Expose “Ping Check” for devices detected only by Pi‑hole API or ARP‑Scan

[seh2000]

Hi,
I’ve noticed a small improvement opportunity while using NetAlertX in a multi‑Pi‑hole setup.

Feature Request

Please make the Ping Check option available for all devices, including those detected only by:

• Pi‑hole API
• ARP‑Scan
  Currently, these devices don’t get the Ping toggle, even though they respond reliably to ICMP and are fully reachable.

Why this matters

Infrastructure devices such as secondary DNS servers, quiet Pi‑hole nodes, or equipment that UniFi doesn’t classify as clients often show as “offline” despite being alive and reachable.
For these cases, Ping is the most accurate and consistent indicator of real status.

Proposed behaviour

• If a device has:
• an IP address
• a MAC address
• and is present in the device list

…then the Ping Check toggle should be available regardless of which plugin detected it.

This would make online/offline detection more consistent across different environments and reduce false negatives for quiet but important devices.

Thanks for considering it.

Warm regards,
Steen

[jokob-sk]

Hi,

This should be available via the ICMP plugin. Have you tried it?

Can you please share your configuration if you think it's not working?

[seh2000]

Hi Jokob, thanks for the quick response.

Yes, ICMP works in general.
The point I was trying to raise is that the Ping Check toggle doesn’t appear for devices that are detected only via Pi‑hole API or ARP‑Scan.

These devices respond to ping normally, but the UI doesn’t expose the Ping option for them.
That’s why I suggested making the toggle available for any device that has an IP + MAC and is present in the device list.

Happy to share my config if you still want it, but the behaviour seems consistent across all Pi‑hole/ARP‑Scan–only devices.

Regards - Steen

[jokob-sk]

I am confused - there is no ping check toggle in NAX. Can you share a screenshot what you are referring to?

Also:

Can you please share your configuration if you think it's not working?

[seh2000]

Hi Jokob,

Thanks — I think the confusion is on my wording, so let me clarify.

When I said “Ping Check toggle,” I didn’t mean a literal UI toggle. I was referring to whether ICMP-based presence checking is applied to a device at all.

What I’m observing is that devices discovered only via the Pi-hole API or ARP-Scan are not evaluated by the ICMP plugin, even though they have an IP + MAC and respond to ping normally. As a result, they can show as offline while they’re actually reachable.

My suggestion was essentially to allow ICMP evaluation for any device that has IP + MAC and is present in the device list, regardless of which discovery plugin introduced it.

If that behaviour is already expected or configurable, I’m happy to share my config or a screenshot — I mainly wanted to clarify the terminology first.

Regards,
Steen

[jokob-sk]

Afaik this is currently supported via the icmp plugin.

[seh2000]

Hi Jokob,

Many thanks — understood, and thanks for the clarification.

I’ll experiment a bit more with ICMP and see how it behaves with Pi‑hole/ARP‑Scan devices on my setup. If I can reproduce a minimal example, I’ll share it.

Appreciate the quick responses.

Kind regards,
Steen