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

[mikejeep]

Hi, sorry to keep annoying but I know on the reviews you mentioned to update the Prl which I did a few times as well as restart the phone. I'm just stumped.

You aren't annoying, your device is!

 

I am not sure why this is happening to you. The app just shows you the information the device is receiving; for some reason, it is seeing invalid data.

 

Can you check your 1X Engineering Protocol screen to see what is listed in there? Dial "##33284#" (DEBUG) and put in "777468" (SPRINT) as the lock code to access this screen. You should see SID, NID, and Base ID listed... what are they?

 

Thanks,

-Mike

[gr8nuguy]

Hi, sorry to keep annoying but I know on the reviews you mentioned to update the Prl which I did a few times as well as restart the phone. I'm just stumped.

make sure  location is turned on in the settings (google location services, Location & google search)

[mikejeep]

make sure   location is turned on in the settings

Wow... I just did a little testing, and you are right! I never knew that would affect anything. It only appears to affect Samsung devices; my EVO LTE still works properly with mobile locations disabled. This is probably the issue.

 

samer21, go into "Settings" on your phone, then "Location Services". Ensure that "Use wireless networks" is checked off.. see if that fixes it. GPS and Google do not need to be enabled if you do not wish to.

 

-Mike

[samer21]

Wow... I just did a little testing, and you are right! I never knew that would affect anything. It only appears to affect Samsung devices; my EVO LTE still works properly with mobile locations disabled. This is probably the issue.samer21, go into "Settings" on your phone, then "Location Services". Ensure that "Use wireless networks" is checked off.. see if that fixes it. GPS and Google do not need to be enabled if you do not wish to.-Mike

Well it was off so I turned it on and bam the app works wonderfully now. Thanks.

[Jstates916]

 

 

Jstates, are you saying you are seeing EV-DO and LTE signal information in SignalCheck at the same time, but you are not connecting to LTE? PM me a screenshot when you have a chance, if the bug is due to the app, I'd like to fix it.

Dkoellerwx, can the HTC ONE not connect to 3G and 4G at the same time? I know some devices can, and some cannot. Just trying to determine where the glitch might be.

-Mike

 

Jstates, are you saying you are seeing EV-DO and LTE signal information in SignalCheck at the same time, but you are not connecting to LTE? PM me a screenshot when you have a chance, if the bug is due to the app, I'd like to fix it.

Dkoellerwx, can the HTC ONE not connect to 3G and 4G at the same time? I know some devices can, and some cannot. Just trying to determine where the glitch might be.

-Mike

here ya go... I'm within LTE coverage but I'm always dropping to 3G and takes super long to switch to LTE from 3G

[danny12345]

How come on sensorly you look at sprint lte It shows lite purple as in week signal, but on tmobiles it shows dark purple as in stronger signal.

[mikejeep]

here ya go... I'm within LTE coverage but I'm always dropping to 3G and takes super long to switch to LTE from 3G

Thanks. While you are on EV-DO, does any of the LTE information change? Or does it all stay frozen? Sorry for hijacking the thread.. just trying to figure out if its the app, the phone, or the network..

 

-Mike

[WiWavelength]

Dkoellerwx, can the HTC ONE not connect to 3G and 4G at the same time? I know some devices can, and some cannot. Just trying to determine where the glitch might be.

 

Yes and no.  The HTC One supports SVLTE but not SVDO.  From a hardware standpoint, it can connect to CDMA1X/EV-DO and LTE simultaneously.  But concurrent EV-DO and LTE are locked out via software -- except for a few seconds during network reselection.

 

I am also making it my crusade to get people to stop referring generically to "3G" and "4G."  Folks, to avoid confusion and inaccuracy, please call each airlink what it is:  CDMA1X, EV-DO, WiMAX, LTE, etc.

 

AJ

[gr8nuguy]

Yes and no.  The HTC One supports SVLTE but not SVDO.  From a hardware standpoint, it can connect to CDMA1X/EV-DO and LTE simultaneously.  But concurrent EV-DO and LTE are locked out via software -- except for a few seconds during network reselection.

 

I am also making it my crusade to get people to stop referring generically to "3G" and "4G."  Folks, to avoid confusion and inaccuracy, please call each airlink what it is:  CDMA1X, EV-DO, WiMAX, LTE, etc.

 

AJ

im doing this at work, you should see all the dumb look faces i get LOL   

[GiantJay]

 

 

 

Dkoellerwx, can the HTC ONE not connect to 3G and 4G at the same time? I know some devices can, and some cannot. Just trying to determine where the glitch might be.

 

 

Yes and no. The HTC One supports SVLTE but not SVDO. From a hardware standpoint, it can connect to CDMA1X/EV-DO and LTE simultaneously. But concurrent EV-DO and LTE are locked out via software -- except for a few seconds during network reselection.

 

I am also making it my crusade to get people to stop referring generically to "3G" and "4G." Folks, to avoid confusion and inaccuracy, please call each airlink what it is: CDMA1X, EV-DO, WiMAX, LTE, etc.

 

AJ

Lol this is how I am. Also I try to explain that nothing is even real 4g anyway and they are very confused. "Then why do all the carriers say 4g." Lol. I have a 19 yr old co worker that didnt even know what LTE was before I told him.

 

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Dkoellerwx]

 

 

 

Jstates, are you saying you are seeing EV-DO and LTE signal information in SignalCheck at the same time, but you are not connecting to LTE? PM me a screenshot when you have a chance, if the bug is due to the app, I'd like to fix it.

 

 

 

Dkoellerwx, can the HTC ONE not connect to 3G and 4G at the same time? I know some devices can, and some cannot. Just trying to determine where the glitch might be.

 

 

 

-Mike

AJ got to it first ha. I was going to ask if you meant 1x or EVDO since they're both 3G :-p

 

Anyway, I found that after I lose an LTE signal, Signal check holds the last value that I had, and shows a "phantom" signal. When I left KC yesterday, driving to Springfield, MO, it continued to show an LTE signal until I connected to my Wi-Fi at home, even though I had been out of range of any LTE for nearly three hours.

 

Sent from my HTC ONE

 

 

[WiWavelength]

Lol. I have a 19 yr old co worker that didnt even know what LTE was before I told him.

 

I am a bit surprised at that, as VZW, AT&T, and T-Mobile are all aggressively marketing "4G LTE."  Sprint is the lone holdout that downplays the "LTE" part.

 

In fact, some woefully uninformed people are mad at Sprint, convinced that Sprint has not deployed LTE, since devices display only "4G."

 

AJ

[GiantJay]

 

 

Lol. I have a 19 yr old co worker that didnt even know what LTE was before I told him.

 

 

I am a bit surprised at that, as VZW, AT&T, and T-Mobile are all aggressively marketing "4G LTE." Sprint is the lone holdout that downplays the "LTE" part.

 

In fact, some woefully uninformed people are mad at Sprint, convinced that Sprint has not deployed LTE, since devices display only "4G."

 

AJ

 

You wouldn't be surprised if you met him.

 

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[WiWavelength]

You wouldn't be surprised if you met him.

 

Maybe he is Amish.

 

 

AJ

[mikejeep]

I am also making it my crusade to get people to stop referring generically to "3G" and "4G."  Folks, to avoid confusion and inaccuracy, please call each airlink what it is:  CDMA1X, EV-DO, WiMAX, LTE, etc.

 

AJ got to it first ha. I was going to ask if you meant 1x or EVDO since they're both 3G :-p

My bad.. I have been trying not to refer to anything as xG myself, to avoid the exact same confusion and misinformation. In my defense, it was after 3am when I posted that reply!

 

Yes and no.  The HTC One supports SVLTE but not SVDO.  From a hardware standpoint, it can connect to CDMA1X/EV-DO and LTE simultaneously.  But concurrent EV-DO and LTE are locked out via software -- except for a few seconds during network reselection.

Got it.. so for my purposes, except for perhaps a brief moment when switching networks, the HTC One will not have accurate EV-DO and LTE signal at the same time.. so if both are displayed in the app, one is incorrect.

 

Anyway, I found that after I lose an LTE signal, Signal check holds the last value that I had, and shows a "phantom" signal. When I left KC yesterday, driving to Springfield, MO, it continued to show an LTE signal until I connected to my Wi-Fi at home, even though I had been out of range of any LTE for nearly three hours.

Thank you! That had not been reported to me yet. Does it always show a specific set of values, or does it remain "frozen" at whatever the data was when you last had a real LTE connection?

 

-Mike

[mikejeep]

I am a bit surprised at that, as VZW, AT&T, and T-Mobile are all aggressively marketing "4G LTE."  Sprint is the lone holdout that downplays the "LTE" part.

 

In fact, some woefully uninformed people are mad at Sprint, convinced that Sprint has not deployed LTE, since devices display only "4G."

Maybe it's something along the lines of they want to say 4G so they can use stats that include both their WiMax and LTE sites while both networks are up? The general public thinks 4G = good, so more 4G = better..

 

-Mike

[mrknowitall526]

Am I misunderstanding what the BSL should display?  I just got the Pro version, and it is telling me all kinds of addresses where there aren't towers.  (One of them was in the backyard of a residential neighborhood).  What is this address that it is displaying?!

[mikejeep]

Am I misunderstanding what the BSL should display?  I just got the Pro version, and it is telling me all kinds of addresses where there aren't towers.  (One of them was in the backyard of a residential neighborhood).  What is this address that it is displaying?!

Sprint has deployed invisible towers.. you didn't hear? It's all part of NV...

 

This question is coming up so often I'm going to have to create a FAQ and put this at the top. The BSL displays the address the site is broadcasting. In many parts of the country, Sprint sites do not broadcast their exact location, but instead use an offset of a short distance. If you circumnavigate a site, you will probably get three different BSL's the same distance from the actual site, each representing a sector.

 

Other carriers do different things with the BSL; for example, Verizon completely blocks it. Unfortunately, the app has no way of knowing if the location is exact or an offset; it just displays the information it's receiving.

 

-Mike

[mrknowitall526]

Interesting!  If that's the case, how do I know if I'm connecting to the same tower when the address changes?  

 

Do they do it for security reasons?

[mikejeep]

Interesting! If that's the case, how do I know if I'm connecting to the same tower when the address changes?

 

Do they do it for security reasons?

 

If the address is changing, you are probably connecting to at least a different 1X base station ID (BID), which indicates at least a different sector at that site (tower), or it could be an entirely different 1X site.

 

Unless the provider sets their BSL as the site location (instead of the offset sector location you are seeing), I do not believe that there is any visible cellular data that will definitively tell you that you have switched sites.. only sectors.

 

Most (if not all) Sprint EV-DO and LTE sites broadcast sector IDs that are nearly the same for all sectors broadcasting from a site. The differ only by ending in 01, 02, or 03, with those digits indicating the sector.

 

-Mike

[WiWavelength]

Unless the provider sets their BSL as the site location (instead of the offset sector location you are seeing), I do not believe that there is any visible cellular data that will definitively tell you that you have switched sites.. only sectors.

 

With a little bit of legwork, almost anyone can determine the PN interval between sectors in his market.  For years, my market used a PN interval of 4, then switched to 3 (e.g. N/SE/SW sector PN offsets x/x+3/x+6).  Other markets and infrastructure vendors may use the same or different PN intervals.  But once you determine the PN interval for a particular market, it holds true for nearly every site.  Then, it is much easier to tell from the PN whether you have changed sectors or sites.

 

AJ

[Dkoellerwx]

 

Thank you! That had not been reported to me yet. Does it always show a specific set of values, or does it remain "frozen" at whatever the data was when you last had a real LTE connection?

 

-Mike

 

It continues to show the last SID that I was connected to, but it always seems to revert to an RSRP value of -115. That may have been a coincidence, as I only observed this twice, once in KC, and then when I was leaving. 

 

I have also noticed that it continues to show apparently real time EVDO values, while connected to WiFi. Is that normal? I got the impression that EVDO should be turned off, since the phone says data connection is turned off while connected to WiFi. 

[digiblur]

My note2 still connects and shows LTE and EVDO values while wifi is on. It just doesn't use it.

[mikejeep]

It continues to show the last SID that I was connected to, but it always seems to revert to an RSRP value of -115. That may have been a coincidence, as I only observed this twice, once in KC, and then when I was leaving.

Got it, thanks.. if you could keep an eye on that and see if -115 is a set invalid value, I would sincerely appreciate it. If you notice the other values as well, pass them along.. some devices have set values for RSRP, RSRQ, and SNR that they display when the radio is off. I will keep looking into this.

 

I have also noticed that it continues to show apparently real time EVDO values, while connected to WiFi. Is that normal? I got the impression that EVDO should be turned off, since the phone says data connection is turned off while connected to WiFi.

I believe all devices do that; I don't think the cellular radios are turned off, it just routes all of the data through the wi-fi. While I'm at home on wi-fi, my EVO switches back and forth between EV-DO and LTE all the time, depending on where I am inside.

 

-Mike

[mikejeep]

With a little bit of legwork, almost anyone can determine the PN interval between sectors in his market.  For years, my market used a PN interval of 4, then switched to 3 (e.g. N/SE/SW sector PN offsets x/x+3/x+6).  Other markets and infrastructure vendors may use the same or different PN intervals.  But once you determine the PN interval for a particular market, it holds true for nearly every site.  Then, it is much easier to tell from the PN whether you have changed sectors or sites.

AJ, you are the reason I always preface stuff with "I believe.." or "as far as I know.." because I know about 1% of what you and the other nuts around here do! I was wondering if the PN would be useful in that situation. And I'm still working on digging them out for the app.. if it is so damn helpful, why do they make it so hard to get to..

 

-Mike