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Disable network search

doe
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Hi,

does anyone know how I can disable mobile network search in Android without taking out SIM card and without putting the phone to airplane mode?

 

Thank you.

13 REPLIES 13

There's no "risk" in terms of costs.

If you didn't already pay for plan or add-ons which provision data then you can't use data and you won't be charged for data. At PM there's never any overcharges, you pre-pay for the (data) service or you don't get provisioned for the service.

If you didn't already pay for plan or add-ons which have USA roaming then you won't get USA roaming and you won't be charged for USA roaming. Even if you (your phone) is in USA and pinging American towers.

 

There is "risk" in terms of cellular radio traffic - it can be intercepted or monitored by anyone with technical (and presumably legal) ability to eavesdrop on the signals. Same as with any other phone on any other carrier. This risk is never zero but it's basically insignificant when you're not actually using your phone to talk or msg or send logins across data.

It's theoretically possible for wireless hackers ("whackers") to capture or spoof the SIM ID and IMEI from any device connected to the network, but again the non-zero risk is basically insignificant. Few criminals would have the necessary tech savvy, equipment, and patience to accomplish this.

It's definitely possible for your (your phone's) location and movements to be tracked through simple radiolocation. Even without a SIM card. The only way to mitigate this risk is Airplane Mode - or better yet, turn the phone off and remove battery.

 

Excessive radio transmission (like searching networks) does drain battery fairly quickly. Airplane Mode prevents this. Or at least it's supposed to - power off and remove battery if you're a tinfoil hat kinda person.

 

Standard Android (and iOS) won't allow cellular networks to be disabled if a SIM card is installed (even if the SIM isn't valid). Non-standard operating systems (like GrapheneOS and CyanogenMod) could offer this feature, or instead could allow the phone's built-in apps to be replaced by apps which offer user control over this default behaviour. Assuming the device model has been fully reverse-engineered and there's no need to rely on proprietary embedded "black box" code blobs.

doe
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Thank you for advice

Anonymous
Not applicable

@doe wrote:

Thank you everyone for help, solution worked.

 

Since we touched that, can someone confirm whether there is any risk for PM subscriber if their SIM tries to register in the network where roaming is not supported, i.e. any network outside US?

 

Thanks.


There are no after the fact charges here. A phone _might_ be able to dial emergency numbers outside Canada/US depending on the telecom laws of the jurisdiction. But otherwise, the other network sees your phone introducing itself. Hey Hi. See me? Yeah. Who are you with? You're not welcome here. Ignore.

kb_mv
Mayor / Maire

@doe As PM is pre pay there are never any charges after the fact. If your phone "roams" it won't cost you anything. It may not work but it won't cost you a dime.


@doe wrote:

Thank you everyone for help, solution worked.

 

Since we touched that, can someone confirm whether there is any risk for PM subscriber if their SIM tries to register in the network where roaming is not supported, i.e. any network outside US?

 

Thanks.


@doe  No risk. The rule of thumb here is that if you have not prepaid for a service and it works then it's free. 

doe
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Thank you everyone for help, solution worked.

 

Since we touched that, can someone confirm whether there is any risk for PM subscriber if their SIM tries to register in the network where roaming is not supported, i.e. any network outside US?

 

Thanks.


@doe wrote:

I've heard there is a problem for PM subscriber if their SIM tries to register in roaming network. Even if that's not a problem it drains battery for registration attempts. I'd like to keep SIM inside the phone so it doesn't get lost. And I need Wi-Fi so airplane mode isn't an option.

Disabling data is not an option as phone still would try to register on network.

No, it's not about USA or Canada.

 

So can someone help with disabling mobile network search without taking SIM out and without airplane mode?

 

Thank you.


@doe  FYI you can put the phone in airplane mode and turn on Wi-Fi manually from the settings menu.

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @doe : Airplane mode should still allow you to turn on wifi. Click on the subject line above and you'll come into the thread. Then you can scroll up this thread for all the replies you've received.

 

Edit: airplane turns off the cellular radios. You can still use wifi, bluetooth, gps, nfc in airplane mode. Of course you're not supposed to in an actual plane but you can otherwise.

 

Now I am curious what you're trying to accomplish. Saving battery? No active service?

doe
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

I've heard there is a problem for PM subscriber if their SIM tries to register in roaming network. Even if that's not a problem it drains battery for registration attempts. I'd like to keep SIM inside the phone so it doesn't get lost. And I need Wi-Fi so airplane mode isn't an option.

Disabling data is not an option as phone still would try to register on network.

No, it's not about USA or Canada.

 

So can someone help with disabling mobile network search without taking SIM out and without airplane mode?

 

Thank you.

To go with what @Anonymous mentioned. It looks like this. Turn off "Automatic* then select Public Mobile.

 

Screenshot_20200923_120832.jpg

Anonymous
Not applicable

@doe wrote:

Hi,

does anyone know how can I disable mobile network search in Android without taking out SIM card and without putting the phone to airplane mode?

 

Thank you.


Are you near the US border and picking up US towers?

On my A31 running A10 I can go into settings, connections, mobile networks, network operators and here I can choose to select manually.

geopublic
Mayor / Maire

@doe wrote:

Hi,

does anyone know how can I disable mobile network search in Android without taking out SIM card and without putting the phone to airplane mode?

 

Thank you.


@doe 

 

Go into settings and manually set the Network to Public Mobile. If you are asking about data then just turn Mobile data off from your settings.

Jb456
Mayor / Maire

What are you trying to accomplish? Why is airplane mode no good for you? Thanks.

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