Get Signal Strength in Android

Question

I want to get the Signal Strength of the Device at the point I hit the API call. I have searched on all the related threads and I am not successful yet.

So I would like to get the signal strength like

SignalStrength ss = null  ; // some initialization

int n = ss.getGsmSignalStrength();

But while using this, it is obvious that I will get null pointer exception since I have initialised SignalStrength as null. But I don't know how to initialise this.

Also that I don't want to use PhoneStateListener because it is triggered only if the signal changes.

I am getting the Signal Strength using the below code

TelephonyManager telephonyManager = (TelephonyManager)this.getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SERVICE);
CellInfoGsm cellinfogsm = (CellInfoGsm)telephonyManager.getAllCellInfo().get(0);
CellSignalStrengthGsm cellSignalStrengthGsm = cellinfogsm.getCellSignalStrength();
cellSignalStrengthGsm.getDbm();

But I don't want to use CellSignalStrength because it is only added in API Level 17 and will not work under 17. I want the code to work on API Level 7+.

Or is there any other method, so that I could get the signal strength at the point of hitting the API call?

Possible duplicate of [How to get cell service signal strength in Android?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1967136/how-to-get-cell-service-signal-strength-in-android) — blahdiblah, Nov 06 '13 at 06:57
@blahdiblah : but i dont want to use phonestatelistener . I have referred that link and that would not help me . — VIGNESH, Nov 06 '13 at 09:52
You said you didn't want to use `PhoneStateListener` because it's only triggered on changes, but as that other question indicates, it'll fire when your app starts up. At that point, you should only care when it changes. — blahdiblah, Nov 06 '13 at 17:46

score 29 · Answer 1 · edited Aug 23 '16 at 15:20

29

Define Variables:

TelephonyManager mTelephonyManager;
MyPhoneStateListener mPhoneStatelistener;   
int mSignalStrength = 0;

Then add this class to your code:

class MyPhoneStateListener extends PhoneStateListener {

     @Override
     public void onSignalStrengthsChanged(SignalStrength signalStrength) {
         super.onSignalStrengthsChanged(signalStrength);
         mSignalStrength = signalStrength.getGsmSignalStrength();
         mSignalStrength = (2 * mSignalStrength) - 113; // -> dBm           
     }
 }

and in your onCreate method use:

mPhoneStatelistener = new MyPhoneStateListener();
mTelephonyManager = (TelephonyManager) getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SERVICE);
mTelephonyManager.listen(mPhoneStatelistener, PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_SIGNAL_STRENGTHS);

edited Aug 23 '16 at 15:20

Louis CAD

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answered Sep 26 '14 at 10:50

Ingo

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Please, try to follow java and Android code conventions at least... https://source.android.com/source/code-style.html – Louis CAD Aug 23 '16 at 09:11
@Ingo : If I want to dBm value in kbps or mbps then how I can get that? – Shweta Chauhan Dec 19 '18 at 09:29
You want kbps or mbps. If you mean the up or download speed from Server you have to measure the time needed for a download divided by the file size. e.g. 100MB / 60s = 1.66 mbps – Ingo Dec 28 '18 at 12:42
1

@ShwetaChauhan dBm measures signal strength(i.e power) whereas kbps/mbps is internet speed, which is different – humble_wolf Apr 28 '20 at 14:23
1

This answer is outdated. – kc_dev Feb 09 '22 at 21:06

score 6 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 19 '15 at 12:01

Global Define :

TelephonyManager telephonyManager;
myPhoneStateListener psListener;
TextView txtSignalStr;

onCreate Method :

@Override
protected void onCreate(final Bundle savedInstanceState) {
 txtSignalStr = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.signalStrength);
 psListener = new myPhoneStateListener();
 telephonyManager = (TelephonyManager)getActivity().getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SERVICE);
 telephonyManager.listen(psListener,PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_SIGNAL_STRENGTHS);
}

Create myPhoneStateListener Class :

public class myPhoneStateListener extends PhoneStateListener {
    public int signalStrengthValue;

    public void onSignalStrengthsChanged(SignalStrength signalStrength) {
        super.onSignalStrengthsChanged(signalStrength);
        if (signalStrength.isGsm()) {
            if (signalStrength.getGsmSignalStrength() != 99)
                signalStrengthValue = signalStrength.getGsmSignalStrength() * 2 - 113;
            else
                signalStrengthValue = signalStrength.getGsmSignalStrength();
        } else {
            signalStrengthValue = signalStrength.getCdmaDbm();
        }
        txtSignalStr.setText("Signal Strength : " + signalStrengthValue);
    }
}

What is this getActivity() method – WCM Apr 22 '20 at 16:46 — WCM, Apr 22 '20 at 16:46

score 5 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 18 '18 at 08:02

public class PhoneCustomStateListener extends PhoneStateListener {

    public int signalSupport = 0;

    @Override
    public void onSignalStrengthsChanged(SignalStrength signalStrength) {
        super.onSignalStrengthsChanged(signalStrength);

        signalSupport = signalStrength.getGsmSignalStrength();
        Log.d(getClass().getCanonicalName(), "------ gsm signal --> " + signalSupport);

        if (signalSupport > 30) {
            Log.d(getClass().getCanonicalName(), "Signal GSM : Good");


        } else if (signalSupport > 20 && signalSupport < 30) {
            Log.d(getClass().getCanonicalName(), "Signal GSM : Avarage");


        } else if (signalSupport < 20 && signalSupport > 3) {
            Log.d(getClass().getCanonicalName(), "Signal GSM : Weak");


        } else if (signalSupport < 3) {
            Log.d(getClass().getCanonicalName(), "Signal GSM : Very weak");


        }
    }
}

score 4 · Answer 4 · edited Dec 11 '17 at 09:59

We should not initialize signalstrength, instead of that use phonelistener and override the method onSignalStrengthsChanged(SignalStrength signalStrength).

For eg., have a look at following code snippet

class SamplePhoneStateListener extends PhoneStateListener {

        int signalStrength = 0;

        @Override
        public void onSignalStrengthsChanged(SignalStrength signalStrength) {
            super.onSignalStrengthsChanged(signalStrength);
            signalStrength = signalStrength.getGsmSignalStrength();
            //You can check the signal strength value here..
        }

    }

using TelephonyManager object you can listen to the above class like

TelephonyManagerObject.listen(myListener,
            PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_SIGNAL_STRENGTHS)

Manuel Schmitzberger · Answer 5 · 2019-04-23T15:44:28.910

This worked for me:

Which services are needed:

ConnectivityManager connectivityManager = (ConnectivityManager) context.getSystemService(Context.CONNECTIVITY_SERVICE);

TelephonyManager telephonyManager = (TelephonyManager) context.getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SERVICE);

How to gather the metrics:

public void startGatherMetrics() {
    NetworkInfo networkInfo = connectivityManager.getActiveNetworkInfo();
    if (networkInfo != null) {
        networkInfoStr = connectivityManager.getActiveNetworkInfo().toString();

        // gather Network Capabilities
        if (android.os.Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES.M) {
            Network network = connectivityManager.getActiveNetwork();
            networkInfoStr += "; " + connectivityManager.getNetworkCapabilities(network).toString();
        }
    }
    Log.d("A_NETWORK_INFO", networkInfoStr);

    new Thread(new Runnable() {
        @Override
        public void run() {
            quitLooper = false;
            Looper.prepare();
            telephonyManager.listen(new PhoneStateListener() {
                @Override
                public void onSignalStrengthsChanged(SignalStrength signalStrength) {
                    super.onSignalStrengthsChanged(signalStrength);
                    Log.d("A_NETWORK_METRICS",
                        "Signal Strength (0-4 / dBm):" + getLevel(signalStrength) + " / "
                            + getDbm(signalStrength));

                    if (quitLooper)
                        Looper.myLooper().quit();
                }
            }, PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_SIGNAL_STRENGTHS);

            Looper.loop();
        }
    }).start();

}

public void stop() {
    quitLooper = true;
}

The "getLevel(signalStrength)" and "getDbm(signalStrength)" can be found here.

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Apr 26 '14 at 14:41

You don't instantiate SignalStrength (and possibly you cannot). from application code.

You must use a PhoneStateListener (subclass), and implement onSignalStrengthsChanged:

http://developer.android.com/reference/android/telephony/PhoneStateListener.html#onSignalStrengthsChanged(android.telephony.SignalStrength)

A SignalStrength will be created for you and passed into your override.

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Aug 07 '19 at 09:46

The PhoneStateListener object should be instantiated in a looper thread. So, if you are using worker thread (non - GUI thread) the following can be used;

private HandlerThread handlerThreadCellularSignal = null;

public void startListen() {     
        handlerThreadCellularSignal = new HandlerThread("CELLULAR_INFO_THREAD");
        handlerThreadCellularSignal.start();
        Looper looper = handlerThreadCellularSignal.getLooper();
        Handler handler = new Handler(looper);
        handler.post(new Runnable() {
            @Override
            public void run() {
                phoneStatelistener = new PhoneStateListenerEx();
                TelephonyManager telephonyManager = (TelephonyManager) getContext().getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SERVICE);
                telephonyManager.listen(phoneStatelistener, PhoneStateListener.LISTEN_SIGNAL_STRENGTHS);
            }
        });
}

private void stopListen() {
    handlerThreadCellularSignal.quit();
}


public class PhoneStateListenerEx extends PhoneStateListener {

    @Override
    public void onSignalStrengthsChanged(SignalStrength signalStrength) {
        super.onSignalStrengthsChanged(signalStrength);
        int signalStrengthdBm = (2 * signalStrength.getGsmSignalStrength()) - 113; // -> dBm
        Log.d("Cellular Signal Strength | " + String.valueOf(signalStrengthdBm));
    }
}

score 0 · Answer 8 · edited Jun 05 '20 at 14:51

public class myPhoneStateListener extends PhoneStateListener {
    public int signalStrengthValue;

    public void onSignalStrengthsChanged(SignalStrength signalStrength) {
        super.onSignalStrengthsChanged(signalStrength);
        if (signalStrength.isGsm()) {
            if (signalStrength.getGsmSignalStrength() != 99)
                signalStrengthValue = signalStrength.getGsmSignalStrength() * 2 - 113;
            else
                signalStrengthValue = signalStrength.getGsmSignalStrength();
        } else {
            signalStrengthValue = signalStrength.getCdmaDbm();
        }
        txtSignalStr.setText("Signal Strength : " + signalStrengthValue);
    }
}

accessing signal strength will it require fine location permission ? — Karthikeyan Ve, Feb 23 '21 at 08:22

score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Jun 05 '20 at 15:04

Kotlin Version :

class myPhoneStateListener : PhoneStateListener() {
    var signalStrengthValue = 0
    override fun onSignalStrengthsChanged(signalStrength: SignalStrength) {
        super.onSignalStrengthsChanged(signalStrength)
        signalStrengthValue = if (signalStrength.isGsm) {
            if (signalStrength.gsmSignalStrength != 99) signalStrength.gsmSignalStrength * 2 - 113 else signalStrength.gsmSignalStrength
        } else {
            signalStrength.cdmaDbm
        }
        txtSignalStr.setText("Signal Strength : $signalStrengthValue")
    }
}

PhoneStateListener is Deprecated – Yasiru Nayanajith Jun 21 '22 at 18:29 — Yasiru Nayanajith, Jun 21 '22 at 18:29

Get Signal Strength in Android

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