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

[orangeblue]

I wonder if it's a G2 battery stats bug; unless SignalCheck gets hung up doing something CPU-intensive (which it doesn't really do anyway), it would be very hard for the app to become a power hog. It just hangs out in the background listening for data updates.

 

On another note, this true black background I'm testing out is growing on me. Maybe it's just me, but it's very noticeable when running the app at night in the car. The LTE band information on the status bar icons is pretty cool too..

 

-Mike

 

The G2 is a nice device and yes it is not without flaws (GPS!). This could be an issue because the G2's GPS sensors seem to be way off and it's not just a Sprint issue, Verizon's version has the same problems.

 

I have not experienced this issue with roughly a dozen devices running SCP to date.

 

I have been running 2 G2's with full stock but root, and both had the issue with battery drain. As soon I uninstalled the software, battery use went back up to normal specs.

[S4GRU]

Just gotta love that G2.

[BlueAngel]

Ta-da! Here is a peek:

 

 

Still working on tweaking the resolution; that is an oversized icon that Android is scaling down, which is probably why it looks a little sloppy. I'm making density-specific icons that will hopefully look as sharp as the square screenshot icon in the status bar. Looks like I should be able to do the style above, also a "LTE 800" version, and then similar icons that use a larger font but do not show the signal strength. It's very tedious work so it's taking me a little bit to get them all done, but it will be worth the wait..

 

-Mike

I like.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 running Android 5.0 Lollipop

[darickster09]

Hey Mike does the Nexus 6 on Android 5 support signalcheck pro?  Am I going to have to root the phone to get full features on the Nexus 6?

[kojitsari]

Hey Mike does the Nexus 6 on Android 5 support signalcheck pro? Am I going to have to root the phone to get full features on the Nexus 6?

Scp works on android L, with some features being iffy at the moment. Give it a bit and they'll get ironed out.

[mikejeep]

Hey Mike does the Nexus 6 on Android 5 support signalcheck pro? Am I going to have to root the phone to get full features on the Nexus 6?

Right now I am aware that Alerts do not work, and I just saw a report that some System Shortcuts may not be working. I'm working on those issues; if you notice others, please let me know. I expect that you will need to be rooted to access whatever features required root on KitKat (reset feature, some system shortcuts).

 

As a side note, there is no drawback to rooting any Nexus device -- it's very simple and doesn't require a lot of technical knowledge. At least unlock it as soon as you receive it in case you decide to do so in the future.. unlocking wipes the phone, so it's better to do it before you have it all set up.

 

-Mike

[DaQue]

I'm surprised. I'm on the iPhone 6+ now and upgraded the old Nexus 5 to 5.0. and logged onto my WiFi and SCP shows a LTE connection to Sprint. I don't have service on that phone and I didn't think it would show anything.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Galaxyguy]

I think that's due to being able to dial 911 in an emergency. I'm fairly certain the data won't actually work.

 

Sent from my Note 4.

[DaQue]

That's likely to be it but I thought it would just show CDMA. I guess with ecsfb even non subscriber phone on WiFi hop over to LTE.

[mikejeep]

I'm surprised. I'm on the iPhone 6+ now and upgraded the old Nexus 5 to 5.0. and logged onto my WiFi and SCP shows a LTE connection to Sprint. I don't have service on that phone and I didn't think it would show anything.

 

I have two deactivated Sprint devices that connect to LTE no problem, just cannot transfer any data. On my Nexus 5, I have tried prepaid SIMs for T-Mobile and AT&T that have never been activated.. T-Mobile allows an LTE connection for about 60 seconds before dropping to HSPA until a reboot, but AT&T does not allow any connections at all. Sprint and T-Mobile make app testing much easier for me!

 

-Mike

[mc_gusto]

Hey Mike, another quick thing I noticed. When trying to write site notes I noticed I can't use "swype" or suggestions when I use SwiftKey. Any reason behind this. Just would be easier to write notes on the go.

[mmark27]

The S5 just got 4.4.4 (check your updates if you have one, NK4) and neighboring cells appear! Hooray!

 

sent from an underwater dust storm with my Sprint S5

[Trip]

Confirmed!  I now get PCI and neighbor cells, neither of which I had before the update.

 

- Trip

[Trip]

Sorry for the double post... I just walked to the other end of the building where the Clear site my phone parks on in my office goes behind a building and an 8T8R site comes in.  Because the TAC is different due to Clear versus 8T8R, no note shows in the neighbor cells going either way.  I'm going to concur with whoever it was that asked for that to be a switchable feature. 

 

Does the neighbor site API give any information besides PCI, like who the provider is?

 

One other thing, I just tried G-NetTrack Pro (trial) and it correctly showed the Clear site as 311870, while SignalCheck is still showing 310120.  I'm guessing it's using a different method of grabbing it?

 

- Trip

[mikejeep]

Hey Mike, another quick thing I noticed. When trying to write site notes I noticed I can't use "swype" or suggestions when I use SwiftKey. Any reason behind this. Just would be easier to write notes on the go.

That might be something related to SwiftKey and/or your ROM.. SignalCheck just displays a standard Android text box, and the OS handles it accordingly. I know I can use swype on the factory Google keyboard on my N5 without any trouble, but I do see what you mean about no suggestions popping up. I will see if there is something I can tweak.

 

Sorry for the double post... I just walked to the other end of the building where the Clear site my phone parks on in my office goes behind a building and an 8T8R site comes in. Because the TAC is different due to Clear versus 8T8R, no note shows in the neighbor cells going either way. I'm going to concur with whoever it was that asked for that to be a switchable feature.

 

Does the neighbor site API give any information besides PCI, like who the provider is?

 

It's not really possible to change the way neighbor site notes are displayed.. I know someone else asked for that option, but there isn't really a way to do it without opening the door for some wacky data displays. Neighbor cells only broadcast their PCI and RSRP; without additional data, it is very difficult to properly narrow down which site you are seeing. There is no PLMN, TAC, or GCI included. PCIs only range from 0-503 so they are reused all over the place, and I have no idea how I would tell the app which one it should be selecting. For example, if you have four different entries using PCI 123 in your log, and the app has no other information to utilize, how do you choose which one to display? Don't forget there is a chance that none of them are the correct site. I would much rather display no note if there isn't enough information to make an educated guess.

 

There has been a far more significant response to the Neighbor Cells display than I ever imagined, but a lot of it is unhappy users demanding more information or explanations as to what they are seeing. I wish I could provide more information, but by taking a "guess" at the proper site note, I'm already showing more than I can guarantee to be accurate. Many have aggressively mapped their area and are seeing PCIs that do not correlate to any sites they have identified. In turn, I get e-mails telling me the Logger and/or Neighbor Cell features are broken. They certainly might be, but for an overwhelming majority of users, nothing is broken. We're probably seeing something that seems "wrong" because it's a part of the network nobody here seems to have a solid understanding of (yet).

 

One other thing, I just tried G-NetTrack Pro (trial) and it correctly showed the Clear site as 311870, while SignalCheck is still showing 310120. I'm guessing it's using a different method of grabbing it?

I've never heard of G-NetTrack Pro, but it must use a different way to get the PLMN. Maybe something changed with your 4.4.4 update that I can take advantage of; next time you see that scenario (one app shows Clear but SCP shows Sprint) please try sending me a diagnostic report.

 

-Mike

[mikejeep]

Lollipop update: It sounds like most (all?) users are no longer able to use the Reset Connection feature, even though the phone appears to acknowledge the command if you are rooted. I'm aware of the issue and looking into it; the only thing that could help is if you send a diagnostic report shortly after trying the Reset feature, it might capture something in the log that helps lead me in the right direction. But I'm nervous that Google may have completely blocked access to the radio.

 

-Mike

[uecker87]

Another Lollipop update: sounds like most (all?) users are no longer able to use the Reset Connection feature, even though the phone appears to acknowledge the command if you are rooted. I'm aware of the issue and looking into it; the only thing that could help is if you send a diagnostic report shortly after trying the Reset feature, it might capture something in the log that helps lead me in the right direction. But I'm nervous that Google may have completely blocked access to the radio.

 

-Mike

 

Hmmm.  Has been working fine for me with my N5 on Lollipop.  I had to grant it root access again through SuperSU though.

 

Edit:  Nevermind.  You are right.  It acts like it does, but nothing actually happens.  Noooooo!! 

[mmark27]

Does anyone have a record for neighboring sites yet?  Saw 12 on my way in to work, I'll try to get a screenshot for proof.  Funny too because that's a real dead zone for signal usually, so it's clear that all towers around it are trying really, really, really hard to reach that area, but none are real successful. 

[uecker87]

Does anyone have a record for neighboring sites yet?  Saw 12 on my way in to work, I'll try to get a screenshot for proof.  Funny too because that's a real dead zone for signal usually, so it's clear that all towers around it are trying really, really, really hard to reach that area, but none are real successful. 

 

Yeah, I see a ton even in the dip on University Ave a few blocks west of Whitney Way.  I typically drop LTE for a couple minutes there, but other times I see like 10 neighboring sites all with RSRPs under -115. 

 

The one thing I don't get (and this could have to do with the N5 or the radio itself), is that the phone always goes from like 6 neighboring sites to none within a few seconds of each other even while not moving.  Could this be what causes the phone to drop straight from B25 to 3G if you lose the site you are connected to? 

 

Overall I love the neighboring cells feature.  Helps to see what the network is doing behind the scenes a little bit more.

[Trip]

I've never heard of G-NetTrack Pro, but it must use a different way to get the PLMN. Maybe something changed with your 4.4.4 update that I can take advantage of; next time you see that scenario (one app shows Clear but SCP shows Sprint) please try sending me a diagnostic report.

-Mike

 

I tried another app that also sees 311-870 now, the name is slipping my mind at the moment.  I sent you a diagnostic report right after my previous post; if you didn't get it, let me know and I will send you another.

 

With regard to the other things, I certainly understand.  I'm a person who values accuracy as well.  I just wish there was some way to relate things together; to perhaps be able to manually say "TAC X overlaps with TAC Y so it's a safe assumption to use the site notes from either TAC".  I suspect any such feature would be too complicated for the general public, though.

 

I am greatly enjoying the neighbor cells feature now that I have it though! 

 

- Trip

[Flompholph]

I've never heard of G-NetTrack Pro, but it must use a different way to get the PLMN. Maybe something changed with your 4.4.4 update that I can take advantage of; next time you see that scenario (one app shows Clear but SCP shows Sprint) please try sending me a diagnostic report.

-Mike

I just sent diagnostic signal detector shows clear correctly on a note 4 here.

 

Edit: Thought I shoul add a link to pic. https://www.dropbox.com/s/c6cu2cej8h9pcup/Screenshot_2014-11-20-16-43-19.png?dl=0

[gsd10]

Just purchased an S5 and am new to Signal Check Pro.  Can anybody give a beginners rundown on deciphering what the data means... for an example, while connected to LTE, how do you know which band of LTE you are on.

[mikejeep]

With regard to the other things, I certainly understand.  I'm a person who values accuracy as well.  I just wish there was some way to relate things together; to perhaps be able to manually say "TAC X overlaps with TAC Y so it's a safe assumption to use the site notes from either TAC".  I suspect any such feature would be too complicated for the general public, though.

 

I *might* have come up with a way to do it.. testing some things out now. If it ends up working, it would be an off-by-default option so those of you who understand its possibilities could enjoy it, but my inbox doesn't explode from angry users who don't understand it..

 

I just sent diagnostic signal detector shows clear correctly on a note 4 here.

 

Your report appears to be the only one I received, but it shows me the magic.. thanks! I should be able to take advantage of that. Speaking of taking advantage, I got a nice message from @danialgoodwin from the LTE Discovery app crew the other day sharing some juicy info they discovered with the help of the legend known as @digiblur.. it will result in more devices (looking at you, Samsung) being able to show GCI within the app!!

 

Just purchased an S5 and am new to Signal Check Pro.  Can anybody give a beginners rundown on deciphering what the data means... for an example, while connected to LTE, how do you know which band of LTE you are on.

 

If your device and the app play nicely together, you will see the band indicated next to the provider name, and the frequency next to the LTE label. For example, you might see "LTE 800 - Sprint B26" or "LTE 2500 - Sprint B41". Sprint LTE band 25 (1900 MHz) is not specifically indicated at the moment, but 26 and 41 are, as well as all AT&T LTE bands. Some Samsung devices aren't fully compatible, but there are some things in the works (see above) to hopefully improve that a bit.

 

-Mike

[gsd10]

here is what I see ?

[stlman314]

here is what I see ?

Looks like B25