I am running Cyanogenmod 7.1 on my Dinc2. In the process of downgrading the ROM to get S-Off, I had to flash a new radio (0622). I then flashed 0722 and finally 1111.
With the 1111 radio, I'm seeing dBm readings that are finally comparable to my old Moto Droid. If I take both phones to different locations in my basement, they show approximately the same dBm reading. Sometimes the Droid is slightly lower, sometimes the Dinc2.
But what throws me is the signal strength indicator. On the Droid, it shows 3-4 bars consistently (stock ROM). On the Dinc2, it has never shown more than 3 and usually shows 0-1. The Droid, in the same location and showing about the same dBm, shows a solid 3 bars.
What gives? I assume the dBm is the reliable indicator, is that right? Do I just learn to live with showing no signal and hoping that there really is, or is there a way to get the signal strength indicator to show a more meaningful number of bars, comparable to what the Droid is showing?
Thanks in advance!
dBm is the actual measurement of the signal strength your phone is getting. The bars are a more graphical friendly way of showing this. How the phone/OS determines the number of bars is a mathematical algorithm.
Honestly the bars are incredibly misleading and shouldn't be taken to heart. I've had my phone perform the same with 1 bar as it does with 3. dBm is a more accurate representation of your phones signal.
dbm is what you need to be concerned with. Where I live, I get an awful signal and my dbm's hover at 102-104. I might get 1 bar, but not all the time.
Thanks, guys - very helpful. If I had known that such issues could arise when changing the OS, I would have taken some measurements using the stock Dinc2 OS + radio for comparison. As it is, I didn't even know I was flashing a new radio until the deed was done... all part of the fun.
cyboreal said:
Thanks, guys - very helpful. If I had known that such issues could arise when changing the OS, I would have taken some measurements using the stock Dinc2 OS + radio for comparison. As it is, I didn't even know I was flashing a new radio until the deed was done... all part of the fun.
Click to expand...
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I may be misspeaking here but I believe the radio does not get impacted by whatever ROM you flash unless it states in the ROM it has whatever radio built in. So if you flash a radio it should stick between ROMS.
Related
When I switch to CM6 I only have one signal bar compared to Damage and Fresh Roms where I have full 3g signal bars. Is there a solution for that?
It could be that CM6 interprets dbm differently. General rule is that signal bars mean nothing. In CM stettings go to the notification bar and turn on dbm. That is more important.
Sent from my PC36100
rafroehlich2 said:
It could be that CM6 interprets dbm differently. General rule is that signal bars mean nothing. In CM stettings go to the notification bar and turn on dbm.
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Click to collapse
+1, I noticed this as well switching back and forth between CM and ROMS based on sprint code.
My guess is sprint's rom is being optimistic as it makes the end user think sprint offers better coverage then they really do
Example at work:
I get a full 5 bars on sprint images.
I get one bar on CM.
Actual db is around the same in each case... lol.
kallisti5 said:
+1, I noticed this as well switching back and forth between CM and ROMS based on sprint code.
My guess is sprint's rom is being optimistic as it makes the end user think sprint offers better coverage then they really do
Example at work:
I get a full 5 bars on sprint images.
I get one bar on CM.
Actual db is around the same in each case... lol.
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Click to collapse
I would not doubt Sprint is doing this. Who wants to see 1 to 2 bars when they can see 5 to 6 (in the case of the stock bars). I think pretty soon we will move to the better dbm based meter as standard.
I to have this problem but as I looked at my friends evo(no cyanogen) and mine and noticed that cyanogen uses 4 bars as opposed to 6 bars that other roms use
Sent from my HTC EVO
signal strength is the same, its just the calibration for the visual effect that is different. Its the same concept as the IPhone 4 signal "fix" that apple released.
I am using Cm6 and when I updated my PRI using a stock rom and came back to Cm6 I am getting 3 or all 4 bars. I wish i would have taken a screen shot to do a before and after comparison, 3g seems the same I guess.
it's twofold. CM6 iirc shows data signal strength and not voice signal strength, as well as the number of bars being smaller. evo default uses 6 bars I believe.
I have been running chingy's re-engineered and the rom rocks as well as cell reception! I went to cm7 to see what it's like and cell reception is horrible. I also tried redemption rom and noticed cell reception was horrible as well. I am back to re-engineered and 3g is consistently connected with anywhere from 3-5 5 bars, but when I was using the other roms mentioned I would see weak 3g signal and occasionaly switch to 1X. I tried searching and couldn't find anything on this issue. Anyone have any ideas?
I have also read that the issue is a cosmetic thing which I can understand. But when it switches to 1x, that in my eyes is an issue. But its strange that this only happens with incredible roms built from source and not with evo roms.
Chingy's ROM using the EVO's 6bar signal strength meter, but CM7 and most stock ROMs only use a 4bar signal meter. This is why you see a perceived difference, but honestly I've never noticed a performance increase or decrease for that matter when I switch betweens ROMs regardless of what my status bar says.
Thats what my thinking was. But, I see full strength with chingys but actually switch to 1x from time to time on cm7, which is the wierd thing.
i dont know if signal is worse, but i think they handle the lack of signal differently.
I am using myn's and when there is no signal and you try to make a call it fails immediately with no error at all whereas with the stock rom it would say call failed.
Different ROM's measure the reception differently, if you go into settings > about phone > Network -- you'll see the dBm measurement of your signal.
This jumps around a fair amount too, so take that into account. It will vary depending on where you're positioned in your building / house, the weather outside, etc.
Your signal should be exactly the same from ROM to ROM, flashing a new Radio is pretty much the only thing that will change that, and those aren't included in ROM's.
Sounds good! Currently running Miui which is great, and haven't lost 3g yet so maybe the past flashes were just flukes.
Sent from my HTC Incredible using XDA Premium App
So I've been dealing with a radio issue on my S3 for a while now. At home, all is good, at work it sucks. However, the degree of suckage has varied lately and from what I can tell it seems to do with the ROM. Emphasis on seems because I really don't know. Thus this thread.
I used to run one of Freeza's stock leaks. I had a weak signal at the office, but it was livable. Lately however I'm been trying various AOSP 4.2.2 and they seem to be getting a much weaker signal. Of course it could be that stock just has me faked out and the signals are about the same, just the status bar icon throwing me off.
I've also noticed that location apps that use network location (not GPS) seem to be finding locations in my general vicinity, but most are 40-50 miles away from me. Maps is fine though. Probably irrelevant, but thought worth mentioning.
Yesterday I updated to MB1 to see if that made a difference. Nope. So today I decided maybe I needed a PRL update. So, to keep it simple (in my view) I did a nandroid then flashed Freeza's Full Odex MB1 so I could get the PRL via Sprint. What's interesting is that before I even did the PRL update, the signal was dramatically better. I went ahead and did the PRL update, then restored my nandroid to the ROM I preferred.
When back in the ROM the signal was weak again. So I ask, is it possible this is an issue with the CM 10.1 builds? Could it just be the ROM (carbonrom). Could it be a 4.2.2 issue?
Thanks.
AOSP shows the truer signal, stock roms add a little to what the actual signal is and the indicator in the status bar is always greater than your actual reception, if you look around this has been asked and answered many many times...
CNexus said:
AOSP shows the truer signal, stock roms add a little to what the actual signal is and the indicator in the status bar is always greater than your actual reception, if you look around this has been asked and answered many many times...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks more like AOSP shows your signal bars + signal strength as whatever you are currently connected to (LTE rather than showing voice service), whereas Touchwiz will show your signal strength and bars based upon your voice reception.
I don't know where you people are getting this information that Touchwiz based roms are intentionally lying about the signal. The only confirmed thing for anything like that is the 1x vs 3G deal. Can you provide a source for your claim?
CNexus said:
AOSP shows the truer signal, stock roms add a little to what the actual signal is and the indicator in the status bar is always greater than your actual reception, if you look around this has been asked and answered many many times...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so any difference I think I'm seeing or experiencing is likely just my weak mind being hallucinated upon by those wicked status bar icons?
respectagain said:
It looks more like AOSP shows your signal bars + signal strength as whatever you are currently connected to (LTE rather than showing voice service), whereas Touchwiz will show your signal strength and bars based upon your voice reception.
I don't know where you people are getting this information that Touchwiz based roms are intentionally lying about the signal. The only confirmed thing for anything like that is the 1x vs 3G deal. Can you provide a source for your claim?
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Click to collapse
Decompile the apk and you'll find the code that adds to the shown signal. Speed tests also show equivalent speeds.
respectagain said:
It looks more like AOSP shows your signal bars + signal strength as whatever you are currently connected to (LTE rather than showing voice service), whereas Touchwiz will show your signal strength and bars based upon your voice reception.
I don't know where you people are getting this information that Touchwiz based roms are intentionally lying about the signal. The only confirmed thing for anything like that is the 1x vs 3G deal. Can you provide a source for your claim?
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Click to collapse
Both Touchwiz and AOSP report signal correctly. The issue is that Touchwiz will show you 6 bars for a -80dBm threshold, whereas that's an average signal (yes, it's usable, but CDMA can range from -65 to -120 dBm, so -80 is good, but not perfect.) AOSP tends to be more accurate in signal strength reporting. This doesn't mean signal is work on AOSP, it just displays less signal because that's your actual signal strength.
One of the other differences in aosp and twiz signal is the actual number of displayable bars. Some twiz roms show 6 bars and all aosp roms only show 4. So theres 2 extra bars on twiz so 3bars is half signal on twiz and 2 is half on aosp, 4 bars on twiz is 3/4 signal and 3 bars is the aosp equivalent. That will trick the eye into seeing a difference in signal strength as well. The best way to check is settings > about phone > status then look at the dbm and compare them instead of comparing bars. Twiz doesn't add as much extra to the bars as sense but it does add a hair bit and also doesn't show the difference between 1x and 3g, it always shows 3g. Now sense roms (at least back in the og evo days) would lie right to your face and show you 3 bars of 3g when you have -100dbm of 1x >_<
I like to break stuff!
-EViL-KoNCEPTz- said:
One of the other differences in aosp and twiz signal is the actual number of displayable bars. Some twiz roms show 6 bars and all aosp roms only show 4. So theres 2 extra bars on twiz so 3bars is half signal on twiz and 2 is half on aosp, 4 bars on twiz is 3/4 signal and 3 bars is the aosp equivalent. That will trick the eye into seeing a difference in signal strength as well. The best way to check is settings > about phone > status then look at the dbm and compare them instead of comparing bars. Twiz doesn't add as much extra to the bars as sense but it does add a hair bit and also doesn't show the difference between 1x and 3g, it always shows 3g. Now sense roms (at least back in the og evo days) would lie right to your face and show you 3 bars of 3g when you have -100dbm of 1x >_<
I like to break stuff!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those sense roms. Yeah half the time i would have super slow data speeds and be like "why, it says full 3G bars?!?"...then I flashed my first rom and learned what 1x was
Such a disappointment in HTC from that point on
I have been trying to figure this one out for ages!!!
Can anyone answer why TW roms report signal strength different from AOKP. (I don't mean 4G vs LTE or faster or slower speeds) When I have a TW rom installed, I can go virtually all day and have no reported signal loss, but if I have a AOKP (all source android for that matter) installed and I use the phone in the exact same place I have as much as 50% time without signal while the whole time I actually have signal as I use the phone. On the TW rom, signal almost never goes less than one bar but yet I can have no signal at all, but if it is like that for any amount of time then it will show no signal, but the AOKP will show no bars but still have signal and yet it still reports as no signal.(maybe there is a different scale for signal strength) This doesn't just on my phone, as I have 3 that I tested on with the same result. There is no problem with signal as I have said and the phone works fine during this time unless signal is lost totally. Some say TW has faster DATA and BETTER signal, I have never experienced either, both seen just as fast, which is why I wonder if sammy does it on purpose with some code or if AOKP has a smaller scale in which to report the strenght, hench my issue.
Have searched but not found anything,
scotteb said:
I have been trying to figure this one out for ages!!!
Can anyone answer why TW roms report signal strength different from AOKP. (I don't mean 4G vs LTE or faster or slower speeds) When I have a TW rom installed, I can go virtually all day and have no reported signal loss, but if I have a AOKP (all source android for that matter) installed and I use the phone in the exact same place I have as much as 50% time without signal while the whole time I actually have signal as I use the phone. On the TW rom, signal almost never goes less than one bar but yet I can have no signal at all, but if it is like that for any amount of time then it will show no signal, but the AOKP will show no bars but still have signal and yet it still reports as no signal.(maybe there is a different scale for signal strength) This doesn't just on my phone, as I have 3 that I tested on with the same result. There is no problem with signal as I have said and the phone works fine during this time unless signal is lost totally. Some say TW has faster DATA and BETTER signal, I have never experienced either, both seen just as fast, which is why I wonder if sammy does it on purpose with some code or if AOKP has a smaller scale in which to report the strenght, hench my issue.
Have searched but not found anything,
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Click to collapse
Did you actually check the signal dbm or just compared with the signal bars?
The signal bars are just images, therefor, you could set it to show 1 bar and actually have full signal db.
Compare their dbm and you'll see if there's actually a difference.
Another thing, keep in mind that every phone is built differently and one could have 3bars of signal while the other has 4bars, both phones running the exact same thing.
BWolf56 said:
Did you actually check the signal dbm or just compared with the signal bars?
The signal bars are just images, therefor, you could set it to show 1 bar and actually have full signal db.
Compare their dbm and you'll see if there's actually a difference.
Another thing, keep in mind that every phone is built differently and one could have 3bars of signal while the other has 4bars, both phones running the exact same thing.
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Click to collapse
no sir same number of bars. i bet if others checked theirs would probably be the same. touch cell standy by under battery in settings
scotteb said:
I have been trying to figure this one out for ages!!!
Can anyone answer why TW roms report signal strength different from AOKP. (I don't mean 4G vs LTE or faster or slower speeds) When I have a TW rom installed, I can go virtually all day and have no reported signal loss, but if I have a AOKP (all source android for that matter) installed and I use the phone in the exact same place I have as much as 50% time without signal while the whole time I actually have signal as I use the phone. On the TW rom, signal almost never goes less than one bar but yet I can have no signal at all, but if it is like that for any amount of time then it will show no signal, but the AOKP will show no bars but still have signal and yet it still reports as no signal.(maybe there is a different scale for signal strength) This doesn't just on my phone, as I have 3 that I tested on with the same result. There is no problem with signal as I have said and the phone works fine during this time unless signal is lost totally. Some say TW has faster DATA and BETTER signal, I have never experienced either, both seen just as fast, which is why I wonder if sammy does it on purpose with some code or if AOKP has a smaller scale in which to report the strenght, hench my issue.
Have searched but not found anything,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've noticed the same. On TW I show 3 bars and on AOKP I show 1 bar. I believe it's just as you said the signal image reads off the dbm and AOKP might be set to show 1 bar off -108dbm with TW is set to show 3 bars
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
Aosp bases roms show signal more accurate then TW based OEM roms. We even found that att had changed some images early on to show more bars then what you were really getting.
Wayne Tech S-III
zelendel said:
Aosp bases roms show signal more accurate then TW based OEM roms. We even found that att had changed some images early on to show more bars then what you were really getting.
Wayne Tech S-III
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Click to collapse
Maybe for some folks it's just showing up like that.
But in my area, TW ROM's get me faster & better signal than ANY AOSP ROM. Hands down, flat freaking true. I've tested it with speedtest and speakeasy.
TW consistently gets me a better signal and about 20% faster download speed than any AOSP ROM since the ICS to the current 4.2.2 ROM's.
And not just on one phone either. I've had three S3 warranty phones (don't ask. lol). They all behaved the same way.
I've done "scientific" (as best as I can) tests and it's been very consistent like this. TW just gets a better signal I figure, which = faster download speed. I don't know how else to explain it.
I should also state that I'm on the edge of LTE area. AOSP ROM's usually give me about 1 or 2 bars and 5-12 mbps download speeds.
When I get closer to downtown, I get 30+ mbps download easily.
TW ROM's give me 12-18 mbps where AOSP struggles to reach 12 mbps. In the same exact location on my desk.
The speed is something else completely. That has nothing to do with the amount of bars shown.
Wayne Tech S-III
How can touchwiz provide better coverage when the modem is the same regardless of the ROM on the phone?
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
FabC87 said:
How can touchwiz provide better coverage when the modem is the same regardless of the ROM on the phone?
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
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Well to be honest it has to do with 2 things. One is how the software talks with the hardware. Second as I stated above. There have been times the carrier have flat out lied about how many bars you have. We found this when ripping the apks apart and there instead of being 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 bars they removed the 0 and 1 bars and replaced them with the pngs for 2 bars.
zelendel said:
Well to be honest it has to do with 2 things. One is how the software talks with the hardware. Second as I stated above. There have been times the carrier have flat out lied about how many bars you have. We found this when ripping the apks apart and there instead of being 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 bars they removed the 0 and 1 bars and replaced them with the pngs for 2 bars.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya its weird, as long as it shows 1 bar, then it will not register signal loss, but soon as that bar disappears, but still with signal, it will register as loss of signal. When there is no signal there is a diff icon, so then and only then should it report as a loss..... I would like to fix but so far I have found nothing concrete, just options.
I think CM shows the true signal bars whereas TW shows the fake one.
Capt said:
I think CM shows the true signal bars whereas TW shows the fake one.
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Click to collapse
Yup that was proven long ago.
Wayne Tech S-III
scotteb said:
Ya its weird, as long as it shows 1 bar, then it will not register signal loss, but soon as that bar disappears, but still with signal, it will register as loss of signal. When there is no signal there is a diff icon, so then and only then should it report as a loss..... I would like to fix but so far I have found nothing concrete, just options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lot of times if it shows no bars yet you still have signal ie. Still able to text, call, surf Web it's because you're transitioning from 4G to H+ or whatever the transition maybe.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium
drock212 said:
A lot of times if it shows no bars yet you still have signal ie. Still able to text, call, surf Web it's because you're transitioning from 4G to H+ or whatever the transition maybe.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium[/QUOTE
Well I have found some info, I am going to try this and based upon the results, I will post back so that anyone that wishes to modify their rom (if it works) will be able to do so.
The problem that I am referring to has nothing to go with the transition from 3g,h,h+, or lte for that matter. connection does not change, problem happens when you are in an area that has a lower signal, thus being able to USE the phone even though there are no bars.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes ASU is reported as unknown when it shouldn't and causes signal bars to show 0 signal (99 ASU). This appears to be global with all lineage based ROMs. Also noticed this one my Le Pro3 running Nougat Lineage roms. But Nexus 5x doesn't have this issue. Could it be that signal reporting is erroring out due to the modem that the Snapdragon 821 phones have?
In the same spot, my Nexus 5x will show -100dBm with ~44 ASU and it'll have 2-3 bars. It is purely cosmetic and doesn't appear to hurt performance but I wanted to ask others to see if maybe a dev can take a look? It appears to be on stock OOS as well as custom ROMs. Somewhere during the upgrade to Nougat this has become a problem.
I think SignalStrength.java is where the calculations are coming from, within the android framework. Is there a way to revert the Nougat changes here or to force it to measure signal bars based on dBm values?
In these areas I have perfectly good signal, it's just that the device states I have no signal and it can be kind of...confusing (especially when driving around using Android Auto.)
bronderb said:
Use the same apn from your 5x
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Click to collapse
After further investigation, it appears to be SNR readings being misinterpreted from Google's latest source (latest OOS has this and other ROMs that use Google's open source 7.1.2 libraries also have this issue.) It is quite rare, but sometimes SNR is not read correctly (in areas with bad SNR) and it's causing asu to be reported as 99 which is unknown. I've discovered the reason it doesn't happen on my Nexus 5x is because I'm using PureNexus rom, which has an older version of SignalStrength.java, which is measuring LTE in only dBm alone. Not SNR, not ASU, only dBm. I wonder if devs can incorporate PureNexus's method of reading signal strength data?