Trigger: Cell Tower Change

This trigger will fire when it detects that a particular cell tower or group of cell towers is in/out of range. This is a low-accuracy location method useful for identifying presence in a general area such as a town or city, as cell tower coverage typically spans many kilometers.

Options

Enter Cell Area - The trigger fires when at least one cell tower from the selected group becomes detectable, confirming you are within the group's coverage zone.

Leave Cell Area - The trigger fires when no cell towers from the selected group are detected, confirming you have moved outside the coverage area.

After selecting enter/leave, you will be taken to the Cell Tower List screen where you can:

Create a new cell tower group by scanning visible towers at your current location
Select an existing cell tower group

Cell Tower Groups

Cell tower groups are collections of cell tower IDs that define a geographic area. To create a group: 1. Go to the location you want to define 2. Add a new cell tower group and scan the visible towers 3. Give the group a meaningful name

The trigger compares currently visible cell towers against the saved group to determine whether you are within or outside the coverage area.

Examples

Example 1: Turn on WiFi when arriving at home area

Triggers

Cell Tower Change [Enter Cell Area: Home]

Actions

WiFi On

Example 2: Silent mode when leaving home city

Triggers

Cell Tower Change [Leave Cell Area: Home City]

Actions

Set Ringer Mode: Silent

Notes

Cell tower-based location is less accurate than GPS but uses significantly less battery power.
The trigger polls cell tower information at regular intervals. You can configure the update rate in MacroDroid Settings.
Setting the update interval to 0 uses a 30-second interval.
The trigger listens for real-time cell location changes when the device is awake.
On Android 8.1+, location services must be enabled for this trigger to work.
The trigger requires the SCHEDULE_EXACT_ALARM permission on Android 12+ for reliable timing.

Permissions Required

ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
READ_PHONE_STATE

See Also