Android: Simulate WiFi in the emulator?

Question

I would like to check from my app whether the device has WiFi connectivity, but in order to do that, I must first find a way to get "WiFi" in the emulator. Just going to Settings -> Wireless controls -> Wifi says Unable to start Wi-Fi, while logcat says:

E/WifiService(  566): Failed to load Wi-Fi driver.
D/SettingsWifiEnabler(  695): Received wifi state changed from Unknown to Enabling
D/SettingsWifiEnabler(  695): Received wifi state changed from Enabling to Unknown

How can I simulate WiFi connectivity in the emulator?

Answer 1

Currently, while you can use your computer's Internet connection in the emulator, it's not reliable to use it for simulating Wi-Fi. The WifiManager gets confused when you switch/want to test your connectivity state.

Even in Android 1.5, there were some problems with it (Issue 2571 - android), and while you can use your Internet for simulating HTTP connections and downloading data, finer control over Wi-Fi connectivity should better be done with a device.