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Rootmetrics or opensignal?


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Old 02-01-2017, 16:28
barker71
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Looking to use an app to map coverage ideally one that you can set to not use lots of mobile data as not really interested in doing speed tests just how strong the signal is/what type i.e 3/4g.

Does anyone have suggestions as to which is better or another app that uploads data to be viewed on a website to view?
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Old 02-01-2017, 16:41
Pedro_C
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Cellmapper. It also plots where the masts are, often quite accurately. You can upload data only when you are on WiFi, but it uses so little that I've never noticed.
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Old 02-01-2017, 16:51
jchamier
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Cellmapper. It also plots where the masts are, often quite accurately. You can upload data only when you are on WiFi, but it uses so little that I've never noticed.
I've just discovered Cellmapper in the last few days, and its already mapped my local site in very good detail. Android only sadly. (www.cellmapper.net)
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Old 02-01-2017, 20:47
Black Box
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Cellmapper looks great - shame it's Android only.

I'm on iOS so I use RootMetrics. Slightly obsessed with mapping currently un-mapped areas 😳
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Old 03-01-2017, 08:38
M1kos
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Cellmapper is full of false information on Tower location. In fact all these apps are. they are OK for signal strength mapping that's all really. too many incorrectly located sites added by people who dont know what they are doing,

i use Rootmetrics .... when it works! sometimes days before any mapping shows up
and nperf although its 4g+ info seems a bit unrealistic as it shows it where there is none (voda) probably info provided by a dodgy phone more than there own programming.
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Old 03-01-2017, 11:58
blueacid
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Cellmapper is full of false information on Tower location. In fact all these apps are. they are OK for signal strength mapping that's all really. too many incorrectly located sites added by people who dont know what they are doing,

i use Rootmetrics .... when it works! sometimes days before any mapping shows up
and nperf although its 4g+ info seems a bit unrealistic as it shows it where there is none (voda) probably info provided by a dodgy phone more than there own programming.
With more users, would Cellmapper end up with enough data to improve the accuracy of the cell location calculation? Or is it fundamentally flawed?
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Old 03-01-2017, 12:40
jchamier
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With more users, would Cellmapper end up with enough data to improve the accuracy of the cell location calculation? Or is it fundamentally flawed?
Its entirely crowd sourced - in the last 3 days I've been using it on my Moto handset, the data for my area has dramatically improved. I just drove around as normal and had the phone logging. No it is not fundamentally flawed - it just needs people to contribute. It is a global site.
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Old 03-01-2017, 12:42
jchamier
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Cellmapper is full of false information on Tower location.
Not false - its computed from the data captured. So if you drive down a dual carraigeway bypass and go past 5 towers, but there is no other data, the system has no choice but to guess the towers are by the main road.

Get more local people whom live near the towers to start logging and the computation moves the tower - and then those whom are really bothered can move the tower on the map to where it actually is.

Mine was computed on the bypass as its tall and covers a very large area. Since I've been running cellmapper the computation moved it very close to the real location. Using the satellite view on the map I was able to move it to the real location.
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Old 03-01-2017, 16:39
jaffboy151
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How do you move the cell locations in the map?
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Old 03-01-2017, 16:49
jchamier
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How do you move the cell locations in the map?
You have to be logged in, and have reported enough points the site trusts you - then you literally drag the orange upside down triangle where you want it. Using satellite view is recommended.

I think you need a PC/Mac rather than tablet/phone to do this!
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Old Yesterday, 01:22
Black Box
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i use Rootmetrics .... when it works! sometimes days before any mapping shows up
My results usually show within a few minutes of me completing a test. Have you got the options set to only upload test results on wifi?

The app however does not seem to update hexes for call performance and best technology found, only fastest speed found. It used to do all three.
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Old Yesterday, 09:43
jaffboy151
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Tried cellmapper but seems to fry my LG G4 for some reason when on, becomes extremely hot and battery falls by almost 2% a minute, even plugged into my car charger it saps the battery so have had to stop using it which is a shame..
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Old Yesterday, 22:08
hammy_y
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Cellmapper is excellent. Yes it has inaccurate tower locations, but the more you map, the more accurate they are - it can only predict the tower locations from the data you provide it! So you need to keep mapping more, walk around the tower, make sure you get on every sector of it, and it'll be pretty accurate. It's not like OpenSignal tower locations - it uses the eNB/NB/BTS ID to map, which are effectively the ID's of each tower. So basically any tower it places DOES EXIST, unlike OpenSignal.

However if you use the old API it does use A LOT of battery, and you need the screen to be on all the time. Even the new API uses a fair amount of battery. But it is a truly brilliant app if, especially if your device supports the new API.
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Old Yesterday, 23:04
Gigabit
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Tried cellmapper but seems to fry my LG G4 for some reason when on, becomes extremely hot and battery falls by almost 2% a minute, even plugged into my car charger it saps the battery so have had to stop using it which is a shame..
I am sorry to tell you but your phone is going to bootloop soon. Getting hot is the first sign.
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