Can a phone ping at masts if encased in metal? Establishing if it's possible to do so from within the bin lorry would possibly discount the theory it was in the bin. This would then leave only two options:
Corrie was in a veichle around the same time as the bin lorry travelling with his phone.
Corrie was deliberately parted from his phone and someone else traveled to BM with it.
I've just come out of the 'back room offices' of three major mobile phone providers; A, B & EE. All were very helpful, not linked in any way and totally separate in their respective businesses. The information that has been gleaned by myself is an interpretation and based in fact. Please be understanding of that when commenting.
Nokia Lumia 435
This phone was launched in January 2015 and was intended as a single sim use only phone. At the same time a dual sim phone was made available through the European markets but NOT in the UK. We do not know if this Nokia Lumia 435 was a single sim or a dual sim phone. I previously posted an image suggesting a dual sim phone for reference purposes only. The launch date of January 2015 is an important date as the contract came with a 24 month deal. If the phone was bought new, approximately six months BEFORE the end of the contract (July 2016) a new phone upgrade would have been offered. Again, presuming it had been given to him by his mother after her upgrade offer, it would suggest a UK model as a dual sim phone wouldn't necessarily be required in the UK. Additional interesting point to make is that a usual upgrade from a Nokia Lumia 435 is either a Nokia Lumia 550 or a Samsung Galaxy J5. What's N's new phone?
EE Coverage
According to the various phone provider technicians, EE masts overlap with a great deal of completeness. 99% of the country is covered. That is not to say that the signal strength is excellent....just that the country is covered.
When a phone such as Corrie's moves away from a mast, it's signal strength lowers. A bit like a lizards tongue stretching and stretching until it in ally lets go. At that immediate point, the phone scans for another mast and the lizards tongue shoots out again at that mast. The darting is momentary. The mast speak/receive 'door' is never closed unless the phone is switched off, immersed in water, battery removed, crushed, damaged etc. The bar strength depends on the masts line of sight with the phone, air density, trees, building, signal strength etc. On the whole, constant speak/receive status...that is until the SIM card is removed.
If a SIM card is removed, the phone is effectively an electronic toy. The SIM card communicates to the masts VIA the mobile phone. No SIM card, no speak/receive. EE masts are also used by Orange and T Mobile. To confuse things even more, Virgin buy airtime from EE.
So, Corrie's phone had a SIM card in when it travelled from BSE to BM otherwise they wouldn't have been able to tell it had moved.
Phone access.
NO ONE is allowed access to a phone. Not even the police. The only way authorities are to access phone data is through the IMEI number which every phone has. This is a unique phone identifying number for a specific phone. Once that number is known, an application can be made through the Data Protection Act via the police to access phone contacts. Apps, music, photos, videos, Internet usage can be accessed through his home computer if backed up. Corrie's phone used a Microsoft based system so I see no reason why this wasn't the case for the family. Indeed, this would explain why reasonably quick access was gain to his phone details if it belonged to N prior to Corrie owning it. N would presumably have the IMEI number, computer back up, and access to his SM accounts. Networks will NOT provide relevant information unless via the police in conjunction with the Data Protection Act.
Phone signal strength
With regards to the Faraday Cage suggestion, this all depends on the proximate Y of the phone and mast. From what I can gather from technical experts, there is no reason why a phone cannot send or receive information of voice signals unless by the side of a large electrical unit such as a generator or encased in lead or thick concrete.
The technicians went into great detail and every aspect of my queries were answered in fullest satisfaction.
JMO
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