It may be useful to determine where your cellular signal is the strongest within your home. This is especially useful when locating a router / smart home controller in the house. Below are ways to use your cell phone to measure cell signal strength.
First, it's helpful to know what you are measuring and what is a good number.
- On iOS / iphone this method will display rsrp0 which stands for Reference Signal Received Power. This is the strength of signal sent from the tower
- A Great rsrp would be around -80 to -100. Over -110 is considered poor signal power.
- the other number is rsrq0 which stands for Reference Signal Received Quality.
- A Great rsrq number would be -5 to -10. Over -20 would be considered poor quality.
- Android displays "Signal strength in dBm. This number should be around -100. If it's closer to -115 to -120, then it would be considered very poor quality.
How to find this information on your iphone
- You are going to put the phone in "Field Test Mode"
- Open phone app and dial *3001#12345#*
- Tap the Menu tab on the top right corner
- Select Serving Cell Meas
How to find this information on an Android
- Go to Settings
- In the Search, type Signal Strength
- OR select About Phone
- Tap "Status" or "Network"
- Tap "SIM Status
| Signal Strength | General Results |
| -50 to -79 dBm | Considered great signal (4 to 5 bars) |
| -80 to -89 dBm | Considered great signal (4 to 5 bars) |
| -90 to -99 dBm | Considered average signal (2 to 3 bars) |
| -100 to -109 dBm | Considered poor signal (1 to 2 bars) |
| -110 to -120 dBm | Considered very poor signal (0 to 1 bar) |