CellLinq FAQ

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How Far From The Meter Can The Phone Be And Still Maintain A Connection?

The meter utilizes Bluetooth technology to communicate with the handset and app. The standard operational distance is between 30-50 feet.

Can More Than One Person Use/Share A Meter?

Yes. A single meter can be used by multiple users, however the meter can only be paired with one phone at a time. Each user simply must download the Cell LinQ app from the Google Play store or from Apple’s App Store.

What Are The Differences Between Each Hardware Revision Of The Meter?

The HW rev can be determined by connecting the app to the meter and viewing the Bluetooth screen. Model: CLM-100-01 supports 3G and 4G Technology: Band 4, Band 5, Band 12, Band 13, Band 25. Model: CLM-100-C1 supports 3G and 4G Technology: Band 4, Band 5, Band 12, Band 13, Band 25, Band 71. Model: CLM-100-QRM 03 supports 4G and 5G Technology: Band 1, Band 3, Band 4, Band 5, Band 7, Band 8, Band 12, Band 13, Band 14, Band 20, Band 25, Band 28, Band 48, Band 66, Band 71, Band 77.

What happens when the scan button is pressed?

The app will ensure a Bluetooth connection to the meter is established - if not, you will be prompted to pair your device with the meter. The meter will scan each channel for cell activity. If found it will send the appropriate information to the app for display.

What happens when a new scan is performed?

Each time a scan is performed, all previous scan data is cleared. Once you complete a scan, you have the option of storing the scan information before moving on to the next scan.

Does The Cell LinQ Meter Utilize A Database To Gather Information?

We use a database to correlate carrier, radio type, and location with a cellid returned from the cell site.

What Does 'Unknown' Mean For A Carrier Name?

The carrier and location do not exist in the cell Id database for this particular cellid. If the cell Id is new, it may take a few weeks for the database to be updated with the new information.

What If I Want To Save The Scan Data Before Performing A New Scan?

Easy! You can save the scan data to a new project you create, or you can recall an existing project and add the scan information to the project.

Where is my exported project data saved?

On iOS, the data file is initially saved in memory for screen display which can then be permanently saved on your phone or sent to an application such as email. On Android, the data file is automatically saved to your downloads folder.

Why Would I See Groups (or clusters) Of Towers In Close Proximity On The Map View?

Cell towers often utilize multiple antenna arrays to create a 360 degree coverage area. Each antenna will have a unique ID. If a scan is performed in a location where the coverage area overlaps with multiple antennas on a tower, the app may display data from more than one antenna off the same tower. Multiple tower pins would be visible in the scan results. These pins may be displayed in close proximity to each other on the map.

What Do The Colors Green, Yellow, and Red Mean For A Scan Result?

The color represents Signal Quality (RSRQ for 4G/5G and Ec/Io for 3G). This is a better measurement than Signal Strength (RSS) since RSSI could include noise and interference that could impact the quality. 4G/5G: Green represents Excellent (>= -8dB). Yellow represents Good (-9dB to -12dB). Red represents Poor (< -12dB). 3G: Green represents Excellent (>= -5dB). Yellow represents Good (-6dB to -10dB). Red represents Poor (< -10dB)

What is Signal Quality?

Signal quality is a measurement similar to signal-to-noise ratio that has been defined specifically for 3G/4G/5G signals. Since it takes into account both signal strength and signal noise, it's a better data value to ensure the best performance of a signal booster.

Why is RSSI Not The Best Measurement for Determining Which Tower Should Be Used In Conjunction With a Signal Booster?

RSSI is a measurement of ALL received power, including wanted power from the serving cell as well as other sources of unwanted noise in a channel. A strong RSSI value may hide the fact that the channel has a high amount of noise and interference. In such cases, a high level of signal noise can severely impact what otherwise may look like a great signal.

What is Live View?

The Live View feature is only available in the first revision of the meter, CLM-100 01. This feature puts the embedded modem into a test mode that continuously scans the network and measures RSSI. As discussed above, RSSI is not the best measurement for determining which tower should be used in conjunction with a signal booster. Later hardware revisions of the meter use newer modems that support more bands, but do not support the test mode required by Live View.

Can I Export Scan Results?

Yes, the app will export a CSV file containing all scan information for a given customer / project.

What Are The Buttons At The Top Of The Scan Results Screen Used For?

There buttons allow you to filter your scan results.

Will It Shorten The Scan Time By Turning Carrier(s) Off?

No. When a scan is performed, all available data is gathered by the meter. The carrier filters are a function of the app and therefore, does not save scan time.

How Long Does It Take To Complete A Single Scan And Will The Scan Time Always Be The Same?

A single scan will take approximately 1 to 2 minutes. This time will vary slightly as the meter scans each channel in each frequency band and waits for a beacon from any cells on that channel. If there is no cell active on that channel, we must wait approximately 2X the beacon interval to make sure we do not miss a beacon before moving to the next channel. Variances to complete a scan are likely due to the how fast the beacons are returned when active cells are found.

Does The Meter Support Public Safety Bands?

Not at this time. Hardware revision CLM-100-QRM-03 does support Band 14 (FirstNet), but it does not support traditional ERCS public safety.

Why No Sprint Towers?

Sprint is now part of T-Mobile.

Why Do I Get A Different Number Of Towers When I Run The Same Scan In The Same Place?

In some instances, taking multiple scans from the same location can result in varying results. This is mostly due to changing tower strengths and capacity.

Why Does The Green LED Blink Rapidly AT Startup?

A blinking LED at startup indicates the meter (specifically the modem) is going through its initialization procedure. A scan can't be started until initialization is complete.

What is SINR?

SINR (Signal to Interference & Noise Ratio) is another measure of signal quality: the strength of the wanted signal compared to the unwanted interference and noise. In the CellLinQ meter, SINR is a calculated value derived from an equation based on RSRQ. This calculation is a best effort estimate as SINR depends on an instantaneous serving cell subscriber activity factor, which is typically not known in the live network.