Socket.io not working on Android 9 (API level 28)

Recently I wanted to get a grip on programming for Android. While I was getting through this tutorial: https://dev.to/medaymentn/creating-a-realtime-chat-app-with-android--nodejs-and-socketio-4o55 it turned out that for Android 9 (API level 28) I couldn't connect to my local nodejs server from android device emulator. If I just change all build dependencies to use lower API levels (<=27) it connects correctly. From what i've read on the behavior changes for Android 9 I don't really know what could cause such a thing. Here is the code that is critical i think.

public class ChatBoxActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    //declare socket object
    private Socket socket;

    public String Nickname;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_chat_box);

        // get the nickame of the user
        Nickname = (String) getIntent().getExtras().getString(MainActivity.NICKNAME);
        //connect you socket client to the server
        try {
            socket = IO.socket("http://192.168.2.106:3000");
            socket.connect();
            socket.emit("join", Nickname);
        } catch (URISyntaxException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();

        }
    }
}