Unable to Position Device via Cell-Based Location in Hong Kong After 2G/NB-IoT Shutdown

Symptoms / Triggers

Device location estimates fail or become inaccurate after the 2G and NB-IoT networks are decommissioned.
Positioning using cell-based technologies like NB-IoT is no longer feasible due to lack of 2G network support.
Applications using cellular data (2G/NB-IoT) for positioning return "Position not found" errors or low-accuracy results.

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### Quick Answer

If NB‑IoT cell-based positioning is not feasible or does not provide sufficient location accuracy after 2G shutdown, HERE Positioning recommends using a hybrid positioning approach. For cellular-based location, HERE supports LTE, LTE Cat‑M, 5G Standalone (NR), 5G Non‑Standalone (LTE + NR), and WCDMA measurements, which can be enhanced with up-to-date Wi‑Fi (WLAN) data to improve positioning accuracy.

When cellular positioning alone is insufficient, HERE recommends GNSS-based positioning (GPS/GNSS) as the primary alternative. HERE Network Positioning API v2 combines satellite, cellular, Wi‑Fi, and sensor data to deliver more reliable and accurate device geolocation, ensuring location continuity even when NB‑IoT or other network-based positioning methods are limited

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### Step-by-Step Actions

1. Update Device Measurement Collection

Ensure your devices are configured to collect measurements from LTE, LTE Cat-M, 5G NR (Standalone or Non-Standalone), or WCDMA networks.

1. Use the Correct Request Body Elements

Based on the cellular data collected, include the right data in the request:

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LTE → lte request element
LTE Cat-M → lteCatM
5G Standalone → nr
5G Non-Standalone (LTE + NR) → Use both lte and nrNmr
WCDMA → wcdma
3. Ensure Measurements Are Fresh and Accurate

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Avoid stale WLAN access points in your request.
Filter out outdated radio measurements to prevent inaccurate positioning.
4. Include Neighbor Measurements and Serving Cell Info

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Always include the serving cell (cid, mcc, mnc) for every network.
Add neighbor measurements (nmr) for higher accuracy.
5. Enable fallback=true to maximize the chance of obtaining a location estimate when NB‑IoT measurements alone are insufficient.

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Include fallback=any to allow all available cell-based fallback methods.
Example: https://positioning.hereapi.com/v2/locate?apiKey={YOUR_API_KEY}&fallback=any
5. Be Cautious During Network Transitions

During cell or technology handovers (e.g., 4G to 5G), measurements can become inconsistent. Verify data coherence and filter out potentially corrupt measurements.

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### Applies To

Applications using HERE Network Positioning API for geolocation.
Devices running on 2G, NB-IoT, or legacy cellular technologies
* Businesses transitioning from 2G to 4G/5G/WLAN in preparation for 2G shutdown

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### Tags

HERE Network Positioning API v2, cell-based-positioning, nb-iot-shutdown, hong-kong-geolocation, lte-positioning, here-network-positioning, 5g-nr, wlan-fallback, device-location-failure