Telecom trace tutorial

Data accuracy [Green square in image above]

One of the first things you come across is the Data Accuracy strip.
This bar show you whether the results are reliable or whether the telecom providers have intentionally sent misinformation that will have a negative impact on the accuracy of the data.
If the white indicator is in the green, the data of this trace is reliable. If the white indicator is in the red, the entire trace is unreliable.
“Unreliable” can mean that if the mobile phone is abroad, the trace could indicate that the phone is in the home country. If and how telecom providers send wrong information can differ from country to country.

SS7 Network data [Orange square in image above]

Here we present you with 4 types of information. This information comes directly from the worldwide SS7 telecom network.
1] Phone number is valid.
This means that the phone number is still in use and the indicator will turn green.
1b] Phone number not valid. If you try to trace an old number that is no longer in service, the indicator will turn red and the trace will end. When a number is not in service, all information fields in the telecom-trace will state ‘UNKNOWN”. This is normal as there is no information to display.

2] User is roaming.
The indicator will turn green and the text beside it will state that the user is roaming.
This means that the mobile phone is abroad with a 100% certainty
2b] User is not roaming.
If the indicator turns red and states that the user is not roaming and 2 scenarios are possible:
Scenario 1 – The statement is correct and the phone is in its home country and thus not abroad.
Scenario 2 – The statement is incorrect the phone is in its home country. This means that the phone is abroad, but the telecom provider deliberately does not tell us this due to privacy regulations.

3] Connected to the network
This indicates whether the phone you are looking for has been connected to the phone network in the last hour. If this indicator is red, the phone is off at the time of the trace. In that case, the trace displays the last known data.
When a number is not in connected, some information fields in the telecom-trace will state ‘UNKNOWN”. This is normal as there is no information to display.

4] Number is ported.
This indicates whether the number you searched for previously belonged to another provider.
It can also indicate that a phone number belongs to a virtual operator and has to rent a network connection from a bigger telecom provider.

Global caller ID information.

To get caller ID information we search different databases around the world to see if anyone registered a profile with the phone number you are looking up.
If there is a match , we will display:
1 The picture used in online profiles
2 The location and full address that he or she registered.
3 Personal information like name , gender, job , education and relationship.

GSM Number information

CellTrack SS7 number information shows you a lot of useful information like:

1- Online : With this you can see if a phone is connected with its network. If you get a ‘No’ here, it means that the phone is currently not connected to the network. A reason for this could be that the phone is turned off or the phone number is no longer in service. Tracking phones that are off is not possible.
2- Last known provider: With this option you can check the last know provider that a phone used. This is handy if the phone has been switched off. Also it can give you a hint in what country a phone is.
3- Originating country: This is the country where the phone is originally from. 4- Currently roaming: This will indicate if a user is abroad or not.
If it states that the user is not roaming, 2 scenarios are possible:
   Scenario 1 – The statement is correct and the phone is in its home country and thus not abroad.
   Scenario 2 – The statement is incorrect the phone is in its home country. This means that the phone is abroad, but the telecom provider deliberately does not tell us this due to privacy regulations.
5- Currently connected with: This is the name of the telecom network currently in use by the number you are tracking. If it deferrers from the last known provider (2) then this indicates the phone is moving around the country.
6- Current country: The current country is the country that the phone is in now. Here 2 scenarios are possible:
   Scenario 1 – The statement is correct and the phone is in its home country and thus not abroad.
   Scenario 2 – The statement is incorrect the phone is in its home country. This means that the phone is 7/8- CellTrack always interrogates the network in two different ways to ensure that the results are correct. Most of the time both the primary and the alternative route are slightly different but both correct.

Country information

⚠️ Depending what country you live in, you may or may not see an exact location displayed on the map. In 2018 the GDPR legislation was forced on countries worldwide. If you live in a country where the GDPR is active, you might not be allowed to see an exact location on the map !
In that case the case the capital of that country is selected by default.
If you need a specific location, please use our GPS-Trace.
This type is trace does not rely on SS7 information and can give you an exact location in minutes.

Advanced SS7 network information

Advanced network information we provide is meant for the experts. If you are interested wat they are, here is an explanation:
1- IMSI
International Mobile Subscriber Identity, IMSI for short, is a unique number associated with all GSM and UMTS mobile phone users. It is stored on the SIM in the phone and is sent by the phone to the network of the network operator.
2-MCC
The Mobile Country Code (MCC) is a three-digit number used in combination with a Mobile Network Code (MNC) to uniquely identify a mobile network operator
3- MNC
The Mobile Network Code (MNC) is a two-digit code (North America) or a three-digit code (European Standard) that is used in combination with a Mobile Country Code (MCC) to uniquely identify a mobile network operator
4- MSIN
An IMSI number is usually 15 digits long, but can be shorter. The first three digits represent the Mobile Country Code, followed by 2 (Europe) or 3 (North America) digits for the Mobile Network Code. The other numbers are the Mobile Subscriber Identification Number (MSIN) that is used by the telecom provider to identify the customer of telecom services. The MSIN is not the same number as the MSISDN (Mobile Station ISDN number), the number you dial in the telephone network to reach a mobile phone.
5- Serving MSC
When a subscriber sends an SMS Message it is transported over the air interface to the base station. The base station then sends the message to the serving Mobile Switching Centre (MSC). The serving MSC embeds the message in a MAP Mobile Originating Short Message Transfer message (MO-Forward-SM) and sends it to the Short Message Service Center associated with the MSC. A subsequent acknowledgement is sent from the SMSC to the MSC indicating the SMSC receipt.

Telecom-Trace troubleshooting:

I did a Telecom trace but I only get ‘unknown’
This happens when a phone number is no longer valid or the phone has been switched off for a while. CellTrack won’t be able to look up a number if it has been off the grid for some time.

I see the location on the map but it off by 2 Km.
This can happen mostly in areas that are not densely populated areas.
The Telecom-Trace will locate the nearest cell tower to the phone.
In the city there are a lot of cell towers per square Km making it possible to get a better reading

I don’t see the location on the map. The pin drop shows the capital as location.
If you trace a phone that is in a country where the GDPR is actively enforced, you won’t be able to get a position using the Telecom-Trace. You will have to use the GPS-Trace.

The results show that the phone is off-line but I am certain that the phone is turned on.
This can sometimes happen if a phone loses reception. In this case you will still be shown recent data. If you try doing a search later, the phone should have reception again and the results will be accurate again.

I did a Telecom-Trace but don’t see any caller-id information. Why is that.
Although our database is one of the largest available to the public, It does not contain everyone’s info.

The Telecom-Trace indicated that the user not roaming but I am certain that the phone is outside the country. How can this be ?
If the results state that the user is not roaming, 2 scenarios are possible:
   Scenario 1 – The statement is correct and the phone is in its home country and thus not abroad.
   Scenario 2 – The statement is incorrect the phone is in its home country. This means that the phone is abroad, but the telecom provider deliberately does not tell us this due to privacy regulations.