Jump to content

SignalCheck - Android app to monitor your Wi-Fi/2G/3G/4G LTE/5G-NR signal strengths


mikejeep

Recommended Posts

Yeah it only shows "LTE" on the status bar. But if I swipe the notification shade down it will show B41. speed test shows that it is indeed b41 ;P. I get 20 mbps when the glitch happens. If it was b25..won't even make it past 1mbps. No consistency to when it gets stuck ...happens randomly

 

That's weird, if the app sees B41 in the pulldown I'm not sure why the icon isn't. Next time you see it, please go to About -> Send Diagnostics and include your information.

 

-Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looked but could not find anything in this thread but on my nexus 6 LTE alerts do not seem to be working. Is this a known issue?

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

You're on lollipop, so certain features are still buggy. You can read up on the exact ones by going to: http://www.bluelinepc.com/signalcheck/known-issues/
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're on lollipop, so certain features are still buggy. You can read up on the exact ones by going to: http://www.bluelinepc.com/signalcheck/known-issues/

thanks for the reply. I just checked out the site, didn't see LTE alerts reported as a known issue. Is anyone else using a nexus 6 and can verify if alerts are working?

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks for the reply. I just checked out the site, didn't see LTE alerts reported as a known issue. Is anyone else using a nexus 6 and can verify if alerts are working?

 

I probably need to word it better on the website; the Known Issues page is for broken stuff that is out of my control, and the To-Do List is for broken stuff I should be able to fix (and new features I want to add). The Lollipop bugs are on the To-Do List.

 

Do you use the ServiceState (getOperatorNumeric) or the CellIdentityLte (getMcc/getMnc) (or something else entirely) to get the plmn?  If both, do you see the same behavior in reporting Clear/Sprint values mixing up with GCI's?

 

The primary method is TelephonyManager.getNetworkOperator(). If on a newer device and certain conditions are true, it will use CellIdentityLte.getCellIdentity(), but the reliability of that data varies by device and provider. ServiceState.getOperatorNumeric() proved to be the least reliable and is no longer used.

 

However, I can monitor all three methods in realtime on a special diagnostic screen, and from what I have observed, they all change at the exact same instant. If it's delayed (or "early") for one method, it's the same across all of them. I had already done it, but thanks for a great troubleshooting suggestion though!

 

Since this behavior only exists when switching PLMNs, and all (or nearly all) non-Sprint users do not typically see PLMN changes, I've changed my approach and I'm trying to fix it by assuming only Clearwire connections will cause an issue. Hopefully I can make some good progress this weekend. It's driving me nuts, so I know it's driving most of you nuts.

 

-Mike

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Feature request incoming.  Is there anyway SCP can have alerts upon connecting to new LTE sites whether 800/1900 sites Mike, possibly by the GCI?  Just to take it a step further how about when connected too Band 41? 

 

I know its in your feature request list, how about bumping it to the top of the list.  :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The latest update to Lollipop on my VZW S5 pretty much made this app useless. LTE no longer displays GCI. PCI never worked but I knew that. Are there any decent inexpensive phones for VZW that work with all features? The list on the site show mainly Sprint phones.

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just installed SignalCheck Pro. A great App! I'm trying to locate the cell site that I'm connected to. SIgnalCheck Pro shows a BSL location address that is a house address located further down my street. Any idea why this is happening? I do see the BSID/SID/NID but I haven't found any information to correlate that information to the physical location of the Sprint tower/antenna. The FCC website has database licensing information that is downloadable but not readily useable. Another app I tried displays tower location information of BSLAT = 536294 and a BASLON = -1753340, which are not valid coordinates as far as I know. Any idea on how to de-cipher these location values? Many thanks in advance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just installed SignalCheck Pro. A great App! I'm trying to locate the cell site that I'm connected to. SIgnalCheck Pro shows a BSL location address that is a house address located further down my street. Any idea why this is happening? I do see the BSID/SID/NID but I haven't found any information to correlate that information to the physical location of the Sprint tower/antenna. The FCC website has database licensing information that is downloadable but not readily useable. Another app I tried displays tower location information of BSLAT = 536294 and a BASLON = -1753340, which are not valid coordinates as far as I know. Any idea on how to de-cipher these location values? Many thanks in advance.

 

Network extender/femtocell?

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just installed SignalCheck Pro. A great App! I'm trying to locate the cell site that I'm connected to. SIgnalCheck Pro shows a BSL location address that is a house address located further down my street. Any idea why this is happening? I do see the BSID/SID/NID but I haven't found any information to correlate that information to the physical location of the Sprint tower/antenna. The FCC website has database licensing information that is downloadable but not readily useable. Another app I tried displays tower location information of BSLAT = 536294 and a BASLON = -1753340, which are not valid coordinates as far as I know. Any idea on how to de-cipher these location values? Many thanks in advance.

Sprint uses an offset address for some reason. Just look at your signal (in SCP) and whenever you get a really strong signal, you will be right near the tower. That's probably the best you can do.

 

Sent from my Note 4.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For 1X/EVDO, the BSL gives you an offset location that is not the tower site, as Galaxyguy says.  But there are generally three cells per site and they are usually grouped in some way.  Former Alltel sites are sequentially numbered, while Sprint sites in my area, when converted to hex, have the third digit varied.  (So 0x31AA, 0x32AA, and 0x33AA are on the same tower.)  You can then triangulate the position, more or less, based on those three locations.

 

Or, if you're on Sprint, you can become a Sponsor here and get maps. :)

 

- Trip

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just installed SignalCheck Pro. A great App! I'm trying to locate the cell site that I'm connected to. SIgnalCheck Pro shows a BSL location address that is a house address located further down my street. Any idea why this is happening? I do see the BSID/SID/NID but I haven't found any information to correlate that information to the physical location of the Sprint tower/antenna. The FCC website has database licensing information that is downloadable but not readily useable. Another app I tried displays tower location information of BSLAT = 536294 and a BASLON = -1753340, which are not valid coordinates as far as I know. Any idea on how to de-cipher these location values? Many thanks in advance.

Some sites broadcast coordinates that match their physical location very closely within a few hundred feet.  Each sector of a Sprint cell site (3 sectors) broadcast coordinates for each sector.  If you have a strong signal typically -85dB or better and you feel like your near a Sprint site drive 360 degrees around the site and see if the sector ID changes.

 

Locations are offset at various distances depending on the geographic size and shape of the cell and how far a site is setup to broadcast, so you could see distances vary from just hundreds of feet to several miles away.  These offsets will also vary by market and are not uniform across all of Sprint's markets.   

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The latest update to Lollipop on my VZW S5 pretty much made this app useless. LTE no longer displays GCI. PCI never worked but I knew that. Are there any decent inexpensive phones for VZW that work with all features? The list on the site show mainly Sprint phones.

 

SignalCheck will show any and all information that the Android OS is receiving.. if a system update causes things to vanish, I can't do anything but wait for the OEM to fix their software. What "list" are you referring to? Everything is software-dependent, so a future update by Samsung/Verizon could have the same impact that you saw on your S5. Of course, a future update could also improve what the app sees also.

 

I just installed SignalCheck Pro. A great App! I'm trying to locate the cell site that I'm connected to. SIgnalCheck Pro shows a BSL location address that is a house address located further down my street. Any idea why this is happening? I do see the BSID/SID/NID but I haven't found any information to correlate that information to the physical location of the Sprint tower/antenna. The FCC website has database licensing information that is downloadable but not readily useable. Another app I tried displays tower location information of BSLAT = 536294 and a BASLON = -1753340, which are not valid coordinates as far as I know. Any idea on how to de-cipher these location values? Many thanks in advance.

 

Several others already chimed in with excellent answers, but I figured this would be another opportunity to point out there is a FAQ linked from within the app that contains some basic answers to questions like yours; it's a work in progress, but covers 90% of what I get asked on a daily basis: http://www.bluelinepc.com/signalcheck/help/#bslwrong

 

Always feel free to ask in here though. There are almost 3100 posts so I don't expect new users to read them all!

 

-Mike

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Feature request incoming.  Is there anyway SCP can have alerts upon connecting to new LTE sites whether 800/1900 sites Mike, possibly by the GCI?  Just to take it a step further how about when connected too Band 41? 

 

I know its in your feature request list, how about bumping it to the top of the list.  :)

 

Haha I can't keep moving everything to the top of the list, because then it doesn't mean anything! I'm still working on an overhaul of all the alerts -- my intention is to make them more dynamic. Oh and make them work on Lollipop too..

 

There is an old list on your known issues page at the bottom. http://www.bluelinepc.com/signalcheck/known-issues/

 

Ahh ok. Hopefully nobody interprets that as the only compatible devices out there, that's not my intention.. just notes about certain devices and their capabilities. There are too many phones in the world to list them all. It has gotten a bit outdated though, perhaps it's not that useful anymore.

 

-Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haha I can't keep moving everything to the top of the list, because then it doesn't mean anything! I'm still working on an overhaul of all the alerts -- my intention is to make them more dynamic. Oh and make them work on Lollipop too..

 

 

Ahh ok. Hopefully nobody interprets that as the only compatible devices out there, that's not my intention.. just notes about certain devices and their capabilities. There are too many phones in the world to list them all. It has gotten a bit outdated though, perhaps it's not that useful anymore.

 

-Mike

I was just looking for a device that can use this app to its full potential on VZW. Since Samsung upgraded the S5 to Lollipop a lot of the features stopped working (no fault of yours of course). I'm willing to purchase a relatively inexpensive used device that works with everything so I can continue collecting data.

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Network extender/femtocell?

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Good suggestion. So I walked down my street past the addresses displayed by SignalCheck and saw no change in signal level. A question for the OpenSignal developer is how does the App come up with the displayed street address of the cell site BSL? Is that information broadcast by the cell site or is it derived from other broadcasted information?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good suggestion. So I walked down my street past the addresses displayed by SignalCheck and saw no change in signal level. A question for the OpenSignal developer is how does the App come up with the displayed street address of the cell site BSL? Is that information broadcast by the cell site or is it derived from other broadcasted information?

I can't speak for any other carrier than VZW for extenders but mine broadcasts a BSL.

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was just looking for a device that can use this app to its full potential on VZW. Since Samsung upgraded the S5 to Lollipop a lot of the features stopped working (no fault of yours of course). I'm willing to purchase a relatively inexpensive used device that works with everything so I can continue collecting data.

Gotcha. From a general perspective, HTC devices have proven to be the "best" for SignalCheck, but my experience is heavily based on feedback from Sprint users. I don't hear much from the Verizon crowd, and I am a Sprint customer myself. Hopefully there is someone else lurking that can answer that better than me. Also, I'm humbled that you find the app so useful that you would buy a phone based on its SignalCheck compatibility.. thanks!

 

Good suggestion. So I walked down my street past the addresses displayed by SignalCheck and saw no change in signal level. A question for the OpenSignal developer is how does the App come up with the displayed street address of the cell site BSL? Is that information broadcast by the cell site or is it derived from other broadcasted information?

Well if you're also asking the SignalCheck developer that question, I can answer it for you. ;) It's also explained in the FAQ link I replied with earlier.

 

Each CDMA 1X site broadcasts a latitude/longitude coordinate pair. If the coordinates appear to be valid, the app takes the pair and queries a geocoding server to translate it into the nearest street address. The geocoding is as accurate as Google Maps is; if the address is wrong, it's because the site is broadcasting offset (or incorrect) coordinates.

 

Sprint has started using an offset in more areas as NV upgrades have progressed. I guess there is a chance it could be some sort of small cell, but it is MUCH more likely that your local site does not broadcast its exact address.

 

If you want, you can send a diagnostic report (About > Send Diagnostics) and I can check exactly what coordinates the app was receiving at the time of your report. Be sure to include your username or email, along with a brief note explaining the reason for the report.

 

-Mike

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gotcha. From a general perspective, HTC devices have proven to be the "best" for SignalCheck, but my experience is heavily based on feedback from Sprint users. I don't hear much from the Verizon crowd, and I am a Sprint customer myself. Hopefully there is someone else lurking that can answer that better than me. Also, I'm humbled that you find the app so useful that you would buy a phone based on its SignalCheck compatibility.. thanks!

 

 

Well if you're also asking the SignalCheck developer that question, I can answer it for you. ;) It's also explained in the FAQ link I replied with earlier.

 

Each CDMA 1X site broadcasts a latitude/longitude coordinate pair. If the coordinates appear to be valid, the app takes the pair and queries a geocoding server to translate it into the nearest street address. The geocoding is as accurate as Google Maps is; if the address is wrong, it's because the site is broadcasting offset (or incorrect) coordinates.

 

Sprint has started using an offset in more areas as NV upgrades have progressed. I guess there is a chance it could be some sort of small cell, but it is MUCH more likely that your local site does not broadcast its exact address.

 

If you want, you can send a diagnostic report (About > Send Diagnostics) and I can check exactly what coordinates the app was receiving at the time of your report. Be sure to include your username or email, along with a brief note explaining the reason for the report.

 

-Mike

Please forgive stupid question...

 

(and I'm sure that it is answered somewhere earlier in this thread)

 

But, why does Sprint, and others, use 'Off-Set' addresses?

Is it so that the towers are more hidden from common folks?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please forgive stupid question...

 

(and I'm sure that it is answered somewhere earlier in this thread)

 

But, why does Sprint, and others, use 'Off-Set' addresses?

Is it so that the towers are more hidden from common folks?

Each sector ID broadcasts a coordinate and sector IDs are part of the CDMA standard.  From what I have observed in my area is that the off-set locations represent the coverage size of each sector.  

 

When it comes to the common folks they don't care what sector of a site they are hitting nor do they care about coordinates.  What is most important to the common folk is LTE, coverage, and speed, unless your a S4GRU member then you care about the technology and everything far, few, and in between. :P  

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Each sector ID broadcasts a coordinate and sector IDs are part of the CDMA standard. From what I have observed in my area is that the off-set locations represent the coverage size of each sector.

 

When it comes to the common folks they don't care what sector of a site they are hitting nor do they care about coordinates. What is most important to the common folk is LTE, coverage, and speed, unless your a S4GRU member then you care about the technology and everything far, few, and in between. [emoji14]

Thanks for explaining that! [emoji106]
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...