apps for checking signal strength - android apps

bubblesmoney

some phones have the ability to tell you the signal strength in dBm and ASU. but not all phones have that ability. the following apps may be useful for android phones for checking location of cell towers on maps and signal strength etc. one can buy PAYG cards or use friends simcard of various networks and check signal strength for various providers and then only buy a contract with a provider with a good signal strength in your home and work.

see links http://www.panix.com/~mpoly/android/antennas/r1.0/

http://code.google.com/p/moonblink/wiki/Tricorder

http://sites.google.com/site/androiddevelopmentproject/home/rf-signal-tracker

for wifi strength http://sites.google.com/site/farproc/wifi-analyzer

this may be useful for people wanting to make informed decisions on new contracts if moving home etc.

bubblesmoney

RF signals tracker app. i am trying that out too, that gives the location, lat longitude, cell site id etc.

i am also trying out the “4g, cdma, gsm & wifi map viewer app” from sensorly which is similar as well.

all the apps i mentioned are free and everyone can use them, but make sure you change the settings data uploads to wifi only” so that you dont use data on 3g for uploads. the more the people that use such apps the better will the report you get back from the app for your area.

you can choose to map out any network and not just your own network! so that you can make informed decisions about coverage in your areas where you use the phones.

ofcom 3g maps for 2009 can be found here http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:lXTOfU71-xoJ:www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/licensing/classes/broadband/cellular/3g/maps/3gmaps/coverage_maps.pdf+ofcom+3g+coverage+map&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiDWQKBcpVwG2GI4N0v7Q81pATqEioXigXv8SRu3JDEdmFVdQ8aiGFb3p95iKjE-iz4SKuwsUsBgFE5Bw-invmuAfie6DhT3kxQWh6i_eunfhk61_Xvi2VUMUik3IMFQTXJGmMF&sig=AHIEtbQWmHNxuMxb5yGPUsOBzEAgm4aGwA. anyone who wants it please download and keep it before even the cached page disappears from the net. ofcom removed it after some other networks complained apparently! looking at some networks useless coverage maps in comparison to three it is no wonder why the other networks complained and got ofcom to remove the report. by the way cached google pages are exempt from copyright laws as per uk copy right laws.

you can also get a lot of similar data if you use some dialer codes for getting into your phones ‘test’ or ‘info’ settings (on the htc desire it can be accessed by dialling *#*#4636#*#* and just wait (dont press the call button) a new screen will pop up with some information, more can be got by pressing the menu button, dont go making changes in that menu if you dont know what you are doing!!! just use the back button till you come back to your usual home screen, i guess the menu will be similar for other phones as well. this is available for most phones except the iphone4 (because apple removed this menu present in most phones since decades for obvious reasons!). google and you will find a way to check various information on this setting.

or use handheld signal meters available on the net to check the signal strength if needed. or some crowd sourcing signal mapping apps and websites are available but i dont know how useful or accurate they are.