Gvokovsolution G-NetTrack Pro User Manual
G-NetTrack Pro Manual
1.Introduction
2.Tabs
2.1 CELL
2.2 NEI
2.3 MAP
2.4 INFO
2.5 DRIVE
3.Settings
4.Actions
5.Cellfile
6.Logfile
7.Floorplan
8.Dual SIM
9.Known issues
10.Tips & Tricks
11.Contacts
Introduction
G-NetTrack Pro is a wireless network monitor and drive test tool for Android OS devices. It allows
monitoring and logging of mobile network parameters without using specialized equipment. It's a tool
and it's a toy. It can be used by professionals to get better insight on the network or by radio enthusiasts
to learn more about wireless networks. It can be used even if you want just to make easy representation
of your traveled route.
Here is a video demonstration of G-NetTrack Pro and here are videos showing G-NetTrack Pro
applications.
Download pdf version of manual - here
Using application you can easily pinpoint network problems like:
- bad coverage - low RXLEVEL
- low uplink and downlink data throughput
- lack of dominant server causing lot of cell reselections and frequent service interruptions - when the
serving cell time is small
- weak 3G coverage - when you have a lot of reselections between cells on 3G and 2G
- blocked calls
- dropped calls
The main features of G-NetTrack Pro are:
- 2G/3G/4G serving and neighbor cells information measurement
- Record measurements in logfiles (text and kml format)
- Cellfile import/export and sites and serving and neighbor cells lines visualization on map
- Frequency information ARFCN measurements
- OUTDOOR and INDOOR measurements
- AUTO INDOOR mode for tunnels and places with bad GPS reception
- Dual SIM support
- Cell scan kml export
- Floorplans load
- Predefined routes load
- 3D map - different types of maps, 3D buildings, maps auto caching
- Data (upload,download,ping) test sequence
- Voice test sequence
- Mixed Data/Voice sequence
- Bluetooth control of multiple phones
- G-NetWiFI control
- Cells scan
- Multithread upload and download
- Chart with serving and neighbor cells levels
- Unlimited number of cell layers and custom cell colors
- Barometer usage for height determination
- Voice announcements for different events
- Screen orientation change
The measured data by G-NetTrack can be analyzed with the help of other tools available here on this
site as G-NetLook Pro , G-NetView Pro and G-NetLook Web.
Tabs
There are five tabs with different information - CELL, NEI, MAP, INFO and DRIVE. The
information displayed on each tab is
2.1 CELL Tab
CELL tab shows network and geographical information. It also shows history log of the serving
cells. The shown information is:
- Operator - the name of your wireless provider
- MCC - Mobile Country Code - it is a 3 digit code specific for each country
- MNC - Mobile Network Code - it is 2 or 3 digits code and is specific for each operator in the country
- LAC - location area code - the network is split by location areas, in which the subscriber is paged in all
cells simultaneously. LAC is the code of the current area
- NODE - Radio Network Controller - when on 3G it shows the ID of the RNC that controlls the current
serving cell. On 4G it shows enodeB ID.
- CID - the CELLI ID of the current serving cell
- PCI/PSC/BSIC - PCI on 4G, PSC on 3G and BSIC on 2G for current serving cell.
- F - ARFCN frequency channel number
- B - frequency band (Uxx for 3G, Lxx for LTE)
- TA - timing advance - for 2G and 4G
- Type - the network technology mode (like GPRS, EDGE on 2G or UMTS, HSPA etc... on 3G)
- LEVEL - the current signal strength in dBm. For different technologies the caption is different - RXLEV
for 2G, RSCP for 3G and RSRP for 4G.
- QUAL - the signal quality of the network. For different technologies the caption is different - RXQUAL
for 2G, ECNO for 3G and RSRQ for 4G. This value is not reported by most phones. Only several phones
report ECNO and maybe no phone reports RXQUAL.
- SNR - signal to noise ratio. It is measured on LTE only.
- CQI - channel quality indicator. It is measured on 4G only.
- Longitude - current location longitude in decimal format
- Latitude - current location latitude in decimal format
- Speed - current speed in kmph.
- Accuracy - the accuracy with which the location is determined. Location determination could be based
on GPS or Network (using Google location service - using serving and neighbor cells or WiFi networks)
- Height - the difference between Altitude and Ground values
- Altitude - the GPS measured altitude
- Height - the ground level height - this is ajustable in settings.
- UL - the current uplink data transfer speed in kbps
- DL - the current downlink data transfer speed in kbps
- Data - the used data network - Mobile Network or WiFi
- Phone State - IDLE, CALL, DATA - the current phone state - if it is idle or in active data transfer or in
active voice call
- Serving Time - the current serving cell time in seconds. If cellfile is used this line also shows the serving
cell name and cell layer.
- Serving cell history table - this table shows history log of serving cell changes with time of the change
and level at which this change happened. The table also shows cell serving time which is useful for
spotting frequent cell reselection and lack of dominant cells. Also here it is possible to see loss of
network coverage - rows with level values equal to -201.
2.2 NEI Tab
NEI tab shows information about neighbor cells measurements. It consists of two tables:
- Serving cell table - shows information about current serving cell id and level. when on 3G CELLID
column will show RNC-CELLID and PSC (Primary Scrambling Code) if the phone reports it.
- Neighbor cells table - shows information about the current neighbor cells and their levels. When on 2G
the neighbors are shown as LAC and CELLID. When on 3G they are shown as PSC
In neighbors table for 4G PCI collision are shown with exclamation sign "!" - !(mod3), !!(mod6),
!!!(mod30) and serving - neighbor level difference - enable it in SETTINGS - OTHER - Show PCI collisions
and Show level difference for PCI collisions.
The neighbor cells information is not reported by all phones. Check phone measurement capabilities for
more information.
At the bottom of the NEI tab is area with links to other available tools on this site.
2.3 MAP tab
MAP tab shows geographical view of hte measurements and mobile network basestations.
In the first row there is information about current technology, cell layer, MCC-MNC-LAC-RNC-CELLID of
the current serving cell, level and quality measurements.
On the second row there is information about the distance to serving cell and bearing to it. This
information is available only if cellfile with networks cell information is loaded. On this row also is
information about the GPS - if it has fix (green color) or not (red color).
The map shows the surrounding area view and thematic map of selected measurement (LEVEL, QUAL,
CELL, DL bitrate, UL bitrate, SPEED).
There are four buttons available:
- first button is for changing the thematic map measurement
- "Export" button - exports the current thematic map of the selected measurements in kml format. This
is useful for on the fly recording of measurement if the logging function has not been turned on.
- "Screenshot" button - saves the snapshot of the current view - useful for on the fly saving of image
representation of the measurements.
- "Clear" button - clears the view - if there are a lot of points, it can slow the map view and then is good
to clear the view.
2.4 INFO tab
The INFO tab provides following information:
- Log Status - shows if the log recording has been started or not
- IMSI - SIM card Inernational Mobile Subscriber Identity - this is useful for providing information in
order different traces to be performed by Network Operator.
- IMEI - this is hardware ID of the mobile phone
- Current Operator - name of the current serving operator
- Current Country - the country of the used mobile provider
- Home Operator - name of your operator
- Home Country - country of the Home Operator
- Is Roaming - if the mobile is in roaming or not
- MSISDN - your phone number
- SD Card - if sd card storage is available
- App folder - the used root folder for exported files - the folder where G-NetTracl_Logs folder stays
- Cellfile - the loaded cellfile name
- G-NetTrack version - current version of the app
- G-NetTrack code - number representation of the current app verson
- Android SDK - the Android OS version number
- Device - device name
- Brand - device brand
- Device Manufacturer - manufacturer of the device
- Build Number - device software build
- Network Type Num - network type number - determines the current network mode (GSM, HSDPA,
CDMA etc...). If your phone shows 0 (unknown) in idle or connected mode, check [Discard Network Type
0] in Settings in order to report correctly the level
- Sequence Status - status of voice/data sequence
- Voice Calls - number of voice calls performed in Voice Sequence
- Successfull Calls - number of successfully started and finished calls made in Voice Sequence
- Blocked Calls - number of blocked calls in voice sequence
- Dropped Calls - number of dropped calls that occur in Voice Sequence
2.5 DRIVE tab
DRIVE tab represent the main serving cells information in comfortable format with big font letters
Settings
Settings are activated via Menu - Settings. There are several group of settings, which are related to
different app features:
MAP Settings
- Map Satellite View - switches satellite/street view of the map
- Map in background - when active the GPS stays on while the app is in the background when the log is
not started
- Auto center map - switches on/off automatic centering of the map around current location
- Auto rotate map - switches on/off automatic rotation of the map
- Speed in km/h - when checked the speed is shown in kilometers per hour. Uncheck it to show speed in
miles per hour.
- Point Size - size of the point on map view
- Serving Cell Font Size - font size of the serving cell on Map view
- Cells Font Size - font size of the cells on Map view
- Serving Cell Thickness - thickness of the serving cell on Map view
- Cells Thickness - thickness of the cells on Map view
- 2G cell layers colors - colors in RRGGBB format for 2G layers (default 4 layers). Modify the colors or add
new layers via adding "," and new layer color
- 3G cell layers colors - colors in RRGGBB format for 3G layers (default 4 layers). Modify the colors or add
new layers via adding "," and new layer color
- 4G cell layers colors - colors in RRGGBB format for 4G layers (default 4 layers). Modify the colors or add
new layers via adding "," and new layer color
- Ground Level - sets the ground level altitude. When set different than 0 Height in CELL tab shows the
height above this ground/street level
- Neighbor Cell Line Thickness - thickness of neighbor cell lines
- Neighbor Cell Line Color - color in RRGGBB of neighbor cell line
- Log reduction factor - when this value (N) is bigger than 1 then every N-th measurements is shown on
map. This does not impact the logfile
- Auto clear log points - when it is on then the log points will be cleared periodically in order their
number to be kept constant. This will improve app performance since too many log points slow the app.
- Maximum number of points on map - the maximum number of log points on map. If the function for
autoclearing log points is on then when number of points is bigger than this value a part of log points is
cleared.
- Show serving cell info on map tab - Show serving cell info on map tab (requires app restart)
- Serving cell info font size - Set serving cell info font size (requires app restart)
- Show LAC, NODE, CELLID, PC, ARFCN on map tab - Show LAC, NODE, CELLID, PC, ARFCN on map tab
(requires app restart)
- Show LEVEL, QUAL, SNR on map tab - Show LEVEL, QUAL, SNR on map tab (requires app restart)
- Show distance and bearing on map tab - Show distance and bearing on map tab (requires app restart)
SITES Settings
- Show Sites - requires cellfile. When it is on the list of cells from cellfile will be loaded at the program
start. Requires restart of the app.
- Use database - when this is on then database cell loading will be used instead of loading cells from
cellfile. Database cell load is way faster. Here is demo video of cell database usage.
- DATABASE OPTIONS
- Order by distance - when it is on it will guarantee showing closest cell. When it is off then loading will
be faster.
- Limit by distance - Read from database cells in [Distance limit] range. When this is on loading will be
faster.
- Distance limit in kilometers - distance limit when limit by distance is on.
- Check if cellfile is more recent than database - check if cellfile is more recent than database. If cellfile
is more recent you will see message and you can refresh database using Menu - Refresh cell database.
- Show Serving Line - shows a line between current location and srving cell location
- Show Cell Names - shows cell names in map view
- Show dots for cells - checking this will draw dots instead lines for cells which improves map
performance
- Max visualized cells - This is the max number of cells that will be visualized from all cells that are loaded
in memory. If you want to increase this number you can use the two features below to achieve better
map performance
- Visualize only sites in range - loads all the cells, but visualize only sites in specified range - usefull when
the cellfile is big and the map view is slowed down because the big number of cells
- Auto refresh sites in range - the surrounding sites will be refreshed on location change when [Visualize
only sites in range] is selected.
- Range of loaded sites - range in meters around current location of sites to be loaded
- Add unknown cells - when this option is on the new cells are automatically added to cellfile. If you have
no cellfile and both [Show Sites] and [Add unknown cells] are on, the app will create new cellfile and
when the log is on it will start filling it with new cells.
- Show neighbor cells names - when checked the neighbor cell name, distance and bearing will be shown
on Neighbors table (requires 3G PSC/ 4G PCI info in cellfile)
- Show neighbor cells lines - when checked the neighbor cell lines will be visualized on map (requires 3G
PSC/4G PCI info in cellfile)
- Cell coloring type - choose the cell coloring based on TECH, CELLID or PCI/PSC/BSIC.
INDOOR Settings
- Indoor Mode - Switches Indoor mode On/Off
- Buffer Size - Max number of measurement samples in buffer during Indoor mode
- Auto Indoor Mode - Switches Auto Indoor mode On/Off
- Auto Indoor Accuracy threshold - when GPS accuracy is bigger than this value GPS fix is considered not
valid and Auto Indoor mode is started
- Auto Indoor Time threshold - when last GPS fix was more seconds ago than this value - the GPS fix is
considered not valid and Auto Indoor mode is started
- Set point in Auto Indoor mode - when On the tool for setting points in indoor mode is shown and
points on the route can be set
How to use indoor mode:
Here is a video demonstration of INDOOR mode with G-NetTrack Pro
Here is a video demonstration of subway measurements in INDOOR mode with G-NetTrack Pro
1. Go to Settings and activate INDOOR MODE
2. On Map the button [Set Point] and center point will appear
3. Point your current location on the map center and press [Set Point] - a marker will appear on the map
4. Move to the next point. Center map on it and press [Set Point] - several new markers (one for each
second) will appear connecting previous and current location
5. Go through the route putting points when you change direction.
6. You can clear the markers using [CLR] button
AUTO INDOOR mode allows auto filling of measurement points when the GPS fix is not available like in
tunnels or on places with bad GPS reception.
When GPS fix is lost the measurements are collected in a buffer and when the GPS fix is back again the
missing measurements are filled on a straight line connecting the point of loss and regaining GPS fix.
Alternatively you can use the point set tool to set intermediate points if the route is not straight line [Settings] - [Set Point in auto indoor mode].
Here is a video demonstration of tunnel measurements in AUTO INDOOR mode with G-NetTrack Pro
AUTO INDOOR mode works only when the log is active.
If INDOOR mode is selected AUTO INDOOR mode is not activated.
How to use it:
1. Enable AUTO INDOOR mode in Settings.
2. Choose threshold for GPS validity
- Accuracy - if the GPS accuracy is bigger than this threshold the GPS is considered not valid
- Time - if the last good GPS fix was received before the specified value (in seconds) - the GSP is
considered not valid.
When log is active both current values are visible on the upper right corner of MAP tab next to GPS
writing. When one of the conditions is satisfied the GPS fix is considered not valid and values are colored
in blue.
3. Start log.
4. When you enter the tunnel and lose GPS fix the GPS writing on upper right corner of MAP tab will
color in blue which means that AUTO INDOOR mode is active and measurements are collected. In order
measurements to be more precise you can wait a little until GPS fix is lost at the beginning of the tunnel
and the entering point is auto set.
5. When you go out of the tunnel and GPS fix is valid the values for GPS accuracy and time are colored in
green, the exiting point is auto set and the missing measurements between entering and exiting point
are shown on the map and filled in the log.
VOICE SEQUENCE Settings
Here is a video demonstration of VOICE SEQUENCE with G-NetTrack Pro
VOICE SEQUENCE allows automatic generation of voice calls to specified number with specified duration
and pause between the calls. When Voice Sequence is active the number of successful, blocked and
dropped calls are shown in INFO tab
- Called Number - the number to be dialed. You can enter several numbers ("," comma separated) that
will be called sequentially.
- Number of Calls - number of calls to be made
- Call Duration - duration of a single call
- Pause Between Calls - pause between the calls
- Start calls only on - allows starting of calls only on specific technology (2G, 3G, 4G) - useful for example
when you want to test 3G coverage only. If the call has been handovered to 2G the sequence will wait
until 3G is reselected again and then will continue
- Keep app in foreground - keeps app in foreground during voice sequence
DATA SEQUENCE Settings
Here is a video demonstration of DATA SEQUENCE with G-NetTrack Pro
DATA SEQUENCE allows test of data transfer.
- Ping - include PING in data sequence
- Ping URL - the URL for ping test. The format is like www.xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.com or 10.100.1.101
- Upload - include UPLOAD in data sequence
- Upload URL - the URL for upload test. The format should start with http:// and is like
http://www.xxxxxxxxxxx.com.
- Upload time, s - time for upload in seconds.
- Download - include DOWNLOAD in data sequence
- Download URL - the URL for ping test. The format should start with http:// and is like
http://www.xxxxxxxxxxx.com/downloadedfile.mp3. It is recommended to set bigger file which can not
be downloaded fully for download time in order to achieve bigger download speed.
- Download time, s - time for download in seconds.
- Pause between tests - pause between test cycles
- Log bitrates only during data test - when this is checked current DL and UL bitrates will be logged only
when data sequence is active. Useful when you want to view easily the maximum available bitrates
- Multithread - when checked multiple simultaneous connections will be used for upload and download
in Data Test and Data Sequence. Using several threads increases the bitrates.
- Number of threads - the number of threads to be used ([Multithread] should be checked). Set number
of simultaneous threads more than 1 and less or equal to number of phone CPU.
- Simultaneous UL/DL (experimental feature) - When checked then UL and DL data transfer is performed
simultaneously. Make sure the phone processsor has at least 8 cores in order to use this.
- Export data test summary - When checked then text file datatest.txt containing results of data
sequence and data tests is written in log folder. You can view results on the map in datatest.kml file.
- Show data sequence errors - this is for data sequence problems debugging only. Keep this off. You
might see some messages even when everything works ok.
IMPORTANT! Make sure you are using for DL and UL URL server with good connectivity. In this case you
will get results similar to apps that use dedicated servers for data throughput test. Here is a screenshot
showing similar results when compared with such apps.
SMS SEQUENCE Settings
SMS sequence is not available anymore due to Google policy for apps not to use SMS.
Here is a video demonstration of SMS SEQUENCE with G-NetTrack Pro
SMS SEQUENCE allows test of SMS sending and delivery.
- Number of SMS - numbers of SMS that are sent
- SMS recipient - MSISDN of recipient to whom the SMSs are sent
- SMS text - text of SMS message
- Pause between SMS - pause (seconds) between SMS messages
MIXED SEQUENCE Settings
Here is a video demonstration of MIXED SEQUENCE with G-NetTrack Pro
Mixed sequence allows including multiple types of test - data/voice/SMS in a test sequence. The settings
for each type of test is taken from respective sequence settings.
- Data Test - include data test in sequence.
- Voice Test - include data voice in sequence.
- SMS Test - include SMS test in sequence. SMS sequence is not available anymore due to Google policy
for apps not to use SMS.
- Test Pause - pause between test cycles.
- Number of cycles - number of mixed sequence cycles.
KML EXPORT Settings
Here are the settings for enabling different measurements export while log is started. When activated a
kml for specified measurement will be generated in the export file folder for each log in the GNetTrack_Logs folder on your main storage.
The following measurement exports are available:
- CELLID
- LEVEL
- QUAL
- TECHNOLOGY - 2G/3G/4G
- TECHNOLOGY MODE - GPRS/EDGE/HSPA etc...
- EVENTS - cell reselections and voice sequence events like call start, call end, blocked call and dropped
call (CR - Cell Reselection, HV - Voice handover, HD - Data handover)
- DL_BITRATE - downlink data transfer bitrate
- UL_BITRATE - uplink data transfer bitrate
- LAC
- RNC
- LAYER - Cell layer information - if available in cellfile
- SNR
- CQI
- LTE RSSI
- SPEED - the speed of movement
- PSC - PCI on 4G, PSC on 3G and BSIC on 2G
- ARFCN - frequency channel number
- BAND - frequency band
- CELL LAYER - serving cell layer
- HEIGHT
- IP address
- Timing advance
- Serving distance
- Serving antenna bearing
- NEIGHBOR CELLS - separate file for cellid and level for each of the first 6 neighbor cells measured
- CELLS scan - creates separate kml file for all detected cells. Useful to see cell coverage - check here for
sample scan logs
- CELLFIND - when active this will activate a CELLFIND feature which shows the serving cell location
determined by Google location service, based on the cellid measurements. In order this feature to be
available you must have mobile network data connection on. Turn your WiFi off in order to prevent
location determination based on WiFi networks. In kml file there is information about the cell location
and accuracy. It can help to gain insight on cell size (bigger when accuracy is greater number) and
location.
- DATA TEST - 5 kml files for DATA SEQUENCE statistics - average ping, ping loss, upload bitrate,
download bitrate and datatest.kml with all test data.
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