What you need to know
- A report claims that Android and cell service providers artificially "inflate" the signal users receive, pushing it one bar higher.
- It was said that major providers, like Verizon, AT&T, and Xfiniity Mobile can do this at any time, remotely activating it through an OTA update.
- Reports aren't clear as to who's the one responsible behind this being a fact within Android's OS.
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There's a report that claims Android phones have a hidden trick up their sleeve that could be faking your true network strength.
This report was put forward by Nick vs Networking, a publication that supposedly discovered Android's network signal fakeout (via Android Authority). Specifically, what the report states is that Google's operating system artificially "inflates" the signal (the bars users would see). It cites one key string: KEY_INFLATE_SIGNAL_STRENGTH_BOOL. Within Android, this string is repeated several times for several major cell carriers on the market for consumers.
Android inflates the network signal for Verizon, Tracfone, Xfinity Mobile, AT&T, Bluegrass Cellular, Spectrum Mobile, and several more.
All of a sudden, there's a sharp change in the narrative, and potentially how consumers perceive the words spoken from some of these carriers. The publication continues, stating that Android's code will "report the signal strength to the user as one bar higher than it really is." It adds that this "always" happens, though it's reportedly unclear who's the one responsible for this artificial inflation tactic.
Another report by FindArticles states consumers can probably work around this, and discover their phone's true cell signal strength. The post highlights the existence of "About Phone" and "SIM Status" details within your device's Settings app. Users can check there to see what their signal strength is (marked by the dBm measurement). FindArticles states the closer your device's dBm is to zero, the stronger it is, adding that -70dBm is great, while -85dBm is pretty much the baseline before spotty coverage takes place.
An interesting development
Further digging shows that, apparently, mobile carriers can turn this artificial inflation trick on themselves, though it is disabled by default. An OTA update is seemingly required before cell carriers can trick users with this one-bar higher ploy.
On a different note, there's already talk of 6G, and it's coming from Verizon. In late September, the cell service announced that it was kickstarting its 6G initiative, as it looked to partner with major brands like Samsung and Nokia. According to Verizon, 6G will "focus" on speed, low latency, and AI integration to deliver a better cell service experience to the user.
The company also hopes to have a unified global network for 6G, while also hoping to achieve peak data rates of 1,000Gbps. Samsung adds that 6G will deliver lower latency, which only speeds things up for users looking to connect with the world around them.
