From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

badgolferman wrote:

https://www.androidcentral.com/phones/carriers/your-android-phone-could-be-artificially-inflating-the-network-strength

Hi badgolferman,

Thanks for this information which is news to me even as I lament that on
iOS, it's impossible to get graphical signal strength as you are aware.
*Snit video purportedly detailing iOS showing Wi-Fi dBm over time*
<https://youtu.be/7QaABa6DFIo>
*It's a fact iOS devices can't even graph Wi-Fi signal strength over time*
<https://groups.google.com/g/misc.phone.mobile.iphone/c/PZuec56EWB0>
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/misc.phone.mobile.iphone/PZuec56EWB0>

Note that most of us don't use the "signal bars" for quite a few reasons.
We use debuggers which report the signal strength dynamically in dBm.
<https://i.postimg.cc/Gtywwn8f/signal01.jpg> cell signal strength graph
<https://i.postimg.cc/xCbVQ2pj/signal02.jpg> cell signal strength graph
<https://i.postimg.cc/CKFhMZtS/signal03.jpg> celltower realtime location
<https://i.postimg.cc/q7JjJ77g/signal04.jpg> Wifi & cellular debugging
etc.

For Wi-Fi, we just turn on "verbose logging", which you can see here:
<https://i.postimg.cc/nrFx476v/wifi05.jpg> Wi-Fi verbose logging
<https://i.postimg.cc/4xgmTTgm/wifi01.jpg> graphical radio debuggers
<https://i.postimg.cc/Hn05bQwG/wifi02.jpg> Wi-Fi & cellular utilities
<https://i.postimg.cc/fLC4zcm6/wifi04.jpg> Many signal strength apps
etc.

None of that is possible on iOS, so I can understand the focus on those
little signal bars (which, truth be told, I can barely see nowadays).

With my advancing macular degeneration, I'll be lucky if I can see the
signal bars, but still it's an interesting "trick" if it's occurring.

The article appears to say the signal strength is inflated by 1 bar.
Worse, carriers can remotely trigger this through over-the-air updates.

Thanks to you, I doublechecked to see if the carriers were also inflating
the dBm results, and apparently they can't because the "signal bars" aqre, apparently, a "carrier-defined abstraction" (which was news to me).

Apparently the carrier can't influence the raw dBm values that these
Android apps read directly from the modem's radio interface layer (RIL).

REFERENCES:
Signal Bar Inflation References:
TechReviewer (Nov 2025):
Signal bars follow no shared standard; carriers like AT&T, Verizon,
and T-Mobile can push parameters to phones.
https://techreviewer.com/articles/android-signal-bars-carrier-inflation

Android Authority (2025):
Found Google and carriers can exploit a hidden Android feature
to show inflated bars.
https://www.androidauthority.com/android-signal-bars-inflated-2025-article

Android Central (2025):
Reported Android's code allows carriers to push bars one level higher
via OTA updates.
https://www.androidcentral.com/phones/carriers/your-android-phone-could-be-artificially-inflating-the-network-strength

Hindustan Times Tech (2025):
Confirmed Google added a feature in Android's Carrier Config Manager
that lets carriers inflate bars by one level.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/technology/android-carrier-config-signal-bars-2025-article

Pocket-Lint (2025):
Reinforced that Google and carriers can manipulate signal bar display
through Carrier Config Manager.
https://www.pocket-lint.com/android-signal-bars-carrier-config-inflation-2025

dBm Accuracy References:
RSRF (Cellular Signal Strength Guide):
dBm is a logarithmic unit representing actual signal power; precise
and not manipulated.
https://www.rsrf.com/cellular-signal-strength-guide

Wilson Amplifiers (2025):
Explained that bars are subjective, but dBm values are the best way
to accurately measure mobile signal strength.
https://www.wilsonamplifiers.com/blog/cell-signal-strength-dbm-vs-bars

UberSignal (2025):
Field Test Mode on iPhones and Android gives real-time dBm readings,
far more accurate than bars.
https://www.ubersignal.com/blog/how-to-read-cell-signal-strength-dbm

SignalBoosters (2024):
Recommended apps like Cellular-Z to measure dBm directly, noting this
is the most reliable way to check reception.
https://www.signalboosters.com/blog/cellular-z-app-dbm-readings

Note that since this was originally posted to the Apple newsgroup,
Apple sets the thresholds that map real dBm values into those bars. Just
like on Android, the bars are not a universal standard and can be
misleading. These thresholds are different from Android�s and can change across iOS versions.

Carriers don�t directly control iPhone bar inflation the way they can with Android�s Carrier Config Manager, but Apple has historically adjusted bar algorithms after complaints (for example, the �Antennagate� issue with the iPhone 4 in 2010 led Apple to change how bars were displayed).

On iPhone, you can access raw dBm values through Field Test Mode (*3001#12345#* in the Phone app). These readings are the actual signal strength from the modem and are not inflated.
--
I don't care if it's the truth about Apple or Google as long as it's the truth. --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2