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


mikejeep

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Mike, I sent you a diagnostic report about this one earlier:

 

CBj0Oqj.png

 

Last year the GCI changed after an equipment swap, and SignalCheck has mistakenly shown it as LTE 2500 ever since.

 

Something about the site in CellMapper caught my eye earlier:

 

1cQMn3C.png

 

Data still works, so it's probably the only one with that mistake, but damn. I'm surprised they even activated it at the switch like that.

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sector Hex(sector decimal)

Band 25 GCI start with 018 end with 01(01),02(02),03(03).

Band 25 second carrier GCI start with 018 end with 0D(13),17(23),21(33)

Band 26 GCI start with 018 end with 0C(12),16(22),20(32)

Band 41 GCI start with 01B end with 01(01),02(02),03(03)

It looks like I forgot to mention that 01A is also Band 41. http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/4897-lte-ntelos-west-virginia-nw-virginia-shentel-network-vision-soon%E2%84%A2/page-112&do=findComment&comment=461367

 

Trip was also able to find a offset CDMA BID->B25 GCI->B41 GCI. The NID(or some other area id) seems to control the BID offset and I am not 100% sure about the B25->B41 offset 0x2710. The only reason I mention the offset is for notes. When I build the database I put B25, B26, and B41. So it does not effect me if you can't use the offset in the future.

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Mike, I sent you a diagnostic report about this one earlier:

 

CBj0Oqj.png

 

Last year the GCI changed after an equipment swap, and SignalCheck has mistakenly shown it as LTE 2500 ever since.

 

Something about the site in CellMapper caught my eye earlier:

 

1cQMn3C.png

 

Data still works, so it's probably the only one with that mistake, but damn. I'm surprised they even activated it at the switch like that.

 

How accurate is cellmapper?

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How accurate is cellmapper?

Cellmapper is pretty accurate when enough data of a site is provided to it. If you only log one connection to a site, the tower location it provides will be grossly inaccurate, unless you happen to be right next to the tower when it happens. However, if you travel all the way around a site and log several readings from all three sectors, it's going to be pretty close in locating a site.

 

However, Cellmapper is an awful map to actually view and monitor site data as you go about. Because the site data is always bouncing around the screen, it doesn't show band data, its screen formatting is awful to quickly ascertain info and you cannot add site notes. SCP is the perfect app for a wireless nerd on the go.

 

Cellmapper is really designed just to run in the background and take the data it gleans and plop it on a map for your review when you get home. Cellmapper is more like an advanced Sensorly than it is like SCP.

 

Using Tapatalk on Note 8.0

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How accurate is cellmapper?

 

 

Cellmapper is pretty accurate when enough data of a site is provided to it. If you only log one connection to a site, the tower location it provides will be grossly inaccurate, unless you happen to be right next to the tower when it happens. However, if you travel all the way around a site and log several readings from all three sectors, it's going to be pretty close in locating a site.

 

However, Cellmapper is an awful map to actually view and monitor site data as you go about. Because the site data is always bouncing around the screen, it doesn't show band data, its screen formatting is awful to quickly ascertain info and you cannot add site notes. SCP is the perfect app for a wireless nerd on the go.

 

Cellmapper is really designed just to run in the background and take the data it gleans and plop it on a map for your review when you get home. Cellmapper is more like an advanced Sensorly than it is like SCP.

Couldn't agree more. Many of us use both apps extensively across multiple providers.

 

One of the things that can be confusing about CellMapper is that it uses the eNodeB ID (the first 6 hex digits of the GCI) as the site identifier. Sprint uses different eNodeB IDs for different bands, so each band will show up as a separate site. This is a business decision on Sprint's part, but there allegedly is a technical limitation to how many sectors can be addressed under one eNodeB ID.

 

Other providers will generally use the same eNodeB ID for multiple bands to a certain extent. As has undoubtedly been mentioned elsewhere in this thread, we have seen AT&T do something odd when adding a third carrier to a site: they will reassign the gamma sector of one or more bands to a new eNodeB ID equivalent to one of the secondary UMTS Node B IDs for the site. Sometimes it's 8 sectors on the first and one sector on the second, and sometimes it's 6 sectors on the first and 3 sectors on the second.

 

Verizon has been doing something similar with their third carrier where they use an eNodeB ID at a calculated offset from the original, but they are generally keeping the entire carrier on the same ID like Sprint does rather than the mess AT&T is making.

 

One nice thing CellMapper does do is draw boundaries around the observed points within a given sector. Here is an example of an approximated site location which shows the boundary areas of data points collected from two different sectors:

 

Tc7BCZS.png

 

The actual site location is indicated by the pink dot (I have injected known site locations into the page using JavaScript). As a logged-in user, I can drag the site pin to its actual location; and after doing so, the boundaries are extended back to the pin, showing you the approximate sectorization of the cell:

 

o4SRvl3.png

 

Oh, and in case it wasn't clear in my earlier post, the idiot who reconfigured the site after the RRUS 11/31 swap input Sprint's PLMN (310120) for the eNodeB ID!

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Just wanted to chime in and say I'm still alive.. I recently moved and have virtually no signal at my new house, and it took a couple of weeks to get FiOS installed so I haven't been able to easily get online for a bit. I'll be catching up on PMs, and emails over the next few days.

 

With the few pennies I had left after buying my new house, I splurged on a Nexus 5X with the hopes that I can figure out this 1X/LTE display weirdness. Bug? Feature? No idea. I want to resolve the issue with the sometimes-but-not-always-missing GCI too. I am seeing this myself but haven't figured out why. Stay tuned..

 

-Mike

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Just wanted to chime in and say I'm still alive.. I recently moved and have virtually no signal at my new house, and it took a couple of weeks to get FiOS installed so I haven't been able to easily get online for a bit. I'll be catching up on PMs, and emails over the next few days.

 

With the few pennies I had left after buying my new house, I splurged on a Nexus 5X with the hopes that I can figure out this 1X/LTE display weirdness. Bug? Feature? No idea. I want to resolve the issue with the sometimes-but-not-always-missing GCI too. I am seeing this myself but haven't figured out why. Stay tuned..

 

-Mike

I have the Nexus 6p if u need any diagnostics from it and congrats on the house.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

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Congrats on the house Mike. I'm looking to buy my first one next year and I'm already pulling my hair out.

 

I am now using several devices and SCP works on my Motorola devices, however, displays NOTHING on my Sony devices (using a Z5 Premium). I sent a diagnostic to see if it helps to you. I had the same issues with my former Z3+.

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Just wanted to chime in and say I'm still alive.. I recently moved and have virtually no signal at my new house, and it took a couple of weeks to get FiOS installed so I haven't been able to easily get online for a bit. I'll be catching up on PMs, and emails over the next few days.

 

With the few pennies I had left after buying my new house, I splurged on a Nexus 5X with the hopes that I can figure out this 1X/LTE display weirdness. Bug? Feature? No idea. I want to resolve the issue with the sometimes-but-not-always-missing GCI too. I am seeing this myself but haven't figured out why. Stay tuned..

 

-Mike

Damn Mike, 

 

Cellphone signal wasn't the number one priority when purchasing your new home... :lol:

 

I kid, I kid...

Congrats on the new home..

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Just wanted to chime in and say I'm still alive.. I recently moved and have virtually no signal at my new house, and it took a couple of weeks to get FiOS installed so I haven't been able to easily get online for a bit. I'll be catching up on PMs, and emails over the next few days.

 

:rofl:  :roflmao: Mike, this month makes two years since I moved halfway across my state, and I have to tell you, SignalCheck Pro was the first thing I consulted during every apartment tour. Didn't even make it into the unit at one place before I had seen enough.

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Mike, you should check out this post for its SignalCheck Pro screenshot of LTE roaming on USCC.  From subsequent LTE engineering screenshots, it is band 12.  So, you may have some starting info to get GCI to band detection working on USCC.

 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/975-network-visionlte-missouri-market-includes-st-louis/?p=462535

 

AJ

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Mike, you should check out this post for its SignalCheck Pro screenshot of LTE roaming on USCC. From subsequent LTE engineering screenshots, it is band 12. So, you may have some starting info to get GCI to band detection working on USCC.

 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/975-network-visionlte-missouri-market-includes-st-louis/?p=462535

 

AJ

I also posted in that thread a screen shot roaming on US Cellular band 5

 

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

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I'm almost tempted to dump Marshmallow and go back to Lollipop on my Nexus 6 on VZW. Not only am I showing issues with SCP (missing/incorrect data, stale data) I'm having constant drops in signal strength and/or complete or partial loss of LTE (only connecting to a single band when B13, B4 and/or B2 is available at a site) or even CDMA at times when LTE is unavailable (network extenders). Both 6.0 and 6.0.1 suffer this same issue. In my area where signal strength on VZW is weak I'm seeing it constantly connecting to AT&T, of course failing. Never had any of these issues on Lollipop, other than the dreaded displaying CDMA/LTE bug. I've gone through three different warranty replacements, 5 SIMs, and stumped VZW. What really bothers me about this is that I'm not finding anyone else with this same issue. Completely stock/unrooted, rooted, custom ROM, doesn't matter. Same outcome on MM.

 

The screenshots below are from my network extender when it wants to work. SCP shows "0" for BID while LTE Discovery shows all info. Both, including the system itself, is showing a weak signal despite being a foot away from the extender.

 

Anyone else seeing this issue with their Nexus 6 on Marshmallow, too?

 

Taq9RyKl.png nQ2KNOMl.png

 

 

 

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I'm almost tempted to dump Marshmallow and go back to Lollipop on my Nexus 6 on VZW. Not only am I showing issues with SCP (missing/incorrect data, stale data) I'm having constant drops in signal strength and/or complete or partial loss of LTE (only connecting to a single band when B13, B4 and/or B2 is available at a site) or even CDMA at times when LTE is unavailable (network extenders). Both 6.0 and 6.0.1 suffer this same issue. In my area where signal strength on VZW is weak I'm seeing it constantly connecting to AT&T, of course failing. Never had any of these issues on Lollipop, other than the dreaded displaying CDMA/LTE bug. I've gone through three different warranty replacements, 5 SIMs, and stumped VZW. What really bothers me about this is that I'm not finding anyone else with this same issue. Completely stock/unrooted, rooted, custom ROM, doesn't matter. Same outcome on MM.

 

The screenshots below are from my network extender when it wants to work. SCP shows "0" for BID while LTE Discovery shows all info. Both, including the system itself, is showing a weak signal despite being a foot away from the extender.

 

Anyone else seeing this issue with their Nexus 6 on Marshmallow, too?

 

Taq9RyKl.png nQ2KNOMl.png

I'm having the same issue with my Nexus 6 on Project Fi. But not having the issue on my Nexus 5 on Marshmallow. It's just fine on the N5. For me, it just seems to be the Nexus 6. But for me it started even before the Marshmallow update. It started with the November update on Lollipop.

 

Using Tapatalk on Note 8.0

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I'm having the same issue with my Nexus 6 on Project Fi. But not having the issue on my Nexus 5 on Marshmallow. It's just fine on the N5. For me, it just seems to be the Nexus 6. But for me it started even before the Marshmallow update. It started with the November update on Lollipop.

 

Using Tapatalk on Note 8.0

I had this bug on my Nexus 5 on both lollipop and marshmallow, after a minute it would regrab the LTE or Ev-Do signal.
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  • 3 weeks later...

So today while my phone was sitting on a white screen loading an app, I noticed that the SignalCheck Pro logo and text has burned into the top left corner of my Galaxy S5's screen.  I didn't think burn-in was a problem on modern screens.

 

But I think it speaks to the amount of time SCP runs on my phone.  :)

 

- Trip

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So today while my phone was sitting on a white screen loading an app, I noticed that the SignalCheck Pro logo and text has burned into the top left corner of my Galaxy S5's screen.  I didn't think burn-in was a problem on modern screens.

 

Not a fan of AMOLED.  It has advantages -- but also disadvantages and notorious inaccuracies.  LCD > AMOLED.

 

AJ

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So today while my phone was sitting on a white screen loading an app, I noticed that the SignalCheck Pro logo and text has burned into the top left corner of my Galaxy S5's screen. I didn't think burn-in was a problem on modern screens.

 

But I think it speaks to the amount of time SCP runs on my phone. :)

 

- Trip

Same here on my S5. Didn't notice it on my Nexus 6 yet.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

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Just wanted to chime in and say I'm still alive.. I recently moved and have virtually no signal at my new house, and it took a couple of weeks to get FiOS installed so I haven't been able to easily get online for a bit. I'll be catching up on PMs, and emails over the next few days.

 

With the few pennies I had left after buying my new house, I splurged on a Nexus 5X with the hopes that I can figure out this 1X/LTE display weirdness. Bug? Feature? No idea. I want to resolve the issue with the sometimes-but-not-always-missing GCI too. I am seeing this myself but haven't figured out why. Stay tuned..

 

-Mike

Congratulations on the house.

 

The 1x thing happens on the Motorola Nexus 6, too, even with the latest firmware.  All the other glitches on this thing seem gone, though.  If it helps, LTE Discovery isn't affected by the issue and can still identify GCI, PCI, TAC on sites, so still shows bands right.

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So today while my phone was sitting on a white screen loading an app, I noticed that the SignalCheck Pro logo and text has burned into the top left corner of my Galaxy S5's screen. I didn't think burn-in was a problem on modern screens.

 

But I think it speaks to the amount of time SCP runs on my phone. :)

 

- Trip

Yeah my s5 has horrible burn in. The whole status bar and alot of the icons have some type of ghosting. I've tried running a negative image app but haven't noticed it going away yet.

 

Sent from my LGLK430 using Tapatalk

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Yeah my s5 has horrible burn in. The whole status bar and alot of the icons have some type of ghosting. I've tried running a negative image app but haven't noticed it going away yet.

 

Sent from my LGLK430 using Tapatalk

This happens to my laptop a lot and there is a nice video on YouTube that I use to fix it. Just look up burn in fix and leave the video running for a bit.

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This happens to my laptop a lot and there is a nice video on YouTube that I use to fix it. Just look up burn in fix and leave the video running for a bit.

I'm going to assume that video is for a stuck pixel on an LCD screen. We're referring to screen burn on OLED screens, which can be similar to screen burn on old CRT (tube) screens.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

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I'm going to assume that video is for a stuck pixel on an LCD screen. We're referring to screen burn on OLED screens, which can be similar to screen burn on old CRT (tube) screens.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Maybe try checking this out?

http://www.phonearena.com/news/AMOLED-Burn-in-Fixer-promises-an-easy-fix-for-your-Android-smartphone-screens-pesky-burn-in-issues_id64344

 

Came out two days ago...

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