Difference between revisions of "Trigger: Cell Tower Change"

Latest revision as of 22:17, 5 January 2026

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

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 <pre class="header-style">
-This trigger will fire when you enter or exit an area based on the cell towers that can be detected by your device.
+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.
+</pre>
+''' 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:
+. Go to the location you want to define
+. Add a new cell tower group and scan the visible towers
+. 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
+  <pre class="trigger-style">Triggers
+Cell Tower Change [Enter Cell Area: Home]</pre>
+  <pre class="action-style">Actions
+WiFi On</pre>
+Example 2: Silent mode when leaving home city
+  <pre class="trigger-style">Triggers
-This works like a low accuracy location trigger, so it's useful to determine if you are in or out of a certain town/city. Cell tower coverage typically extends over many Kilometers so this trigger is not suitable for high precision location tracking.
+Cell Tower Change [Leave Cell Area: Home City]</pre>
-</pre>
+  <pre class="action-style">Actions
-'''Cell Tower Group'''
+Set Ringer Mode: Silent</pre>
-You can scan for cell towers that are visible in your current location to create a cell tower group. This cell tower group is later used to compare against the currently visible cell towers to determine if you are within range or outside range of the cell tower group. For more information see [[Cell_Towers]]
+''' Notes '''
-'''Configuration Options'''
+* 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.
-* Enter Cell Area
+''' Permissions Required '''
-The trigger will fire when one or more cell towers within the selected group is detected, indicating that you are within the coverage area of the cell tower group.
+* ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
+* ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
+* READ_PHONE_STATE
-* Leave Cell Area
+''' See Also '''
-The trigger will fire when no cell towers with the selected group are detected, indicating that you are outside the coverage area of the cell tower group.
+* [[Constraint:_Cell_Towers|Cell Tower Constraint]]
+* [[Trigger:_Geofence_Trigger|Geofence Trigger]]
+* [[Trigger:_Location_Trigger|Location Trigger]]