The Nokia Network Monitor

Introduction
The Network monitor is a mode used for testing the Nokia phone and the network. In the
test mode the operator name (logo) and other information on the main display are
replaced by various test displays. The mode is available in most mass production Nokia
GS phones.
These pages are written for Nokia !""# Network monitor. $owever% Netmonitor
activation and test displays are similar in all &'T( generation phones% so this information
applies also to )""#% !")#% (*"#% (("#% etc...
Activation of the monitor
The activation the Network monitor is made without opening the phone by using +'
software. ,ne good freeware application for activating the Net onitor menu is N-
onitor by .nderas Schmidt. N-onitor re/uires an 012S cable. It activates the menu
item automatically after successful connection.
.fter activation Net monitor can selected in the main menu of the phone. Select it
and type #" to Test. (Typing ## disables the test displays% but leaves the Net monitor in
the main menu.)
.fter this also arrow keys can be used for scrolling through the test displays.
In some of the displays there are manually selectable options. To change them press Menu
- (up arrow) - Select - OK at the display.
Removing the monitor with the phone
The Net monitor menu may be removed completely from the phone 3ust by going to the
Test prompt in the phone% typing *4"% and pressing OK. 5emember that you cannot
reactivate the menu with the phone.
Typing *4* to the prompt removes all tests but tests numbered "..."6 permanently (i.e.
enters operator network monitor).
Disadvantages of the test mode
7hen the test displays are active% the phone functions normally% but the following
disturbs using it8
The number% name or
caller group graphic will not be
displayed when phone receives
a call%
the operator name or logo
and selected profile (and other
normal indicators) are not
displayed%
you cannot edit the phone
numbers entered or picked
from messages at all%
the short code memory cannot be accessed by pressing the arrow keys% but only by
pressing Names (or Menu in the )"99-series)%
dialed numbers are available only via the menu ()"99-series)% and
the battery consumption is slightly higher.
:ou can still leave the Net monitor item in the menu% 3ust disable the displays by typing #
to the Test prompt to avoid these annoyances.
Some examples of the tests
The link above contains some information of the interesting (and ;useful;) readings of the
Network monitor.
$old the * key down for a few seconds to view help display for the test. :ou can scroll
the help display like the test displays with the arrow keys. To go back to the test display%
press and hold * again. ($elp displays are not available in all phones. 2sually they are
found in )""# and !")# phones. !""#s usually miss them.)
Monitor without any SIM card or IN code
+hone starts network and internal measurements immediately after powering up.
$owever% without a SI card and valid +IN code you cannot access the Network monitor
as the phone menu is unavailable. Therefore only way to look at the network monitor
without a SI card is to connect the phone +' and use for e9ample N-onitor
application to browse the test displays.
Note that when there is no SI card in the phone% the phone is not tied to one specified
network. :ou may found base stations that are not visible during normal operation.
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No email support or answers to technical /uestions.
The Nokia Network Monitor
Some examples of the tests
!" # $urrent link %also the &!!'"(!! )and information*
0or e9ample% the test display #" tells basic information about the active base station (1S)
link. In the picture%
"29" tells the channel number in use%
"-87" shows received signal power in d1m (minus sign is not displayed if
the value is smaller than -66)%
"xxx" displays the transmit power in use (preceded with "*" if the
transmitter is on)%
"0" and "1" indicates the time slot (# - =) and timing advance (# - !()%
"x" is received signal /uality (# - =)% and
"CC!" tells the channel type.
It is difficult to understand the displays if you are not familiar with the GS technology.
In the test display #" the most interesting values are the received signal power that tells
about the link /uality (less negative% better /uality)% and the channel number. 1y
following the C"# ('ell I&) number on the display "" it is easiest to see cell change.
In dual-band phones the channel number tells if the phone is using the ">## $? band.
(Normally you cannot see the band in use.) If the channel number is greater than )"*% the
phone is on the ">## band.
7hen a call is in progress you can see the speech codec type from this display. 7hen
T$%& (Transfer channel @nhanced 0ull 5ate) is displayed as channel type% both the base
station and your phone support this better-/uality voice codec. . standard 0ull 5ate
speech channel will be shown as T%&. GS networks built in "66#As may contain lots of
old base stations that do not support @05 codec. :ou can detect them by using the
Network monitor.
To test the difference between @05 and 05 codecs% you can disable @05 support in your
phone by typing '((70' ('e)r0'). .fter disabling @05 support in the phone% base
stations are forced to use old 05 codec with your phone. @05 support can be re-enabled
by typing *((70' (*e)r0'). +hone re-boots automatically when codec is changed.
!+, !-, !. # /ther )ase stations
The display #* tells more about the active link% and #(% #4% and #) show the signal
powers of other 1Ss. The first row in display #( is for the current 1S link (same
information is on display #")% other rows in #(% and all rows in #4 and #) shows
information about other 1Ss (channels). The first number is the channel number and the
third value from the left is the signal power in d1m.
:ou can easily see with the displays #(...#) how tightly your network operator has
covered the area. If 3ust the active 1S signal is over -6# d1m and others are much lower
(for e9ample% -"## d1m)% you have only one possible 1S (channel) at the moment. If you
see many levels above -!# d1m (or -4# d1m in cities etc.) there are many 1Ss
(channels).
"0 # 1ocking the phone to one )ase station
0or base station testing purposes it is possible to force the phone to use only one channel
all the time. In general% this means that the phone will communicate only with one
specified base station.
1efore switching the 1TS T@ST (test display "=) on% you must store the chosen channel
number in location (( of the SI card phone number memory (S'). 1ecause you
cannot specify the location number with these new phones when storing phone numbers%
you may use the following trick (if only you have the location (( currently in use) 8
". Type **' and remember at the number displayed. (It is one of your stored
numbers.)
*. Search the corresponding item in the phone number memory and copy (preserve
the old one) it to the phone memory.
(. Go to the original item (still in the SI memory) and edit it. The recommended
name of the item is "TS T$ST". 5eplace the phone number with the channel
number to be tested.
4. Now you can move the copied phone number back to SI card memory. It will
take a new location (and the location (( is now "TS T$ST").
). Test the result by typing **'. It should now display the chosen channel number.
0inally% to activate the base station test% go to the display "= and press Menu - (up arrow)
- Select - OK. Turn the phone off and on. .fter normal start-up procedure the phone
should display "TS T$ST ON". Now the phone behaves like there is only one GS
channel. The phone will register on a base station on this channel if there is one.
,therwise the phone goes to "NS+S" power saving mode (shown on the display #")%
because no network is found.
To select a channel number used in the area% look at the displays #(...#) before
activating the 1TS test.
"& # Detecting )arred )ase stations
It is possible for operators to disable some 1Ss from public use for testing etc. These are
called ;barred cells;. Normal mobiles will not try to register to those stations (barring
accepted). 7ith the test display "6 it is possible to force the phone to use only barred
stations (reversed barring) or to use all stations (barred or not) (i.e. discard barring
information).
To change the barring information usage mode% press Menu - (up arrow) - Select -
OK in the test display "6. The new setting will take effect when the mobile ne9t time tries
to change the 1S. (In cities this re/uires only few meters change in the position of the
phone% in countryside few kilometers may be re/uired.)
In the C$,, -&& &$.$&S$ mode you can detect if there is any barred stations in the
area. In the test display #" you see the phone searching (S$-&) for barred 1Ss on different
channels. 7atch the displays #(...#) for found stations (marked with instead of N). 7ith
the C$,, -&& #"SC-&# mode you can possibly register on also those barred 1Ss in
addition to regular ones.
2! # 3attery charging status
The charge status of the phone is displayed with the test *#. In the picture%
"*98" shows the battery voltage in cB%
"T/2*" tells the battery temperature in
,
' (you can use your phone as a
thermometer)%
"%astC" indicates the active charging mode%
"0" displays the charging time%
"C (1" indicates the charging voltage in dB% and
"1017" is the appro9imate battery capacity in m.h.
2+ # 3attery status
,verall battery status is shown on display *(. In the picture%
"**10" displays the battery voltage estimate during transmit in mB%
"*911" shows the voltage estimate with transmitter off in mB%
"0" indicates the charging current in m.%
"*908" is the estimated stand-by voltage of the battery%
"**" is an estimate of the Ci-ion battery age (# means ;new; and "## means ;old;)%
"71" is percentage of battery charge left%
"*" is the calculated current consumption 3ust now in milliamperes%
"0" on the left is the Ci-ion battery temperature in
,
'% and
"0" in the middle tells the capacity charged into the battery in m.h.
+. # 1atest reset reason
The test () shows the reason for last software reset% e.g. ;boot;. The upper row displays
the reset reason% for e9ample8
"NO&M" - probably normal power up%
"2NKNO" - default value% reset reason is unknown%
"!3 3#" - .SI' watchdog timeout%
"S3#S+" - &S+ recovery reset%
"S3S"M" - SI contact failure reset%
"S3"#," - idle task not running reset% or
"ST-CK" - task stack overflow.
The bottom row contains the name of the task running when the system was reset. :ou
can test the display by hanging your phone. 7ith some Nokia !""#s hanging is possible
by doing the following8 (first disable the test displays by choosing the test #)
". Select Names - Caller 4rou5s - some group - &ename 4rou5% and
*. press ac6 in the "7rou5 name" prompt.
(. Now% when the "&ename 4rou5" is displayed% press 0. &isplay should not show
the ?ero.
4. @nter 1% 2% *% (% and down arrow two times.
). @nter numbers until the device hangs.
The phone is automatically rebooted after a moment. .fter that you can read the new
values of the test ().
+4 # Reset counters
There are counters for different types of resets on display (!. The counters are for8
2nknown resets .SI' watchdog timeout resets &S+ recovery resets
SI contact failure resets Idle task not running resets Task stack overflow resets
4!, 4+ # $all counters
The phone counts calls and call attempts continuosly and the current counter values are
shown in network monitor display !(. In the picture below%
"MO" displays the party who disconnected last call (MO D mobile originatedEyou have
ended the callF MT D mobile terminatedEthe other party or network ended the callF 2N D
unknown originF "N D phone itself ended the call)%
"0(*" is the count of call attemps made with the phone%
"(21" shows the number of successful calls called with this phone (answered calls)%
"*91" counts the incoming call attemps% and
"097" shows the number of calls you have answered.
Note that the counters will ;wrap-around; when they reach "999". :ou can reset the
counters with the network monitor display !# (and with 4# G *4# but they clear other
things also). To reset the counters% enter the display !# via the Network onitor menu
(entering the display !# with arrow keys does not reset the counters).
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