

In order to use Field Test Mode for iPhone, you must have an active cellular connection. *Instructions may not work for iPhone’s using iOS 11 and higher. Field Test Mode displays the cell signal on iPhones as a number rather than as signal bars or dots. Depending on your device, there are different ways to do this, including using the field test mode available on Android and Apple iOS devices.įield Test Mode on iPhone gives users detailed information about their signal and cellular connection, and providers. If you’re really curious about the signal your phone is receiving, determining the dBm on your own phone is a far more accurate measure of signal strength than relying on the number of bars displayed. Aside from carrier differences, the number of bars you see can vary based on how you hold your phone, your phone manufacturer, and even previous activity on the device. Therefore, two bars worth of coverage on Verizon’s network may be three bars on Sprint’s, for example. That’s because there is no industry standard for what a bar represents or whether it measures your 4G data or 3G voice performance. In reality, however, those bars on your cell phone are not an accurate measure of signal strength. Most mobile devices show a set of bars to display the signal strength that the device is receiving. Any signal that measures better than -85 dBm is considered to be a good cell phone signal strength. The closer that number is to 0, the stronger the cell signal. Signal strengths usually range from approximately -30 dBm to -110 dBm. Cell phone signal strength is measured in decibels (dBm) that are received by a mobile phone from a cellular network.
