A faulted 5G/6G message may be recovered by finding the faulted message elements and altering them until the fault is corrected. Disclosed are methods to evaluate the modulation quality of each message element using multiple criteria. The receiver can determine a first quality by measuring the overall (sum-signal) amplitude and phase of each message element, and comparing to the predetermined amplitude and phase levels. The receiver can determine a second quality by separating the overall wave into orthogonal components (branches) and comparing the branch amplitudes to the predetermined levels. The receiver can determine a third quality according to the SNR of the overall signal and the two branch signals. By combining the first, second, and third quality factors, the receiver can identify the most likely faulted message elements. The receiver can then alter the worst message elements in a nested grid search to find the correct message version.