Signal Quality

Good 4G LTE mobile signal quality is fundamental to getting a stable and fast internet connection over the mobile network.

Mobile Networks Mode

There are various mobile networks, 2G, 3G, 4G, and even the newest 5G NR networks. Please take note of the signal bars and the symbol in the status bar of the mobile phone and compare them with the chart below.

Symbol	Mobile Networks	Common Speed
4G (LTE)	Fourth generation or Long term evolution also known as LTE or WiMax	100Mbits/s+
3G	Third Generation also known as UMTS / WCDMA / CDMA2000	2Mbits/s
2G	GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)	50Kbits/s
E	EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Evolution)	100Kbits/s
H/H+	HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access)	10-100Mbits/s
No Symbol	If signal bars get more than 1 bar you can use voice call	No

Signal Strength

We should input a “Fair” signal level for the 4G router (refer to the chart below), which equals approximately 2-bar 4G LTE signals on a mobile phone.

You can run a basic test on a mobile phone. Insert the SIM card that is going to be used on the router on a mobile phone. Disable Wi-Fi on the mobile phone and go around to check its network type and signal bars. Then, choose a location with a strong and stable 4G-LTE signal reception.

Please refer to the signal test tutorial.

4G Signal Quality Chart

Note

The numerical value of 2G and 3G networks is RSSI standard.

The LTE network is RSRP standard. RSRP means Reference Signal Receive Power.

The signal values are negative numbers. A number that is closer to zero means a stronger signal. For example, -90 dB is more robust than -100 dB.