Macworld (2019-06)

52 MACWORLD JUNE 2019

iOSCENTRAL SEE YOU TRUE C3ELLULAR SIGNAL STRENGTH

Start by choosing “LTE” from the first
menu.

Then look for menu labeled “Serving
Cell Meas.” This will contain measurements
taken from the “serving” cell—the one
you’re currently connected to.

Selecting Serving Cell Meas will take
you to a page of data. You’ll notice the
order of the listing here changes every
few seconds, as the measurements
continually update.
You’re looking for “rsrp0,” which is the

Reference Signal Received Power for the

tower closest to you (although you may be

connected to a secondary, further tower,

whose power is listed under “rsrp1”).

This should be a negative number, in a

range from around -40 to -140. A number

closer to -40 is a really strong signal, while

a number closer to -140 is a really poor

signal. Anything between -40 and -80 is

very good and you shouldn’t have any

signal problems. Anything below -120 is

very poor, and you might suffer

interruptions in your connection and very

poor data speeds.

There’s another useful data point on

this page, labeled RSRQ0 (Reference

Signal Received Quality). This is a value

derived from both the signal strength

and interference. This usually ranges

between -3 (good) and -19.5 (bad). It’s

possible to have a lower number, but to

do so you have to have a really noisy,

low-power signal. ■

The figure you should be most concerned

with is rsrp0.

Next, select Serving Cell Meas.

Choose LTE first.