or network data) is active and saving the data in Storage if there is no connectivity(Offline) and synchronize with server when connected to internet. I'm having issues in public places where the internet is consistently unstable(esp. in basements, offices, stores, Coffee shops etc., where there is internet connects in and out). When I check the Connectivity is active but by the time I started synchronizing internet goes offline (Something like this). this leads inconsistent /partial updates to the server. Also, in coffee shops and Airports where wifi gets connected but there will be "Agree Terms and Conditions" page to connect. Not all the browsers will take you to that page directly after joining the Wifi. In that case I see the wifi is active in Mobile but actually it is not activated until I accept the terms and Conditions in IE or some specific browser. Any one else having difficulty in handling these kind of issue from Mobile App?
My App - Hangs on Login screen if I'm trying to login when there is in-stable/in consistent internet.It thinks wifi is there but not.
IF I'm on a screen where I will display list, screen will show blank for infinite time. Adding timeout for server request/response or something will help such scenario.
I know I'm not handling this case in code to show some kind of error message but I need some guidance to detect these conditions suing CN1 API to handle through my app.Please advise.
Code:
public boolean isOffline() {
if (Connectivity.isConnected() && forceOffline) {
relogin();
}
return forceOffline || !Connectivity.isConnected();
}
The problem is that it's impossible to detect online/offline properly as you might be connected to a local wifi/network but it might be a bad connection that won't let you reach the server. As far as the library is concerned you are connected... But in reality you don't have a connection.
First set the timeout values in NetworkManager to lower values to improve the experience although this won't solve a situation where data starts downloading and stops in the middle.
Next you need to handle these cases one by one and provide the user with a way to toggle the offline mode. Unfortunately there is no silver bullet for network reliability. You just need to go through every path and try to detect these things.
I'm developping an app which may send sensitive data and I want to be sure that i don't send them on a public or weak protected network.
That's why I'd like to get the current security used on wifi network on Android.
I found this post but I'm not sure of the accuracy of the solution.
Indeed, the allowedKeyManagement method seems to return the supported protocols, but it's not explicitely said to return the current active protocol beeing used.
Is there a sure way to get the effective protection used on the cirrent wifi network ?
Thanks
I can suggest one method
Get list of all configured network using getConfiguredNetworks API
Loop through all entries and find the current Network using WifiConfiguration.status API. The status should be CURRENT for current network
For that current network, get the allowedKeyManagement and check that it is not NONE.
I have an idea of making an app in that truck drivers are there with GPS,SO they will get latitude longitude without internet,there will be an admin panel which can track the truck driver's location and location history,So My question is that the truck drivers will only having a GPS enabled Android device (WITHOUT INTERNET),SO how can the admin will track their location? Please suggest me for it .
I suppose you could try SMS messages, though, it might become rather expensive if the re-fresh rate for the location is high.
In simplest solution you would have a mobile device (you need to find one which incoming SMS you can fetch to the PC, might require some internet searching time) with normal number for receiving the SMS messages, or you could see whether you could get Operator service numbers (see whether using free-to-send number would be cheaper) and then get the data from the operator.
I am building an android app that exchanges data with our server through http api calls. In many cases users are complaining that the app is slow or doesn't work at all.
The most common cause of that is bad network connectivity (low 3g/wifi signal or congested public wifi).
What is the best way to detect bad connections? Once i can detect bad connectivity an icon or toast message can be used to inform the user about the situation.
I am using HttpUrlConnection for the api calls.
I think you can make use of ConnectivityManager. Call getActiveNetworkInfo() and then call getDetailedState() on the NetworkInfo object received. You can check the state of the connection and whether it is VERIFYING_POOR_LINK, though I don't know in which conditions this state is active.
Also you might want to listen to network changes as described in Detect Connection Changes.
I'd probably use latency. Save the time when you get the request, and when the request finishes. If you're seeing numbers that are too high, pop up the warning. If you're downloading large files, you may wish to switch to throughput (how many kbps you're transfering).
as far as i remember http is "connectionless"..
you should try concentrating on minimizing the size of your traffic.. (compress, divide.. etc)
if you really want to test connectivity i guess you should do pings.. every x seconds.. then if the ping is bad you could warn the user..
I know there are a few threads on this topic but non of them seem to answer my question. I want to be able to detect when the device has no data connection. I have tried the NetworkInfo route checking if its null, isConnected(), isAvailable() etc. The problem im having is that these work fine (return false or null) when wifi or mobile network are disabled however when they are enabled but there is no signal they return true. Is there any way to detect no data connection due to no signal?
build reciver and catch broadcast
Intent action for network events in android sdk
You could try pinging google.com. If there's no response, you can be fairly sure that there's no connection (unless the user is in a country where it is blocked).
I use ConnectivityManager.getActiveNetworkInfo.isConnectedOrConnecting()
I just tested it 5 minutes ago to make sure, and if everything is working and I then walk away from my house until my router is no longer within range and the network strength indicator on the status bar shows no network, a call to isConnectedOrConnecting() from within an app returns false.
I take it that's not the behavior you are seeing?