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If I remove the SIM and turn off the mobile, does the pixel phone still communicate with towers? Thinking of going wifi-only.
Discussion
I'm debating on using a tablet with no sim.
Using airplane mode should disable comms with cell towers but how can we really be sure
Monitor it with a frequency analyzer. They're pretty affordable these days. I was just hoping somebody already did that work and could report on it.
Yes it communicates with towers.
This allows for emergency calls.
Sim cards are for authentication to the network, not functionality.
i wasnt paying attention to the part where you said turned off...
The device _shouldnt_ do anything when its turned off... but... there are reasons why smartphones generally dont have removable batteries and come with gps.
If you are concerned about privacy, keep it in a faraday cage, bag, or other signal blocking implement.
I meant turning off the mobile chip, but that's probably not possible
Potentially. Pixel models starting with the Pixel 6 include ELS (emergency location service). This allows transmitting location when a device is in a low power "off" state. This capability leverages not just cellular but, can include GPS, wifi, and in some cases bluetooth. What is desiged for good can be leveraged and exploited for other means. Android 15 is expected to include a feature "Powered off Finder API" as well. Dependending on your personal threat model mitigate with grapheneOS, privacy purchased SIMs, faraday measures, and opsec practices that do not turn the phone hot in sensitve locations or daily travel.
You would need to use Airplane Mode as well to get what you want, which turns the cellular radios off. It can still interact with the network without a SIM, hence why you can call 911 without one.