Setup

Configuring Network Services for connectivity monitoring

Prerequisites

• Essential Kit imported into the project from My Assets section of Package Manager

• No special permissions required (network state monitoring is available to all apps)

• Optional: Backend server address for host reachability monitoring

Setup Checklist

1. Open Essential Kit Settings (Window > Voxel Busters > Essential Kit > Open Settings), switch to the Services tab, and enable Network Services

2. Configure optional settings: host address, auto-start behavior, ping configuration

3. Essential Kit automatically adds ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE permission on Android during build

4. Changes to the settings asset are saved automatically. If you use source control, commit the updated Resources/EssentialKitSettings.asset file

Configuration Reference

Setting	Platform	Required?	Notes
Enable Network Services	All	Yes	Toggles the feature in builds; disabling strips related native code
Host Address (IPv4/IPv6)	All	Optional	Server address to monitor for reachability; leave empty if only monitoring general internet
Auto Start Notifier	All	Optional	If enabled, monitoring begins automatically on app launch; disable for manual control
Max Retry Count	All	Optional	Number of retry attempts before reporting failure (default: 3)
Time Gap Between Polling	All	Optional	Seconds between network checks when monitoring is active (default: 5)
Time Out Period	All	Optional	Seconds before considering a network request timed out (default: 10)
Port	All	Optional	Port to ping on remote server for reachability checks (default: 80)

Auto Start Notifier: Enable this to automatically monitor network status from app launch. Disable if you want manual control (call StartNotifier() only when needed to save battery).

Host Reachability Monitoring: If you configure a host address, Network Services monitors both general internet connectivity AND specific server reachability. This is useful for detecting when your backend is down even if the user has internet access.

Platform-Specific Notes

iOS

• Uses iOS Reachability API via SystemConfiguration.framework

• No permissions required

• Essential Kit automatically configures framework links during build

Android

• Uses ConnectivityManager and network callback APIs

• ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE permission automatically added during build

• Works on all Android versions with automatic API level adaptation

Battery Considerations: Continuous network monitoring consumes battery. Use StartNotifier() and StopNotifier() to control when monitoring is active. Stop monitoring when network status isn't actively needed (e.g., on menu screens without online features).

Need a working baseline? Run the sample at Assets/Plugins/VoxelBusters/EssentialKit/Examples/Scenes/NetworkServicesDemo.unity to confirm your settings before wiring the feature into production screens.