How to determine if network type is 2G, 3G or 4G

Question

I have an indicator on my application to display the network type (2G or 3G or 4G) but after getting the network type, how do I know what speed category it should be in?

I know how to detect the network type:

private TelephonyManager telephonyManager;
telephonyManager = (TelephonyManager) getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SERVICE);
CurrentNetworkType = telephonyManager.getNetworkType();

Given the possible return values:

//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_1xRTT
//   Since: API Level 4
//   Current network is 1xRTT
//   Constant Value: 7 (0x00000007)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_CDMA
//   Since: API Level 4
//   Current network is CDMA: Either IS95A or IS95B
//   Constant Value: 4 (0x00000004)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_EDGE
//   Since: API Level 1
//   Current network is EDGE
//   Constant Value: 2 (0x00000002)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_EHRPD
//   Since: API Level 11
//   Current network is eHRPD
//   Constant Value: 14 (0x0000000e)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_EVDO_0
//   Since: API Level 4
//   Current network is EVDO revision 0
//   Constant Value: 5 (0x00000005)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_EVDO_A
//   Since: API Level 4
//   Current network is EVDO revision A
//   Constant Value: 6 (0x00000006)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_EVDO_B
//   Since: API Level 9
//   Current network is EVDO revision B
//   Constant Value: 12 (0x0000000c)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_GPRS
//   Since: API Level 1
//   Current network is GPRS
//   Constant Value: 1 (0x00000001)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_HSDPA
//   Since: API Level 5
//   Current network is HSDPA
//   Constant Value: 8 (0x00000008)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_HSPA
//   Since: API Level 5
//   Current network is HSPA
//   Constant Value: 10 (0x0000000a)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_HSPAP
//   Since: API Level 13
//   Current network is HSPA+
//   Constant Value: 15 (0x0000000f)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_HSUPA
//   Since: API Level 5
//   Current network is HSUPA
//   Constant Value: 9 (0x00000009)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_IDEN
//   Since: API Level 8
//   Current network is iDen
//   Constant Value: 11 (0x0000000b)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_LTE
//   Since: API Level 11
//   Current network is LTE
//   Constant Value: 13 (0x0000000d)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_UMTS
//   Since: API Level 1
//   Current network is UMTS
//   Constant Value: 3 (0x00000003)
//   
//   public static final int NETWORK_TYPE_UNKNOWN
//   Since: API Level 1
//   Network type is unknown
//   Constant Value: 0 (0x00000000)

I would consider LTE to be 4G, but which of these are really considered 3G? Anything else I would consider 2G.

So where do you draw the line between 3G or not 3G?

Update: I found another relevant answer at https://stackoverflow.com/a/8548926/949577 It uses ConnectivityManager() to get type and subtype and then classifies the subtype as either fast or not. I don't know if using ConnectivityManager() is a better approach then using TelephonyManager () since they both appear able to return the network type.

Also I found a link that compares wireless data standards at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_wireless_data_standards.

Answer 1

You can put this following method directly in your Utility class:

Kotlin:

/** Usage: `networkTypeClass(telephonyManager.networkType)` */
fun networkTypeClass(networkType: Int): String {
    when (networkType) {
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_GPRS,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EDGE,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_CDMA,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_1xRTT,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_IDEN,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_GSM
        -> return "2G"
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_UMTS,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EVDO_0,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EVDO_A,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_HSDPA,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_HSUPA,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_HSPA,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EVDO_B,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EHRPD,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_HSPAP,
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_TD_SCDMA
        -> return "3G"
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_LTE
        -> return "4G"
        TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_NR
        -> return "5G"
        else -> return "Unknown"
    }
}

Java:

public String getNetworkClass(Context context) {
    TelephonyManager mTelephonyManager = (TelephonyManager)
            context.getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SERVICE);
    int networkType = mTelephonyManager.getNetworkType();
    switch (networkType) {
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_GPRS:
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EDGE:
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_CDMA:
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_1xRTT:
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_IDEN:
            return "2G";
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_UMTS:
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EVDO_0:
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EVDO_A:
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_HSDPA:
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_HSUPA:
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_HSPA:
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EVDO_B:
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_EHRPD:
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_HSPAP:
            return "3G";
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_LTE:
            return "4G";
        case TelephonyManager.NETWORK_TYPE_NR:
            return "5G";
        default:
            return "Unknown";
    }
}

Thanks to assistance from the Android source code. =]