Internet access icon for iPhone

August 20, 2015 11:54 PM

I'm looking for an iPhone app that displays whether or not an Internet connexion is on, as can be found on a PC. I use wifi at home & work and my carrier's 3G on the road but sometimes, although the phone connects to the router and the wifi signal is there, there is no internet. Short of looking at the router itself, is there any app that can give you the actual Internet access icon directly on the phone?
posted by Kwadeng to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

Is Cloud Check what you're after?
posted by persona au gratin at 3:00 AM on August 21, 2015

Best answer: I use the Speedtest.net app for that purpose - if it gets to the "Begin" stage then it's managed to connect to a server beyond the router. Doesn't display an icon natively within iOS though (and I don't think anything else can)
posted by Mattat at 3:48 AM on August 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

Often the DNS service isn't' working. This often helps:

Settings > WiFi: Select the wifi network
Tap on the "i" > Touch the DNS
Change the DNS to 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4 (Google DNS servers)


An other thing you can try is to install a VPN app to get past overloaded DNS servers...
posted by Mac-Expert at 7:59 AM on August 21, 2015

Private Internet Access (subscription required, totally worth it) has an app that can be set to automatically connect to the VPN whenever you have an Internet connection, so you would see the VPN icon in your status bar when you're actually online.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:40 AM on August 21, 2015

Response by poster: Mattat, I already have Speedtest installed so I'll continue to use it for now. I guess it'll make do until someone comes up with exatcly the feature that I'm looking for.

Thanks all for trying to help.
posted by Kwadeng at 8:01 AM on August 24, 2015

I guess I wasn't clear. The Private Internet Access app will do exactly what you want: when you set it to "Connect On Demand" you will see a VPN symbol in your status bar if and only if you are connected to the internet. If you see just the wireless symbol (or just the cellular symbol) without the VPN box then you do not have an internet connection.

It's only forty bucks a year, but you can try it for a month for seven bucks if you're not sure. It really is a very good VPN service, in addition to being an internet indicator ;-)
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:23 AM on August 24, 2015