Help How to silence cell service notifications?

[JohnHind]

In a recent Android update some idiot at Google decided it would be a good idea to have audible notifications when cell service is lost and restored (I have a fairly old Nexus phone so have the very latest Android in 'plain vanilla' form). This drives me mad when I am on a train (also other passengers!) and when I go down into the basement of our building. I cannot find any setting to silence this without also silencing other notifications I actually want to receive (such as my morning wake-up alarm). If I turn alarms off globally, I always forget to turn them back on again!

As a note for Google, this is an example of where a little machine learning smarts should be applied. It should be able to notice that you are in a marginal reception zone and reception is coming and going, or that you are in a moving vehicle passing in and out of service zones. As it is you can be nagged with several useless audible notifications per minute!

 

[Hadron]

Curious thing is that my Pixel 2 doesn't do this at all, and if of course also on Google's latest Android release (5th November patch). In fact I didn't know this existed until I read your post, and haven't managed so far to find a switch to turn it on (since it's clearly not on for me: this week I spent many hours in a basement with marginal coverage and on a train journey with many deep cuttings and tunnels, so have been in and out of cover a number of times).

 

[mikedt]

I wonder if it's some third-party app that the OP has installed, that's not on your phone Hadron? That's giving a notification when service, along with internet access drops out. Like a messaging app or something, and it's letting you know when it loses internet access.

 

[JohnHind]

Here is a screenshot:

"Phone Services" is part of the OS? Nearest in Notifications Settings is "Phone" and that has no settings for network availability notifications.

 

[Hadron]

Just a thought: what happens if you set the network selection to automatic rather than selecting 3 specifically? Just wondering because the screenshot suggests to me that you have specified 3 in the network selection, in which case that's one setting which would differ between our phones and hence one thing that might affect this behaviour.

(I always use automatic selection because it's more convenient when travelling, and makes no difference when I'm at home since we have no national roaming. But the phone notifying you if you specify a network and then lose cover on that particular network does faintly ring a bell from a couple of years ago).

 

[JohnHind]

Just a thought: what happens if you set the network selection to automatic rather than selecting 3 specifically?

Yes, you are right. When I press "Choose automatically" after "Network Operators" rather than "Search networks" and then pick "3", it no longer notifies on loss of service. Presumably you could try the other way and specifically set your network to see the notifications.

I will try it this way for a bit. However this seems like a bug which is likely to be fixed. If is is SUPPOSED to notify on no service, then it should notify on automatic too once it has searched and failed to find an alternate service. I know it has done this because a (mercifully silent) NO SERVICE message appears in the status bar.

 

[Hadron]

It may consider the lack of service more serious if you have specified that it use that network, e.g. if this prevents it making emergency calls through a different network. That might be the sort of thinking which would lead to a stronger notification in that case (just guessing here).

I would have tested whether it made a noise on mine, but where I am right now there's nowhere my phone will lose contact with my home network.

 

[Xavier Black]

Ok, if you go to the notification bar..then touch and hold that "no service" notification, then it will turn color, then a little exclamation mark will appear..you touch it..then will pop a window where you will be presented with the option to uncheck the notifications for this one feature..

Let me know.

 

[Howard635]

Ok, if you go to the notification bar..then touch and hold that 'no service' notification, then it will turn color, then a little exclamation mark will appear..you touch it..then will pop a window where you will be presented with the option to uncheck the notifications for this one feature..

Let me know.

This does not work as stated. I get a long script detailing the notification which ap sent it. But no way to change or stop it from notifying me that my service has been lost. 300 plus every day on my Three network if I work inside, or am travelling in the car. My wife also has a Moto z Play on three.com and gets the same problem. So imagine 600 notifications an hour while you are driving all bleeping at you. I have installed two notification blockers, but these each send me a notification with sound every time a notification arrives. Somewhat defeats their object. What idiot at Google or Moto thought this one up?
Needs firing.

 

[Hadron]

Did you try the solution earlier in the thread? Set your network selection to "automatic" rather than manually selecting 3 and you don't get these notifications.

 

[timekills]

I'd like to get how to turn this off as well.
Not "change your network selection" or "it's probably an external app" non-solutions.
I'm on Project Fi and automatic selection, but out of the US (deployed.) Every dang 10-15 minutes I get an alert that "emergency services are not available" or a service notification. Ok, GOT IT. Give me a way to recognize and turn off, either permanently, or for a set period of time.