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

[mikejeep]

My battery has been draining quickly and under battery stats, it says SignalCheck Pro is the cause @ 48% drain. Any idea what happened? The only difference is now my phone is on 4.4.2. Same locations and apps.

Whoa.. are you leaving the Site Logger and/or Location Service within the app on? Other than that, you should see hardly any battery usage; it is a very passive program. Nobody else has reported similar issues. Which device is that?

 

-Mike

[uecker87]

Whoa.. are you leaving the Site Logger and/or Location Service within the app on? Other than that, you should see hardly any battery usage; it is a very passive program. Nobody else has reported similar issues. Which device is that?

 

-Mike

 

I had the same thing happen once on my Nexus 5.  I then restarted my phone and the battery usage went back to normal (1%ish), and I always have the Site Logger feature turned on.  I never use the Location Service though.

[Ascertion]

Whoa.. are you leaving the Site Logger and/or Location Service within the app on? Other than that, you should see hardly any battery usage; it is a very passive program. Nobody else has reported similar issues. Which device is that?

 

-Mike

Location and Site logger are off within the app settings. The only thing I've done differently that I can think of is adding a note to my home site. I'll wipe data and see if that helps.

 

Sent from my LG-LS980

[Ascertion]

I wiped data and all is well again. :-)

 

 

Sent from my LG-LS980

[jonathanm1978]

The only problem I got with it so far is the random disappearing on the G2. U it's there one minute, gone the next. I believe this started a couple versions ago.

 

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

[smalltimehack]

 

I keep getting this while I'm at work. There is B26 present in the area and the store has a booster in the back room but it's a for 3g only so I have a strong signal all the time.

[uecker87]

I keep getting this while I'm at work. There is B26 present in the area and the store has a booster in the back room but it's a for 3g only so I have a strong signal all the time.

 

In your engineering screens does it show you as connected to LTE?  That is pretty weird...  Maybe it glitched out in the transition between the two?

[smalltimehack]

In your engineering screens does it show you as connected to LTE? That is pretty weird... Maybe it glitched out in the transition between the two?

I haven't checked. It's a consistent thing and doesn't come and go so I'll check next time it pops up and I'm able to take a minute to investigate.

[TheSupervisor]

I have had the battery drain issue once or twice and never had the time to investigate it when it happens. I usually just kill the app and then turn it back on again and it's fixed. It's very rare tho

[mikejeep]

I keep getting this while I'm at work. There is B26 present in the area and the store has a booster in the back room but it's a for 3g only so I have a strong signal all the time.

Hah that is interesting! Certainly an issue with the app getting stuck, not a problem with your phone. Shoot me a diagnostic report next time you see that if you can. There are still a few specific situations where B26/B41 still needs some polishing.

 

Unfortunately a can of Sprite decided to kamikaze my laptop keyboard earlier this week (I swear my hand never touched it) so I haven't had a chance to finish up the Lite update or do any more work on the app. Hopefully I will be up and running in the next couple of days..

 

-Mike

[mikejeep]

I wiped data and all is well again. :-)

Good to hear. I've recently noticed that clearing the app cache (from Settings > Apps, not the BSL cache within the app) resolves force closes and frozen screens. I'm looking into it.

 

-Mike

[tommym65]

Has no one else noticed that after the KitKat update Signal Check on the GS3 now shows the GCI? For an aging Samsung phone, this is nothing short of a miracle!

[stlman314]

Has no one else noticed that after the KitKat update Signal Check on the GS3 now shows the GCI? For an aging Samsung phone, this is nothing short of a miracle!

 

Only thing that could make it better is if you could get the PCI on that screen also.

[smalltimehack]

Shoot me a diagnostic report next time you see that if you can.

 

-Mike

Will do!

[dkyeager]

I was successfully hunting Sprint 8t8r band 41 TD-LTE and I observed a dichotomy between Signal Check Pro results, which I was using to reset the signal and observation, and Signal Detector, which I was using for signal tracking.  Previously these two products have always matched in terms of the MCC and MNC. With Signal Detector, the MCC of 310 and the MNC of 120 stayed 100% constant, unlike my Band 25 and Clearwire Band 41 according to Signal Detector.  Later I looked at Signal Checker Pro log and it had its usual issues of seeing both 310 120 and 311 490 (note I do have a G2 using ZVA which may have issues in properly reporting MCC and MNC). 

 

I am wondering if perhaps Signal Check Pro is not blanking its MCC and MNC variables when the reset button is pushed.

 

Further details here if needed: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/4825-columbus-market-mapspreadsheet-premier-edition/page-19&do=findComment&comment=321397

 

Thanks!!

[mikejeep]

I was successfully hunting Sprint 8t8r band 41 TD-LTE and I observed a dichotomy between Signal Check Pro results, which I was using to reset the signal and observation, and Signal Detector, which I was using for signal tracking.  Previously these two products have always matched in terms of the MCC and MNC. With Signal Detector, the MCC of 310 and the MNC of 120 stayed 100% constant, unlike my Band 25 and Clearwire Band 41 according to Signal Detector.  Later I looked at Signal Checker Pro log and it had its usual issues of seeing both 310 120 and 311 490 (note I do have a G2 using ZVA which may have issues in properly reporting MCC and MNC). 

 

The G2 does have issues; it seems to pick and choose when it wants to refresh the PLMN (MCC+MNC). I'm not entirely clear on what you're trying to say above; I think perhaps you wrote Signal Detector somewhere you meant to put SignalCheck. I think you are saying that the engineering screens, Signal Detector, and SignalCheck do not show the same information? I am aware of some issues, but thought they were due to problems with the phone's radio software, not SignalCheck.. if you are seeing more accurate results with other apps, that would mean it's me, not the OEM's. Let me know!

 

-Mike

[dkyeager]

The G2 does have issues; it seems to pick and choose when it wants to refresh the PLMN (MCC+MNC). I'm not entirely clear on what you're trying to say above; I think perhaps you wrote Signal Detector somewhere you meant to put SignalCheck. I think you are saying that the engineering screens, Signal Detector, and SignalCheck do not show the same information? I am aware of some issues, but thought they were due to problems with the phone's radio software, not SignalCheck.. if you are seeing more accurate results with other apps, that would mean it's me, not the OEM's. Let me know!

 

-Mike

Let me try again, For the first time SignalCheck Pro and SignalDetector differ on PLMN (MCC+MNC) types reported.  This occurs with the new Sprint band 41 from the 8t8r RRHs and Antennas.  Signal Check Pro reports two PLMNs: 310120 and 311490, while Signal Detector reports only 310120 100% of the time. I only saw 310120 on engineering screens. While the G2 has issues, in this particular instance I would analyze SignalCheck Pro first.  I will try to "send diagnostics" later this week and will let you know if anything changes.

 

Thanks!!

[TheSupervisor]

I noticed on your "known issues" page that the GS5 should show PCI but I am unable to see it in the app. Am I missing a setting or is this an issue? Diags sent

[mikejeep]

I noticed on your "known issues" page that the GS5 should show PCI but I am unable to see it in the app. Am I missing a setting or is this an issue? Diags sent

 

I rely on reports from users for most of the info on that chart; I was led to believe that the S5 was showing PCI, but that could be wrong. Samsung devices did not report any LTE cell identity information until these KitKat updates, so this is their first attempt at it. It's more likely to be a radio firmware issue than a SignalCheck issue; the app shows everything it can see. No PCI means it's not being given a valid one to display.

 

EDIT: I just looked at your diagnostic report; your S5's radio is not reporting a PCI, which is why SignalCheck has nothing to show you. Hopefully Samsung keeps moving in the right direction and gets this fixed; I will update the chart.

 

-Mike

[mikejeep]

I keep getting this while I'm at work. There is B26 present in the area and the store has a booster in the back room but it's a for 3g only so I have a strong signal all the time.

 

Thanks for your reports! I think I found the bug; the routine to check the provider is still seeing the last GCI you connected to and using that to identify it as B26. The next update will be mostly B41/B26 bugfixes, I should be able to get this included.

 

-Mike

[mikejeep]

Let me try again, For the first time SignalCheck Pro and SignalDetector differ on PLMN (MCC+MNC) types reported.  This occurs with the new Sprint band 41 from the 8t8r RRHs and Antennas.  Signal Check Pro reports two PLMNs: 310120 and 311490, while Signal Detector reports only 310120 100% of the time. I only saw 310120 on engineering screens. While the G2 has issues, in this particular instance I would analyze SignalCheck Pro first.  I will try to "send diagnostics" later this week and will let you know if anything changes.

 

Aha.. well I'm guessing that SignalCheck is catching at least a glimpse of 311490 at some point; there is nothing in the code that would arbitrarily choose that PLMN. Hopefully the reports will show something, but like I said, the G2 does have some issues reporting PLMNs consistently. Signal Detector probably uses a different command to pull the PLMN (there are several) that the G2 always reports 310120 on.

 

-Mike

[smalltimehack]

Thanks for your reports! I think I found the bug; the routine to check the provider is still seeing the last GCI you connected to and using that to identify it as B26. The next update will be mostly B41/B26 bugfixes, I should be able to get this included.

 

-Mike

Cool! I was going to post something similar to that yesterday but was tired from being out all day.

I was down in Schaumburg and kept seeing the glitch happen and figured it must just be holding old data somewhere.

Glad you got it figured out!

[TheSupervisor]

I rely on reports from users for most of the info on that chart; I was led to believe that the S5 was showing PCI, but that could be wrong. Samsung devices did not report any LTE cell identity information until these KitKat updates, so this is their first attempt at it. It's more likely to be a radio firmware issue than a SignalCheck issue; the app shows everything it can see. No PCI means it's not being given a valid one to display.

 

EDIT: I just looked at your diagnostic report; your S5's radio is not reporting a PCI, which is why SignalCheck has nothing to show you. Hopefully Samsung keeps moving in the right direction and gets this fixed; I will update the chart.

 

-Mike

Ok thanks for checking into it!

[mikejeep]

Thanks for the heads up! You nailed the problem, but the real issue is I forgot to update SignalCheck Lite -- it's still a few versions behind. The bug that popped up in the Chicago thread has been fixed in the latest version.

 

It took a lot longer than I planned thanks to an unfortunate accident with a can of Sprite (the keys on my keyboard are sticking to the board and very difficult to type on, but at least it works again!), but I have finally finished getting SignalCheck Lite up to speed! It should be available on Google Play within the hour. It includes all of the pertinent updates that Pro users received between January and April, including bugfixes, Sprint B26/B41 identification, and enhanced WiFi information.

 

The full changelog is online here: http://www.bluelinepc.com/signalcheck/change-log/

 

-Mike

[jesmann]

It took a lot longer than I planned thanks to an unfortunate accident with a can of Sprite (the keys on my keyboard are sticking to the board and very difficult to type on, but at least it works again!), but I have finally finished getting SignalCheck Lite up to speed! It should be available on Google Play within the hour. It includes all of the pertinent updates that Pro users received between January and April, including bugfixes, Sprint B26/B41 identification, and enhanced WiFi information.

 

The full changelog is online here: http://www.bluelinepc.com/signalcheck/change-log/

 

-Mike

Did it spill like this

 

 

 

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