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

[mikejeep]

I also do not see neighbor notes on my nexus 5. i always thought it was something i did wrong or that i had to manually add the notes to the neighbor section.

Do you have the Site Logger enabled? If it's not logging, its not saving the PCIs it would need to look up later.

 

whats funny is, I just looked again at it tonight....

 

and it was there

 

very weird

My best guess is that you are near TAC boundaries (see Robert's post in this thread from a few days ago for a great explanation of this). If the current connection and the neighbor cell are not on the same TAC, no note is shown. The new location-based option coming in the next update takes a different approach and would work better in this case.

 

Looking back, the neighbor cells from your first screenshot are not the same as the second. So that one showing a note might be the only one on the same TAC as Layton. You also did not have the Logger enabled in your first screenshot.. as I mentioned above, the app won't record the PCI if the Logger is disabled. Neighbor cells only report PCI, so this is needed.

 

-Mike

[floorguy]

Yea I see that enabler thing to..musta been reset when i played stupid with my phone         

 

I went back and looked at old screen shots in the other forums, and noticed every now and then it had the neighbor tower name on it.....probably from when i 1st made use of the notes and didnt have a ton....

 

and it makes sense on picking up a stray signal to....only problem is, it was from a tower 75 miles away     but the TAC was totally different  

 

Learning as I go...so bear with the stupid questions for a while more          

[floorguy]

Ok I gotta ask though 

 

What is the TAC, or a TAC boundary??

 

and are the sequential or can the be totally different from 1 to the next???

 

and how big can they be??

 

Because just last night tagging a few sites, I now have more questions then answers with 2 that I hit....1 had a note in it, which makes it even more odd        

[mikejeep]

Ok I gotta ask though

 

What is the TAC, or a TAC boundary??

 

and are the sequential or can the be totally different from 1 to the next???

 

and how big can they be??

Someone more experienced with all of this could probably explain it better (and perhaps more accurately) than me, but TAC stands for Tracking Area Code. To simplify it, think of it like regular telephone area codes -- every area of the old-school telephone network is covered by an area code, and the boundaries are set based on geography. All of the sites within a particular TAC region are assigned the same TAC. It seems to be similar to the NID (network ID) parameter on CDMA 1X networks.

 

TACs can be anywhere between 0-65535, and they are unique for a particular PLMN. So for Sprint (PLMN 310120), there is only one area where TAC 532 is in use. But that doesn't mean that AT&T (PLMN 310410) isn't using 532 in a totally different part of the country. They are roughly sequential from what I have seen (most sites in my areas are in the 520's and 530's) but I have no idea if it's the same nationwide. In my travels, TACs in a particular area appear to be similar. If you export your own Site Log after running it for awhile, you can see how it may apply in your area.

 

EDIT: There is a discussion about TACs in this thread. Sponsors can see examples of some maps that show how TACs are spread out.

 

-Mike

[JossMan]

That is weird.. if you have notes entered for those other sites, I think you should be seeing them. The only reason you might not is if all of those other sites are on a different TAC. Have you ever seen notes on neighbor cells? Maybe I'm crazy and this wasn't implemented at the time of the last public update??

 

The next update has a lot of changes and might resolve your issue. It should be ready by early next week.

 

The PCI is the only value reported, so the app can't nail down what band you are looking at.

 

-Mike

Looking at floorguy's screenshots it appears he doesn't have the location service enabled in the first screenshot which is probably why the site notes are not popping up under neighbor cells.  The second screenshot he provided has the location service enabled and the site notes are coming through. 

 

Also, beta is working very well on my end.  I think it almost time to... 

 

[tommym65]

Mike,  So far the latest Beta  Gamma  Delta  Omicron  Upsilon  Zeta? is working great.  Thanks for all the fixes!  (But my phone is getting dizzy from all the updates!   )

[floorguy]

Looking at floorguy's screenshots it appears he doesn't have the location service enabled in the first screenshot which is probably why the site notes are not popping up under neighbor cells.  The second screenshot he provided has the location service enabled and the site notes are coming through. 

 

Also, beta is working very well on my end.  I think it almost time to... 

 

Yea I went in and checked something related to location, ands it came on (flight it was already checked) anyway... I have also found that clear sites are in their own little world when it comes to tac.... and they seem to be holding signal very good (except of course the one nearest my home) because i helld a signal to clear, while I am sitting next to a Sprint tower. Granted 25 is at zero, but stl right next to it

[darickster09]

Hey Mike got a question for ya.  So are you going to eliminate the differentiation between Sprint B41 and Clear B41 sites in your newest version of Signalcheck?  or are you improving upon that?  I was just curious if it was possible for you to put a star in the notification panel next to it like you did in the app when it is a Clear B41.  I know your beta is probably nearly released, but I was just curious if that was something you are working on or whatnot?  Thanks for the hardwork on this app.  The neighboring cells feature on my nexus 6 works awesomely!  To bad when i set it down in my lap most of the time while in the car I lose LTE in alot of places.  Oh well.  Have agreat Holiday Season!

 

Kevin

[mikejeep]

Looking at floorguy's screenshots it appears he doesn't have the location service enabled in the first screenshot which is probably why the site notes are not popping up under neighbor cells.

In the current public release, the use of Location Service is irrelevant. It only makes a difference if you're using the alternative neighbor cell option on the new beta.

 

Also, beta is working very well on my end. I think it almost time to...

Yes, the time is getting near, just need to wait until the dust settles. Soon™!

 

So are you going to eliminate the differentiation between Sprint B41 and Clear B41 sites in your newest version of Signalcheck?

Kevin, the next release will show the provider on Clear sites as "Clearwire B41". I had it say "Clear" originally, but it was so similar to "Sprint" that I decoded to change it to make it easier to notice at a quick glance. The asterisks are gone for Clear sites.

 

-Mike

[floorguy]

ok well just throw me a DL of the new one then      

 

sounds like it will be idiot proof for someone like me  

[mc_gusto]

It must be Christmas cause I got the update!

[mc_gusto]

I'm loving the all black background! Thanks!

[UserDemos]

Maybe it is just me, but the app no longer works for me. It crashes upon attempting to boot at phone startup and when I manually try to open it, it stays on a blank screen as if loading before crashing.

 

Pure Edition Moto X running Lollipop here, if that matters.

 

EDIT - also sent a crash log via Google with diagnostics in case it helps you narrow the issue. I'm not sure if you even get those?

 

EDIT 2 - clean reinstall does not fix issue. Can only access app once via app tray, crashes after phone restart.

[Galaxyguy]

Try to uninstall and reinstall it. When I had issues like what you are having with another app recently, I did that and it fixed it.

 

Sent from my Note 4.

[UserDemos]

Try to uninstall and reinstall it. When I had issues like what you are having with another app recently, I did that and it fixed it.

 

Sent from my Note 4.

Tried, but no dice. Can only access the app once, crashes upon phone restart, even when accessing through the app tray.

[davidtm]

Thank you, Santa Mike!

[BlueAngel]

Thanks for the early Christmas present mike, love the update.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

[dedub]

Hi Mike, love the update thank you!

 

Since the b41 recognition seems pretty stable at this point, how about getting a separate b41 alert options?

[mikejeep]

It must be Christmas cause I got the update!

Yep, surprise! I intended to have the details posted last night, but something came up and I haven't had a chance yet. The changelog is now on the website, and a detailed post regarding the changes will be coming in this thread within the next day or so. Figured you guys wouldn't mind getting the update anyway..

 

Since the b41 recognition seems pretty stable at this point, how about getting a separate b41 alert options?

Yep, its in the works. Didn't want to hold off any longer on an update though. New alerts and fixes for Lollipop are the top priorities.

 

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and everything else!

 

-Mike

[transitwatch889]

the new release is reporting properly LTE Clearwire bands on HTC One m8!

[bosox801]

Mike first off Merry Christmas to you and your family. Second this new update is amazing! Thank you so much for all your hard work!!!

 

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

[TheSupervisor]

Wow just read through the changelog. Very nice! Merry Christmas and thanks for the awesome update!!

[bigmachine]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! My home B41 site is now displaying correctly. It's a Christmas miracle.

 

Thanks for all of the hard work!

[darickster09]

Thanks Mike for the Christmas update.  Though I really wish this had came out 2 days sooner, and I could have totally taken full advantage of it when I was out and about during my 900 mile trip.  Oh well, guess there is always the 900 miles i gotta drive back to get back to southeast georgia.  Thanks again for the release and have a great Holiday season!

 

Kevin

[kct1975]

As others have already said...

 

Thanks for the Christmas gift update!

 

Merry Christmas to You and Your Family!