View source for How to check GSM signal strength

===Determining Factors of Signal Values===
----
There are many different factors that influence signal strength and quality, including but not limited to:

*Tower load
*Proximity to the cellular tower
*Signal going through a cellular repeater
*Competing signals
*Physical barriers (mountains, buildings, trains, etc.)
*Weather


Therefore, measurements like Signal Strength (RSSI) and Signal Quality (EC/IO) do not incorporate all of the relevant factors to describe the quality of the connection. For example, you may have an excellent RSSI value of -51 dBm, but the Tower Load (the number of mobile users) in your area is very high. In this case, even though you have a great Signal Strength value, you may not achieve maximum mobile data speeds.

'''Disclaimers'''

*Both Signal Strength and Signal Quality must be considered for successful cellular data connection
*Measured or reported values vary by modem, carrier, and network environment
*There is no black/white answer to what constitutes a successful connection
*Although signal strength may appear to be adequate, throughput speeds may vary due to dependencies on cellular tower loads

==2G (GSM)==

2G (GSM) Signal strength is defined by only one value: '''[[RSSI]]''' – Received Signal Strength Indicator; RSSI is a negative value, and the closer to 0, the stronger the signal.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: left;" |RSSI
! style="width: 200px; background: black; color: white;" |RSSI
! style="width: 200px; background: black; color: white;" |Signal strength
! style="width: 200px; background: black; color: white;" |GSM Signal Quality value:
! style="width: 950px; background: black; color: white;" |Description
|-
! style="text-align: center; background: #6ACE61;" |>= -51 dBm to -65 dBm
| style="text-align: center; background: #6ACE61;" |'''Excellent signal'''
| style="text-align: center; background: #6ACE61;" |'''5'''
| style="text-align: left; background: #6ACE61;" |Strong signal with maximum data speeds
|-
! style="text-align: center; background: #FBFB43;" |-66 dBm to -77 dBm
| style="text-align: center; background: #FBFB43;" |'''Good signal'''
| style="text-align: center; background: #FBFB43;" |'''4'''
| style="text-align: left; background: #FBFB43;" |Strong signal with good data speeds
|-
! style="text-align: center; background: #F7BA30;" |-78 dBm to -89 dBm
| style="text-align: center; background: #F7BA30;" |'''Fairly good signal'''
| style="text-align: center; background: #F7BA30;" |'''3'''
| style="text-align: left; background: #F7BA30;" |Fair but useful, fast and reliable data speeds may be attained, but marginal data with drop-outs is possible
|-
! style="text-align: center; background: #ce616a;" |< -90 dBm to -101 dBm
| style="text-align: center; background: #ce616a;" |'''Poor signal'''
| style="text-align: center; background: #ce616a;" |'''2'''
| style="text-align: left; background: #ce616a;" |Performance will drop drastically
|-
! style="text-align: center; background: #ce616a;" |-102 dBm to -111 dBm
| style="text-align: center; background: #ce616a;" |'''Bad signal'''
| style="text-align: center; background: #ce616a;" |'''1'''
| style="text-align: left; background: #ce616a;" |Low Performance
|-
|-
! style="text-align: center; background: #ce616a;" |<-112 dBm to -113 dBm
| style="text-align: center; background: #ce616a;" |'''No signal'''
| style="text-align: center; background: #ce616a;" |'''0'''
| style="text-align: left; background: #ce616a;" |Disconnection
|-
|}

==How to check signal strength in the configurator==
[[File:RSSI_Status.png|thumb|right|Signal Level]]
To check the 2G signal strength value of your device, go to the '''Status → GSM info → Signal Level''' window:

<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>

==How to check signal strength over SMS/GPRS==

To check signal strength over remote, send <code>  getstatus</code> SMS/GPRS command.

For more information about <code>getstatus</code> SMS/GPRS command, visit: [[Command: getstatus|getstatus]]
[[File:GSM_Signal_Quality2.png|thumb|right|getstatus command]]

[[Category: General Technical Questions]]