4 ms·
I think triangulation works best when devices do handoff between towers, as they query each one to see which signal is strongest. For a stationary device like a
by falsedan 8y ago
I think triangulation works best when devices do handoff between towers, as they query each one to see which signal is strongest. For a stationary device like a mobile broadband dongle, I'd expect it to never handoff.
Getting a search warrant is easy, but not getting one is even easier & leaves no paper trail.
- swebs 8y agoThat's not true. Cell phones have been using clock synchronized triangulation since the mid 2000s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_9-1-1#Wireless_enhanced_911 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_9-1-1#Wireless_enhanc...
- ThrowawaySR 8y agoMy memories from flashing phones circa 2003-2004 may be a bit rusty (btw. back than "flashing" meant something completely different than nowadays ROM uploads, it was more akin to poking machine code memory locations in BASIC on 8-bits :) ), but if I recall correctly, the device periodically scans all the BTSs it can see and sends that list with signal strengths to the network (and the network decides which tower should the device connect to!). Something tells me that the device even stayed connected to multiple strongest BTSs at once, but that may be a false memory. Of course, that was old GSM days, it may be something completely different today in 3G/4G/LTE, but so is on the other hand the location hardware and algorithms of carriers. But no, no handoffs were needed to track you very precisely even back then. There were ways around, but given the poor opsec in the case, it is doubtful something like that was used here.