How to Ping External IPs from Android Java Applications?

Pinging External IPs from Android Java Applications

When developing a Ping application for Android to verify network connectivity, it's essential to address the limitation of only pinging local IPs. This article will delve into the underlying issue and provide a solution to extend the ping capability to external servers.

The code shared in the original question demonstrates the basic implementation of pinging on Android. However, it falls short when attempting to ping external servers. This is because Android restricts direct network access to hosts outside the device's local network by default.

To overcome this limitation, a workaround involving native system commands is employed. The provided solution leverages Runtime.exec() to execute the /system/bin/ping command with the desired IP address (e.g., 8.8.8.8 for Google DNS).

Here's the updated code incorporating the solution:

private boolean executeCommand(){
    System.out.println("executeCommand");
    Runtime runtime = Runtime.getRuntime();
    try {
        Process  mIpAddrProcess = runtime.exec("/system/bin/ping -c 1 8.8.8.8");
        int mExitValue = mIpAddrProcess.waitFor();
        System.out.println(" mExitValue "+mExitValue);
        return mExitValue == 0;
    } catch (Exception e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
        System.out.println(" Exception:"+e);
    }
    return false;
}

By utilizing this approach, the executeCommand() method initiates the native ping command, waits for its completion, and returns a boolean indicating the ping result. This enables external servers to be pinged, providing a more comprehensive network connectivity assessment within the Android application.

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