App to select specific cell tower - Java for Android App Development

Is it possible to write an app that will force your phone to log on to a specific cell tower and ignore a closer stronger signal?
The test phone is a prepaid Verizon Moto g.
The phone will be stationary so dropping calls is not an issue.
I want the phone to stay locked on to the selected tower, even if a stronger signal magically appears and tries to lure my phone to it. I am thinking criminals or the Feds with a Stingray or a portable Managed Access System.

Related

Reason for "SIM does not allow a connection to this network"

I remember people talking about this on the G1 forums and people were thinking this was a bug in the Android software. I do not know if anyone has provided the answer to this already, but I figured I would share what I have found. (I also posted this in the G1 section)
Turns out that tmobile and at&t have dropped their roaming agreement in several areas. The "not allowed on this network" message is due to the phone trying to connect to these towers. Even when selecting "select auto" or selecting a weak tmobile tower, because it fails connecting to the weak tower and then will try to connect to the stronger tower (att) but is not allowed.
This whole thing sucks though, because I have a metal roof that kills my tmobile signal, but I am able to get a weak att signal inside.
negatory
I believe you're wrong there about signal strength.
I've had two seperate g1's that displayed this error when inserting a TMO and/or ATT sim. The phones were both unlocked, and sitting with 2 feet of a TMO g1 with 4 bars of 3G signal.
After updating the radios to most current and calling TMO to question someone withe sense, I was upgraded through 2 levels of customer support. The last fella I talked to apparently knew things, but couldn't say much - you get the idea. He did reset my connection (or said he did) and I watched as service for all three phones on my account died (connectivity) and then gained signal again. All while on the phone with him.
Afterwards, he suggested I clear all caches, facotory reset, etc.
Low and behold, both phones worked with 3G (TMO) and EDGE (ATT) just fine afterwards. Now, was it something HE did exclusively, or a combination of his 'reset' (whatever it was) AND my factory wipe of the phones ? Got me.
I WILL BET YOU A COKE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH UPGRADING THE RADIO TO CURRENT -AND- WIPING. If i'm wrong, i'll paypal you coke money... but I think I'm right.
If a tmo person in the know, -not a speculator-, would like to grace us, that would be cool.
This has worked for a total of three "Your SIM card does not allow connection to this network" type error'd phones. All of which were unlocked, rooted, and running cyanogenmod latest.
2 cents.
I contacted Google support about this. Apparently if T-Mobile has property rights to the area where you're connecting you are only allowed to connect to T-Mobile's network no matter how poor or lack of signal there is.
Yeah, I tested this myself, tried to connect to the only tower available (an att) and was not allowed. I know you have the roaming issue is you ever see "emergency calling only" in the service bar. Means it has a signal but is not allowed to roam on that signal. I have a good signal outside and in parts of the house, just not where I am the most. There might be a bug where it gets stuck trying to connect to the wrong towers, but the source of the issue lies in the lack of access to att towers in many areas.

Roaming in low Sprint signal areas

My office has a cell phone repeater that for some reason only repeats VZW and ATT signals. My phone tries like hell to hang on to the weak Sprint signal, but when it picks up the repeater signal I have full bars. Is there any way to make it prefer the higher power signal regardless of which provider it's coming from (whatever that might involve)?
You could try this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=696073
I tried it, and it worked well, but sprint date speeds are better in my area, I get full bars on sprint and verizon, just take your pick.
And this is a verrrry easy hack to do, it only takes a few seconds to switch back and forth once you get you msl password.

[Q] Repeating cellular network using a cellphone?

I was wondering if it is at all possible to repeat a cellular network signal using a cellphone. Is such a thing possible?
I am talking about using an application on any cellphone on any network, with any OS. Are cellphones built in any way to rebroadcast cellular network signal? If not an app, does anyone have any generalized DIY information on gutting a phone and using it's internal antennae to rebroadcast the cellular signal in some way?
Example scenario: Cellphone is in a location that has full signal strength. Less than 5 meters away there is 0 signal due to a ceiling of doom. The cellphone has horizontal line of sight to the dead-zone. The cellphone in the full bars area by means of an app (or some hardware modification) is able to rebroadcast the signal to some degree towards the dead-zone.
Thanks!
Would be pretty cool, but I doubt any cell phone has a built in transmitter, which is what you need to transmit the signal.
Azure1203 said:
Would be pretty cool, but I doubt any cell phone has a built in transmitter, which is what you need to transmit the signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are using avian carrier for your uplink?

Network extender doesnt work with Turbo

I bought a business class Verizon extender for $400 because the Turbo has less reception than my LG G2 did, but there seems to be a serious flaw in the Turbos programming (or maybe it's the antenna). I can be right next to the extender with only a couple bars, if I go to make a phone call it suddenly jumps to full bars. The issue could be battery saving? Because if I walk 30 feet from the extender I will lose the extender connection all together. I can then walk back to the extender and have no connection even when right next to it. Basically the extender is useless at 30ft because it will always lose connection.
Before anyone says, it's a defective extender. It's not, this is the replacement extender for the first one that had the same issue (and a burnt out power LED).
Can you post a picture of the extender? The first two photos show its connected to the extender. The third is 3g and it won't connect to it on 3g.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Free mobile app
extender in background
mobrules777 said:
Can you post a picture of the extender? The first two photos show its connected to the extender. The third is 3g and it won't connect to it on 3g.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The extender is the 4 blue lights in the background. It is the new business class one made by Samsung. It's supposed to have a range of 60ft.
The icon above your signal strength in the pictures shows that you are connected to the extender. It looks like a little house. Barely noticeable but its there. I have three to four bars at one end of my house but the other end only one. The one I have is the residential one but I have very bad 4g reception at my house. I dont really know anything about the business class one. The one I have has a range of about 100 ft. I can walk about half way into the back property without losing connection. I wonder If the materials of the building is causing an issue. I know a local government that bought these for several of its buildings. They didnt work for them because the buildings were concrete and brick. A phone could be 10 ft away from the extender but a wall between them and there was no connection at all.
Im sure this is stuff you already know but I would talk to verizon tier one support about it. They seeem to be a little more knowledgeable.
1 bar and I'm 1ft from extender.
It is showing 1 bar and I'm 1ft from the extender. So I walk 30ft and I got nothing.
The turbo can't do simultaneous voice and data because it has one radio, so whenever I make a call it shows 1x with no bars. I guess when you're on the extender and make a call, it switches to full bars like you said. I don't know anything about these extenders though.
If you place a call, you should see it go up to full strength.
You're seeing the 4G indicator, which is the 4G signal coming in from the network. The Network Extenders are 1X/EV-DO only.
Look at Settings-> About Phone-> Status-> Network Type and Strength and see what it says for 1x (or maybe 3g) strength.
I think digitaloutsider is right- when you're not on a call, and you're in 4G coverage, you'll see your 4G strength on the signal meter (or, at least, the low bar between the two). You can verify that you're going through the network extender by either dialing #48 or listening for a double beep immediately after you dial a number.
I don't have a business extender, but my consumer device doesn't have a great range. When I'm 30 feet away in my house (depending on exactly where I am), I'll see a noticeable drop in signal strength from the extender. It certainly still works anywhere in my house, though.
tested
reggie14 said:
Look at Settings-> About Phone-> Status-> Network Type and Strength and see what it says for 1x (or maybe 3g) strength.
I think digitaloutsider is right- when you're not on a call, and you're in 4G coverage, you'll see your 4G strength on the signal meter (or, at least, the low bar between the two). You can verify that you're going through the network extender by either dialing #48 or listening for a double beep immediately after you dial a number.
I don't have a business extender, but my consumer device doesn't have a great range. When I'm 30 feet away in my house (depending on exactly where I am), I'll see a noticeable drop in signal strength from the extender. It certainly still works anywhere in my house, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you guys are correct. It is showing the tower signal, even when the little house extender icon is on. I took several screen shots and they seem to verify the bars are the tower signal. The one issue seems to be that I still am completely losing connection to the extender when I am not far away (45ft), as seen in one of the screens. Certainly not the 60ft range that Verizon claims the business extender can reach.
lukester01 said:
I believe you guys are correct. It is showing the tower signal, even when the little house extender icon is on. I took several screen shots and they seem to verify the bars are the tower signal. The one issue seems to be that I still am completely losing connection to the extender when I am not far away (45ft), as seen in one of the screens. Certainly not the 60ft range that Verizon claims the business extender can reach.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like your phone is getting a stronger signal from a Verizon tower than your network extender in one of the pictures. Are you getting closer to a window in that case?
file name tells location
reggie14 said:
It looks like your phone is getting a stronger signal from a Verizon tower than your network extender in one of the pictures. Are you getting closer to a window in that case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you hover over the picture, it will show the file name for the location in relation to the extender. The extender is in an area of better cell tower coverage. I have a serious problem with intermittent cell coverage at this location. One second I'll have an amazing 4G signal, then 10 sec later it will be 1 bar 3G, then seconds after that nothing, then 5 min later great 4G coverage again. I am on the water in Seattle and I have noticed that when it switches to the 3G signal I am actually on a tower 3 miles away across the water. For some reason the signal goes up and down, then switches towers, it's a mess. So I was hoping the extender would give me constant coverage.
The one you are talking about I think is me on the phone, 45ft from the extender (is the phone icon at the top?). But if I get off the phone at that location the signal instantly drops as you can see in another photo labeled 45ft from extender. I honestly think the phone boosts it's reception when on the phone, then lets it drop when not. This would be fine if I only used the phone for phone calls (I use my wifi for data), except that I cannot then get texts when it does this.
lukester01 said:
If you hover over the picture, it will show the file name for the location in relation to the extender. The extender is in an area of better cell tower coverage. I have a serious problem with intermittent cell coverage at this location. One second I'll have an amazing 4G signal, then 10 sec later it will be 1 bar 3G, then seconds after that nothing, then 5 min later great 4G coverage again. I am on the water in Seattle and I have noticed that when it switches to the 3G signal I am actually on a tower 3 miles away across the water. For some reason the signal goes up and down, then switches towers, it's a mess. So I was hoping the extender would give me constant coverage.
The one you are talking about I think is me on the phone, 45ft from the extender (is the phone icon at the top?). But if I get off the phone at that location the signal instantly drops as you can see in another photo labeled 45ft from extender. I honestly think the phone boosts it's reception when on the phone, then lets it drop when not. This would be fine if I only used the phone for phone calls (I use my wifi for data), except that I cannot then get texts when it does this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Verizon Messages, you can send+receive SMS over Wi-Fi and you can open your messages in a web portal from your laptop or another device. Verizon apps don't always suck haha
I am gasping at the remark the turbo has worse reception than the g2. My droid maxx definitely has better reception and hand off than my g3 but both work well.
Sent from my Verizon LG G3 using Tapatalk
I really think it depends on your area as far as reception. The Turbo is the first phone I have used that gets cell reception in my neighborhood. That would be better reception than the OG droid, Bionic, Original Nexus, S3, HTC One, Iphone 4, iphone 5 and Verizon Ellipsis.
That said, due to all the reception issues of the past, I also have the business class extender. I have 2 bars of 4g and when I make a call, it goes over to 1x at full strength. As I move away, the bars drop. I live on half an acre and this thing still works out in the yard. You always know when you are using the extender because of the little bo doop sound it makes when you answer or make a call.

Poor Data and Cell Reception S5

I have an S5 that when next to 3 other phones in my house receives no signal (data or cell). I have to walk completely outside and its still spotty. Could it have bad antennas? and if so is it just the wire antennas or is there another piece that receives signals?
Past history: stopped using this phone probably 8-12 months ago because of this problem and now just did a factory reboot and re register on the network. and up until the factory reboot the phone wouldn't even register itself on any network or connect to any service even though it showed signal bars. It would either start to make a call and long pause and hang up or just go straight to an "emergency calls only" pop up. When looking on the about phone and status page there wee no registration on the status page.

Categories

Resources