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

[mikejeep]

On 10/13/2021 at 12:39 PM, belusnecropolis said:

I am using the Samsung A71-5G on ATT. I recently noticed the 5G icon appear on my phone! I am guessing it is n66 since there is no n5 license for AT&T in my market. I looked in my logs but did not see any 5G info when I exported them pertaining to 5G cells or trail data. I am also guessing it is DSS because I was locked to bands 30/66/14 for LTE and I could still see all of the usual band 66/30 carriers. Band 14 was my PCC during this event. Would it help to send you a log when I notice this occur again? Or if it is of no value let me know. I am going to go hunt the signal down with a modular radio later anyway but if this would provide value to the app I would be glad to help out however I can. I will save any info I get when I confirm with my modular radio, I just set that radio to the same IMEI as my phone for easy sim swapping and it should behave the same.

I'm always interested in diagnostic reports, feel free to send! Are you only seeing the system 5G icon, or are you seeing 5G information displayed in SCP? If it's standalone (LTE+5G), you will only see signal strength information. 5G cell ID info is only reported with standalone connections.

[belusnecropolis]

8 hours ago, mikejeep said:

I'm always interested in diagnostic reports, feel free to send! Are you only seeing the system 5G icon, or are you seeing 5G information displayed in SCP? If it's standalone (LTE+5G), you will only see signal strength information. 5G cell ID info is only reported with standalone connections.

Yeah I went hunting with the modular and had no luck. I am only seeing the icon, no NR info, just LTE in SC Pro. I went back to the where I spotted it with the handset, scored a 5G logo and sent you a couple diagnostics. I had to absolutely rekt my bootloader to get service mode to load on my crappy ATT bloatwared phone but it was not populating any NR info either. I was only able to see the logo with LTE 750/14 active. I tried 66/30 only and did not populate the logo again. It is possible just one site has some ENDC finally and that is reflecting? I will keep seeking it  Thanks for any help and all that you do for us.

[mikejeep]

On 10/14/2021 at 10:45 PM, belusnecropolis said:

Yeah I went hunting with the modular and had no luck. I am only seeing the icon, no NR info, just LTE in SC Pro. I went back to the where I spotted it with the handset, scored a 5G logo and sent you a couple diagnostics. I had to absolutely rekt my bootloader to get service mode to load on my crappy ATT bloatwared phone but it was not populating any NR info either. I was only able to see the logo with LTE 750/14 active. I tried 66/30 only and did not populate the logo again. It is possible just one site has some ENDC finally and that is reflecting? I will keep seeking it  Thanks for any help and all that you do for us.

Sorry, I missed this post earlier -- most mobile providers are now displaying a "5G" logo in the system bar when you are connected to a site that has 5G-NR capabilities, but it does not mean that you have an active 5G-NR connection. It's very misleading, but it seems like all of the major companies are doing it now. I looked at your reports, nothing indicates that you had a whiff of 5G at the time. Keep hunting..

[mikejeep]

After 7 months of beta testing, an updated version of SignalCheck Pro has finally been released! Version 4.68 is now live on Google Play for all users. It includes tons of bugfixes, significant 5G-NR improvements, and other things that will make your day better. The full changelog is available at https://signalcheck.app/change-log.

Please feel free to post here or reach out with any questions. I appreciate everyone's support (and patience), thank you!

[RAvirani]

3 hours ago, mikejeep said:

Sorry, I missed this post earlier -- most mobile providers are now displaying a "5G" logo in the system bar when you are connected to a site that has 5G-NR capabilities, but it does not mean that you have an active 5G-NR connection. It's very misleading, but it seems like all of the major companies are doing it now. 

The 5G icon is controlled by a parameter called upperLayerIndication, which is a part of system information block 2 of LTE. A value of true just means that LTE carrier/channel supports ENDC (aka it could be the LTE anchor for NSA 5G). Without looking at engineering screens or using an app like SignalCheck, you can’t actually tell if you’re connected to a 5G radio bearer. 

[mikejeep]

I finally got my hands on a Pixel 6 and started using it this week. I was able to get SCP working, but there are some issues beyond my control that will need to be resolved with future system updates. No LTE or NR neighbor cells are reported, and NR NCI appears to always be invalid. I will file a bug report with Google and update this post with a link for upvotes.

[Trip]

Mike,

I pulled data off my wife's phone yesterday (LG G7) and found that almost none of the notes are showing up because the phone is reporting everything as 311490, and it's treating that as Sprint-equivalent even though most of the sites she connects to are T-Mobile.

I tried the alternate PLMN method and that just made everything come back as 310120, even the T-Mobile sites.

Not sure there's anything to be done since this will probably all be resolved in six months, but figured I'd at least flag it. 

- Trip

 

[mikejeep]

16 hours ago, Trip said:

I pulled data off my wife's phone yesterday (LG G7) and found that almost none of the notes are showing up because the phone is reporting everything as 311490, and it's treating that as Sprint-equivalent even though most of the sites she connects to are T-Mobile.

Are you running the public release or a beta? Sprint/T-Mobile site note matching was improved in 4.681b and should resolve the issue you're experiencing. It's coming soon to the public version.

[Trip]

My wife is using the public release.  I run the beta, but my G8X reports as 310120/310260 rather than 311490, so I can't test it myself.

- Trip

 

[mikejeep]

The latest SCP version is almost done working its way through beta testing, and a full release might be ready next week.

In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if users could take a moment and 'star' this Android bug that directly impacts the reliability of 5G-NR info that SignalCheck (and similar apps) tries to display. It only takes a moment, and helps prioritize what gets looked at by Android engineers.. thanks!

https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/215232946

[gr8nuguy]

done

 

[PedroDaGr8]

16 hours ago, mikejeep said:

The latest SCP version is almost done working its way through beta testing, and a full release might be ready next week.

In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if users could take a moment and 'star' this Android bug that directly impacts the reliability of 5G-NR info that SignalCheck (and similar apps) tries to display. It only takes a moment, and helps prioritize what gets looked at by Android engineers.. thanks!

https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/215232946

Seems to have worked, the bug just got upgraded from P3 priority to P1 (the second highest priority).

Per Google, a P1 bug is defined as follows:

"An issue that needs to be addressed quickly. Such an issue significantly impacts a large percentage of users; if there is a workaround it is partial or overly painful. The impact of the issue is to a core organizational function, or fundamentally impedes another team."

 

[PythonFanPA]

Edit: Disregard, what I previously posted here was a previously starred bug.

 

[mikejeep]

A new version of SignalCheck Pro is finally being released and should become available on Google Play within the next several hours! Version 4.71 includes MANY bugfixes and new features. To view the full changelog, visit this link or go to About > Change Log from within the app.

Please feel free to post feedback or questions, and thank you for your support!

[dkyeager]

Cleaning up a rooted Moto G7 power that I really only use for signal hunting.  Does SignalCheck Pro work better with Android 9 or 10? 

[Trip]

Mike,

I saw a video taken last night of someone drive testing the Dish Wireless network and at one point they pulled up SCP.  When they did, the accent line appeared to be in the magenta color of T-Mobile.  Not sure what color to suggest but if it's native Dish and my vision caught it correctly, it seems like it should have its own color.

https://imgur.com/a/kOZmBuL

EDIT:  Found another frame where it appears there was no accent.  Huh.

https://imgur.com/a/USbB4Zq

- Trip

[dkyeager]

1 hour ago, Trip said:

Mike,

I saw a video taken last night of someone drive testing the Dish Wireless network and at one point they pulled up SCP.  When they did, the accent line appeared to be in the magenta color of T-Mobile.  Not sure what color to suggest but if it's native Dish and my vision caught it correctly, it seems like it should have its own color.

https://imgur.com/a/kOZmBuL

EDIT:  Found another frame where it appears there was no accent.  Huh.

https://imgur.com/a/USbB4Zq

- Trip

I analyzed some of the early cellmapper finds of Dish in Las Vegas and found some were likely using Boost Mobile T- Mobile sims and not the more recent Boost Mobile AT&T sims.

With a regular T-Mobile sim you can easily see other plmns operating in your area.  I have not seen 313 340 yet.

[jonathanm1978]

26 minutes ago, dkyeager said:

I analyzed some of the early cellmapper finds of Dish in Las Vegas and found some were likely using Boost Mobile T- Mobile sims and not the more recent Boost Mobile AT&T sims.

With a regular T-Mobile sim you can easily see other plmns operating in your area.  I have not seen 313 340 yet.

I was contacted (email) and offered to participate in the testing of the Dish cellular network..Since I don't reside in the LV area...I couldn't take part in the initial testing. 

Hopefully expansion will allow me to take part in the future and I can report findings on it here...if that does happen.

[DerekKY1980]

Hey All

I'm wondering if i'm the only 1 having an issue with the latest build?   If it's open for a bit and changes from 4G to 5G  or from 5G to 4G   the signal strength will dissapear and be replaced with  --   sometimes closing it out and re-opening it will fix it  sometimes it just comes back to --     and sometimes   the color won't change  on white backgrounds (not always the case but on occasions)    I'm using OnePlus  8T with OxygenOS 12   I'm on T-Mobile so not sure if it's a T-Mo issue    an Android 12 issue  OOS12 issue  or an issue with the App it's self    

I do know  2-4 years ago  on OnePlus 6T  the issue with the color  was a problem  but it was a perm thing not an off and on thing (like it is now)    until  I got in contact with the creator of the app as well as OnePlus  and it was eventually fixed I never had a problem since then till around March when i got the OOS12 update  I did contact the creator via email  but never got a response

[mikejeep]

On 6/2/2022 at 11:21 AM, DerekKY1980 said:

I'm wondering if i'm the only 1 having an issue with the latest build?   If it's open for a bit and changes from 4G to 5G  or from 5G to 4G   the signal strength will dissapear and be replaced with  --   sometimes closing it out and re-opening it will fix it  sometimes it just comes back to --     and sometimes   the color won't change  on white backgrounds (not always the case but on occasions)    I'm using OnePlus  8T with OxygenOS 12   I'm on T-Mobile so not sure if it's a T-Mo issue    an Android 12 issue  OOS12 issue  or an issue with the App it's self    

I do know  2-4 years ago  on OnePlus 6T  the issue with the color  was a problem  but it was a perm thing not an off and on thing (like it is now)    until  I got in contact with the creator of the app as well as OnePlus  and it was eventually fixed I never had a problem since then till around March when i got the OOS12 update  I did contact the creator via email  but never got a response

I know this is an old message, are you still having issues? I don't see any unanswered e-mails that old but I apologize if I missed you. Please feel free to send it again if needed. I did work with OnePlus on that display issue a few years ago; this is the first I've heard that it is occurring again. If so, it's on OnePlus to resolve it, apps have no control over the color of the text in the status bar. It's supposed to adjust automatically if there is a light background.

[mikejeep]

Rolling out a new website for SignalCheck at https://signalcheck.app (which redirects to the new site on GitHub) -- check it out! This provides the opportunity to use a public-facing issue tracker as well as a wiki. If anyone is interested in adding to the wiki, I would graciously accept the hand. I believe I will need to grant permission to trusted users for this; send me a message with your username and I'll get you set up. I know the documentation for the app has always had a lot of room for improvement, hopefully together we can make it much better.

SignalCheck is not going open-source, but GitHub offered the best collection of tools in one spot that I was looking for. The website is still a work in progress, but hopefully it will prove to be useful. I think the issue tracker and the wiki will be great tools.

[DerekKY1980]

On 7/24/2022 at 4:13 AM, mikejeep said:

I know this is an old message, are you still having issues? I don't see any unanswered e-mails that old but I apologize if I missed you. Please feel free to send it again if needed. I did work with OnePlus on that display issue a few years ago; this is the first I've heard that it is occurring again. If so, it's on OnePlus to resolve it, apps have no control over the color of the text in the status bar. It's supposed to adjust automatically if there is a light background.

Hey Mike   

Ya I was the one that brought the issue to your attn for the color thing on my 6T like 3-4 years ago   that was fixed after like 6 months  and I never had any issues with that anymore till the 1st  Android/OxygenOS 12 update but it hasn't done that anymore (that i've seen lately)   it just doesn't give me the  signal strength much anymore  it'll show it for like 5 mins then  switch to  "--"  and stay that way 

Sometimes if I close it out and reopen it  it'll come back (tho the icon is delayed showing up for like a min  or so when it used to show up instantly) but after a few mins it's back to showing "--" again and other times it'll just come back to the "--"

[mikejeep]

I am aware of issues with the combination icon showing network type and signal strength. Android 13 devices either show the signal strength intermittently or not at all, and I have one report of it occurring on OxygenOS 12 (above). I am still investigating, but as of right now these seem like OS bugs because I have not been able to find any new requirements to display these layered icons on the newest Android versions.

I will continue investigating; in the meantime, if anyone is able to identify a pattern of when it seems to work properly, please let me know. My Pixel 6 never shows the signal strength.

[jefbal99]

Definitely started happening for me with the Android 13 upgrade.

[dkyeager]

On 8/18/2022 at 2:30 PM, mikejeep said:

I am aware of issues with the combination icon showing network type and signal strength. Android 13 devices either show the signal strength intermittently or not at all, and I have one report of it occurring on OxygenOS 12 (above). I am still investigating, but as of right now these seem like OS bugs because I have not been able to find any new requirements to display these layered icons on the newest Android versions.

I will continue investigating; in the meantime, if anyone is able to identify a pattern of when it seems to work properly, please let me know. My Pixel 6 never shows the signal strength.

Sent diagnostics from my Oneplus Nord n200 5g on OxygenOS Android 12.  No signal indication in status bar.  Notifications  setup screens have a totally different structure than Samsung.

edit: Nothing on status bar from any other app, just time, signal, battery % and battery icon.