Signal strength question

[#1]

Hi , someone on a local forum asked what  the EE signal was like in our area. So after googling how to check your signal strength, mine indoors was -115 dBm , stepping outside it improved to 105 dBm.

I don't have any problems outside with my phone, but I'm curious , according to  google these are very poor readings, or am I just being negative. Thanks 

[#2]

@tulip1 

Note that these figures start with a minus sign. This is because this is recording the signal level below the reference level. In other words, the lower the number the stronger not weaker the signal strength.

[#3]

@Baldrick1  thanks for replying. Until today I'd never heard of dBm, but i get the idea of a lower reading being better. I did say my signal improved from 115 to 105 when going outside. I am in no way complaining about my signal I am just curious whether readings of -100 are normal  for plusnet. Cheers  

[#4]

@tulip1 

 There’s no such thing as a normal signal strength. It’s dependent on how far away you are from the transmitter and whether you have obstructions between the transmitter and receiver such as hills, buildings, etc..

When you go indoors your signal is diminished by the screening effect of your walls. 

[#5]

@Baldrick1  So what method would you use to determine whether a specific area had a poor or good signal , thanks 

[#6]

@tulip1 

If I was in the area then I would check if my phone worked.

If I was out of the area I would look at the mobile operators coverage charts. They can be incorrect but will give you a fair indication of the likelihood of you getting a usable signal strength. For example:  https://www.plus.net/mobile/coverage-checker

A word of caution, although Plusnet piggy back on the EE network they don't have access to the complete range of bands available to EE customers. Consequently, you cannot assume that you will get the same performance in some marginal locations.

[#7]

Ok, thanks

[#8]

@tulip1 

You can use this site to check / compare coverage with various networks.

https://ukmobilecoverage.co.uk/

[#9]

I find this useful as you can put the actual address in 

https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/en-gb/mobile-coverage

[#10]

This table might help explain dBm readings

The closer you are to 0 dBm, the better your signal strength. dBm moves on a negative scale, so –100 dBm is much weaker signal than –50 dBm.

Signal Strength	General Results
-50 to -79 dBm	Considered great signal (4 to 5 bars)
-80 to -89 dBm	Considered good signal (3 to 4 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)

Considerations should be made comparing 3g and 4g as their signal attenuation might differ due to frequencies used.

HTH

[#11]

@Baldrick1 

When I moved from EE to Plusnet Mobile this wasn't made clear at the time, but after a while I noticed certain small areas where I'd had a signal on EE, (can't remember how good), but didn't on Plusnet.

When I subsequently discussed this with Plusnet they admitted that they don't have access to all of EE's frequency bands, but said that this mainly affected penetration in to very large buildings such as shopping centres.

However, when I have mentioned this to others on these forums, their experience appears to be that it is rural area that are affected more by this?

Also, do all phones have the same receive sensitivity, or are some known to be better than others in weak signal areas?

For reference, I'm sitting at my desk at home. My Samsung A41 is next to me and showing -119dBm. ☹️

Needless to say, I will be changing to another network fairly soon when my contract expires - probably Vodaphone based.

[#12]

Anyone  reading 

Top class coverage

Plusnet Mobile is proud to use the UK's best network, EE. With 4G in more places than any other UK network you'll rarely struggle to fill those signal bars.

Would think as most people do that they will be getting the full EE signal a bit of a con 

I moved to Lebara who use Vodaphone and the signal where I live is better  may not be the same for everyone 

[#13]

@Smith7 

Yes, it is Lebara that I am intending to move to when my PL contract expires in a couple of months.

I have already anticipated this move, and asked Lebara about the bands they have access to: they assured me that they have access to all of Vodaphone's channels.

I went upstairs a few minutes ago: I was getting -99dBm there - quite a difference from my downstairs desk, (20dB)!

I'm sure that my EE signal strength has reduced in the past few years particularly when they opened a 5G base station opened about 200 metres away from us. The 2/3/4G base stations are significantly further away from us. I did wonder if EE were repurposing some of their 4G frequencies for 5G? (My phone does not have 5G).

Attached is what OFCOM say about indoor coverage at my address.