Connections lost at the Rheintal service area

    • Lately I’ve noticed that my girlfriend (wingo) and I regularly lose connection at the Rheintal service area (between Buchs SG and Sevelen SG on the A13 motorway). On both sides of the connection it looks like someone has hung up.

    So it doesn’t seem to be a reception problem, but a technical problem (handover).

    Anyone have an idea what it could be?

    @GrandDixence?

    Show original language (German)

    I drive through there regularly, but have never encountered any problems (iPhone 8). I’ll pay close attention next time.

    Does your phone show a network change? Or could it be that your cell phone connects to the rest area Wi-Fi when you drive past the rest stop (or under the passerelle) and this causes a bit of confusion? You could limit this by switching off the smartphone’s WiFi as a test.

    Show original language (German)

    Have you tried turning it off and on again?

    Monitor cell phone reception with a network monitor in the passenger seat. Use the BAKOM radio transmitter card and the Swisscom field strength card to locate the Swisscom mobile radio antennas (3G/UMTS) relevant for motorway journeys between Buchs SG and Sevelen SG.

    [https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/Natel-Empfang-bricht-%C3%BCber-die-Staffelegg-immer-ab/td-p/525279] (https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/Natel-Empfang-bricht-%C3%BCber-die-Staffelegg-immer-ab/td-p/525279)

    [https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/4G-VoLTE-telefonieren-mit-externer-antenna-oder-analogem-telefon/m-p/638463#M8231] (https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/4G-VoLTE-telefonieren-mit-externer-Antenne-oder-analogem-telefon/m-p/638463#M8231)

    [https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/Mit-welcher-Handy-Antenne-bin-ich-verbunden/td-p/646485](https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/ Which cell phone antenna am I connected to/td-p/646485)

    [https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/Wifi-Calling-scheint-nicht-zu-funktionieren/m-p/662063](https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/Wifi-Calling- doesn’t seem to work/m-p/662063)

    Everything else is reading coffee grounds…

    When using a cell phone in a car, the instructions are as follows:

    https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/Abbruch-des-telefonat/m-p/636411

    to note!

    By the way: If you enter the address “Erbweg 71 9470 Buchs SG” in the Swisscom field strength map, you will find that a Swisscom mobile radio antenna is mounted on the roof of the “Rheintal Ost” motorway service station (page: Vaduz). Two of the three sector antennas of this Swisscom mobile radio antenna provide the A13 motorway with optimal mobile communications with their main lobes. The third sector antenna of this Swisscom mobile radio antenna supplies Vaduz with Swisscom mobile radio (-> Swisscom FL).

    [https://www.swisscom.ch/de/about/netz/mobilfunk-antennen-umwelt-gesundheit/feldstaerke.html](https://www.swisscom.ch/de/about/netz/mobilfunk-antennen- environment-health/feldstaerke.html)

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antennendiagramm#Hauptkeule

    https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sidelobes_de.svg

    [http://www.ralf-woelfle.de/elektrosmog/redir.htm?http://www.ralf-woelfle.de/elektrosmog/technik/antennen\_3.htm](http://www.ralf- woelfle.de/elektrosmog/redir.htm?http://www.ralf-woelfle.de/elektrosmog/technik/antennen_3.htm)

    Show original language (German)

    And another bonus for readers interested in mobile phone technology:

    During a handover, the cell phone changes the cell phone antenna used during an ongoing phone call. During the handover considered here, a change takes place from the currently used mobile phone antenna A to the neighboring mobile phone antenna B.

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handover

    Regardless of the mobile communications technology (2G/GSM, 3G/UMTS, 4G/LTE or 5G) and the type of handover (soft handover or hard handover), several criteria must be met at the same time for reliable handover:

    - The neighboring radio cells must overlap.
    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funkzelle

    - The overlap zone of the two neighboring radio cells must be sufficiently large. When planning the radio network, the fastest moving road and rail vehicle must be considered separately: The overlap zones must be large enough so that a cell phone in the road or rail vehicle can receive the cell phone signal from both radio cells for several seconds. The faster the vehicle travels, the larger the overlap zone must be for a reliable handover.

    - Terrestrial radio solutions usually use the signal strength of the received radio signal in the mobile device as a criterion for triggering a handover. The signal strength of the cell phone signal emitted by cell phone antenna A should decrease as continuously as possible and always be above the minimum signal strength required for reliable cell phone reception (more precisely: S/N) until the handover to cell phone antenna B is successfully completed.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_strength_in_telecommunications

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal-Rausch-Verh%C3%A4ltnis

    [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichbreite\_(Radio Technology)](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichweit_(Radio Technology))

    Digital radio solutions for aircraft (e.g.: EAN) and for helicopters (e.g.: TETRA AGA) most likely use different criteria for triggering a handover. At high altitudes, airplanes and helicopters often have line of sight to several radio antennas. The signal strength is therefore not a reliable criterion for triggering a handover when using these wireless solutions. Radio solutions for aircraft or helicopters should use distance-dependent criteria such as “Timing Advance” to trigger a handover.

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Aviation_Network

    [https://www.bakom.admin.ch/dam/bakom/de/documents/faktenblatt\_tetra.pdf.download.pdf/faktenblatt.pdf](https://www.bakom.admin.ch/dam/ bakom/de/documents/faktenblatt_tetra.pdf.download.pdf/faktenblatt.pdf)

    http://www.telecomabc.com/t/tetra_aga.html

    https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_tr/102000_102099/10202108/01.01.01_60/tr_10202108v010101p.pd f

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timing_Advance

    Please note the instructions for handover in the area of ​​tunnel radio systems:

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnelfunkanlage

    Show original language (German)

    @WalterB wrote:

    @speed85

    What kind of cell phone do you have? Model type and provider search on automatically?

    @WalterB

    - Mobile phone: Samsung S20 Ultra 5G, Swisscom

    - Network search automatically: Yes

    Each connected via Bluetooth to a VW Golf VII

    It often happens to my girlfriend too:

    - Mobile phone: Nokia 6.1 (2018), wingo (Swisscom)

    - Automatic network search: No idea

    Also connected via Bluetooth to a VW Golf VII

    Don’t know whether it might connect to Swisscom FL.

    On Tuesday evening it happened while on the phone with my friend - she was there in the car - twice - just before and after the rest stop.

    Show original language (German)

    @PowerMac wrote:

    I drive through there regularly, but have never noticed any problems (iPhone 8). I’ll pay close attention next time.

    Does your cell phone show a network change? Or could it be that your cell phone connects to the rest area Wi-Fi when you drive past the rest stop (or under the passerelle) and this causes a bit of confusion? You could limit this by switching off the smartphone’s WiFi as a test.

    Nope, was never connected to the rest area WiFi there. I’ll have to pay a little attention to my cell phone next time I drive past there while making a phone call. (If the girlfriend drives.)

    Show original language (German)

    @GrandDixence wrote:
    (…)

    By the way: If you enter the address “Erbweg 71 9470 Buchs SG” in the Swisscom field strength map, you will find that a Swisscom mobile radio antenna is mounted on the roof of the “Rheintal Ost” motorway service station (page: Vaduz). Two of the three sector antennas of this Swisscom mobile radio antenna provide the A13 motorway with optimal mobile communications with their main lobes. The third sector antenna of this Swisscom mobile radio antenna supplies Vaduz with Swisscom mobile radio (-> Swisscom FL).

    [https://www.swisscom.ch/de/about/netz/mobilfunk-antennen-umwelt-gesundheit/feldstaerke.html](https://www.swisscom.ch/de/about/netz/mobilfunk-antennen -umwelt-gesundheit/feldstaerke.html)

    (…)

    Hmm, that sounds like the most plausible reason to me:

    SwisscomFL is usually recognized by my cell phone as a home network - as far as I can see when I’m out and about in the countryside.
    If the 2 lobes of course radiate exactly north and south towards the motorway and the third lobes “ignite” towards Liechtenstein, then of course I have by far the strongest/best signal at the rest stop with SwisscomFL.

    Now he wants to do a handover on it, which will probably lead to a hard handover with a simultaneous connection loss when switching from Swisscom to SwisscomFL.

    That sounds plausible to me and should actually be visible on the cell phone - I’ll have to pay attention to it!

    What would you recommend as a network monitor for a Samsung Android phone (S20 Ultra 5G)?

    Thanks!

    Show original language (German)

    @speed85 wrote:

    SwisscomFL is normally recognized by the cell phone as a home network - as far as I can observe when I’m out and about in the countryside.
    If the 2 lobes of course radiate exactly north and south towards the motorway and the third lobes “ignite” towards Liechtenstein, then of course I have by far the strongest/best signal at the rest stop with SwisscomFL.

    If configured correctly, the 2 sector antennas of the Swisscom mobile radio antenna on the roof of the “Rheintal Ost” motorway service station, which are aligned with the motorway, will emit a mobile phone signal with the network identifier 228-01 (Swisscom). The third sector antenna will broadcast a mobile phone signal with the network identifier 295-01 (Swisscom FL).

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweizer_Mobilfunkmarkt

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_network_operators_of_Europe

    It is quite possible that the correct configuration of this Swisscom mobile radio antenna has been lost since the 2G/GSM shutdown on April 7th, 2021.

    [https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/Wie-lange-noch-2G/td-p/649082](https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/Wie-lange-noch- 2G/td-p/649082)

    @speed85 wrote:

    Now he wants to do a handover on it, which will probably lead to a hard handover with a simultaneous connection breakdown when switching from Swisscom to SwisscomFL.

    While the roaming process is ongoing, all existing network connections and telephone calls are terminated. When roaming, there is no handover for the (almost) uninterrupted handover of existing network connections and ongoing telephone calls.

    @speed85 wrote:

    What would you recommend as a network monitor for a Samsung Android phone (S20 Ultra 5G)?

    Anyone who can read has a clear advantage. See the posts linked above for all the information you need about the Samsung Network Monitor.

    Screenshots of the Samsung network monitor can be found at:

    [https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/2G-Abschaltung-2020-neue-weisse-Flecken-kein-Empfang/m-p/653275#M8590] (https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/2G-Abschaltung-2020-neue-weisse-Flecken-kein-Empfang/m-p/653275#M8590)

    Show original language (German)
    a month later

    Funnily enough, the problem stopped occurring shortly after posting here.

    Possibly a setting on one of the antennas (SwisscomFL) was not correct and this has been corrected.

    Show original language (German)