Cell Tower Issue

[dmbcanada]

How do I make an inquiry into issues with the cell tower closest to my house?  I find anywhere near my house the bars are low on my phone, sometimes rendering data unusable.  Anywhere else in the city my reception is near perfect. 

[softech]

.. If PATH in Downtown Toronto, many antennas set behind the Commercials Ad  along the path  🙂

[sheytoon]

The cell site equipment is indoors. Typically ceiling-mounted indoor antennas in commercial venues with low power. Sometimes they are hidden behind walls or ceiling tiles, but usually they are visible.

Could look like any of these...

 

[dmbcanada]

What is an indoor site? 

[darlicious]

@dmbcanada 

As previously mentioned by @sheytoon that is an indoor site.

[dmbcanada]

Not according to the map:

https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html?lat=43.014062&lng=-81.335993&zoom=13&type=Road...

Also yesterday I was in the parking lot of Costco across the street from a Bell tower and I hit -50dbm.   So something is wrong with the towers closest to my house.  

[gpixel]

@sheytoon 

idk 🤣

[sheytoon]

Ok but there is no Telus tower in London. Unfortunately you are at the mercy of Bell.

[dmbcanada]

Signal has down the drain since the so called upgrades to towers in October / November.   

[sheytoon]

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@dmbcanada wrote:

I have opened a ticket and gotten it escalated as my data is unusable right across the street from a Telus tower!

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@dmbcanada Telus only has indoor sites in London. All outdoor macros are owned and operated by Bell.

@gpixel what do you mean 5G interference is strong?

[darlicious]

@dmbcanada 

You may not be connecting to the tower across the street if it is not carrying the correct bandz for your service.

[gpixel]

5g interference is strong. LTE signal will be lower because too much radiation is bad for you

[dmbcanada]

I have opened a ticket and gotten it escalated as my data is unusable right across the street from a Telus tower!

[darlicious]

@dmbcanada 

It may also do with the equipment upgrades they are performing on cell towers. London should have been finished by now but maybe azimuth has changed slightly so you don't get as direct of a signal as you were before.

Doesn't explain why I have such a poor signal in the middle of Vancouver?!!

[dmbcanada]

So I fiddled around last night and removed my sim card, and changed my network from LTE to 3G a few times and when I changed 3G for a second time my dBm improved from -108 to 98 dBm.    Now at work my signal has improved to -79dBm.    So I think their is an LTE issue in London. 

[darlicious]

@dmbcanada 

So that's a clue....Ive looked for more info on this issue but haven't found any real answers yet. Try the moto community and report the issue to F1 in your phone. Your family with moto phones should report it as well. I will keep looking and report back on anything else I might find.

[dmbcanada]

Everyone is using Moto phones of some sort.   Sorry cannot remember all models

[darlicious]

@dmbcanada 

Moto phones apparently do have a signal strength issue when connecting to the 4G LTE network.

Moto g7+ -99 dBm 41 asu  Google Pixel 3  -92 dBm 47 asu

[softech]

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@dmbcanada wrote:

  Signal is excellent on the top floor of my house, but ground level sucks even outside.   I have a MOTO G Fast and has all the proper updates.   My family members who have different phones have same data issues.  

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What other phone your family members using?  

But it seems this has to do with the material in your house as you said it's good on the top floor.  I guess if you go out to the backyard, it works well too?

[dmbcanada]

Yes it says disconnected, I do not always have data on.

[darlicious]

@dmbcanada 

Is your mobile network state disconnected?

[dmbcanada]

So I live in London, ON and have a Telus tower and 2 Bell towers within 3 km of me.  I have -108DB.   I had switched to 3G due to some previous issues a month ago.    Switched back to LTE but still seeing those lower stats.  Signal is excellent on the top floor of my house, but ground level sucks even outside.   I have a MOTO G Fast and has all the proper updates.   My family members who have different phones have same data issues.  

[computergeek541]

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@darlicious wrote:

@computergeek541 

Ok maybe I explained it strangely....my signal strength hovers around -100 dBm 41 asu with 3 bars showing. As I interpreted an explanation by @sheytoon on signal strength the following was my understanding. I could have of course gotten the wrong end of the stick trying to wrap my non-techie brain around this concept.

• -120 dBm - unusable
• -110 dBm - poor
• -100 dBm - average
•  -90  dBm - ideal
•  -80  dBm - good
•  -70  dBm - average
•  -60  dBm - poor

But maybe I misunderstood the lower end of the scale. If that's true why is my signal strength in the middle of Vancouver rarely below -100 dBm? And what the....is the snow making it rise or drop (?) to -109 dBm 31 asu and 2 bars?!!

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-80 dBm, -70dBm, and -60 dBm are all much better than -90 dBm.  -90 dBm isn't that great. Most phones don't report readings better than -51 dBm, which is essentially near perfect, at least for what's being measured/reported.  You'll probably notice that LTE tends to have different types of typical numbers compared to HSPA.

[darlicious]

@computergeek541 

Well I stand corrected. I don't understand why I have such a crappy signal. The moto g7+ has a far worse signal than my Google Pixel 3. I am about a mile away from 3 telus towers that are unimpeded by geography, buildings or even trees really except for one but I can clearly see two of the towers and I'm in a wood house with no insulation.

[hTideGnow]

Yes, closer to 0 is better, but of course we won't get there

-50 to -80 is great, 4 or 5 bars, and then get worse from there, -110 to -120 is very poor, 0 or 1 bar only

[t_p]

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@darlicious wrote:

@computergeek541 

Ok maybe I explained it strangely....my signal strength hovers around -100 dBm 41 asu with 3 bars showing. As I interpreted an explanation by @sheytoon on signal strength the following was my understanding. I could have of course gotten the wrong end of the stick trying to wrap my non-techie brain around this concept.

• -120 dBm - unusable
• -110 dBm - poor
• -100 dBm - average
•  -90  dBm - ideal
•  -80  dBm - good
•  -70  dBm - average
•  -60  dBm - poor

But maybe I misunderstood the lower end of the scale. If that's true why is my signal strength in the middle of Vancouver rarely below -100 dBm? And what the....is the snow making it rise or drop (?) to -109 dBm 31 asu and 2 bars?!!

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Bad weather can affect cell signal.

Ex. Does Bad Weather Affect Cell Service? | weBoost 

Edit:FYR, I have -65 dBm > 4-5 bars

[darlicious]

@computergeek541 

Ok maybe I explained it strangely....my signal strength hovers around -100 dBm 41 asu with 3 bars showing. As I interpreted an explanation by @sheytoon on signal strength the following was my understanding. I could have of course gotten the wrong end of the stick trying to wrap my non-techie brain around this concept.

• -120 dBm - unusable
• -110 dBm - poor
• -100 dBm - average
•  -90  dBm - ideal
•  -80  dBm - good
•  -70  dBm - average
•  -60  dBm - poor

But maybe I misunderstood the lower end of the scale. If that's true why is my signal strength in the middle of Vancouver rarely below -100 dBm? And what the....is the snow making it rise or drop (?) to -109 dBm 31 asu and 2 bars?!!

[computergeek541]

@darlicious 

-90dBm is far from ideal. I'm confused when you say the part about above -110dBm and below -70dBm being poor.  -90dBm is below -70dBm  The closer to zero those numbers are, the better.  Either way, -70dBm is an excellent reading, far better than -90dBm.

[darlicious]

@dmbcanada 

If you tell us your location we can help you interpret the cell tower maps/cell tower signals.

You can also monitor your signal strength in your phone. Go to settings>>About phone>>sim card status>>Signal strength

Anything around -90 is ideal, above -110 or below -70 is very poor...in layman's terms anyhow.

Edit:

Ok nix the above statement and see below....

[softech]

@dmbcanada   best to open ticket with PM Support and have them to confirm if there is any issue with the towers around your area

Just curious, what band and model is your phone?  Is that a Canadian model of the phone or other regional variant?  

and you confirm your phone is working much better in other area?

did you also try to use 3G only in the area it has trouble with?

Was the issue just happen lately or have been for a long time?

three are also sites that might give you some ideas of the towers in your area

https://www.cellmapper.net/map

https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html