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Can I measure data signal strength ?

N

nwpsys

Newbie
Running my Desire 2.2 on T-Mobile in the UK. My network type shows as HSDPA on the About screen.

Now am I right in thinking the signal strength shown is the voice signal strength ?

Reason I think this is in one location I have a much poorer signal strength number ( lower asu ) but I get much faster results on a data speed test. Conversely, in another location I get a much better signal strength ( higher asu ) but data transfer rate is next to nothing. The H shows all the time, and I know I can change mode to not use HSPDA at all, but I am more interested in discovering if there a way to measure the data signal strength ?

I am certainly no expert in this area despite all the posts I have read on the subject, so if anyone can enlighten me in this area in general or correct any misconceptions, I would really appreciate it.

Cheers,

nwpsys
 
When you're on hsdpa, you're on it for voice and data. It's the same signal. The bars in the status bar indicate both.

What annoys me is that in order to maintain H it will do so at the detriment of voice. Sometimes it shows no bars whilst in H. Data almost unusable. Voice almost unusable.

Wish I could change the thresholds so it drops down quicker
 
Thanks, danfrance.

Very strange that I got much better download speed with a much lower signal strength. Sounds like the whole signal issue is a can of worms :)

nwpsys
 
Am I right in thinking things like contention come into play ? Only so much bandwidth per tower, so to speak ?

I was doing my tests in a quiet Suffolk town ( and the next town over, where I work ), so didn't really expect contention to be an issue, but perhaps there are a handful of users sucking up all the bandwidth :)

nwpsys
 
nwpsys said:
Am I right in thinking things like contention come into play ? Only so much bandwidth per tower, so to speak ?

I was doing my tests in a quiet Suffolk town ( and the next town over, where I work ), so didn't really expect contention to be an issue, but perhaps there are a handful of users sucking up all the bandwidth :)

nwpsys
Click to expand...

Fridges, Beds, stone walls, high pressure, low pressure, leaves, anything that whhrrrrrrss electrical or not, dense foliage, lead of ony description, tin/metal roofing, topographics, local geology, planetary rotation relative to Sol (sun spots), any solar activity, anthropogenic munition detenation, 3 week old cheese, errrrr........ thats it!

Oh and did someone mention contention?
 
use an app called: Elixir from app market its free, u can get everything on this, from battery power to signal strength and more.
 
Completely hatstand said:
Fridges, Beds, stone walls, high pressure, low pressure, leaves, anything that whhrrrrrrss electrical or not, dense foliage, lead of ony description, tin/metal roofing, topographics, local geology, planetary rotation relative to Sol (sun spots), any solar activity, anthropogenic munition detenation, 3 week old cheese, errrrr........ thats it!
Click to expand...

Would these "obstructions" not be reflected by a lower signal strength being shown on the device ?

nwpsys
 
Envisage a line, stretching from your phone to the mast. This line need only be as thick as a line of cotton to carry an SMS to your phone. An MMS however would need a slightly thicker line to hook onto, or it would break and cause your phone to lose signal and voice or video call? Well were talking a ships hawser in comparison to take that little lot to your phone, and in many instances this hawser does not break but merely weakens, so your phone may lose some but not all signal. There are some arguements that the human skull itself in some instances makes your signal strengths go doolally.

Ring your service provider and they will furnish you with an whole raft of seemingly stupid reasons for poor signal, and my point is; it is very difficult to argue with them.
 
cammyhorne said:
use an app called: Elixir from app market its free, u can get everything on this, from battery power to signal strength and more.
Click to expand...

Can't you just go into Settings > About Phone > Network, and then the signal strength is shown there instead of downloading an app?
 
It's all area dependant and from what I have read T mobiles coverage is not that great. I'm based in Manchester and was on O2 and my data speed was around 3 kilobits/sec which was just not good enough. But been sim free I tried the 3 network and now get around 3900 kilobits/sec and not looked back.

Speed test on the market place is a great app for testing your speed.
 
I have a simple widget that pulls the signal strength out of About --> Network, so I just use that on my home screen.

I have also been using the speedtest.net speed tester from the market to measure my speeds. Using this I also discovered that because I use the Unlimited Internet Booster on my SIM only Pay Monthly deal, I am speed restricted to 3G speeds ( ~356Kbit ) anyway and will never get anything in the HSPDA range.

Definitely think a change to 3 might be worth a go. I should be able to get a pay as you go SIM, chuck a tenner on it, just to test speeds and coverage in the real world.

Do you know if 3 do any speed capping on their internet service depending on what contract you are on ?

nwpsys
 
PCNutt3r said:
It's all area dependant and from what I have read T mobiles coverage is not that great. I'm based in Manchester and was on O2 and my data speed was around 3 kilobits/sec which was just not good enough. But been sim free I tried the 3 network and now get around 3900 kilobits/sec and not looked back.

Speed test on the market place is a great app for testing your speed.
Click to expand...

My o2 speeds dropped to 56 kbps. Thought it was the sim so got a new one provisioned and can get 4mbps now
 
nwpsys said:
Do you know if 3 do any speed capping on their internet service depending on what contract you are on ?

nwpsys
Click to expand...

Not sure about the speed capping, ive not come across it and I connect my laptop to my phone to use the internet quite a lot and not noticed any drops, might be worth ringing them/emailing.

I am on PAYG and pay
 
Thanks PCNutt3r.

Due to move house imminently, so I think I will get PAYG SIMS or 1 Month contracts from each of the major networks ( and I may even get one of those Tesco Mobile/O2 deals for
 
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