When it comes to boosting cellular signal, it can be extremely helpful to perform a site survey. This is a simple cellular network strength test of signal and bandwidth.
Verifying where you have the best signal and bandwidth speeds first, will not only help determine the ideal placement for your external antenna, but that there is enough available signal to increase network performance. Even the best outdoor antenna or amplifier kit can only increase your signal if there is a signal available to draw in. On the other hand, if your signal is already strong, a signal booster might not provide enough benefit to be cost effective.
While this is mainly done for fixed applications. such as at your home or business. You may also do this if you’re traveling and planning to stay in the same location for an extended period.
There are tools like the SureCall Site Survey kit which is made specifically for testing signal strength. However, unless you need an easy way to test multiple carrier signals, a cell phone or cellular modem can be sufficient. Cell phones will, of course, be limited to only the carrier they are linked to. Though if you have a cellular modem – Peplink, Cradlepoint, Digi, Inseego, Sierra Wireless, etc – you can test any carrier for which you have an active SIM card.
Before you get started, it’s important you understand the data you’re looking for. RSSI, (Received Signal Strength Indicator), as well as RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power). These are both values that measure signal strength. RSRP is what you will want to refer to when looking at LTE and 5G signals. These signal values will be represented as a negative number. The closer this number is to 0, the stronger the signal strength.
Also note the RSRQ (Received Signal Received Quality) and SINR (Signal to Noise Ratio). These values are what you’ll refer to for the signal quality of LTE and 5G connections. The SINR value will be the only value that is a positive number. Not all modems will list this value.
Each of these values varies for different technologies and carriers as they depend on the particular abilities of the modem – essentially how well it can extract a signal. The values shown in the charts here are what we typically reference.
We cannot guarantee a particular signal or improved performance, regardless of the signal strength and quality. This is because of the many factors which affect signal values. Such as:
- Distance to the cell tower.
- Tower load.
- Physical barriers (mountains, buildings, trains, etc).
- Competing signals.
- Signal from a cellular booster.
- Weather.
Unfortunately, there is no clear cut answer to what constitutes a successful connection. It is possible to disconnect with excellent, as well as poor values. You have to take both signal strength and signal quality into account. You could have an excellent signal, but disconnect because of poor quality. And vice versa. You may also stay connected because of good signal, but have poor bandwidth speeds because of poor signal quality.
The variance of a signal is a significant factor in the success of a connection. Measurements of signal strength and signal quality for a specific moment do not reflect on the stability of a connection, as these values will vary as conditions change.
Some factors, like cell tower load, can’t even be measured. You can only gain some idea as to whether or not tower load affects your connection by testing at different times of day. This allows you to find averages, but also helps to confirm if you’ll see any improvement when the tower is at full load.
We understand that finding RSRP and RSRQ on a cell phone could be a bit tricky compared to cellular modems and routers. Some phones will only list RSRP. In the event you cannot locate these specific values from your cellular device, doing a site survey using the signal bars as a reference is fine. At a minimum, the signal bars will give you some data to compare with. It’s also best if you can perform speed tests in multiple points at the location. This can help determine if bandwidth performance improves. Especially when you’re not seeing a change in signal bars.
To perform the site survey, try to answer the following, as best you can.
- What is the RSRP indoors, at the location you use your device?
- At that location, what are your speeds? You can use a site like speedtest.net to check your download and upload speeds.
- What is the best RSRP you could find immediately outside and around the building?
- At that location outside, what are your speed test results?
- If the signal outside the building is not significantly better than it is inside, walk or drive in the direction of a better signal until you find a significantly better signal. At that location, what are your speedtest results?
- What’s between you and that optimal signal? Trees? Elevation? How far away is it?
For your reference, you can find instructions for locating your RSRP and RSRQ/ SINR on the Apple iPhone, Samsung, Google, Blackberry, and Nokia phones here.
For different router instructions, check out our YouTube Channel.
If you have more questions, or would like assistance determining if an antenna or amplifier system can help you, reach out to our team by phone, email, or chat!