No display of cell signal strength bars or indicator

[Android Central Question]

Nokia 3.1 factory unlocked, Android 8.1, Android One branded, Google Phone app, T-Mobile (USA) carrier ----- All brand new this week. The cell phone does not display any indication of cell signal strength such as bars or numbers. There's no setup setting anywhere for activating signal strength display. Nothing in hardware, Android, app, or carrier. I'm stumped. Does anyone have any ideas of how to get that display activated? Any ideas?

 

[Javier P]

Welcome to the forums. Can you post a screenshot showing how your status bar looks like? What symbols/toggles do you get in the quick settings panel after you swipe down from the status bar?

 

[LSMFTT]

I posted the question before I created an account. I'm now logged in as "LSMFTT" and I don't see any website functionality for posting a screenshot attachment in my reply.
There are no symbols/toggles in my phone's quick settings panel (even in the area where I can edit which symbols/toggles are always visible) that have anything to do with signal strength bars or indicators. The closest thing to that is just a symbol that says "T-Mobile" at the extreme top left of the status bar, but it's not a toggle that does anything... just shows that the phone SIM or connection is T-Mobile.

 

[Javier P]

I posted the question before I created an account. I'm now logged in as "LSMFTT" and I don't see any website functionality for posting a screenshot attachment in my reply.
There are no symbols/toggles in my phone's quick settings panel (even in the area where I can edit which symbols/toggles are always visible) that have anything to do with signal strength bars or indicators. The closest thing to that is just a symbol that says "T-Mobile" at the extreme top left of the status bar, but it's not a toggle that does anything... just shows that the phone SIM or connection is T-Mobile.

Thanks for registering. See this guide on how to post screenshots here.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=737130

It's a weird issue. Do you have the System UI Tuner enabled (settings - system - scroll all the way down)? If so, make sure that 'mobile data' is turned on.

 

[LSMFTT]

OK, I figured out posting screenshot. The "T-Mobile" symbol is only visible at the lockscreen ---- or at the unlocked screen when I swipe down on the status bar.

 

[LSMFTT]

Mobile Data was turned off because I'm "prepaid". But I just now turned it on and nothing changed... still no signal strength indicator. There's nothing called "System UI Tuner" anywhere in Settings, but the "mobile data" toggle is in the "Data Usage" submenu of Settings. BTW, I can make and receive calls so I know there is a signal.

 

[Javier P]

That white triangle on your status bar indicates the signal level. It's all white now because you get a very strong signal. Compare with my screenshot, dual SIM both weak signal.

 

[Javier P]

Mobile Data was turned off because I'm "prepaid". But I just now turned it on and nothing changed... still no signal strength indicator. There's nothing called "System UI Tuner" anywhere in Settings, but the "mobile data" toggle is in the "Data Usage" submenu of Settings. BTW, I can make and receive calls so I know there is a signal.

Yeah, don't worry about the UI Tuner. It includes a few options to remove icons from the status bar, but it needs to be enabled using a neat trick.

What was your last phone? I'm not sure if I completely understand what icon is missing.

 

[LSMFTT]

Hmmm... the mobile data on/off indicator/toggle that's shaped like triangle in the status bar --- could that be the strength indicator too? Maybe if the signal is less than "best" the triangle might get truncated? I know my T-Mobile signal here at home is super-strong from using my previous phone here. I'm going to need to get out and about town to see if the shape of the triangle changes (less "filled") when I hit an area with less-than-best signal. I promise to get back to you after I investigate that possibility, just FYI. There's nothing in the owner's manual about it.

 

[LSMFTT]

Sorry, by the time you figured it out I was still working on my last lame reply. Thanks so much. I still promise to get back to you after I actually see a less-than-best indication, just a a courtesy FYI.

 

[Javier P]

Hmmm... the mobile data on/off indicator/toggle that's shaped like triangle in the status bar --- could that be the strength indicator too? Maybe if the signal is less than "best" the triangle might get truncated? I know my T-Mobile signal here at home is super-strong from using my previous phone here. I'm going to need to get out and about town to see if the shape of the triangle changes (less "filled") when I hit an area with less-than-best signal. I promise to get back to you after I investigate that possibility, just FYI. There's nothing in the owner's manual about it.

Yes, that icon works as a strength indicator, both in the status bar and in the quick settings panel.

 

[Javier P]

Sorry, by the time you figured it out I was still working on my last lame reply. Thanks so much. I still promise to get back to you after I actually see a less-than-best indication, just a a courtesy FYI.

No worries, glad it helped. Tell us how it goes.

 

[LSMFTT]

The result of my field test is exactly what you said. The triangular signal strength indicator was variably "filled" according to variable signal strength as I traveled through town. Occasionally the status bar phone icon displayed "LTE" which is another indicator I didn't know about. The manual does not explain the meaning of any icons, probably because I'm the only person left who missed acquiring that common background knowledge. I thought all phones were still displaying "bars". Thanks again for your kind help.

 

[Javier P]

The result of my field test is exactly what you said. The triangular signal strength indicator was variably "filled" according to variable signal strength as I traveled through town. Occasionally the status bar phone icon displayed "LTE" which is another indicator I didn't know about. The manual does not explain the meaning of any icons, probably because I'm the only person left who missed acquiring that common background knowledge. I thought all phones were still displaying "bars". Thanks again for your kind help.

That's the icon's style that Google implemented with their Material design. Older phones or some manufacturers, like Samsung, still use the old symbols with bars.

LTE is a type of 4G connection and availablity depends on your carrier, area and device.

There are hundreds of different icons and you can see most of them in this page:

https://material.io/tools/icons/?style=baseline

Select 'Device' first to see the most usual icons.

 

[Javier P]

Tap here, scroll down that pop-up menu and select any option (I'd start with 'device').