connectivity_control #

A Flutter plugin that provides low-level, system-driven visibility into active network interfaces on a device.

Unlike basic connectivity checks, this plugin is designed to help apps understand, observe, and reason about multiple simultaneous networks (Wi-Fi, cellular, VPN, etc.) using native platform signals.

▶ Watch the demo

Features #

• Detect all active network interfaces
• Identify network type (Wi-Fi, cellular, VPN, Ethernet)
• Determine whether a network:
  • Has internet capability
  • Is validated by the system
  • Is metered or unmetered
• Retrieve upstream and downstream bandwidth estimates (Android only)
• Listen to real-time network changes via streams
• Native, event-driven implementation (no polling)

Platform Support #

Installation #

dependencies:
  connectivity_control: ^1.1.0

flutter pub get

How to Use #

import 'package:connectivity_control/connectivity_control.dart';

Get Active Networks #

final networks = await ConnectivityControl().getActiveNetworks();
print(networks);

Listen to Network Changes #

ConnectivityControl().onActiveNetworksChanged.listen((networks) {
  print(networks);
});

NetworkInfo Fields #

Platform Notes #

• VPN detection: Android reports VPN as a separate network type. iOS and macOS do not expose VPN as a distinct interface type via NWPathMonitor; VPN traffic appears under the underlying transport.
• Bandwidth: iOS and macOS do not provide bandwidth estimation APIs. downLinkKbps and upLinkKbps will be null on both platforms.
• isMetered on macOS: Maps to isExpensive || isConstrained. isExpensive is true for shared connections (e.g. iPhone USB tethering); isConstrained reflects the user enabling Low Data Mode in System Preferences.

Comparison with connectivity_plus #

connectivity_plus is the most widely used connectivity package in the Flutter ecosystem. It answers one question: what type of connection is the device using? connectivity_control answers a different, lower-level question: what are the active network interfaces and what do we know about each of them?

When to use connectivity_plus #

• You need broad platform coverage (Windows, Linux, Web)
• You only need to know the general connection type (wifi / cellular / none)
• You need Bluetooth or satellite detection

When to use connectivity_control #

• You need to know whether a connection actually has internet access (e.g. captive portal detection)
• You need to distinguish metered from unmetered connections to adapt data usage
• You need bandwidth estimates to adjust media quality
• You need system-validated status to avoid sending requests on unverified connections
• You are building a network-aware feature that needs to reason about multiple simultaneous interfaces