Live data

Use the **Live Data**, **Topology**, and **Maps** views in the UNpkl mobile app to watch network activity as it happens, see how devices connect, and explore where traffic goes.

Tip

Tap the pause icon in the header to freeze updates while you read a row or explore the topology. Tap play to resume the live stream.

Overview

UNpkl Live Data list, Topology diagram, and Maps view on three phones
Live Data, Topology, and Maps work together to show who is on your network, how they connect, and where traffic goes.

The Live Data tab in the bottom navigation is your real-time monitoring home. It has two sub-tabs:

  • Live Data — a scrolling list of devices and their recent destinations (websites, DNS names, and connections).
  • Topology — a diagram of your network: internet gateway, UNpkl router(s), mesh agents, and connected clients.

The separate Maps tab plots live traffic on a world map when location data is available.

Open Live Data

  1. Open the UNpkl app while signed in to your UNpkl router (or cloud account).
  2. Tap Live Data in the bottom navigation.
  3. Use the Live Data or Topology sub-tab at the top of the screen.

The header also includes:

  • Search (magnifying glass) — open Search to run commands or ask questions about your network.
  • Play / Pause — start or stop live updates for both the device list and topology.

If data is still loading, wait a few seconds. The app retries automatically when the connection returns.

Live Data list

The Live Data sub-tab groups activity by device on your network.

Each device card shows:

  • Hostname — the name your router knows for the client (from DHCP or your own rename in Search).
  • IP address and MAC address
  • Recent destinations — up to five of the latest sites or services that device contacted, with timestamps and repeat counts when the same name appears often.

Devices with recent activity are highlighted with a green edge. Devices with no recent traffic appear dimmer.

Tap the arrow on a device card to open the full destination list for that client.

A summary bar above the list shows how many devices are visible and how many live updates have been received.

DNS only

Turn DNS only on to hide destination rows that are plain IP addresses and show DNS hostnames instead. This makes the list easier to read when you care about site names rather than raw IPs.

Turn DNS only off to see every destination name, including IP literals.

Topology

Switch to the Topology sub-tab to see a map of how your network is wired together.

Typical nodes include:

  • Internet — your upstream connection
  • Controller — the main UNpkl router
  • Agent — mesh Wi‑Fi access points (EasyMesh setups)
  • Device — phones, laptops, and other clients

Explore the diagram:

  • Pinch or use zoom controls to magnify dense areas.
  • Drag the canvas to pan around.
  • Drag individual nodes to rearrange them; positions are remembered on your phone.

Tap a node to open details. For client devices you can:

  • Show Policy — view tags, blocks, and policy matches applied to that device.
  • Block Device / Unblock Device — quickly stop or restore network access for that client.

If topology refresh is temporarily unavailable, the app may show the last successful snapshot with a time hint until new data arrives.

From Search, when the assistant finds a device you can tap Open in Topology to jump here and highlight that client (nothing opens automatically—you choose when to navigate).

For mesh layout and hardware placement, see UNpkl EasyMesh.

Maps

Tap Maps in the bottom navigation to see live traffic on a world map.

First-time setup: the map uses an on-device IP location database. Download it once from Settings → Download IP Maps Data (see Settings & charts). When the database is installed, return to Maps to see pins.

While the Maps tab is open, live records from your router feed the map. A banner shows how many live records and map pins are active.

  • Local router — pins are placed by country (or region) from the GeoIP database. Private LAN addresses appear under Local or unknown IP.
  • Cloud — pins reflect geolocated flows from your cloud-connected edges.

Tap a pin or country cluster to zoom in and, when available, see which devices and destinations contributed to that region.

The number of map pins can be lower than the live record count when many flows share the same location or IP.

Troubleshooting tips

  • No devices yet — confirm you are on the UNpkl Wi‑Fi or LAN and signed in. Tap play if the stream was paused.
  • Empty map — download IP Maps Data in Settings, then reopen Maps.
  • Topology empty — wait for the first refresh, or check that the router is online. Pause and play once to retry.

For broader connection issues, see Troubleshooting.