Connect to Wifi in Android Q programmatically

So far what is working for me on the majority of devices I have tested with, with a fallback option to at least stop the dreaded 'looping request' and to allow a successful manual connection

The below code is written in Kotlin, please google how to covert to Java if needed.

Create a NetworkCallback which is required for API >= 29 (prior it was not required but could be used)

val networkCallback = object : ConnectivityManager.NetworkCallback() {
    override fun onAvailable(network: Network) {
        super.onAvailable(network)
        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.M) {
            // To make sure that requests don't go over mobile data
            connectivityManager.bindProcessToNetwork(network)
        } else {
            connectivityManager.setProcessDefaultNetwork(network)
        }
    }

    override fun onLost(network: Network) {
        super.onLost(network)
        // This is to stop the looping request for OnePlus & Xiaomi models
        connectivityManager.bindProcessToNetwork(null)
        connectivityManager.unregisterNetworkCallback(networkCallback)
        // Here you can have a fallback option to show a 'Please connect manually' page with an Intent to the Wifi settings
    }
}

Connect to a network as follows:

val wifiNetworkSpecifier = WifiNetworkSpecifier.Builder()
    .setSsid(ssid)
    .setWpa2Passphrase(pass)
    .build()

val networkRequest = NetworkRequest.Builder()
    .addTransportType(NetworkCapabilities.TRANSPORT_WIFI)
// Add the below 2 lines if the network should have internet capabilities.
// Adding/removing other capabilities has made no known difference so far
//    .addCapability(NetworkCapabilities.NET_CAPABILITY_INTERNET)
//    .addCapability(NetworkCapabilities.NET_CAPABILITY_NOT_RESTRICTED)
    .setNetworkSpecifier(wifiNetworkSpecifier)
    .build()

connectivityManager.requestNetwork(networkRequest, networkCallback)

As stated here by Google, some OEM Roms are not 'holding on to the request' and therefore the connection is dropping instantly. OnePlus have fixed this problem in some of their later models but not all. This bug will continuously exist for certain phone models on certain Android builds, therefore a successful fallback (i.e. a manual connection with no network disruption) is required. No known workaround is available, but if found I will update it here as an option.

To remove the network, do the following:

if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.M) {
    //This is required for Xiaomi models for disconnecting
    connectivityManager.bindProcessToNetwork(null)
} else {
    connectivityManager.setProcessDefaultNetwork(null)
}
connectivityManager.unregisterNetworkCallback(it)

Please keep in mind, an automatic connection allows for an automatic & manual disconnection. A manual connection (such as the suggested fallback for OnePlus devices) does not allow an automatic disconnection. This will also need to be handled within the app for a better UX design when it comes to IoT devices.

Some extra small tips & info:

now that a system dialog opens, the app calls onPause and onResume respectively. This affected my logic regarding automatic connection to IoT devices. In some case, onResume is called before the network callback is finished.
In regards to tests, I have yet to be able to get around the dialog by just using espresso and it may block some tests that were working before API 29. It may be possible using other frameworks such as uiautomator. In my case I adjusted the tests to work up until the dialog shows, and run further tests thereafter. Using Intents.init() does not work.
onUnavailable is called when the the network has been found, but the user cancels. It is not called when the network was not found or if the user cancels the dialog before the network has been found, in this case no other methods are called, use onResume to catch it.
when it fails on the OnePlus it called onAvailable() -> onCapabilitiesChanged() -> onBlockedStatusChanged (blocked: false) -> onCapabilitiesChanged() -> onLost() respectively
removeCapability(NetworkCapabilities.NET_CAPABILITY_INTERNET) wont help keep the connection on a OnePlus as stated here
setting the Bssid wont help keep the connection on a OnePlus as stated here
google cannot help, they have stated it is out of their hands here
OnePlus forum posts confirming it working for some models (but not all) after an update, see here, here & here
when GPS is switched off, the SSID names of networks are not available
if the dialog comes several times, check your own activity lifecycle, in my case some models were calling onResume before the network callback was received.
manually connecting to a network without internet capabilities needs user confirmation to keep the connection (sometimes in the form of a dialog or as a notification), if ignored, the system will disconnect from the network shortly afterwards

List of devices tested:

Google Pixel 2 - No issues found
Samsung S10 SM-G970F - No issues found
Samsung S9 SM-G960F - No issues found
One Plus A5000 (OxegenOS 10.0.1) - Major Issue with automatic connection
HTC One M8 (LineageOS 17.1) - No issues found
Xiaomi Mi Note 10 - Issue with disconnecting (Fixed, see code example)
Samsung A50 - Dialog repetitively appears after successful connection (sometimes)
Huawei Mate Pro 20 - Dialog repetitively appears after successful connection (sometimes)
Huawei P40 Lite - Doesn't call onLost()
CAT S62 Pro - No issues found
Sony Xperia SZ2 - No issues found
Samsung Note10 - No issues found

In case if you want to connect to WiFi with INTERNET, you should use this kind of NetworkRequest:

NetworkRequest request = new NetworkRequest.Builder()
    .addTransportType(NetworkCapabilities.TRANSPORT_WIFI)
    .setNetworkSpecifier(wifiNetworkSpecifier)
    .addCapability(NetworkCapabilities.NET_CAPABILITY_INTERNET)
    .addCapability(NetworkCapabilities.NET_CAPABILITY_NOT_RESTRICTED)
    .build();

Also, you need specify default route for your process to make requests to connected WiFi AP permanently. Just add call of next method to your NetworkCallback under onAvaliable like this:

networkCallback = new ConnectivityManager.NetworkCallback() {
    @Override
    public void onAvailable(Network network) {
        createNetworkRoute(network, connectivityManager);
        }
    };
    if (connectivityManager!= null) connectivityManager.requestNetwork(request, networkCallback);

@RequiresApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP)
private static void createNetworkRoute(Network network, ConnectivityManager connectivityManager) {
     if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.M) {
          connectivityManager.bindProcessToNetwork(network);
     } else {
          ConnectivityManager.setProcessDefaultNetwork(network);
     }
 }

Don't forget disconnect from the bound network:

connectivityManager.unregisterNetworkCallback(networkCallback);

Finally, you can find best practice in different libraries like WifiUtils.

Connect to Wifi in Android Q programmatically

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