The mobile network security timeline is a dedicated section within your Android Settings that shows a historical log of cellular security and privacy events detected by your device's modem hardware.
About cellular threat events
Your phone's modem proactively protects you by monitoring cellular activity. It detects suspicious network connections, potential fake base station attacks, privacy-sensitive identifier disclosures, and malicious or unauthenticated SMS messages.
Learn what types of events are covered
Depending on your device’s hardware, you may receive alerts for the following events:
- Network downgrade: Your device’s connection is downgraded from a newer protocol to an older one (e.g. 4G to 2G).
- Cellular service blocking: The modem detects a network-initiated denial of service attempt.
- Suspicious cell tower activity: The modem detects that a nearby cell tower is suspicious.
- Location tracking: The modem detects unusual network-initiated location tracking attempts.
- Unverified SMS: The modem receives an SMS message and labels it as suspicious.
- Unverified emergency alert: The modem receives a wireless emergency alert (e.g. a Presidential Alert) and labels it as suspicious.
- Network interference: The modem detects certain types of wireless interference or jamming. This is often not indicative of an attack if you are in an area with high, noisy RF activity (e.g. data centers).
- Cell tower lock: A malicious mobile network tries to prevent the device from switching back to a legitimate network.
Find cellular threats in your network security timeline
The system currently logs events in the network security timeline for your review. Depending on your device’s hardware, events you find may vary.
- Open your Settings app.
- Tap Network & Internet.
- Tap Mobile network security
Network security timeline.
- Optional: If you have multiple SIM cards on your device, you can tap All SIMs at the top to switch between the security timeline for each SIM card.
Network security timeline.