Installation

Network Survey is available from four places. Each one carries one of the app’s two builds:

Where	Build	Updates
Google Play	Google Play build	Through Google Play
F-Droid	CDR build	Through an F-Droid client
IzzyOnDroid	CDR build	Through an F-Droid client with the IzzyOnDroid repository added
GitHub releases	Both, as separate APKs	By hand: download and install each new release

The Google Play build includes Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics. Its call records cover calls and tower changes, but not text messages (SMS and MMS) or the other party’s phone number, because Google Play does not allow the permissions those need.

The CDR build has no Firebase or other tracking libraries, and its call records can also include text messages (SMS and MMS) and the other party’s phone number.

See Build variants for more.

Google Play

The easiest way to install Network Survey, with automatic updates.

F-Droid

F-Droid is a catalog of free and open source Android apps. It builds the CDR build of Network Survey from the source code.

IzzyOnDroid

IzzyOnDroid is an F-Droid compatible repository. It carries the CDR build.

GitHub releases

Recent releases on the GitHub releases page have both builds, each split into one APK per processor type so the download is smaller. The file names follow this pattern:

networksurvey-<version>-<build>-<processor>-release.apk

where <build> is regular (the Google Play build) or cdr (the CDR build), and <processor> is one of these:

Processor	For
arm64-v8a	Almost all modern phones and tablets
armeabi-v7a	Older 32-bit ARM phones
x86_64	Some tablets, Chromebooks and emulators
x86	Older emulators
universal	Works on every device, but is a larger download. Pick this one if you are not sure

Most people want arm64-v8a. For example, the CDR build for a typical modern phone is networksurvey-<version>-cdr-arm64-v8a-release.apk.

To install an APK:

1. Download it on the phone from the releases page.
2. Open the downloaded file.
3. If Android asks, allow your browser or file manager to install unknown apps, then go back and tap Install.

Caution

An APK installed by hand does not update itself. Check the releases page for new versions, or use F-Droid or IzzyOnDroid to get the CDR build with updates.

To check that an APK really came from the Network Survey project, see APK verification.

Building from source

To build Network Survey yourself or change the code, see the GitHub repository. Its README explains how to build and install each build.

Which one should I choose?

• Most people: Google Play, for the easiest install and automatic updates.
• No tracking libraries, or call records with text messages: the CDR build, from F-Droid, IzzyOnDroid or GitHub.
• A specific version: GitHub releases.
• Developers: build from source.

Switching between builds

Android only installs an update over the app you have if both are signed with the same key. The version from Google Play is signed by Google Play, so it has a different key from the APKs on GitHub. F-Droid checks that its own build matches the developer’s and then ships the developer-signed APK, so F-Droid and GitHub APKs share a key. To move between Google Play and an APK from GitHub or F-Droid, you need to uninstall first. Uninstalling removes the app’s settings and saved setups. Log files stay in Download/NetworkSurveyData/csv, but after you reinstall, the Log files page no longer lists them, because Android only shows an app the files it created. Open them with a file manager, or share or copy them off the phone before you switch.

The app’s Device serial number (the ID stamped on every record, shown in Settings under Device IDs) comes from Android, and Android gives each signing key its own ID. Switching to a build signed with a different key can give the phone a new device serial number.

Stick with one kind of APK

Each processor-specific APK has a higher version number than the universal APK of the same release (for example 119002 for arm64-v8a and 119 for universal). Android refuses to install an APK with a lower version number over the app. So once a processor-specific APK is installed, universal APKs won’t install over it, including updates from a store that ships the universal APK, until you uninstall. Pick one kind and keep using it.

System requirements

• Android 8.0 (Oreo) or newer.
• No particular hardware is required. A SIM, GPS, Bluetooth or a camera only matter for the features that use them. The camera is only used to scan QR codes (for NS Analytics and MQTT setup); on a device without one, Scan says it cannot scan.

The app asks for permissions in context: Location, Phone and Notifications (or Storage on Android 12 and older) during first run, and Bluetooth and call records permissions when you turn those on. See Required permissions.

Next steps

• First run: what the app asks when you open it the first time
• Your first survey: record to log files in a few minutes
• Upgrading from 1.x: what changes when 2.0 installs over an earlier version