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How do I interpret modem connection strength/quality?
Updated over a week ago

Depending on your encoder's firmware version you will see your modem signal strength displayed in one of two ways within the encoder web interface:

Version 8.7.2 and above

Signal quality is displayed as one of four levels when you view your modem connection:

Excellent

Strong signal, where your data speed won't be limited by your connection strength.

Good

Strong signal, but your data speed might be slightly lower than potential maximums.

Fair

A reasonable signal but you may experience dropouts or variable data speeds.

Poor

If you can connect to the server it will likely be an unstable connection.

This ranking is made up of four different metrics, where we display the lowest-performing metric. This allows for unusual circumstances where you have a very strong signal, but also very high noise levels causing performance issues.

Why has my signal strength suddenly dropped after upgrading?

Users upgrading from earlier firmware versions may experience a dramatic drop in signal quality, as earlier firmware only displays a percentage based on signal strength.

The signal (and your encoder's performance) is still the same, but we are presenting a more accurate signal quality metric.


What metrics are used to calculate signal quality?

Under the Advanced connection information section you will see four values displayed under the Band entry:


These are four industry standard measurements of signal strength and signal quality:

RSRQ

Reference Signal Received Quality

RSRP

Reference Signal Received Power

RSSI

Received Signal Strength Indicator

SNIR

Signal to Noise plus Interference Ratio

Each measurement is graded on the following ranges, and then we summarise in Signal quality as the lowest-performing metric of the four.

Rating

RSRQ (dBm)

RSRP (dBm)

RSSI (dBm)

SNIR(dB)

Excellent

>-10

>-80

>-65

>20

Good

(-13, -10)

(-90, -80)

(-75, -65)

(15, 20)

Fair

(-16, -13)

(-100, -90)

(-85, -75)

(0, 15)

Poor

≤ -16

≤ -100

≤ -85

≤ 0

Observing all four values can provide valuable clues when trying to diagnose poor cellular performance, including indicating if the issue is signal strength or signal noise.

Version 8.7.1 or below

Older firmware will report Signal strength as traditional signal strength bars:

This is based on the measured RSSI value reported by the modem, and as such does not indicate the quality of the connection. It is possible to have a '5 bar' signal, but still have poor streaming performance.

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