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

[mikejeep]

Mike, this may be a beta tester issue, but it seems lately that we are receiving a new version nearly every day.  I do not want to hamper your workflow, but I would prefer that you release a new beta only about once a week, as I have to restart SignalCheck Pro and recreate the home screen shortcut each time.  It is just a minor annoyance, though one that gets repetitive.

 

Yes, it's a beta tester thing.. the public Pro release hasn't been updated in over 2 weeks, and Lite in over a month. There were numerous beta updates over the past few days because I had a handful of testers working out some bugs for me, and I was trying to make as much progress as I could while I had time to work on the app.

 

I don't typically update the betas this frequently, as I tend to work on it a lot myself before reaching a point where I'd like to push it out to you guys. I also try not to over-update the public version so it doesn't seem like a nuisance. I try to balance the frequency of the public updates so that new features and fixes are in users' hands in a timely manner, unless there is a significant bug which requires immediate action. By nature, beta updates are going to be more frequent.

 

Why do you have to recreate the home screen shortcut? I use the widget on some devices, and the shortcut on others, and I've never had to re-create anything. It shouldn't affect your device any more than any other app update does. 

 

-Mike

 

EDIT: FYI, the 4.21 update pushed out tonight will be the last "fast" update for awhile.. the bugs are squashed and I'm working on things that will take awhile before they are ready.

[mikejeep]

Merry Christmas, everyone.. Santa has delivered a SignalCheck update, just in time to use with any new gadgets you might find under the tree! Version 4.21 should be available on Google Play shortly. This is a nice update because it fixes some bugs, adds some features, and has some significant code optimizations I have been trying to finish for awhile. Here are the highlights:

 

Resolved issue with CDMA 1X provider names failing to display.
The bug causing the 1X provider names to be replaced with the SID has been resolved thanks to a ton of help from @Flompholph.. much appreciated!

 

Added support for more devices to system shortcuts. (Pro)
Thanks to some awesome work by @DaQue and @mrrogers1, the Data and Debug screens now work on more devices, including the LG G2 and some Samsung phones. Thanks guys!

 

Added LTE cell information and mobile data connection status to the expandable notification on Android 4.1+ devices. (Pro)
Depending on how full your notification tray is, you may need to use a two-finger pulldown to see the extra information.

 

Changed some Sprint LTE connections to appear as “Sprint*” as a temporary indicator of likely Band 26 or Band 41 “Spark” connections. Evaluation and testing of this feature is ongoing and likely to change in the future.
I am working with Sprint to try determining the best way to indicate LTE Band 26 or 41 connections, but it will be a few weeks before I will have all the information needed. In the meantime, the provider label will add an asterisk to draw your attention to the fact that you might be on one of these new bands based on the MCC-MNC. This is not a guarantee, but the best effort possible at the moment.
 

Added display of last known LTE cell information when Show Hidden Data is enabled and LTE connection is lost. (Pro)

Some users are seeing quick glimpses of LTE they want to track. Enabling the feature under Preferences > General Settings > Show Hidden Data will show the GCI/PCI/TAC of the last LTE connection, if available.

 

Added option to include logcat output from the app when sending a diagnostic report.

This helps me handle support requests much better. Only logcat output related to the currently running SignalCheck process is included.

 

Overhauled provider database functions, drastically reducing the number of queries needed; this results in less CPU, memory, and battery usage by the app.
Not very visible on the front end, but a solid behind-the-scenes improvement. System resources will be saved, which is always a good thing.

 

Changed mobile location services warning prompt to clarify that location services may only be needed if the app does not perform as expected.

Fielded some complaints from users that did not like being told that mobile location services were required, so I changed the wording to be more technically correct. Some devices require mobile location services in order to gather the SID/NID/BID data, and some don't. If your device requires these services, the app will not work properly if they are disabled. If your device does not require these services, this setting does not matter. The only way to know if they are needed is to see what happens when you run the app with these services disabled. Despite some claims to the contrary, the app is not showing stale signal data based on your location. 

 

Resolved issue with display layout on non-CDMA devices when connected to LTE.

The display was shifted downward a bit, this has been fixed.

 
Resolved issue with errors when changing alert tone selections. (Pro)

Changing some alert tones was causing crashes, this has been fixed.

 
Resolved issue with incorrect LTE MCC-MNC on some newer devices.

Some European devices were showing incorrect MCC-MNC values, this should be fixed.

 
Resolved issue with LTE CQI display.

Display label and valid range has been corrected. 

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

Some former Alltel entries were updated.

 

SignalCheck Lite (free) is overdue for an update; I held off on 4.19 because of the CDMA 1X provider name bug. That update should be released within 48 hours. Sorry for the delay.

 

Thanks to everyone for their support. Happy holidays!

 

-Mike

[mc_gusto]

finish for awhile. Here are the highlights:

 

 

Added LTE cell information and mobile data connection status to the expandable notification on Android 4.1+ devices. (Pro)

Depending on how full your notification tray is, you may need to use a two-finger pulldown to see the extra information.

 

Thanks to everyone for their support. Happy holidays!

 

-Mike

Awesome update! Love the idea of the expandable notification. But mine doesn't seem to close even if I try to 2 finger close it manually. Works fine for all my music apps notifications. I'm using an s3 on 4.3.

 

Also is it possible we can choose what info can be expandable. For me I'd rather see 800 1x bsl than active connection status. Thanks much and Merry Christmas, I left you some milk and cookies by the fireplace.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

 

[The Dave]

Great update, I appreciate the hard work. Now go have a Wicked Christmas!

[WiWavelength]

Great update, I appreciate the hard work. Now go have a Wicked Christmas!

 

Pissah.

 

AJ

[kct1975]

Mike,

 

Thanks for pushing the update.... Have a very Merry Christmas!

 

Sent from my RCT6378W2 using Tapatalk

 

[mikejeep]

Awesome update! Love the idea of the expandable notification. But mine doesn't seem to close even if I try to 2 finger close it manually. Works fine for all my music apps notifications. I'm using an s3 on 4.3.

 

Also is it possible we can choose what info can be expandable. For me I'd rather see 800 1x bsl than active connection status. Thanks much and Merry Christmas, I left you some milk and cookies by the fireplace.

I believe the need/ability to open/close notifications with the two finger swipe is dynamically handled by Android and depends on the size of the notification as well as the amount of other notifications you have at the time. There are no options on my end to control that.

 

As far as the BSL, right now that isn't possible because it is only generated when the app is in the foreground. I'll have to do some testing to see if it can reasonably work on the background service. Before I implemented the cache, I felt it used too much data and CPU, which was pointless because you couldn't see it unless the app was in the foreground anyway.

 

Thanks for the cookies! I hope everyone has a great holiday.

 

-Mike

[tommym65]

Mike,

 

Please consider adding the release date to the "About SignalCheck" screen. At my advanced age, I cannot remember the release numbers, but on my good days can still remember dates. Thanks and Merry Christmas.

[kct1975]

Mike,

 

Please consider adding the release date to the "About SignalCheck" screen. At my advanced age, I cannot remember the release numbers, but on my good days can still remember dates. Thanks and Merry Christmas.

I agree!

 

I am a bit younger, and version numbers aren't easy for me to remember either.

 

I believe that release dates would help too.

[DaQue]

I just noticed it had version numbers this week...

[WiWavelength]

At my advanced age...but on my good days can still remember dates.

 

You remember eating dates, but now you eat a lot of prunes, right?

 

 

AJ

[digiblur]

I agree!

 

I am a bit younger, and version numbers aren't easy for me to remember either.

 

I believe that release dates would help too.

People always laughed at my long version numbers of 2013.11.25 but I knew the day I released it. Not sure if Google allows those though.

[mikejeep]

Please consider adding the release date to the "About SignalCheck" screen. At my advanced age, I cannot remember the release numbers, but on my good days can still remember dates. Thanks and Merry Christmas.

Sure! I will add the release date to the About screen. FYI, I also include it on the Google Play "What's New" field and the full changelog on the website: http://www.bluelinepc.com/signalcheck/change-log/.

 

People always laughed at my long version numbers of 2013.11.25 but I knew the day I released it. Not sure if Google allows those though.

Google would allow it, but I think I would prefer to stay consistent with the format I have been using. If there is significant demand for it though, I can reconsider. I have just found that using the date makes people far more antsy (demanding) for updates.. I don't need extra pressure

 

-Mike

[digiblur]

Fully agree with the people getting antsy. If they need the date they can always look on the play store.

[JossMan]

A little late but thanks Mike for the update, I hope you and your family had a very merry Christmas and have a happy New Year, wish all of you at S4GRU the best in 2014! 

[Bob Newhart]

I would say since a few months ago, the app's icons in the notification bar are stale and don't update until I pull down and select the app. The widget is mostly stale or just grey.

 

Is this a known issue?

 

n5 standard, s4 GPe standard. Android version 4.4.2 on both.

[DaQue]

I would say since a few months ago, the app's icons in the notification bar are stale and don't update until I pull down and select the app. The widget is mostly stale or just grey.

 

Is this a known issue?

 

n5 standard, s4 GPe standard. Android version 4.4.2 on both.

Never seen that myself on the note 2

 

 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

 

 

[mikejeep]

I would say since a few months ago, the app's icons in the notification bar are stale and don't update until I pull down and select the app. The widget is mostly stale or just grey.

 

Is this a known issue?

 

n5 standard, s4 GPe standard. Android version 4.4.2 on both.

I'm guessing that you are clearing SignalCheck out of the Recent Apps list (right soft button on N5)? On Android 4.4+, that kills the SignalCheck background service that keeps everything updated. It's a bug affecting a lot of apps; myself and many other developers have been trying to get it acknowledged.

 

Launching the app will get everything going again; don't clear it from Recent Apps and it will continue updating as it should. I meant to post a note about it here but I forgot.. my bad.

 

-Mike

[Bob Newhart]

I'm guessing that you are clearing SignalCheck out of the Recent Apps list (right soft button on N5)? On Android 4.4+, that kills the SignalCheck background service that keeps everything updated. It's a bug affecting a lot of apps; myself and many other developers have been trying to get it acknowledged.

 

Launching the app will get everything going again; don't clear it from Recent Apps and it will continue updating as it should. I meant to post a note about it here but I forgot.. my bad.

 

-Mike

 

Yes, when I select the grey widget or select the app from the pulldown, its gets going again.

 

I haven't cleared it using that method but I do sometimes use Fast Reboot, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.greatbytes.fastreboot

 

Running this app the first time, SignalCheck is listed as being killed/restarted.

 

Running this app the second time, SignalCheck is not listed as being killed/restarted. Maybe because it isn't running, I see other apps not starting up too, like Skype. That would explain why that Skype app isn't working correctly too.

 

Thanks for leting us know, I was curious.

 

Here is a quirk/feature of your app, when it gets updated automatically, it updates, then locks the phone. 

The phone uses a password to unlock.

[enyce9]

I would say since a few months ago, the app's icons in the notification bar are stale and don't update until I pull down and select the app. The widget is mostly stale or just grey.

 

Is this a known issue?

 

n5 standard, s4 GPe standard. Android version 4.4.2 on both.

this is also happening on my stock nexus 5.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[enyce9]

Can't edit my last post. I will make sure not to clear the app from the recent app list, and see what happens.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

[digiblur]

I have seen this as well and never clear my recent apps. I don't use a lot of apps anyways.

[mikejeep]

I haven't cleared it using that method but I do sometimes use Fast Reboot, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.greatbytes.fastreboot

 

Running this app the second time, SignalCheck is not listed as being killed/restarted. Maybe because it isn't running, I see other apps not starting up too, like Skype. That would explain why that Skype app isn't working correctly too.

Yes, any task killer or memory management apps will cause problems for any apps that rely on a background service, possibly on versions of Android prior to 4.4 as well. I'm don't want to get on a soapbox here, but I'm going to for a moment: apps like that are, in general, a terrible idea. Especially on a powerful device like the Nexus 5. Android handles resource management very well on its own. Don't be fooled into thinking that you need to see a lot of RAM available on an Android device -- the OS frees up resources as it needs it. But if you prefer to use the app, certainly do so.. just keep this in mind if certain apps don't seem to perform properly.

 

Here is a quirk/feature of your app, when it gets updated automatically, it updates, then locks the phone.

The phone uses a password to unlock.

That is very odd.. there is nothing in the app that has the capability to lock the screen. Perhaps that's being caused by the reboot app trying to wipe out the newly starting SignalCheck service. Try disabling auto launch on boot and see if it still happens.

 

-Mike

[mikejeep]

I have seen this as well and never clear my recent apps. I don't use a lot of apps anyways.

I think Android 4.4+ has some memory management quirks they need to work out, it appears to be killing services too aggressively in some situations. But have you seen this on pre-4.4 ROMs? Any task killers or memory managers?

 

Outside of the Recent Apps glitch, SignalCheck should automatically restart its background service shortly after it is killed off by the system. It will not restart if manually killed by the user or a third-party app.

 

-Mike

[digiblur]

I think Android 4.4+ has some memory management quirks they need to work out, it appears to be killing services too aggressively in some situations. But have you seen this on pre-4.4 ROMs? Any task killers or memory managers?

 

Outside of the Recent Apps glitch, SignalCheck should automatically restart its background service shortly after it is killed off by the system. It will not restart if manually killed by the user or a third-party app.

 

-Mike

It's on a S3 with 4.3 as the N5 is on hiatus from CDMA for a few months. Will keep an eye out for it to see if I can recreate it.