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flutter_cell_info

A Flutter plugin that provides cell tower / radio information and SIM information on Android by bridging to an embedded/forked version of NetMonster Core (built over Android Telephony SDK).

Repository: https://github.com/sumanrajpathak/flutter_cell_info
Current pubspec version: 0.0.6
Dart SDK: >=2.12.0 <4.0.0 (null safety)
Platforms declared: Android + iOS (but see “Platform support” notes below)

Table of contents

Features

This plugin exposes 3 high-level calls:

  1. Cell info: fetches current serving and neighboring cells (Android).
  2. SIM info: fetches SIM/subscription information (Android).
  3. Shared preference: reads a stored JSON value (Android).

Under the hood it uses NetMonster Core to:

  • Merge and validate cell data from Android telephony sources.
  • Provide richer and more consistent cell identity/signal information than many “legacy” implementations.
  • Backport access to some fields across Android API levels where possible.

Platform support

Android

✅ Supported (this is where the real functionality lives)

The Android implementation uses NetMonster Core and Android Telephony APIs.

iOS

⚠️ Not functionally supported for cell info

The iOS plugin class exists, but it only implements a default template method (getPlatformVersion) and does not implement cell_info, sim_info, or shared_preference.

If you call CellInfo.getCellInfo on iOS, you should expect a MissingPluginException / “not implemented” behavior.

Installation

Add dependency in pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  flutter_cell_info: ^0.0.6

Then run:

flutter pub get

Import:

import 'package:flutter_cell_info/flutter_cell_info.dart';

Android setup

Required permissions

To read cell/network information, Android typically requires location and/or phone state permissions depending on API level and the specific fields:

Add these to your android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml:

<!-- Commonly required to access cell info on most Android versions -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION"/>

<!-- Sometimes needed depending on what the library reads -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE"/>

Also ensure your app requests runtime permissions (Android 6.0+).

Android 10 / 11 / 12+ permission notes

  • On many devices, cell info is gated by location permission and location services being enabled.
  • If results are empty or null-like, verify:
    • Location permission granted
    • Location services enabled
    • SIM inserted and radio active
    • Device is not in airplane mode

ProGuard / R8 (release builds)

This library uses many model classes (Android side) and JSON serialization; in release builds, obfuscation might break reflection/serialization on some setups.

If you see missing fields or crashes only in release builds, consider adding keep rules for the plugin package.

iOS support notes

iOS does not provide public APIs to access low-level cell tower details comparable to Android Telephony APIs. This repository’s iOS code is the default plugin template and does not implement cell info.

If you need iOS support, you’ll likely need to:

  • Provide a different iOS approach (usually not possible with App Store-safe public APIs), or
  • Document iOS as “unsupported”.

Usage

Get cell info (JSON)

final String? json = await CellInfo.getCellInfo;
print(json);

This calls the method channel:

  • Channel name: cell_info
  • Method name: cell_info

Get SIM info (JSON)

final String? json = await CellInfo.getSIMInfo;
print(json);

This calls the method channel:

  • Channel name: sim_info
  • Method name: sim_info

Read last cached response (shared preference)

final String? cachedJson = await CellInfo.sharedPreference;
print(cachedJson);

This calls the method channel:

  • Channel name: shared_preference
  • Method name: shared_preference

On Android, this returns the stored value under the key:

  • cells_info_response

Decode JSON into Dart models

The example app imports:

  • package:flutter_cell_info/cell_response.dart
  • package:flutter_cell_info/sim_info_response.dart

Typical pattern:

import 'dart:convert';
import 'package:flutter_cell_info/cell_response.dart';
import 'package:flutter_cell_info/flutter_cell_info.dart';

final raw = await CellInfo.getCellInfo;
if (raw != null) {
  final map = jsonDecode(raw);
  final cells = CellsResponse.fromJson(map); // depends on your model implementation
}

Exact model constructors depend on the Dart files in lib/. If you want, tell me which Dart model files you use (or share them), and I can write the exact parsing snippet that matches your generated classes.

Polling / updating periodically

Timer? timer;

@override
void initState() {
  super.initState();
  timer = Timer.periodic(const Duration(seconds: 2), (_) async {
    final json = await CellInfo.getCellInfo;
    // parse + setState
  });
}

@override
void dispose() {
  timer?.cancel();
  super.dispose();
}

API reference (Dart)

The public Dart API is a single class:

CellInfo

CellInfo.getCellInfo -> Future<String?>

Returns a JSON string containing cell information (Android).
Method channel: cell_info / method: cell_info.

CellInfo.getSIMInfo -> Future<String?>

Returns a JSON string containing SIM/subscription information (Android).
Method channel: sim_info / method: sim_info.

CellInfo.sharedPreference -> Future<String?>

Returns a JSON string previously stored in shared preferences under cells_info_response (Android).
Method channel: shared_preference / method: shared_preference.

Returned data format

The plugin returns JSON strings, not strongly-typed Dart objects by default.

On Android, the native side constructs responses such as:

  • CellsResponse with:
    • createdAt
    • primaryCellList
    • neighboringCellList
    • cellDataList

Cell types include (based on Android-side code structure):

  • NR (5G)
  • LTE (4G)
  • WCDMA (3G)
  • GSM (2G)
  • TD-SCDMA (regional/legacy)
  • CDMA (where applicable)

Because device support and permissions vary widely, treat fields as optional and null-safe when decoding.

Troubleshooting

1) MissingPluginException on iOS
Expected: iOS does not implement cell_info/sim_info.

2) Empty / null results on Android

  • Ensure runtime permission granted:
    • ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION (most common requirement)
    • READ_PHONE_STATE (sometimes needed)
  • Turn on location services.
  • Test on a real device (emulators often lack telephony data).

3) Works in debug but not release

  • Add R8/ProGuard keep rules for model/JSON classes.
  • Confirm no reflection-based serialization is broken.

Background & credits

  • Includes and builds upon NetMonster Core concepts:

    • Validation of telephony data
    • Merging multiple sources
    • Richer signal/identity access across Android versions

  • Originally forked from: https://github.com/eslamfaisal/FlutterCellInfo
    Credit: @eslamfaisal

License

Check the repository’s LICENSE file in GitHub for exact terms.