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Mobile Cell Tower Location Finder

Enter the identifiers of one or more mobile cell towers and see roughly where they are on a map. Add the signal strength of each to sharpen the triangulated location.

Use this only for towers you're authorised to locate — for example checking which mast your own device is on, or a coverage survey. Cell IDs are read from your own phone; this maps public mast locations, not a person.

Separate the numbers with spaces or commas. MCC = country code (UK is 234/235), MNC = network, LAC/TAC = area code, CID/ECI = the cell's ID. The serving cell plus a couple of neighbours gives the best result.

Try an example

What are MCC, MNC, LAC and CID?

Every mobile mast is identified by four numbers:

  • MCC — Mobile Country Code (UK is 234 and 235)
  • MNC — Mobile Network Code (which operator)
  • LAC / TAC — Location / Tracking Area Code
  • CID / ECI — the Cell ID (on 4G/5G this is the longer E-UTRAN Cell ID)

Where to find them on your phone

iPhone — Field Test Mode: open the Phone app and dial *3001#12345#*, then press call. The Field Test screen (see below) shows everything you need. It usually lists only the cell you're connected to, not its neighbours.

Reading the iPhone Field Test screen into this tool
  • Network type — the section heading: LTE = 4G, NR = 5G, WCDMA = 3G.
  • PLMN (e.g. 234 30) — the first number is the MCC, the second is the MNC.
  • TAC — put this in the LAC box.
  • Cell Id — put this in the CID box.
  • RSRP (e.g. -110 dBm) — put this in the signal.

So a screen showing PLMN 234 30, TAC 26450, Cell Id 1234567, RSRP −110 becomes the line 234 30 26450 1234567 -110.

Android — easiest: install a free cell-info app such as Network Cell Info Lite, NetMonster, Cell ID or LTE Discovery. These list the MCC, MNC, LAC/TAC, CID and signal of the serving cell and its neighbours, ready to paste in. On modern phones this is the most reliable way.

Android — dialpad codes (hit and miss on newer phones): *#*#4636#*#* opens a Testing menu → Phone information; on many Samsung models *#0011# opens Service Mode with the serving-cell details. Several makers have removed these, so an app is usually quicker.

How the location is worked out

The tower details go to Google's Geolocation API, which holds mast locations gathered from millions of devices and returns one point with an accuracy circle. One tower gives a rough area; adding neighbouring cells and their signal strengths narrows it down.

A mast is only found if Google has seen it, and the network type (2G/3G/4G/5G) must match, because the Cell ID is read differently on each. Locations are approximate.

Looking for Wi-Fi instead?

To locate Wi-Fi networks by their MAC addresses, use the Wi-Fi MAC Address Location Finder. Both tools share the same daily lookup limit.

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