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

[mikejeep]

Thanks Mike. Is there any way to tell if I'm connecting to an Airave vs a Sprint tower ?

I believe the 1X NID will be 502 if you are connected to an Airave.

 

-Mike

[travismheim]

Thanks Mike. Is there any way to tell if I'm connecting to an Airave vs a Sprint tower ?

When you make a call while connected to an airave you will hear three beeps before the call starts. Also if you dial *99 you will hear message saying you are now within airave coverage.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[darickster09]

So I have a suggestion when and if you get a chance to add to SignalCheck, not sure exactly if its already built in and i just didnt notice it, but my suggestion is

 

Can you please add a feature that logs your signal Dbm value to the logs for when we export we are better able to for sure identify a nearby tower.  

 

By the way great job on this app.  Cant wait to see the next version!

 

Have a great day.

 

Kevin

[mikejeep]

Can you please add a feature that logs your signal Dbm value to the logs for when we export we are better able to for sure identify a nearby tower. 

 

Thanks for the kind words, Kevin! You're actually the third person to suggest this in here over the past month.. I definitely think it's a great idea, I just need to make sure I can implement it without corrupting existing database files. I plan to add a "strongest signal" column to the log with linked latitude and longitude columns that pinpoint where the device was when that signal was seen. It's near the top of the list of things I'd like to get done soon. It's definitely doable, I just need to find the time to tackle it!

 

-Mike

[darickster09]

Thanks for the kind words, Kevin! You're actually the third person to suggest this in here over the past month.. I definitely think it's a great idea, I just need to make sure I can implement it without corrupting existing database files. I plan to add a "strongest signal" column to the log with linked latitude and longitude columns that pinpoint where the device was when that signal was seen. It's near the top of the list of things I'd like to get done soon. It's definitely doable, I just need to find the time to tackle it!

 

-Mike

 

Cool thanks.  I think that would be better anyway.  So just wondering i have been looking through my logs and i get a bunch of null readings, and for location i get a 0 reading.  is that something to do with the GPS?  

 

Also my gps "Last device accuracy" is pretty high on many of the readings on my note 3.  what causes that?  I have the setting to get most accurate location.  But I am seeing location accuracy of 1400 1500 2290  3388.  So that is not very accurate right?

 

What are first time and last time offsets?  Do they mean anything?

 

Also are there any plans for an LTE tower location similar to that of the 1x location?

 

Thanks again.

 

Kevin

[mikejeep]

Cool thanks.  I think that would be better anyway.  So just wondering i have been looking through my logs and i get a bunch of null readings, and for location i get a 0 reading.  is that something to do with the GPS?

 

Also my gps "Last device accuracy" is pretty high on many of the readings on my note 3.  what causes that?  I have the setting to get most accurate location.  But I am seeing location accuracy of 1400 1500 2290  3388.  So that is not very accurate right?

The Logger will not insert any location data if you do not have the Location Service enabled within the app. It is a separate option to allow users to conserve battery power as they see fit. The location accuracy will vary depending on your device's capabilities, which location services you have enabled on the device, and your location settings within SignalCheck. I do know that the app will report coordinates as accurate as 10 meters if you have all location features enabled and can acquire a GPS lock.

 

What are first time and last time offsets?  Do they mean anything?

It's the timezone offset for that entry. The actual date/time values are UTC/GMT. If I had the timestamps simply record the current local time, the log could get screwy if you cross timezones at any point while logging. It's smart database management.

 

Also are there any plans for an LTE tower location similar to that of the 1x location?

The only wireless protocol that includes any base station location information is 1xRTT. Nothing else -- LTE, EV-DO, HSPA, etc. -- has anything comparable. Since the information doesn't really exist, I have no plans to add it..

 

-Mike

[darickster09]

Hey so I have one question here.  So just trying to figure out which site is which using my SCP logs.  So with GCI what do the last 2 digits of the GCI mean?  00, 01, & 02?   which one means I'm north of the tower, south of the tower, west of the tower and east of the tower?

[mikejeep]

Hey so I have one question here. So just trying to figure out which site is which using my SCP logs. So with GCI what do the last 2 digits of the GCI mean? 00, 01, & 02? which one means I'm north of the tower, south of the tower, west of the tower and east of the tower?

Hey, you have had more than one question buddy!

 

Sprint has configured its network to indicate which sector you are connected to by using the last two characters of the GCI. Most sites have three sectors, pointed in three directions like a triangle. The direction that each sector points in may vary by market or even by site; I haven't observed it to be reliable enough to say "Sector 01 is always North", etc. Band 25 and Band 26 sites share the same GCI except for the sector bits, which are typically similar to 00/01/02 or 01/02/03 for B25, and 19/1A/1B for B26, with some slight variations.

 

-Mike

[darickster09]

ok cool.  that answers my questions completely!  thanks Mike and I really do appreciate it!

 

Kevin

[Galaxyguy]

ok cool. that answers my questions completely! thanks Mike and I really do appreciate it!

 

Kevin

In Shentel's market, the GCI endings are:

B25 (primary carrier): 01,02,03

B25 (second carrier): 09,0A,0B

B26: 19,1A,1B

 

No B41 here yet so I don't know what they will use.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Note 10.0 2014 edition

[darickster09]

In Washington well West Washington at least the GCI endings are 00, 01, & 02.  I am not sure about Sprint B41,  but for Clear B41 it seems to be the same way up here.  I have not had B26 detected on my phone here in Washington yet so I have yet to see if its going to be different.  

 

You haven't seen any Clear B41's yet?

[Fuber]

Screenshot_2014-08-05-04-59-33.png

 

Signalcheck pro reports that I'm connecting to a BSL that is a residential address. How is it getting this address information ? Is this one of these personal microcell boxes ?

 

My Airave also shows my home address when connected to it.

[mikejeep]

A SignalCheck Pro update (4.251) is out this morning! It is not a major update, but makes some strides. Here is a very quick summary, will edit with more details later when I have time:

 

* Added indicators for AT&T LTE bands 2, 4, 5, 17, and 17 DAS.

* Added site notes to notification pulldown. (Pro)

* Improved Android L compatibility; SignalCheck alerts are not yet available on this OS. (Pro)

* Improved Sprint LTE band 26 display reliability.

* Resolved force closes when GSM PLMN is invalid or missing.

* Resolved force closes when Location Service is enabled or automatically restarted on some devices. (Pro)

* Resolved force closes when Wi-Fi MAC address is invalid or missing.

* Resolved issue where invalid LTE site notes could be entered before the LTE PLMN was identified. (Pro)

* Resolved issue where location information would stop updating. (Pro)

* Resolved issue with stale 1X site, provider, and BSL information displayed when connecting or after connection is lost.

* Updated GSM provider database.

* Disabled support for Android 2.2.

 

Lite will receive its companion update in the near future.

 

-Mike

[S4GRU]

* Added indicators for AT&T LTE bands 2, 4, 5, 17, and 17 DAS.

* Added site notes to notification pulldown. (Pro)

*

Yes! Yes! Yes!!!

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[uecker87]

* Improved Android L compatibility; SignalCheck alerts are not yet available on this OS. (Pro)

 

 

Anything special that we should have to do to get SignalCheck working on L with the new update?  I just restored a backup of L on my N5 and updated SCP, and it still forces a restart upon opening.

[mikejeep]

Anything special that we should have to do to get SignalCheck working on L with the new update? I just restored a backup of L on my N5 and updated SCP, and it still forces a restart upon opening.

Ahhh it was working during testing, but now I am getting reports that it's not. Looking into it now, will hopefully have something figured out soon. L users please provide me with any logcat messages you might be able to grab..

 

-Mike

[ajm8127]

In Shentel's market, the GCI endings are:

B25 (primary carrier): 01,02,03

B25 (second carrier): 09,0A,0B

B26: 19,1A,1B

 

No B41 here yet so I don't know what they will use.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Note 10.0 2014 edition

 

This is correct, but I would like to expand on it a little.

 

The last two digits of the GCI will tell you the sector and the band in Shentel's market.

 

01, 02, and 03 indicate sectors alpha, beta and gamma respectively for PCS G band LTE.

 

09, 0A and 0B also indicate sectors alpha, beta and gamma respectively. The represent PCS band A or B depending on if you are in the Philadelphia (B band) or Washington/Baltimore (A band) markets.

 

19, 1A and 1B again indicate the three sectors respectively and show you are currently connected to 800 MHz LTE (Band 26)

 

I have also heard that Shentel was holding out to see how the Sprint/T-Mobile deal was going to work out before deploying any B41. I suspect now that it has fallen through, Shentel will be doing some evaluation with the 2.5GHz spectrum because they know Sprint will be holding onto this spectrum. Had the deal worked out, the resulting company may have had to sell that portion of the spectrum to satisfy the FCC.

[uecker87]

Okay so I have dealt with this for awhile, and I thought I would see if anyone else experiences it. 

 

I have a Nexus 5 with SignalCheck Pro running in the background at all times.  Whenever I am on a phone call for awhile (more than 5 minutes), upon ending the call SCP sort of tweaks out and it shows 1x and numbers fluctuating extremely fast even though I am back on LTE.  If I try to open the app, it will just sit there with a black screen until I hit the home button to back out of the app.  I typically have to force stop the service and process and restart it to get everything working again.

 

Is this something others experience with a N5?  I never had this issue on my G2.  Anyone that has had this occur, did you fix it?  If so, how? 

 

If it turns out I am the first one to report this, I will try to take a video of it on my old G2 and post it here for others to see.

[ddaniels3968]

I haven't updated my SCP yet but for the last few day's I'm not getting and info from the tower on 1x for example it does not show the address or sector info any more. Works fine on LTE though.....

[ddaniels3968]

 

This is all I see now for some reason

[JossMan]

Mike, have you ever considered developing SignalCheck Pro for Windows Phone?  

[JossMan]

I haven't updated my SCP yet but for the last few day's I'm not getting and info from the tower on 1x for example it does not show the address or sector info any more. Works fine on LTE though.....

Do you have location services turned on?  

[ddaniels3968]

Yes Running Kit Kat and location services on. I didn't know if it could be something on Sprints end since I haven't changed any settings that I know of

[mikejeep]

I have a Nexus 5 with SignalCheck Pro running in the background at all times.  Whenever I am on a phone call for awhile (more than 5 minutes), upon ending the call SCP sort of tweaks out and it shows 1x and numbers fluctuating extremely fast even though I am back on LTE.  If I try to open the app, it will just sit there with a black screen until I hit the home button to back out of the app.  I typically have to force stop the service and process and restart it to get everything working again.

 

I have seen this a couple of times on my N5; it's very strange. Definitely seems like the radio is "hyper" after a call sometimes, and the only thing I can think of is the crazy flow of data overwhelms the app. The black screen freeze also happens occasionally if you lose signal for an extended period of time and go into the app before reconnecting to the network. I do have both items on my list of issues to sort out, but until now I didn't know that anyone besides myself had noticed it.

 

I haven't updated my SCP yet but for the last few day's I'm not getting and info from the tower on 1x for example it does not show the address or sector info any more. Works fine on LTE though.....

 

Make sure you have the mobile networks option enabled under Location Services in your device's Settings menu. Some devices require this.

 

-Mike

[mikejeep]

Yes Running Kit Kat and location services on. I didn't know if it could be something on Sprints end since I haven't changed any settings that I know of

 

Check your location settings in your device's Settings menu -- not within SignalCheck itself. Make sure that the option to determine your location using mobile networks (it's usually separate from the GPS option) is enabled.

 

-Mike