Cellular "Preferred Network Type" is too stubborn

[LeoRex]

I was wondering if anyone else has noticed this.... and then has anyone managed a work around...

I have a T-Mobile booster at my house. One of the older units that provides HSPA+ connectivity, not LTE.... now, the problem isn't the booster, the signal is strong and speeds are actually pretty good, but I don't use the thing for data, I have WiFi.....

The problem is that when I get home, my Nexus 6 holds on to tower that provides the really weak LTE signal that I get, even if I am standing 5 feet from the booster's broadcast station. Damn thing won't let go.... If I go into the Cellular Network settings and change the preferred type from LTE to 3G (which is what H+ is classified under), it'll instantly switch over to the booster's signal.

"Why bother?", you ask, "You're on WiFi". Yes, data is on Wi-Fi, but since my phone is connected to that far-away tower, it has to crank up the gain to keep the phone connected and it starts to put a bit of a strain on my battery. Power consumption when my phone is locked to the booster is effectively zero, whereas it becomes a fairly significant source of background drain when holding on to that low-signal'd tower.

Now, I've fussed with some automation apps to try to automatically toggle LTE/3G based on my wifi connection, but they don't do anything.

Anyone know of a tool that can toggle that on the Nexus 6?

 

[Rukbat]

You might try Tasker. When you're on your home wifi, turn mobile data off for 5 seconds, then turn it on. (Or just turn it off, since you don't need it.) When you exit that task (IOW, lose your home wifi signal), either turn mobile data on if it's off, or if it's on, it'll lose the booster and switch to the tower by itself. Mine is always off when I have a wifi connection - I have no need for mobile data then.

 

[LeoRex]

Well, the problem isn't the LTE data signal (which is effectively disabled when WiFi is running), its the weak tower that's attached to it. Sitting here, it's at -114 dBm (35%)... the booster's signal in the same spot is -80 dBm or so. That's a large enough disparity to have a noticeable impact on my battery usage.

The Secure Settings plugin has the ability to fuss with system setting values, but from the looks of it, it hasn't been updated for 5.0....