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

[WiWavelength]

While I'm discussing it, do the Engineering screens typically express it in hex or decimal? I've never seen letters in any of the PNs I have seen, but then again I'm not usually paying attention to it.

 

Every engineering/debug screen that I have ever seen or used has expressed PN in decimal. If by chance it is binary at the lower levels, it should likely be a 9 bit number because the range of PNs is exactly 512.

 

AJ

[milan03]

That seems like a good idea, I will try getting that in there in the near future. Thank you for the suggestion!

 

-Mike

I've been thinking how cool would it be if the app had the ability to log time + amount of time connected to LTE.

When phone is in silent mode or late night when LTE is usually being tested by carriers we usually miss this opportunity to ever know that our area is being worked on.

 

Just a thought...

[imex99]

Just bought pro version.... Going to test drive the app. Central, Ohio towers are getting many tower permits pulled and work will be starting or has started and we haven't found it yet. Will be waiting for the apps notifications for lte.

 

Looks very nice so far!

 

What's a good and bad signal, via the dbm 's, guessing mine are middle of the road with the color...

 

 

 

Sent from my HTC EVO 4G LTE

[mikejeep]

I've been thinking how cool would it be if the app had the ability to log time + amount of time connected to LTE.

When phone is in silent mode or late night when LTE is usually being tested by carriers we usually miss this opportunity to ever know that our area is being worked on.

 

Just a thought...

 

I think you think too often!! I'll put it on the list.. man its hard to keep you happy!

 

-Mike

[milan03]

I think you think too often!! I'll put it on the list.. man its hard to keep you happy!

 

-Mike

What I'm thinking is that your app is already awesome, and I have positive thoughts about this whole thing.

My thought could enhance your already great app.

 

Just a thought

[milan03]

I've got you a free ad on GigaOm

http://gigaom.com/2013/03/15/t-mobiles-lte-network-spotted-hiding-in-the-urban-jungles-of-nyc/

[mikejeep]

I've got you a free ad on GigaOm

http://gigaom.com/2013/03/15/t-mobiles-lte-network-spotted-hiding-in-the-urban-jungles-of-nyc/

 

Whoa very nice!! What a great use of this app.. so glad it has been helpful for you and others. Thanks for the publicity

 

-Mike

[milan03]

Oh you're very welcome! Credit given where credit is due.

 

Thank you for your great app!

[kct1975]

Hello all,

 

I have been visiting S4GRU for quite some time, and one of the most common issues I see popping up is confusion from users--especially when they first get 4G devices and/or 4G service--regarding their signal strengths. For some reason, the signal bars on many devices do not display what most users expect them to display. It seems strange that we have to enter special dialer codes just to see what our 4G signal is!

 

With that in mind, I started creating an Android app from scratch. I had never created an app before, so it took a few months before it was ready for the public, but its time has come. Robert and a few others have been beta testing it for me since October, and I recently released it onto Google Play. Robert gave me the go-ahead to give it a mention here on S4GRU, so here goes..

 

It's called SignalCheck, and it is available on Google Play here:

https://play.google....signalchecklite

 

The "Lite" version is free; the "Pro" version has a small fee but includes a bunch of extras, including signal bars in the notification area, the ability to alert a user when they pick up an LTE signal, and menu shortcuts to some screens that are usually only accessible with dialer codes. I intend to offer S4GRU Premier Sponsors a free copy of the "Pro" version in the near future, as soon as I figure out a feasible way to do that.

 

This is the first app I have ever developed, so I'd appreciate any and all feedback, both positive and negative. I have been trying to educate myself as much as possible regarding cellular technologies, as I didn't know much before I started this project. My goal is to make this app as accurate and useful as possible for all the "nerds" on here.. myself included!

 

I intend to continue squashing bugs as they are reported, and adding features as they are requested. As I learn more about Android programming and cellular technology, I'll improve things. Please let me know what you would like to see, and I'll do what I can.

 

-Mike

 

Here are some screen shots from a recent version.. there have been minor tweaks since this release, but this is basically what you get:

 

 

I just downloaded the app and it is Great. I got the Lite version first, which was Ok, but the Pro version is great. I really love how the app shows the 3G signal strength and 1x signal strength.

 

I also like the feature so being wove to view System Screens.

 

The app is worthy of 5 stars.

 

Just so you know, if Google did not require a G+ account in order to rate app, I would have left the above comments on Google Play Store, and would have given the app 5 stars.

[mikejeep]

I just downloaded the app and it is Great. I got the Lite version first, which was Ok, but the Pro version is great. I really love how the app shows the 3G signal strength and 1x signal strength.

 

I also like the feature so being wove to view System Screens.

 

The app is worthy of 5 stars.

 

Just so you know, if Google did not require a G+ account in order to rate app, I would have left the above comments on Google Play Store, and would have given the app 5 stars.

 

Thanks for the humbling feedback!! I didn't realize that Google was forcing G+ on everyone like that; I'm disappointed, I feel that any user should be allowed (and encouraged) to review anything they downloaded. Oh well, posts like yours mean a lot more to me anyway

 

New release coming sometime this week, with 2 new features: LTE cell ID for almost all HTC devices, and an option for Pro users to show the street address of the current 1X site (like older versions of Netmonitor did)! Many other features are still in testing.. gotta let the goodies out slowly, otherwise milan03 and the rest of you will start coming up with even crazier ideas...

 

-Mike

[digiblur]

Wish you had a Samsung device to get the HEX ID showing on those devices! The HEX ID has been found to be more valuable since its just the Market# - Site# - Sector#. Very easy to figure out what site it is by that ID when you are looking for it.

[lordsutch]

The Galaxy S4 is running 4.2.2, so it should expose the standard Android Physical Cell ID (0-503) and the global Cell ID (hex) APIs when it is released. Hopefully the S3 and Note 2 will also get upgraded to 4.2.x likewise.

 

I tried to poke around in the Samsung field test APK and everything I could see that exposed radio information was privileged calls; no non-system app can access them AFAICS. (Frankly this speaks to Samsung having better security than HTC... I can get a lot of info from the HTC API on the EVO 4G LTE that my app probably didn't have permission to access through the Android APIs.)

[digiblur]

I've done quite a bit of digging around the HiddenMenu.apk as well as modding it to remove the lock code prompt, etc, and saw the parts where it connects to the messenger. Of course I haven't had the chance to continue on with my Android app dev'ing to learn enough, but it just seems like it could be accomplished as the code to do it is right there in the decompile. Of course I could be wrong on how all that works.

[mikejeep]

Wish you had a Samsung device to get the HEX ID showing on those devices! The HEX ID has been found to be more valuable since its just the Market# - Site# - Sector#. Very easy to figure out what site it is by that ID when you are looking for it.

 

Buy me one and I'll get to work..

 

Good to know about the HEX ID.. that's what the HTC folks are going to get I believe. Most sites I've driven around while testing only increment by 1.. which would now make sense. All sites in my area seem to start with the same numbers. Do you know the exact formula? I could even display it as you referenced above, if it was preferred.

 

Hopefully as new devices come out, the API functions become relevant.. the code is in my app, it just won't show anything if there is no data there.

 

-Mike

[mikejeep]

The Galaxy S4 is running 4.2.2, so it should expose the standard Android Physical Cell ID (0-503) and the global Cell ID (hex) APIs when it is released. Hopefully the S3 and Note 2 will also get upgraded to 4.2.x likewise.

 

I tried a few different 4.2+ ROMs on my EVO, none populated any of the LTE info through the API. They were all custom, since Sprint hasn't officially released anything 4.2 yet, but I didn't think that would matter..

 

-Mike

[kckid]

Downloaded the latest version, and it is showing the LTE cell tower on my EVO LTE. Good job thanks!!!

 

 

[mikejeep]

Version 3.03 has been released.. Pro is available now, Lite should be online by tonight.

 

Most HTC users on stock ROMs should see LTE cell IDs in the new release.. perhaps custom ROMs too, but not positive.

 

Pro users will see a new option to show the street address of the 1X site they are connected to. As discussed before, the location information is provided by the carrier, and varies in accuracy. With Sprint, you're usually going to get a point some distance from the tower that correlates to the sector. With Verizon, you probably won't get any address at all. Others might get the exact location of the tower.

 

Let me know if you find any bugs..

 

-Mike

[mikejeep]

Downloaded the latest version, and it is showing the LTE cell tower on my EVO LTE. Good job thanks!!!

 

Haha wow I can't sneak anything past you guys.. updated app and posted a screen shot before I could even get the word out that it was available! Love it..

 

-Mike

[digiblur]

Buy me one and I'll get to work..

 

Good to know about the HEX ID.. that's what the HTC folks are going to get I believe. Most sites I've driven around while testing only increment by 1.. which would now make sense. All sites in my area seem to start with the same numbers. Do you know the exact formula? I could even display it as you referenced above, if it was preferred.

 

Hopefully as new devices come out, the API functions become relevant.. the code is in my app, it just won't show anything if there is no data there.

 

-Mike

 

I wish I had the funds to do so as it would be an awesome asset to things.

 

I would just leave the HEX address together as one as that scheme is probably unique to Sprint.

[smkyle]

Make a different app for each carrier and charge extra for the ones that are a PITA

 

:-)

[jefbal99]

Love having the chimes back for LTE connection. Still want to make and pick my own sound

 

Running CM10.1 on my Note 2, I still have the crazy asu number when connected to LTE. Currently it's 328206 or 393999

[WiWavelength]

Make a different app for each carrier and charge extra for the ones that are a PITA

 

In that case, make mine a Chicken Fajita Pita from Jack in the Box.

 

AJ

[mikejeep]

Love having the chimes back for LTE connection. Still want to make and pick my own sound

 

Running CM10.1 on my Note 2, I still have the crazy asu number when connected to LTE. Currently it's 328206 or 393999

Still working on the ringtone selection.. it's at the top of my list. There is a bug in Android preventing the "normal" way to choose a tone from working correctly, so I have been trying to come up with my own workaround.

 

Does the other LTE data appear to be correct? Does anyone else see odd values for asu?

 

-Mike

[tommym65]

Great work, Mike!

 

I really, really like the address information being filled in on the 1X line. In Northern Illinois where the sector BSID's are right on top of the towers, this is very useful. Where I live, I get bounced from tower to tower like a ping-pong ball, even more so now that 800 SMR has started to work.

 

Now if Samsung would just make the %$#* LTE Cell & Hex ID's available!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks!

[jefbal99]

Still working on the ringtone selection.. it's at the top of my list. There is a bug in Android preventing the "normal" way to choose a tone from working correctly' date=' so I have been trying to come up with my own workaround.

 

Does the other LTE data appear to be correct? Does anyone else see odd values for asu?

 

-Mike[/quote']

 

All other info is correct

 

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