iOS Tip - Detecting Network Connectivity Type

An iOS device typically have a two ways to get connected to the Internet – Wi-Fi or 3G/4G. Typically in your application, you should refrain from downloading large amount data when the user is connected to the 3G network. Instead, all the heavy downloading should be done when the user is connected to WiFi. So how do you check if the device is connected to WiFi or 3G?

The easiest way to check if the connectivity option available on your iOS device is to use the Reachability class provided by Apple. To do so, download the code sample from: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/samplecode/reachability/Introduction/Intro.html and copy the Reachability.h and Reachability.m file into your own project.

Next, add a reference to the SystemConfiguration.framework in your project.

To use the Reachability class, import its header file:

#import "Reachability.h"

Finally, use the following code snippet to check the type of connectivity you have on your iOS device:

    Reachability *reachability =

        [Reachability reachabilityForInternetConnection];

    [reachability startNotifier];

   

    NetworkStatus networkStatus =

        [reachability currentReachabilityStatus];

   

    if(networkStatus == NotReachable) {

        NSLog(@"No Internet");

    }

    else if (networkStatus == ReachableViaWiFi) {

        NSLog(@"Wi-Fi");

    }

    else if (networkStatus == ReachableViaWWAN) {

        NSLog(@"3G");

    }

    [reachability stopNotifier];