Detect network connection type on Android

Question

How do you detect the network connection type on Android?

Is it through ConnectivityManager.getActiveNetworkInfo().getType(), and is the answer limited

Answer 1

The answer from Emil Davtyan is good, but network types have been added that are not accounted for in his answer. So, isConnectionFast(int type, int subType) may return false when it should be true.

Here is a modified class which uses reflection to account for added network types in later APIs:

import android.content.Context;
import android.net.ConnectivityManager;
import android.net.NetworkInfo;
import android.telephony.TelephonyManager;

import java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException;
import java.lang.reflect.Method;

/**
 * 
Utility methods to check the current network connection status.
 *
 * 
This requires the caller to hold the permission
 * {@link android.Manifest.permission#ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE}.
 */
public class NetworkUtils {

  /** The absence of a connection type. */
  public static final int TYPE_NONE = -1;

  /** Unknown network class. */
  public static final int NETWORK_CLASS_UNKNOWN = 0;
  /** Class of broadly defined "2G" networks. */
  public static final int NETWORK_CLASS_2_G = 1;
  /** Class of broadly defined "3G" networks. */
  public static final int NETWORK_CLASS_3_G = 2;
  /** Class of broadly defined "4G" networks. */
  public static final int NETWORK_CLASS_4_G = 3;

  /**
   * Returns details about the currently active default data network. When connected, this network
   * is the default route for outgoing connections. You should always check {@link
   * NetworkInfo#isConnected()} before initiating network traffic. This may return {@code null}
   * when there is no default network.
   *
   * @return a {@link NetworkInfo} object for the current default network or {@code null} if no
   * network default network is currently active
   *
   * This method requires the call to hold the permission
   * {@link android.Manifest.permission#ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE}.
   * @see ConnectivityManager#getActiveNetworkInfo()
   */
  public static NetworkInfo getInfo(Context context) {
    return ((ConnectivityManager) context.getSystemService(Context.CONNECTIVITY_SERVICE))
        .getActiveNetworkInfo();
  }

  /**
   * Reports the current network type.
   *
   * @return {@link ConnectivityManager#TYPE_MOBILE}, {@link ConnectivityManager#TYPE_WIFI} ,
   * {@link ConnectivityManager#TYPE_WIMAX}, {@link ConnectivityManager#TYPE_ETHERNET}, {@link
   * ConnectivityManager#TYPE_BLUETOOTH}, or other types defined by {@link ConnectivityManager}.
   * If there is no network connection then -1 is returned.
   * @see NetworkInfo#getType()
   */
  public static int getType(Context context) {
    NetworkInfo info = getInfo(context);
    if (info == null || !info.isConnected()) {
      return TYPE_NONE;
    }
    return info.getType();
  }

  /**
   * Return a network-type-specific integer describing the subtype of the network.
   *
   * @return the network subtype
   * @see NetworkInfo#getSubtype()
   */
  public static int getSubType(Context context) {
    NetworkInfo info = getInfo(context);
    if (info == null || !info.isConnected()) {
      return TYPE_NONE;
    }
    return info.getSubtype();
  }

  /** Returns the NETWORK_TYPE_xxxx for current data connection. */
  public static int getNetworkType(Context context) {
    return ((TelephonyManager) context.getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SERVICE))
        .getNetworkType();
  }

  /** Check if there is any connectivity */
  public static boolean isConnected(Context context) {
    return getType(context) != TYPE_NONE;
  }

  /** Check if there is any connectivity to a Wifi network */
  public static boolean isWifiConnection(Context context) {
    NetworkInfo info = getInfo(context);
    if (info == null || !info.isConnected()) {
      return false;
    }
    switch (info.getType()) {
      case ConnectivityManager.TYPE_WIFI:
        return true;
      default:
        return false;
    }
  }

  /** Check if there is any connectivity to a mobile network */
  public static boolean isMobileConnection(Context context) {
    NetworkInfo info = getInfo(context);
    if (info == null || !info.isConnected()) {
      return false;
    }
    switch (info.getType()) {
      case ConnectivityManager.TYPE_MOBILE:
        return true;
      default:
        return false;
    }
  }

  /** Check if the current connection is fast. */
  public static boolean isConnectionFast(Context context) {
    NetworkInfo info = getInfo(context);
    if (info == null || !info.isConnected()) {
      return false;
    }
    switch (info.getType()) {
      case ConnectivityManager.TYPE_WIFI:
      case ConnectivityManager.TYPE_ETHERNET:
        return true;
      case ConnectivityManager.TYPE_MOBILE:
        int networkClass = getNetworkClass(getNetworkType(context));
        switch (networkClass) {
          case NETWORK_CLASS_UNKNOWN:
          case NETWORK_CLASS_2_G:
            return false;
          case NETWORK_CLASS_3_G:
          case NETWORK_CLASS_4_G:
            return true;
        }
      default:
        return false;
    }
  }

  private static int getNetworkClassReflect(int networkType)
      throws NoSuchMethodException, InvocationTargetException, IllegalAccessException {
    Method getNetworkClass = TelephonyManager.class.getDeclaredMethod("getNetworkClass", int.class);
    if (!getNetworkClass.isAccessible()) {
      getNetworkClass.setAccessible(true);
    }
    return (int) getNetworkClass.invoke(null, networkType);
  }

  /**
   * Return general class of network type, such as "3G" or "4G". In cases where classification is
   * contentious, this method is conservative.
   */
  public static int getNetworkClass(int networkType) {
    try {
      return getNetworkClassReflect(networkType);
    } catch (Exception ignored) {
    }

    switch (networkType) {
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_GPRS:
      case 16: // TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_GSM:
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EDGE:
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_CDMA:
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_1xRTT:
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_IDEN:
        return NETWORK_CLASS_2_G;
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_UMTS:
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EVDO_0:
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EVDO_A:
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_HSDPA:
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_HSUPA:
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_HSPA:
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EVDO_B:
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EHRPD:
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_HSPAP:
      case 17: // TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_TD_SCDMA:
        return NETWORK_CLASS_3_G;
      case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_LTE:
      case 18: // TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_IWLAN:
        return NETWORK_CLASS_4_G;
      default:
        return NETWORK_CLASS_UNKNOWN;
    }
  }

  private NetworkUtils() {
    throw new AssertionError();
  }

}