Absence of signal is not detected as offline

[S1M0N38]

If I put my Android phone in airplane mode, I'm able to use the offline features of the app.

However, if there is no connection at all, the app tries to connect to servers, and the app becomes unusable.

Is that intentional?

(Edit: maybe duplicate issue. PR #226)

[veloce]

We're using a simple approach to check connectivity which may be not enough, especially on android,.

References:

• https://github.com/Iteo/connecteo/tree/master
• https://github.com/RounakTadvi/internet_connection_checker
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1560788/how-to-check-internet-access-on-android-inetaddress-never-times-out/27312494#27312494

We need to improve detection and maybe not rely only on connectivity plugin changes only, but trigger another connectivity check upon request timeout.

[S1M0N38]

I think that a simple 5-10 timeout that triggers offline mode could be a simple solution. Maybe later a more robust solution could be implemented as you suggested.

[veloce]

Do you still reproduce the issue @S1M0N38 ?

[S1M0N38]

I've disable Wi-Fi and Mobile Data. I've enter the app and I can use all the offline features in the app.

However the original issue was about not connection at all (no cellular connection). Right now I don't know how to easily reproduce such situation. I think I have to go to some place without connection (e.g. mountain) or maybe in a Faraday cage (e.g. an elevator).

When I'm in a place able to reproduce this network status, I will update this issue.

[S1M0N38]

I was able to reproduce the issue on version 0.6.9

[veloce]

If you have a method with clear steps to reproduce, please share it. Thanks!

[S1M0N38]

On a physical device:

1. I've turn on Mobile Data (e.g. 4G or 5G)
2. Reach for a place where there is no signal (I've been in the mountain)
3. Open the Lichess app v2
4. Navigate the app

I know that this is a minor issue but I think it's reasonable to think that when there is no signal the app should behave like the airplane mode is on. I restate that when the airplane mode is active offline features work as expected.

[veloce]

Ok, thank you. Indeed it should behave like airplane mode, after a timeout. We should now try to reproduce this signal loss programmatically to ensure a fix is working.