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Apple patents faster switch back to 5G after signal drops

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

This patent describes a method for phones to remember which network they were using before losing signal. If the phone drops to an older, slower network, it can quickly check for the original, faster network using saved data instead of scanning all options.

Why it mattersThis could help phones reconnect to faster networks more quickly after a brief signal interruption, improving data speeds for users.

In the filing’s own words

Some aspects of this disclosure relate to apparatuses and methods for the reselection of a Radio Access Technology (RAT) for a multi-mode user equipment (UE). A UE can determine that the UE camps on a first RAT for service by a first public land mobile network (PLMN) and that the UE camps on a second RAT for service by a second PLMN, and store information about the first RAT for the first PLMN. The UE can further determine whether there is a trigger event to enable the UE to switch from the second RAT to the first RAT. In response to a determination that there is the trigger event, the UE can determine whether a cell in the first RAT for the first PLMN is available for the UE to camp on to select the available cell in the first RAT to register the UE with the first PLMN.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more transceivers configured to enable the UE to wirelessly communicate in a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) and a second RAT; and a processor communicatively coupled to the one or more transceivers and configured to: determine that the UE camps on the first RAT for service by a first public land mobile network (PLMN); store information about the first RAT for the first PLMN; determine, in response to service in the first RAT being interrupted, that the UE camps on the second RAT for service by a second PLMN; determine whether there is a trigger event to enable the UE to switch back from the second RAT to the first RAT, wherein the first RAT is more advanced than the second RAT; in response to a determination that there is the trigger event, based on the stored information about the first PLMN, while being camped on the second RAT for service by the second PLMN, performing a search of an available cell of the first PLMN different from the second PLMN without searching for an available PLMN to determine whether a cell in the first RAT for the first PLMN is available for the UE to camp on; and in response to a determination that a cell in the first RAT for the first PLMN is available, select the available cell in the first RAT to register the UE with the first PLMN.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
Reselection of a radio access technology (RAT) for a multimode user equipment (UE)
Patent number
US12764644B2
Application number
17950940
Filed
Sep 22, 2022
Granted
Oct 13, 2026
Inventors
4
Claims
20

Classified under

H04W 48/18 Electricity & electronicsH04W 48/08 Electricity & electronicsH04W 60/00 Electricity & electronicsH04W 88/06 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.