Network Services

Cross-platform network connectivity monitoring for Unity mobile games

Essential Kit's Network Services feature lets Unity teams monitor network connectivity and server reachability without maintaining platform-specific code. This tutorial walks you through setup, monitoring APIs, testing, and troubleshooting so you can build offline-first experiences and gracefully handle connectivity changes.

Using PlayMaker? See the PlayMaker guide: PlayMaker.

Network Services Video Tutorial

Looking for a working reference? Open the demo scene at Assets/Plugins/VoxelBusters/EssentialKit/Examples/Scenes/NetworkServicesDemo.unity and the companion script at Assets/Plugins/VoxelBusters/EssentialKit/Examples/Scripts/NetworkServicesDemo.cs to see the full API in action.

What You'll Learn

• Monitor internet connectivity status with real-time change detection

• Check specific server reachability for backend availability

• Handle offline scenarios gracefully with proper UI feedback

• Optimize battery usage by controlling when monitoring is active

Why Network Services Matters

• Better UX: Inform users about offline status before they attempt network operations

• Offline-First Design: Build features that work offline and sync when connectivity returns

• Server Monitoring: Detect when your backend is unreachable separately from general internet status

• Battery Conscious: Start/stop monitoring to conserve battery when network status isn't needed

Tutorial Roadmap

1. Setup - Enable the feature and configure monitoring options

2. Usage - Monitor connectivity, handle status changes, check reachability

3. Testing - Simulate network changes and verify on devices

4. FAQ - Troubleshoot common issues

Key Use Cases

• Multiplayer Games: Block matchmaking when offline, queue actions for when connectivity returns

• Live Events: Disable event features when server is unreachable

• Content Downloads: Pause downloads when offline, resume when connectivity returns

• Social Features: Show offline indicator for leaderboards, friends, and chat

Prerequisites

• Unity project with Essential Kit v3 installed and Network Services feature included

• iOS or Android target (no special permissions required)

• Test environment with ability to toggle network connectivity

SetupUsagehttps://github.com/voxelbusters/essential-kit-docs/blob/master/tutorials/v3/features/network-services/testing.mdFAQ