Making Sense of Signal Strength & Signal Quality Readings for Cellular Modems

The most important aspect of installing your new cellular modem is to ensure a good connection to the cellular tower.

Our latest firmware update to your modem page will provide to you some graphical and qualitative ratings to assess the quality of the cellular signal. These cryptic abbreviations and numbers are probably leaving you wondering what they mean. Hopefully, this blog post will answer those questions and help you make sense of signal quality and modem placement.

We'll begin by defining the abbreviations you will see.

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Signal Strength

• • RSSI ­ Received Signal Strength Indicator (3G)
• • RSRP ­ Reference Signal Received Power (4G LTE)

Signal Quality

• • ECIO (Ec/Io) ­ Energy to Interference Ratio (3G)
• • RSRQ ­ Reference Signal Received Quality (4G LTE)
• • SINR ­ Signal to Interference­plus­Noise Ratio (4G LTE)

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When interpreting the results, it is very important to identify what technology your modem is connected to (3G or 4G LTE).
• For 3G, pay close attention to RSSI and EC/IO.
• For 4G LTE, watch RSRP, RSRQ, and SINR.

Regardless of cellular technology, when possible, both signal strength and quality should be optimized in the "Excellent" category. If your modem has a poor signal, consider moving it to a new location. Check the new area for interfering RF components such as microwaves, tv sets, radios, etc... If relocating your modem is not an option, you might consider a booster or an alternate antenna configuration. As always, if you need help with your modem, call us. We are here to help. 800-807-3523