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

[mikejeep]

Received the OTA 4.3 update for the Galaxy S3 Mike, looks like more LTE goodies in the info "CQI" wasn't there prior to the 4.3 update. And as you can see Mike LTE 311490 is alive and well still

That is the first time I have spotted CQI in the wild! Let me know if the value changes, and what the range seems to be. Still no GCI or PCI though, that's disappointing.. Samsung is brutal.

 

Regarding your earlier message, I agree with gnoj. It sounds like they are working on the sites you are connecting to.. wacky behavior is the norm. Typically it will only last a few days. Hopefully it's NV upgrades!

 

-Mike

[JossMan]

That is the first time I have spotted CQI in the wild! Let me know if the value changes, and what the range seems to be.

 

Regarding your earlier message, I agree with the previous poster. It sounds like to they are actively working on the sites you are connecting to.. wacky behavior is the norm. Typically it will only last a few days. Hopefully it's NV upgrades!

 

-Mike

 

Mike, the CQI seems to bounce around from 1 to 3dB when driving around and then stabilizes at 1dB when not mobile.

 

Regarding the wacky behavior, the only tower that could be getting a NV upgrade is one site which I was connected to when I took that screenshot from home (BID 53377) which is located in the middle of town, the other 3 towers are located on the Bristol, VA side and haven't seen any backhaul upgrades until confirmed by BVU Optinet (see the Kentucky/Nashville markets thread in the sponsors interactive maps section) that they were going to be laying fiber to those 3 towers. 

[Bob Newhart]

On the main screen that shows the 1xRTT / eHRPD / LTE/ Wi-Fi signal strength bars,

Can the eHRPD carrier be listed also on this same screen? Just how the 1xRTT carrier is.

 

Both are shown on the notification pulldown eHRPD (Verizon) and 1xRTT (Sprint).

 

thanks

[WiWavelength]

On the main screen that shows the 1xRTT / eHRPD / LTE/ Wi-Fi signal strength bars,

Can the eHRPD carrier be listed also on this same screen? Just how the 1xRTT carrier is.

 

Carrier or provider?  Those are two different things.

 

AJ

[mikejeep]

On the main screen that shows the 1xRTT / eHRPD / LTE/ Wi-Fi signal strength bars,

Can the eHRPD carrier be listed also on this same screen? Just how the 1xRTT carrier is.

 

Both are shown on the notification pulldown eHRPD (Verizon) and 1xRTT (Sprint).

The provider info will be displayed on the main screen if it is known for sure.. that is only possible on HTC devices right now. The pulldown notification takes a guess at it, but I don't think it is as reliable as I would like at the moment. It's something I am working on.

 

I've been out of town for the past 5 days and have a lot going on this week, but I hope to find enough time to fix a few more bugs and get an update out.

 

-Mike

[mikejeep]

Carrier or provider? Those are two different things.

Is it bad practice to use them interchangeably when referring to the company that runs the wireless network you are connected to?

 

-Mike

[WiWavelength]

Is it bad practice to use them interchangeably when referring to the company that runs the wireless network you are connected to?

Is Sprint a 5 MHz FDD carrier? Or an operator/provider that has deployed a 5 MHz FDD carrier?

 

Catch my drift?

 

AJ

[mikejeep]

Is Sprint a 5 MHz FDD carrier? Or an operator/provider that has deployed a 5 MHz FDD carrier?

 

Catch my drift?

 

AJ

Oh I figured that was what you were getting at, but providers are referred to as carriers all the time, including on industry ads if my memory serves me correctly. Of course, repetition doesn't make it right...

 

-Mike

[WiWavelength]

Oh I figured that was what you were getting at, but providers are referred to as carriers all the time, including on industry ads if my memory serves me correctly. Of course, repetition doesn't make it right...

 

I am sorry.  I screwed up that previous post.  It was supposed to read like this...

 

Is Marklar a 5 MHz FDD marklar? Or a marklar/marklar that has marklar'd a 5 MHz FDD marklar?

 

Marklar my marklar?

 

And that is why I suggest watching use of the word "carrier."  Even "wireless carrier" does not eliminate the ambiguity.

 

AJ

[BlueAngel]

I've noticed after upgrading to 4.3 that the "Reset Data Connection" toggle doesn't really work anymore.

[kct1975]

I've noticed after upgrading to 4.3 that the "Reset Data Connection" toggle doesn't really work anymore.

That is a known issue. Somewhere, previously in this thread it is discussed.

 

The point, however, is that in their great wisdom, Google has decided to block apps from being able to access the Airplane Mode feature that assists in resetting the data connection.

 

I, hope my explanation was detailed enough. Please jump in Mike or AJ if I left something out.

 

Sent from my RCT6378W2 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Bob Newhart]

That is a known issue. Somewhere, previously in this thread it is discussed.

 

The point, however, is that in their great wisdom, Google has decided to block apps from being able to access the Airplane Mode feature that assists in resetting the data connection.

 

I, hope my explanation was detailed enough. Please jump in Mike or AJ if I left something out.

 

Sent from my RCT6378W2 using Tapatalk

 

Yep, you need to be root to do this now.

[BlueAngel]

Damn that sucks, don't wanna root just for that.

[kct1975]

Damn that sucks, don't wanna root just for that.

Ya...I agree. Personally I think it was a stupid move by Google.

 

Sent from my RCT6378W2 using Tapatalk

 

 

[davidtm]

That is a known issue. Somewhere, previously in this thread it is discussed.

 

The point, however, is that in their great wisdom, Google has decided to block apps from being able to access the Airplane Mode feature that assists in resetting the data connection.

 

Sent from my RCT6378W2 using Tapatalk

AHA! This also explains why the Airplane Mode toggle in Power Toggles sends me to the Settings to turn Airplane mode on. PITA!

[JossMan]

Mike or anyone that may have some insight as to why this is happening, BSL is showing Swinging Bridge Road, Mendota...first I am no where near Mendota, VA its a good 15-20 miles from Bristol, and second Sprint doesn't even have a tower out in Mendota, VA I've looked at the maps.  I know that the BSL doesn't actually tell you where the site is located but only a general area of where the site is, this started yesterday when I started picking this off the wall location up.  Any ideas?

 

[mikejeep]

Mike or anyone that may have some insight as to why this is happening, BSL is showing Swinging Bridge Road, Mendota...first I am no where near Mendota, VA its a good 15-20 miles from Bristol, and second Sprint doesn't even have a tower out in Mendota, VA I've looked at the maps.  I know that the BSL doesn't actually tell you where the site is located but only a general area of where the site is, this started yesterday when I started picking this off the wall location up.  Any ideas?

 

Hmm.. well you're right, it does not look like there are Sprint sites of any kind in Mendota, nothing at all in that direction outside of Bristol. If you were in Bristol and that BSL was correct, I would expect the site to be north of Mendota, and that entire area appears to be a no-mans-land for Sprint. That SID is appropriate for your area, but it could be a mistake with the latitude/longitude at the site; I do not know if those bits are set manually or not, but one mistyped digit can mean a huge distance in latitude/longitude coordinates. Your best bet would be to try following the signal towards known sites in your area; it should become clear which physical site you are connected to, 1X RSSI values should get down into the 50's if you hit the sweet spot close to the site.

 

-Mike

[JossMan]

Hmm.. well you're right, it does not look like there are Sprint sites of any kind in Mendota, nothing at all in that direction outside of Bristol. If you were in Bristol and that BSL was correct, I would expect the site to be north of Mendota, and that entire area appears to be a no-mans-land for Sprint. That SID is appropriate for your area, but it could be a mistake with the latitude/longitude at the site; I do not know if those bits are set manually or not, but one mistyped digit can mean a huge distance in latitude/longitude coordinates. Your best bet would be to try following the signal towards known sites in your area; it should become clear which physical site you are connected to, 1X RSSI values should get down into the 50's if you hit the sweet spot close to the site.

 

-Mike

For what its worth three sites surrounding me went 3G accepted as of Dec. 8th so I don't know if they are physically doing work at one of these sites which could be giving me the off the wall location at the site they are working on, just a theory.  I'll have to drive around and try to lock on to this site and see which site it is.

[digiblur]

So after using the app on the N5 for a week now I think I'll be dropping you my Christmas wish list of features in a bit when I write them up...

[mikejeep]

SignalCheck Pro has been updated! Version 4.19 has been pushed out to Google Play and should be available shortly. Here is a link. There are many changes.. here is the full changelog with explanations:

 

Added display of mobile data connection status and mobile data traffic activity to action bar.

This is the most noticeable change in this version; you will now see if your mobile data connection (not wi-fi) is active, and if so, if any data is currently flowing. This field is displayed in green if the connection is active, and red if it is not, providing a way to easily see the status of your connection at a quick glance.

 

Added Android 4.0-style action bar for devices running older OS versions.
Allows older devices to see the mobile data connection status and traffic display mentioned above. An unfortunate side effect of this is an increased APK size, but it's still only about 974 KB.

 

Changed secondary status bar icon behavior; if only an LTE connection is active, secondary 1X or GSM icon will be hidden, regardless of preference setting. (Pro)

Those of us with newer non-SVLTE devices will appreciate this unnecessary nuisance disappearing!

 

Changed system shortcut menu options and expanded support for HTC, LG, and Samsung devices; menu options are no longer manufacturer-specific. (Pro)

Made some more progress with the screens usually accessed by dialer codes, and organized them in a better manner. Samsung users are now sent directly to the Data and Debug screens. If these menus do not work on your device, feel free to ask and I can try adding support (or explain why I can't).

 

Added feature providing users with the ability to send a diagnostic report for technical support.
This can be found in the app under About SignalCheck > Send Diagnostics. If you are experiencing an issue with the app, it provides a spot to describe the problem and send technical information directly to me. None of the technical information identifies your specific device.

 

Resolved issue with missing/invalid EV-DO provider name in the notification pulldown. (Pro)
The EV-DO/eHRPD provider name was vanishing from the notification pulldown screen.. this should fix it. On non-HTC devices, this is always going to display the 1X provider, as there is no way to get the true provider name right now.

 

Improved reliability of Reset Data Connection feature. (Pro)

It still requires root permissions on devices running Android 4.2 or newer, but it should work a little better now. Non-rooted users will see an error message explaining why it didn't work.

 

Resolved issue with false GSM connections appearing with static data.
Nobody ever reported this to me, but most GSM devices were reporting a steady -85 dB GSM signal when connected to LTE. This was a bug.. surprised nobody ever mentioned it.

 

Overhauled main GSM screen; section(s) will now display the type of connection. Inactive connections will now be hidden.

Simplifying and cleaning up things on the non-CDMA side of things.

 

Removed routine to disable CDMA-only preferences on GSM devices. All options are now visible for all devices; CDMA-only features will have no effect on GSM devices, and GSM features will have no effect on CDMA devices. (Pro)

Some users were seeing app preferences being changed without their input.

 

Changed “Carrier” label to “Provider” for clarity and standardization
Changed display of “UMTS” to “W-CDMA” for clarity and standardization.
Just trying to keep things technically correct.. thank you AJ.

 

Removed widget action options that are still in testing. (Pro)

Just forgot to hide some options from the last test version. Selecting them wouldn't have hurt anything.

 

Resolved issue with missing provider name for some Samsung LTE users.

More fixes for the 31000/310000 LTE bug on Samsung devices.

 

Updated a small number of Cricket entries in the CDMA provider database.

Not much else I can say about this.

 

 

SignalCheck Lite (free) will be updated sometime next week. Thank you as always for all the support, especially to those of you who have been helping to squash bugs and test new features -- I appreciate it!

 

-Mike

[digiblur]

Awesome as always!!

[WiWavelength]

Resolved issue with false GSM connections appearing with static data.

Nobody ever reported this to me, but most GSM devices were reporting a steady -85 dB GSM signal when connected to LTE. This was a bug.. surprised nobody ever mentioned it.

 

I noticed the static -85 dBm RSSI GSM issue.  It is because almost no 3GPP only handsets support SVLTE.  They are almost all single radio path.

 

I could have sworn that I mentioned it when I brought up my other GSM/W-CDMA focused suggestions.  But I guess not.

 

AJ

[mikejeep]

I noticed the static -85 dBm RSSI GSM issue.  It is because almost no 3GPP only handsets support SVLTE.  They are almost all single radio path.

 

I could have sworn that I mentioned it when I brought up my other GSM/W-CDMA focused suggestions.  But I guess not.

 

Actually I think I do recall you mentioning that bug shortly after I had noticed it myself. The only reason it slipped through the cracks on my end was because I didn't have a non-CDMA LTE device to test with. Nexus 5 FTW!

 

-Mike

[KD8JBF]

Wonder how long it takes for Google to push the update out...I'm still at 4.18 with no updates available...hmmm

[digiblur]

Wonder how long it takes for Google to push the update out...I'm still at 4.18 with no updates available...hmmm

 

I've actually seen reboots cause a "rescoop" of the play store rollouts.