The setMobileDataEnabled method is no longer callable as of Android L and later

To extend Muzikant's Solution #2, can someone please try the solution below on an Android 5.0 rooted device (as I currently do not possess one) and let me know if it works or does not work.

// 1: Enable; 0: Disablesu -c settings put global mobile_data 1su -c am broadcast -a android.intent.action.ANY_DATA_STATE --ez state 1

/** * Whether mobile data connections are allowed by the user.  See * ConnectivityManager for more info. * @hide*/public static final String MOBILE_DATA = "mobile_data";

/** * Broadcast Action: The data connection state has changed for any one of the * phone's mobile data connections (eg, default, MMS or GPS specific connection). * * <p class="note"> * Requires the READ_PHONE_STATE permission. * <p class="note">This is a protected intent that can only be sent by the system. * */public static final String ACTION_ANY_DATA_CONNECTION_STATE_CHANGED        = "android.intent.action.ANY_DATA_STATE";

adb shell "su -c 'settings put global mobile_data 1; am broadcast -a android.intent.action.ANY_DATA_STATE --ez state 1'"

// 1: Enable; 0: Disableadb shell "su -c 'service call phone 83 i32 1'"

// 1: Enable; 0: Disableadb shell service call phone 83 i32 1

Note 2: adb is located at /android-sdk/platform-tools/ directory. If you do not wish to use ADB, execute the method via su in your app.

Note 3: See UPDATE 3 below.

UPDATE 3: Many Android developers have emailed me questions regarding switching mobile network on/off for Android 5+, but instead of answering individual emails, I'll post my answer here so everyone can use it and adapt it for their Android apps.

First thing first, let's clear up some misconception and misunderstanding regarding:

svc data enablesvc data disable

The above methods would only turn background data on/off, not the subscription service, so the battery will drain a fair bit since the subscription service- an Android system service- will still be running in the background. For Android devices supporting multiple sim cards, this scenario is worse as the subscription service constantly scans for available mobile network(s) to use with the active SIM cards available in the Android device. Use this method at your own risk.

Now, the proper way to switch off mobile network, including its corresponding subscription service via the SubscriptionManager class introduced in API 22, is:

public static void setMobileNetworkfromLollipop(Context context) throws Exception {    String command = null;    int state = 0;    try {        // Get the current state of the mobile network.        state = isMobileDataEnabledFromLollipop(context) ? 0 : 1;        // Get the value of the "TRANSACTION_setDataEnabled" field.        String transactionCode = getTransactionCode(context);        // Android 5.1+ (API 22) and later.        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT > Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {            SubscriptionManager mSubscriptionManager = (SubscriptionManager) context.getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SUBSCRIPTION_SERVICE);            // Loop through the subscription list i.e. SIM list.            for (int i = 0; i < mSubscriptionManager.getActiveSubscriptionInfoCountMax(); i++) {                                    if (transactionCode != null && transactionCode.length() > 0) {                    // Get the active subscription ID for a given SIM card.                    int subscriptionId = mSubscriptionManager.getActiveSubscriptionInfoList().get(i).getSubscriptionId();                    // Execute the command via `su` to turn off                    // mobile network for a subscription service.                    command = "service call phone " + transactionCode + " i32 " + subscriptionId + " i32 " + state;                    executeCommandViaSu(context, "-c", command);                }            }        } else if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT == Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {            // Android 5.0 (API 21) only.            if (transactionCode != null && transactionCode.length() > 0) {                // Execute the command via `su` to turn off mobile network.                                     command = "service call phone " + transactionCode + " i32 " + state;                executeCommandViaSu(context, "-c", command);            }        }    } catch(Exception e) {        // Oops! Something went wrong, so we throw the exception here.        throw e;    }           }

To check if the mobile network is enabled or not:

private static boolean isMobileDataEnabledFromLollipop(Context context) {    boolean state = false;    if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {        state = Settings.Global.getInt(context.getContentResolver(), "mobile_data", 0) == 1;    }    return state;}

To get the value of the TRANSACTION_setDataEnabled field (borrowed from PhongLe's solution below):

private static String getTransactionCode(Context context) throws Exception {    try {        final TelephonyManager mTelephonyManager = (TelephonyManager) context.getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SERVICE);         final Class<?> mTelephonyClass = Class.forName(mTelephonyManager.getClass().getName());        final Method mTelephonyMethod = mTelephonyClass.getDeclaredMethod("getITelephony");        mTelephonyMethod.setAccessible(true);        final Object mTelephonyStub = mTelephonyMethod.invoke(mTelephonyManager);        final Class<?> mTelephonyStubClass = Class.forName(mTelephonyStub.getClass().getName());        final Class<?> mClass = mTelephonyStubClass.getDeclaringClass();        final Field field = mClass.getDeclaredField("TRANSACTION_setDataEnabled");        field.setAccessible(true);        return String.valueOf(field.getInt(null));    } catch (Exception e) {        // The "TRANSACTION_setDataEnabled" field is not available,        // or named differently in the current API level, so we throw        // an exception and inform users that the method is not available.        throw e;    }}

To execute command via su:

private static void executeCommandViaSu(Context context, String option, String command) {    boolean success = false;    String su = "su";    for (int i=0; i < 3; i++) {        // Default "su" command executed successfully, then quit.        if (success) {            break;        }        // Else, execute other "su" commands.        if (i == 1) {            su = "/system/xbin/su";        } else if (i == 2) {            su = "/system/bin/su";        }               try {            // Execute command as "su".            Runtime.getRuntime().exec(new String[]{su, option, command});        } catch (IOException e) {            success = false;             // Oops! Cannot execute `su` for some reason.            // Log error here.        } finally {            success = true;        }    }}

Hope this update clears up any misconception, misunderstanding, or question you may have about switching mobile network on/off on rooted Android 5+ devices.

Just to share a few more insights and possible solution (for rooted devices and system apps).

Solution #1

It seems like the setMobileDataEnabled method no longer exists in ConnectivityManager and this functionality was moved to TelephonyManager with two methods getDataEnabled and setDataEnabled.I tried calling these methods with reflection as you can see in the code below:

public void setMobileDataState(boolean mobileDataEnabled){    try    {        TelephonyManager telephonyService = (TelephonyManager) getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SERVICE);        Method setMobileDataEnabledMethod = telephonyService.getClass().getDeclaredMethod("setDataEnabled", boolean.class);        if (null != setMobileDataEnabledMethod)        {            setMobileDataEnabledMethod.invoke(telephonyService, mobileDataEnabled);        }    }    catch (Exception ex)    {        Log.e(TAG, "Error setting mobile data state", ex);    }}public boolean getMobileDataState(){    try    {        TelephonyManager telephonyService = (TelephonyManager) getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SERVICE);        Method getMobileDataEnabledMethod = telephonyService.getClass().getDeclaredMethod("getDataEnabled");        if (null != getMobileDataEnabledMethod)        {            boolean mobileDataEnabled = (Boolean) getMobileDataEnabledMethod.invoke(telephonyService);            return mobileDataEnabled;        }    }    catch (Exception ex)    {        Log.e(TAG, "Error getting mobile data state", ex);    }    return false;}

When executing the code you get a SecurityException stating that Neither user 10089 nor current process has android.permission.MODIFY_PHONE_STATE.

So, yes this is an intended change to the internal API and is no longer available to apps that used that hack in previous versions.

(start rant: that dreadful android.permission.MODIFY_PHONE_STATE permission... end rant).

The good news are that in case you are building an app that can acquire the MODIFY_PHONE_STATE permission (only system apps can use that), you can use the above code to toggle mobile data state.

Solution #2

To check for current state of mobile data you can use the mobile_data field of Settings.Global (not documented in official documentation).

Settings.Global.getInt(contentResolver, "mobile_data");

And to enable/disable mobile data you can use shell commands on rooted devices (Just basic testing performed so any feedback in comments is appreciated).You can run the following command(s) as root (1=enable, 0=disable):

settings put global mobile_data 1settings put global mobile_data 0

I noticed that the service call method posted by ChuongPham does not work consistently on all devices.

I have found the following solution which, I think, will work without any issue on all ROOTED devices.

Execute the following via su

To enable mobile data

svc data enable

To disable mobile data

svc data disable

I think this is the simplest and best method.

Edit:2 downvotes were for what I believe to be commercial reasons. The person has deleted his comment now. Try it yourself, it works!Also confirmed to work by guys in comments.