Get an alert on your phone when your game server goes down

Find out your server crashed before your players tell you. Rconic checks your Source game servers in the background and sends a notification when one goes offline, when it comes back, and when players join or leave.

What you need

An Android phone with Rconic installed.
A server for Garry's Mod, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress 2 or another game that answers Source server queries.
No RCON password needed for online and offline alerts. Rconic uses the same public query the server browser uses.
Rconic Pro for monitoring. It's a one-time purchase, and you can try it free for 7 days.

1. Add your server

Open Rconic, tap +, and enter a Nickname, the Host / IP and the Port (27015 unless your host says otherwise). The RCON password is optional for alerts. Tap Save.

2. Turn on monitoring

Open the server from the list.
Turn on Monitor ("Alerts for players & online status").
Allow notifications when Android asks.

A small "Monitoring" notification stays visible while Rconic is checking your servers. Android requires it for apps that keep working in the background.

3. Choose how often to check

In Settings → Monitor poll interval, pick 30 seconds, 1 minute (the default) or 5 minutes. Shorter means faster alerts and a bit more battery.

To avoid false alarms from a single dropped packet, a server has to miss 3 checks in a row before Rconic calls it offline. That's about 1½ minutes at 30 seconds, or about 3 minutes at the default.

4. Stop Android from pausing alerts

Some phones pause background apps to save power, which can delay or drop alerts. In Rconic, open Settings → Keep monitoring running and let Rconic run unrestricted.

What the alerts look like

"Server is offline", when the server stops answering.
"Server is online", when it's back.
Player activity, such as "Garry connected". When lots of players come and go at once, they're grouped into one notification, such as "6 players joined". Player alerts use a separate notification channel, so you can silence them in Android's settings and keep the outage alerts.

The checks run from your phone, so you only get alerts while your phone has an internet connection. It's a quick way to know something's wrong, not a replacement for monitoring on the server itself.

Bonus: see who's been on

Add your RCON password and turn on Background player tracking in Settings. Rconic then keeps a history of everyone who joins, with your own tags and private notes, and a 24-hour population chart for each server.

Rconic is free on Android. Pro is a one-time purchase with a 7-day free trial.