Announcement
I am sorry to let you know that inPocket Software has now closed. All inPocket Software apps, including Phone Check and Test, Phone Signal Information and Phone Information have been discontinued.
It has been a pleasure delivering quality Android phone test, information and monitoring software over the last 8 years – thank you.
Cell phone signal strength
Phone signal allows you to check your cell phone signal quality in detail (signal strength, handovers, and radio type changes) over time and view network cell information.
Navigate between the main screens by swiping left or right, or by using the navigation drawer (top left).
Monitor cell phone signal
Provides an overview of SIM, network and signal strength (up to 1 minute). The signal graph is color-coded to represent signal level (green, yellow, red). Cell handovers (handoffs) are shown with vertical orange bars. Cell radio technology changes (e.g. LTE 4G to UMTS 3G) are shown with blue vertical bars.
The graph shows time on the horizontal axis and signal strength (in dBm, or power ratio in decibels) on the vertical axis. -110dBm (minus 110) is a stronger signal than -120dBm.
The color coding shows the signal level. The signal level is mainly relative to signal strength and radio type, but can also incorporate the signal to noise ratio (e.g. when the background interference is relatively high compared to the signal strength).
Clicking on the graph data series will open the full-screen signal graph.
Where available on dual SIM phones the second signal is graphed with a much thinner line.
Cell phone signal graph
Shows a detailed signal strength graph with data since andSignal was started (up to 60 minutes). Scrollable and pinch-zoomable.
Cell phone information
Shows an overview of the current phone, SIM, and network information.
Airplane mode suspends radio-frequency signal transmission.
A smartphone needs a unique identity to use a cellular network. A SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) securely stores this identity (the IMSI: International Mobile Subscriber Identity).
There are a number of common network types. 5G (5th generation) is the newest type and is being rolled out across a number of countries. 5G provides the fastest speeds, increased responsiveness, and better performance in crowded places. For many users, 4G LTE is currently the fastest network available. Older networks include 3G (being slower) and 2G (much slower again). If your data network connection is 2G or 3G you will typically notice much slower data download speeds than if you are connected to 4G.
Cell towers
The cellular network is a communications network where a cell phone wirelessly connects using radio waves. The geographic area is divided into cells with each cell tower using a certain frequency (band). Neighboring cells use different frequencies to reduce radio interference.
A cell phone registers to a cell, but constantly checks for nearby (detected) cell tower signals and uses this information (such as nearby cell tower signal strength and interference) to determine whether the phone should change to a cell tower with a better signal.
The cells the phone is registered with are shown at the top of the screen. Where available, the signal strength and cell network provider are shown, along with the cell identification information for that radio type (e.g. for LTE 4G, the Cell ID, Tracking Area Code and RF channel).
The other detected cells are shown grouped based on their radio type (e.g. LTE 4G). Typically less information is available for cells the phone is not registered with (and this is shown as “cell unknown”).
Statistics
Shows the percentage of time the signal level has been low, good or very good.
Shows the number of cell handovers and type changes (e.g. LTE 4G to UMTS 3G).
Shows a list of significant events, including cell handovers, cell type changes and signal strength dropping to low.
Notes: 5G
New Radio (NR) technology is referred to as 5G. It should be noted that their are 2 types of NR networks that are currently being deployed around the world:
(i) Non-standalone (NSA) and
(ii) Standalone (SA).
NSA is essentially a transitional technology that allows early 5G networks to use much of the existing 4G LTE infrastructure. In this case the phone camps on an LTE cell that supports dual connectivity. This essentially provides an LTE connection for voice and an NR connection for data (i.e. 4G for voice and 5G for data). This can provide some of the 5G benefits such as increased data speeds. NSA NR is shown as a 4G LTE connection in the Phone Signal Information app.
SA does not rely on a LTE network. In this case the phone registers with a 5G NR cell. Some cellular networks that started their 5G roll out using NSA are testing and starting the migration from NSA to SA NR. SA NR is shown as 5G NR in the Phone Signal Information app.