NetPulse
Continuously checks whether the open internet is reachable, shows your current exit IP and its location, and alerts you the moment the connection drops.
Requires Android 8.0 (API 26) or later · Free, AGPL-3.0
Google Play — coming soon
Not a VPN. It only observes.
NetPulse does not tunnel or intercept any traffic. It simply probes lightweight connectivity endpoints and reports the state of your existing connection — nothing is routed through it.
Monitor whether your VPN dropped with NetPulse →What NetPulse does
Reliable reachability check
Probes lightweight generate_204 endpoints and treats only a strict 204 No Content as success — captive-portal and hijack pages are ignored.
Exit IP & geolocation
Shows your current public exit IP, region, and ISP. Tap to copy. See instantly when your exit IP changes.
Persistent status-bar icon
Distinct check / cross / ring glyphs keep the connection state readable even in the monochrome status bar.
Rolling check log
Keeps the last N checks with timestamp, outcome, latency and exit IP — now with a latency trend chart on top and colour-coded latency (yellow >500ms, red >1000ms), highlighting the exact moment the IP changed.
Disconnect alerts
Optional vibration and sound the moment connectivity drops, plus one-tap start/stop and a next-check countdown.
Bilingual & auto-restart
English and 中文 with an in-app language switch, and automatic restart on boot when monitoring was active.
Screenshots
How it works
Start monitoring
One tap starts a foreground service that probes on a fixed, configurable interval.
Probe & verify
Each check hits a generate_204 endpoint; only a strict 204 counts as a real, open connection.
See status & exit IP
The status-bar icon, exit IP and region update live, and every result lands in the check log.
Get alerted on drops
If connectivity or your exit IP changes, NetPulse flags it — optionally with vibration and sound.
Private by design
Runs entirely on your device with no account and no analytics. The check log stays local. To show your exit IP's location, NetPulse queries a public IP lookup service — ip.im (English) or ip9.com.cn (Chinese) — see the Privacy Policy for details.
When to use NetPulse
Watch a VPN or proxy connection — NetPulse flags the moment your exit IP changes, so a dropped tunnel or an IP leak is visible immediately (it observes, it does not block).
Know whether the internet is actually down, not just one app — a strict reachability check tells you if it's your connection or the service.
Flaky Wi-Fi, public hotspots and captive portals — NetPulse ignores login/redirect pages and only reports a genuinely open connection.
Always-on or remote-work devices where a silent disconnect costs you — get a vibration/sound alert the instant connectivity drops.
Verify a new router, ISP or failover link actually stays up — the rolling check log with latency trend shows stability over time.
NetPulse vs. other ways to watch a connection
| NetPulse | VPN kill switch | Server monitor (e.g. UptimeRobot) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runs on your own device | ✓ | ✓ | — (runs in the cloud) |
| Tells you if YOUR internet is down | ✓ | partial | — (watches a server) |
| Verifies real reachability (strict 204, ignores captive portals) | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Shows your current exit IP & location | ✓ | — | — |
| Alerts when the connection drops | ✓ vibrate / sound | blocks traffic instead | ✓ email / SMS |
| Blocks traffic when a tunnel drops | — (observe only) | ✓ | — |
| Free & open source | ✓ AGPL-3.0 | varies | freemium |
Frequently asked questions
What is NetPulse?
NetPulse is a free, open-source Android app that continuously checks whether the open internet is actually reachable and shows your current public exit IP and its location. It runs as a lightweight foreground service, logs every check with timestamp and latency, and alerts you the moment the connection drops. It is a passive monitor — it observes your existing connection and never routes or blocks traffic. It requires Android 8.0 (API 26) or later and is licensed under AGPL-3.0.
Is NetPulse a VPN?
No. NetPulse is not a VPN and does not tunnel, route, encrypt, or block any of your traffic. It only sends small probe requests to detect whether the internet is reachable and looks up your current exit IP — nothing passes through it, and it requests no VPN permission. If you already use a VPN, NetPulse works well alongside it to watch the connection (see below), but it never replaces or controls the VPN itself.
Can NetPulse tell me if my VPN or proxy dropped?
Indirectly, yes — and it's a common reason people use it. NetPulse shows your current exit IP and flags the exact moment it changes, so if your VPN or proxy disconnects and your traffic falls back to your ISP's real IP, you'll see the exit IP change and get an alert. It also detects when connectivity is lost entirely. Note that NetPulse only observes: unlike a kill switch it does not block traffic when the tunnel drops, so use it for awareness rather than enforcement.
How does NetPulse know the connection is real and not a captive portal?
Each check requests a lightweight generate_204 endpoint and treats only a strict HTTP 204 No Content as success. Captive portals and hijack pages return a redirect or a 200 with HTML instead of a clean 204, so NetPulse correctly reports them as not genuinely connected. This is the same technique Android and Chrome OS use for their own connectivity checks. The check interval is fixed but configurable.
What does the exit IP feature show?
NetPulse shows your current public exit IP — the address the internet sees you coming from — with its region and ISP, and you can tap to copy it. The check log highlights the exact moment the exit IP changes, which is useful for spotting a VPN/proxy switch, an ISP failover, or a CGNAT reassignment. The geolocation comes from a public lookup service (ip.im in English, ip9.com.cn in Chinese); NetPulse sends it nothing beyond the request itself.
Does it alert me the moment the internet drops?
Yes. When connectivity is lost, NetPulse can vibrate and play a sound the instant it happens, and the persistent status-bar icon switches to a distinct cross glyph so the state is readable at a glance. You get one-tap start/stop and a countdown to the next check. Alerts are optional and configurable, and monitoring auto-restarts after a reboot if it was active.
Will NetPulse drain my battery?
It's designed to be light. NetPulse runs a single foreground service that sends one tiny generate_204 request per interval (a few hundred bytes), with no continuous radio use between checks. Longer intervals use less battery, so you can tune the interval to balance freshness against power. There are no background analytics or wake-heavy tasks.
Is my data private? Does it send anything to a server?
NetPulse runs entirely on your device with no account, no advertising, and no analytics or tracking SDKs, and we operate no backend that receives your data. The check log and settings stay local and are deleted when you clear them or uninstall. Its only outbound requests are the connectivity probes and the exit-IP lookup, both essential to its function; see the Privacy Policy for the exact services it contacts.
Which Android versions are supported, and is it really free?
NetPulse runs on Android 8.0 (API 26) and later. It is completely free — no ads, no in-app purchases, no paywalled features — and open source under AGPL-3.0, so you can read or build the code yourself. You download the APK directly from GitHub Releases; a Google Play listing is planned. Updates are published on the same GitHub Releases page.
How is NetPulse different from a server uptime monitor like UptimeRobot?
A server uptime monitor such as UptimeRobot pings your website or server from the cloud to tell you whether other people can reach it. NetPulse does the opposite: it runs on your own phone and tells you whether your device can reach the internet, and what your exit IP currently is. They solve different problems — use a server monitor for your services and NetPulse for your own connection. NetPulse needs no account and keeps all data on the device.
Keep an eye on your connection
Download the latest NetPulse APK and start monitoring in one tap.
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