Beta version of Connection Checker - App to 'fix' 3G problem

[Lunacy1134]

The 3G problems on my Optimus V spurred me to write this network monitoring utility; I've named it Connection Checker. Beta testers and feedback are both appreciated.

Essentially it is a service that runs in the background and actively monitors your network connection. If it detects that your Wifi connection isn't working, it'll turn off Wifi and fall back to mobile connectivity (Wifi is re-enabled after some time). If your mobile connection can't pass data, you get a notification and airplane mode is toggled.

For the last two weeks I've been running this and had no ill effects on my battery, and have had vastly improved network connectivity. The UI is still a work in progress, but it is getting close.

Things to note:
* The log doesn't automatically refresh
* Does not start on boot
* The icons are microphones!

By downloading this software you understand this is experimental software. As the author, I am not liable for any problems resulting from the software's use on your device.

Initial beta release v1.0.1
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5477013/ConnectionChecker-1.0.1.apk

Changelog for v1.0.2
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5477013/ConnectionChecker-1.0.2.apk

* Tested on Android 2.1, and it is now installable there
* Fixed tab icons
* Log screen now updates when an event happens
* Added status of service to log page
* Added more events to the log, and removed toasts
* Made notifications clear on click and open the log
* Moved "start on app launch" option to Advanced
* Added "start on boot" option to start app when booting device
* Several bugfixes and improvements that are not visible to the user

The public release is now at v1.0.8

Market link for the free version:

Follow this App in the new thread.

 

[ebnight]

Cool app. Will it be in the android market so it is easier to keep track of updates??

Sent from my LG Optimus V using Tapatalk

 

[Lunacy1134]

Cool app. Will it be in the android market so it is easier to keep track of updates??

Yes - I'm going to put it in the market after doing a little more beta testing.

Thanks!

 

[Takenover83]

Wifi is re-enabled after some time

Can you explain this some more? If I have it disabled, will the script re-enable it?

 

[Lunacy1134]

Can you explain this some more? If I have it disabled, will the script re-enable it?

Wifi will only be re-enabled if ConnectionChecker disabled it.

I've been considering changing that, and just letting the program re-enable wifi. If I make this change it'll be a configurable option.

 

[xtravbx#CB]

Thanks! While my connection lately has been pretty solid I'm still going to test this out. Thanks for your work.


Sent from my VM670 using Tapatalk

 

[Hugh Johnson]

Sounds like a good idea.

I'm going to use Startup Manager to launch it at boot.

 

[1oddmanout]

OK downloaded and running. Questions: if no 3G data, going to airplane mode? Doesn't that stop regular phone and texting from working? I have heard and seen that the battery runs down quickly when searching for 3G-how about just disabling 3G and trying again after a few moments as opposed to airplane mode.

 

[Lunacy1134]

if no 3G data, going to airplane mode? Doesn't that stop regular phone and texting from working?

Great Question! I ran into that problem in my very first version. This was fixed by making sure Connection Checker doesn't do anything if you have a phone connection, but do not have a data connection. (they are not the same!)

I have heard and seen that the battery runs down quickly when searching for 3G-how about just disabling 3G and trying again after a few moments as opposed to airplane mode.

Well - keep in mind, this program does nothing when "searching for 3G". It only acts when 3G DATA appears up and doesn't work.

Three things to note:

• I'm going to make the action on "3G DATA down" configurable. You should be able to specify if it toggles airplane mode, toggles 3G, or just gives a notification.
• On my phone (Optimus V), just toggling 3G didn't reliably bring my 3G connection back.
• After two weeks, battery usage has not changed one bit for me, and I run it every minute, not the regular 5 minute default.

 

[ZipLipZ]

Very cool. Thanks for making this.

Sent from my LG Optimus V using Tapatalk

 

[Lunacy1134]

For those people running ConnectionChecker - Are you seeing fewer network problems? What are your findings and thoughts?

BTW - Updated version in first post.

Changelog for v1.0.2

* Tested on Android 2.1, and it is now installable there
* Fixed tab icons
* Log screen now updates when an event happens
* Added status of service to log page
* Added more events to the log, and removed toasts
* Made notifications clear on click and open the log
* Moved "start on app launch" option to Advanced
* Added "start on boot" option to start app when booting device
* Several bugfixes and improvements that are not visible to the user

 

[1oddmanout]

back at work and 3G down most of afternoon. great reports from the app. i think it helped to restore connections, but battery wore down pretty fast (i really think from trying to find a 3G connection). will turn off 3G tomorrow all day.

 

[1oddmanout]

Get 404 error on 1.0.2 download. Does 1.0.1 automatically update?

 

[Lunacy1134]

Get 404 error on 1.0.2 download. Does 1.0.1 automatically update?

Whoops - I had paused Dropbox so it wasn't uploaded

All set now!

 

[1oddmanout]

OK installed 1.0.2. will try it out. thanks for the effort.

 

[Lunacy1134]

OK installed 1.0.2. will try it out. thanks for the effort.

Not a problem - I am very appreciative of your feedback!

 

[Bigtuna00]

Every time I open the app the log gets a new entry that says "service started"...isn't is supposed to be running in the background?

EDIT: I can see the service is running so the log message seems to be erroneous. Should be "service already running" perhaps?

 

[Lunacy1134]

Every time I open the app the log gets a new entry that says "service started"...isn't is supposed to be running in the background?

Good catch! This was a bug in v1.0.1, that was fixed in v1.0.2.

The service is running in the background, but when launching the app the service was created again. Don't worry, only one service is actually running. To address this in v1.0.2 the service is only started when launching the app if it isn't already running.

If you can, try v1.0.2, hopefully that fixes the issue for you.

 

[Bigtuna00]

Good catch! This was a bug in v1.0.1, that was fixed in v1.0.2.

The service is running in the background, but when launching the app the service was created again. Don't worry, only one service is actually running. To address this in v1.0.2 the service is only started when launching the app if it isn't already running.

If you can, try v1.0.2, hopefully that fixes the issue for you.

I'm actually running v1.0.2, I never installed 1.0.1.

(also you might want to reorganize the first post a bit, put the newest updates first, not last)

 

[Lunacy1134]

I'm actually running v1.0.2, I never installed 1.0.1.

(also you might want to reorganize the first post a bit, put the newest updates first, not last)

OK! I think the problem is in the way I'm keeping track of if the service is running. I'll have to switch it to grabbing it from the process tree. What I'm seeing is that the first time running the app after a long time, it'll think the service isn't running and try to restart. But if I open/close the application the "Starting service" log message doesn't keep showing up.

Regarding the first post - Yeah, it is a mess, I'll clean it up at some point.