32 replies to this topic

[spyder]

Can we write this so EVERYONE will understand.

If you are standing RIGHT AT A TOWER, the reading will be 0 db, (technically it maybe infinity, but for math purpose, ??)....Anyway, The farther you travel from the tower, the lower the number gets. So -100 means you are twice as far from the tower as if it read -50.

If you keep on going, it will get worse and worse, therefore the number (Distance) will get more and more negative, say it is -100000(sure it would never pick that up), but that means you are miles and miles away from the tower.

OK, I hope that put something in perspective, sorry if I repeated, I scanned the thread, but got frustrated and wrote this.ONE OTHER THING TO CONSIDER....dB is NOT A LINEAR UNIT, it is exponential, so going from -1 to -2 is the same as going from -2 to -6.....(That math is not accurate, just explaining the exponential thing)

The the richter scale, a 8 earthquake is like 10x sronger than a 7, but a 7 is only like 5 times stronger than a 6 (AGAIN, MATH IS WRONG, ONLY TO EXPLAIN).

All the best, JEFF

[calipup]

Ironically the signal level of the galaxy nexus is the main reason why i dumped it for a Moto Maxx. Now with a AOKP rom with ICS i couldn't be happier with my trade.

[trevoryour]

Ironically the signal level of the galaxy nexus is the main reason why i dumped it for a Moto Maxx. Now with a AOKP rom with ICS i couldn't be happier with my trade.

Its interesting you should say this. I just dropped my Nexus for the Razr for the same reason. Prior to returning I had compared my Nexus to a friends Nexus and the signal was about the same. I checked the Razr after buying it and the signal difference (db level) was night and day. The Razr had much better signal. I just rooted the device and installed AOKP ICS and did the comparison to my friends Nexus again and now the signal strength is about the same. In fact the Nexus got slightly better signal. Could it be the db rating in ICS is calculated differently then in Gingerbread?

[jpm]

Could it be the db rating in ICS is calculated differently then in Gingerbread?

Its not calculated like the signal bars are, its a signal strength reading from the receiver. Its decibels with relation to a milliwatt , hence dBm. (The B is typically capitalized since it refers to Alexander Graham Bell). 0 dBm is not infinite, its 1 milliwatt. Positive dBm readings (more than a milliwatt in strength) can be seen but not likely in a phone since the signal would be so strong that it would probably burn out the receiver like looking into a very bright light would blind you. An increase in 3db is essentially doubling the strength of the signal while a decrease of 3db is essentially cutting it in half. So a -53dBm signal would be roughly half as strong as a -50dBm signal. The better your antenna and receiver components, the better your signal strength with all other things being equal. You'll likely see better signal strength at night when the terrestrial noise decreases and there's less interference as well as during the winter when the foliage is off the trees (pine trees still tend to suck up signal though).

Moving the receiver just an inch or two can make a huge difference too because of the very short wavelengths involved at the frequencies used by cellphones, though 4G is much lower than the other cellular frequencies in use, its located in the old UHF TV bands, so it does tend to penetrate a bit better.

[vash_h]

I gabber to agree on fluctuating signals.. When the signal fluctuates, that means interference from something, and high chance of dropped calls.

Sent from my XT910

[joshuahist]

So if I am sitting here at work (right now) and my Signal Strength is -94 dBm 0 asu that is really bad huh?

[martybm5]

So if I am sitting here at work (right now) and my Signal Strength is -94 dBm 0 asu that is really bad huh?

That's correct. You may still be able to make a voice call but you'll certainly notice a degradation in call quality

[bpl0477]

I have a question concerning signal strength. I just bought my razr on Sunday, for two days I had 4g, since yesterday I have had 3g which would come and go, I called tech support and had to do a soft-reboot, a safe-reboot and finally factory reset. None of them did anything to help. Also which I foind weird is that the notification went from white to blue and has stayed blue ever since. Does anyone have any ideas on why this would happen, especially the color change? Verizon said I should exchange phone.

Thanks for you help

[HouseMD]

I have a question concerning signal strength. I just bought my razr on Sunday, for two days I had 4g, since yesterday I have had 3g which would come and go, I called tech support and had to do a soft-reboot, a safe-reboot and finally factory reset. None of them did anything to help. Also which I foind weird is that the notification went from white to blue and has stayed blue ever since. Does anyone have any ideas on why this would happen, especially the color change? Verizon said I should exchange phone.

Thanks for you help

1. When the signal turns blue, that means that it is active. When your signal is grey, vise versa. Are you on stock software? are you rooted? Are you on 206 or 208?

[(TSON)]

Blue means you can successfully connect to all of the google services. Grey could mean that you have internet but can't connect to some google services potentially.

and the TB is the only device you can set to lte only

Not for looooong!

[bpl0477]

1. When the signal turns blue, that means that it is active. When your signal is grey, vise versa. Are you on stock software? are you rooted? Are you on 206 or 208?

I am rooted , not sure of 206 208, stock software 2.3.6 /181

[jb_alphamale]

Same here.

Ironically the signal level of the galaxy nexus is the main reason why i dumped it for a Moto Maxx. Now with a AOKP rom with ICS i couldn't be happier with my trade.

[jroc]

I dont really need to respond to this thread....some ppl did clarify and correct some wrong info. But just to repeat..

All things being equal....-55 is an absolutely great signal...-77 is ok, but its not as good as -55.

-120 is absolutely no signal. If phone works on that reading....something's wrong with the way it reads the decibel or signal. Granted I have heard the iPhone 4 can barely have a signal for calls at -120. If so....thats amazing. But I would say it just the way its being read and is probably not -120.

The G Nex doesnt read bars, decibels like most other LTE phones. The data connection is given priority over phone reception. IMO thats wrong since these are phone first. I would say the G Nex at that store reading -78 was equal to that RAZR at -55. The store more than likely had a signal booster in it. I know a place in DC where I get -55 decibel readings outside. A tower must be across the street or something. And at that spot the G Nex had great reception.

I think the G Nex suffers more in weaker reception areas vs. the RAZR...and doesnt handle going in n out of different areas that good vs the RAZR.

To me for decibel readings.....one should be able to use the readings like a compass for finding good or bad reception areas. I have done it like that for every Android phone I had...except the G Nex.