Restoring service to a mobile device on a home network

• US 10,271,298 B1
• Filed: 06/28/2018
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yang, Tongzeng, Wang, Julia
• Primary Examiner(s): Gonzalez, Amancio
• Application Number:
  US16/022,012
• Time in Patent Office: 299 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/02 Access restriction performed under specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/10 using broadcasted information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/04 using triggered events
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/06 De-registration or detaching
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/12 between location registers or mobility servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems

Abstract

In certain embodiments, a method includes initiating, by a mobile device, an attempt to connect to a visiting network and receiving, by the mobile device in response to the attempt to connect to the visiting network, a rejection from the visiting network. The method includes initiating, by the mobile device in response to the rejection from the visiting network, a limited-services timer to initiate a limited-services state for the mobile device. The mobile device is subscribed to a service on a home network of the mobile device and is prevented in the limited-services state from attempting to access the service. The method further includes detecting, by the mobile device prior to expiration of the limited-services timer, availability of the home network and permitting, by the mobile device prior to expiration of the limited-service timer, the mobile device to attempt to connect to the home network for accessing the service.

Claims

1. A mobile device, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions configured to, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

initiating an attempt to connect to a visiting network;

receiving, in response to the attempt to connect to the visiting network, a rejection from the visiting network;

initiating, in response to the rejection from the visiting network, a limited-services timer to initiate a limited-services state for the mobile device, the mobile device being subscribed to a service on a home network of the mobile device, the mobile device being prevented in the limited-services state from attempting to access the service;

detecting, prior to expiration of the limited-services timer, availability of the home network of the mobile device; and

permitting, prior to expiration of the limited-service timer, the mobile device to attempt to connect to the home network for accessing the service.

2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein initiating the attempt to connect to the visiting network comprises initiating communication of a registration request from the mobile device to the visiting network.

3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein initiating the attempt to connect to the visiting network comprises initiating communication of one or more of a routing area update (RAU), a location area update (LAU), and a tracking area update (TAU) from the mobile device to the visiting network.

4. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein a starting time of the limited-services timer is randomly selected from a range of twelve to twenty-four hours.

5. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the home network is a home public land mobile network and the visiting network is a visiting public land mobile network.

6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein:

the rejection comprises an illegal user equipment (UE) evolved packet system (EPS) mobility management (EMM) message; and

the mobile device being prevented in the limited-services state from attempting to access the service comprises preventing the mobile device from making voice calls other than emergency calls.

7. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein:

the rejection comprises an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) unknown in home subscriber server (HSS) evolved packet system (EPS) mobility management (EMM) message; and

the mobile device being prevented in the limited-services state from attempting to access the service comprises preventing the mobile device from communicating via a first type of network but allowing the mobile device to communicate via a second type of network.

8. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein permitting, prior to expiration of the limited-service timer, the mobile device to attempt to connect to the home network comprises resetting the limited-service timer to zero.

9. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein, in the limited-services state the mobile device is prevented from making calls other than calls for emergency services.

10. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein detecting availability of the home network of the mobile device comprises receiving a SystemInformationBlockType1 (SIM₁) message from an access point of the home network.

11. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein:

the mobile device is subscribed to a plurality of services on the home network of the mobile device, the plurality of services comprising the service; and

permitting, prior to expiration of the limited-service timer, the mobile device to attempt to connect to the home network to access the service comprises permitting the mobile device to attempt to connect to the home network to access the plurality of services.

12. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise, prior to expiration of the limited-services timer and based at least in part on detecting the home network:

adding the visiting network to a block list, the block list being a list of networks that the mobile device with which the mobile device is prevented from attempting to connect; and

initiating a block-list timer corresponding to the visiting network and for keeping the visiting network on the block list.

13. A method, comprising:

initiating, by a mobile device, an attempt to connect to a visiting network;

receiving, by the mobile device in response to the attempt to connect to the visiting network, a rejection from the visiting network;

initiating, by the mobile device in response to the rejection from the visiting network, a limited-services timer to initiate a limited-services state for the mobile device, the mobile device being subscribed to a service on a home network of the mobile device, the mobile device being prevented in the limited-services state from attempting to access the service;

detecting, by the mobile device prior to expiration of the limited-services timer, availability of the home network of the mobile device; and

permitting, by the mobile device prior to expiration of the limited-service timer, the mobile device to attempt to connect to the home network for accessing the service.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein initiating the attempt to connect to the visiting network comprises initiating communication of a registration request from the mobile device to the visiting network.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein initiating the attempt to connect to the visiting network comprises initiating communication of one or more of a routing area update (RAU), a location area update (LAU), and a tracking area update (TAU) from the mobile device to the visiting network.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein a starting time of the limited-services timer is randomly selected from a range of twelve to twenty-four hours.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the home network is a home public land mobile network and the visiting network is a visiting public land mobile network.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the rejection comprises an illegal user equipment (UE) evolved packet system (EPS) mobility management (EMM) message; and

the mobile device being prevented in the limited-services state from attempting to access the service comprises preventing the mobile device from making voice calls other than emergency calls.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the rejection comprises an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) unknown in home subscriber server (HSS) evolved packet system (EPS) mobility management (EMM) message; and

the mobile device being prevented in the limited-services state from attempting to access the service comprises preventing the mobile device from communicating via a first type of network but allowing the mobile device to communicate via a second type of network.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein permitting, prior to expiration of the limited-service timer, the mobile device to attempt to connect to the home network comprises resetting the limited-service timer to zero.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein, in the limited-services state the mobile device is prevented from making calls other than calls for emergency services.

22. The method of claim 13, wherein detecting availability of the home network of the mobile device comprises receiving a SystemInformationBlockType1 (SIB₁) message from an access point of the home network.

23. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the mobile device is subscribed to a plurality of services on the home network of the mobile device, the plurality of services comprising the service; and

permitting, prior to expiration of the limited-service timer, the mobile device to attempt to connect to the home network to access the service comprises permitting the mobile device to attempt to connect to the home network to access the plurality of services.

24. The method of claim 13, further comprising, prior to expiration of the limited-services timer and based at least in part on detecting the home network:

adding the visiting network to a block list, the block list being a list of networks that the mobile device with which the mobile device is prevented from attempting to connect; and

initiating a block-list timer corresponding to the visiting network and for keeping the visiting network on the block list.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions configured to, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

initiating, by a mobile device, an attempt to connect to a visiting network, the attempt to connect to the visiting network comprising one or more of a registration request, a routing area update (RAU), a location area update (LAU), and a tracking area update (TAU);

receiving, by the mobile device in response to the attempt to connect to the visiting network, a rejection from the visiting network, the rejection being one or more of an illegal user equipment (UE) evolved packet system (EPS) mobility management (EMM) message and an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) unknown in home subscriber server (HSS) EMM message;

initiating, by the mobile device in response to the rejection from the visiting network, a limited-services timer to initiate a limited-services state for the mobile device, the mobile device being subscribed to a service on a home network of the mobile device, the mobile device being prevented in the limited-services state from attempting to access the service both on the home network and the visiting network;

detecting, by the mobile device prior to expiration of the limited-services timer and without the mobile device being power-cycled after initiation of the limited-services timer, availability of the home network of the mobile device; and

permitting, by the mobile device prior to expiration of the limited-service timer and without the mobile device being power-cycled after initiation of the limited-services timer, the mobile device to attempt to connect to the home network for accessing the service.