No phone signal? LastBar will find the nearest place that has it.
“LastBar is a map of where mobile phones have signal and where they do not, made by the phones of the people who use it. When you are stuck with no bars, it gives you the distance and the direction to the nearest place where your phone will work, and to the nearest water and shelter. It needs no connection to do so.”
This is an interesting South African app that is intended specifically for those who venture into areas where there is no cellphone signal coverage. This app will point you in the direction where you will most quickly find a signal, depending on which network you use. That may be nearby hill, but could be any location where signals were confirmed from. I remember being in a wilderness retreat once for a work session, and the only place you could just get a signal, was at one of the tennis courts. This app would typically point you to such a location. An emergency call can be made from any phone network, so in that type of scenario, the app will navigate you to where any phone network is reachable.
But it is more than just finding a location with a signal. The map also shows water, shelters, huts and caves, clinics and hospitals, police, fuel and peaks, from OpenStreetMap. Tap one for its address and a number to call, where there is one.
The app works without any Internet. What your phone measures shows on your own map at once, with no internet needed. Readings wait on your phone and go up by themselves when a connection returns.
It is not an open source app, but the privacy policy seems to cover all the bases with just the essential information being collected, and anonymised. There is no account that needs to be registered and your name, phone's IMEI, or SIM details are never sent either.
The free version will include ads (and we all know what that means as there will then be basic ad tracking) so the better option is to go for the paid version which excludes any adverts. It is available for both Android and iOS.
See
Find signal when you have none - LastBar
No bars? LastBar is a map of mobile coverage made by its users. It gives you the distance and the direction to the nearest place with signal, and to the nearest water and shelter, with no connection needed.
#technology #southafrica #wilderness #hiking
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