5.5 Test Signal Strength

Guidance to check the accurate cellular signal strength information receiving on the EZR33 router.

5.5.1 - Signal Quality

The numerical value of 2G and 3G networks are RSSI standards. LTE network is the RSRP standard, which is Reference Signal Receive Power. The closer the number is to zero, the better the reception, so -90dB is a stronger signal than -100dB. ‌

The signal sensitivity of the 4G mobile modem is -101dBm. In order to acquire a fast and stable 4G internet connection, the router should receive > -101dBm RSRP LTE signals.

3G RSSI & 4G RSRP - Signal Quality

5.5.2 - General Signal Info

After accessing the router, go to the front page or Status > Overview. You can find the accurate signal strength information on the Device information section. Refer to signal test on router. Click the Reacquire button to get the updated signal strength information.

Since setting up the cellular connection is in the first priority, on the first boot, the Device information will take a few minutes to shows completely.

5.5.3 - Instant Signal Info

When you are using a directional mobile antenna, you can check the instant signal information to locate the antenna with the best signal reception. The EZR33 router has built-in UQMI and QMICLI commands, which is workable with the QMI-Cellular protocol only.

After inserting a SIM card and the router is powered on, go to the command-line interface, and use either of the below commands to check the instant signal information. Refer to Device information to get the meaning of parameters.

i. UQMI

Command uqmi -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --get-signal-info

root@OutdoorRouter:~# uqmi -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --get-signal-info
{
        ""type"": ""lte"",
        ""rssi"": -60,
        ""rsrq"": -14,
        ""rsrp"": -88,
        ""snr"": 122
}

ii. QMICLI

Command qmicli -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --nas-get-signal-info

root@OutdoorRouter:~# qmicli -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --nas-get-signal-info
[Date] -Warning ** [/dev/cdc-wdm0] 
[/dev/cdc-wdm0] Successfully got signal info
LTE:
        RSSI: '-55 dBm'
        RSRQ: '-11 dB'
        RSRP: '-89 dBm'
        SNR: '7.8 dB'

Command qmicli -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --nas-get-signal-strength

root@OutdoorRouter:~# qmicli -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --nas-get-signal-strength
[Date] -Warning ** [/dev/cdc-wdm0] 
[/dev/cdc-wdm0] Successfully got signal strength
Current:
        Network 'lte': '-55 dBm'
RSSI:
        Network 'lte': '-55 dBm'
ECIO:
        Network 'lte': '-2.5 dBm'
IO: '-106 dBm'
SINR (8): '9.0 dB'
RSRQ:
        Network 'lte': '-11 dB'
SNR:
        Network 'lte': '11.4 dB'
RSRP:
        Network 'lte': '-89 dBm'