PRL 15061

[dpeters11]

15044 here, both before and after a *22899.

 

[FrankXS]

15044 here, both before and after a *22899.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Don't do that! It does not work on 4G phones and can potentially damage your sim (or so reported).

The proper way to "check" for a new PRL is to simply restart your phone, But to ensure you get the best shot, power off, batt/sim pull, wait 2 minutes, re-insert, power on. Check the PRL. This sequence reprograms 4G phones and will update the PRL if it is appropriate for you, your account, your plan, your area, etc.

-Frank

 

[Small_law]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Don't do that! It does not work on 4G phones and can potentially damage your sim (or so reported).

The proper way to "check" for a new PRL is to simply restart your phone, But to ensure you get the best shot, power off, batt/sim pull, wait 2 minutes, re-insert, power on. Check the PRL. This sequence reprograms 4G phones and will update the PRL if it is appropriate for you, your account, your plan, your area, etc.

-Frank

+1. The LTE is completely different than older CDMA tech. Your sim card updates automatically or after the aforementioned reset.

 

[doctorg23]

15044 and no issues. Why are people so worried about this?

 

[pheatton]

15061 running the OTA GB update. Im in an area that has spotty LTE coverage and is still in the testing phase before launch I think.

 

[anon(255332)]

Mine has the same PRL. Battery life seems to improved with GB. I'm in a strong 4G area at work, home and everywhere in between. The only time I have problems is when I put the OEM battery back in. The cover must be defective and I don't get 4G at all. The extended battery works fine.

is there an app or an easy way to test your signal strength, and then compare the stock battery and the extended battery?

-Tm

 

[Highwaystar131]

Was at 15044 here in Grand Rapids. Did the battery/sim card pull. Booted back up and was still at 15044. No big deal I guess. I wouldn't even know the difference between 15044 and 15061 anyway.

 

[FrankXS]

is there an app or an easy way to test your signal strength, and then compare the stock battery and the extended battery?

-Tm

Menu | Settings | About Phone | Network | Signal Strength.

The only real possibility that an extended verses a standard battery could affect you're signal strength is due to the antennas for this phone being in the battery cover. Since the battery cover is different for extended and standard, it's possible. However, it's not been reported here as an issue, AFAIK.

-Frank

 

[Ed Witles]

I have 15061 as well. Did the SIM pull and did not change.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

15061 here in DC.

Rooted, BAMF Forever 1.0.6

Not sure when the update occurred, but ironically I have noticed better 4G reception and battery life the past day or two...

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

I have 15061 as well. Did the SIM pull and did not change.

I believe that's being reported as the updated version...

 

[natehoy]

15061 here in Southern Maine, for what it's worth.

 

[Highwaystar131]

Menu | Settings | About Phone | Network | Signal Strength.


-Frank

As some who is unfamiliar with what this number means, I have to ask what the range of this number should be. Mine bounced between -84 and -88 when I was looking at it for a few seconds.

 

[spartanguy81]

As some who is unfamiliar with what this number means, I have to ask what the range of this number should be. Mine bounced between -84 and -88 when I was looking at it for a few seconds.

Smaller numbers are better, 75 gives me 6 out of 6 bars. Not sure at what number you have poor signal strength. This number gives you a better indication than just one bar, two bars etc.

 

[Highwaystar131]

Smaller numbers are better, 75 gives me 6 out of 6 bars. Not sure at what number you have poor signal strength. This number gives you a better indication than just one bar, two bars etc.

At -85 to -89 it looks like I'm getting 2 out of 4 bars. If it goes to -84 (which is as low as I've seen it go in the 2 minutes I've known about this ) I get a 3rd bar.

 

[FrankXS]

As some who is unfamiliar with what this number means, I have to ask what the range of this number should be. Mine bounced between -84 and -88 when I was looking at it for a few seconds.

It can vary by phone, local terrain, and load, but generally, a -90dBm signal or greater (greater being -89 --> -50 or greater) is sufficient for phone use. Quality also comes into play and I know of no way of measuring that with phone apps. A wavering signal is suspicious if it fluctuates erratically a lot.

-Frank

 

[natehoy]

It can vary by phone, local terrain, and load, but generally, a -90dBm signal or greater (greater being -89 --> -50 or greater) is sufficient for phone use. Quality also comes into play and I know of no way of measuring that with phone apps. A wavering signal is suspicious if it fluctuates erratically a lot.

-Frank

I routinely make calls using signals a lot weaker than -90. -115 (give or take a few) seems to be the "drop" point, so a stable -95 will give you an acceptable, if a little low-quality, call. But here in the sticks, you take what you can get. -65 is considered a "strong" signal around here, -85 is routinely "normal", and if we didn't make calls beyond -90 we wouldn't be using our cell phones for much except really cool skipping stones!

But, yeah, fluctuations in a low signal can be a sign that your phone is struggling to talk to two towers, both of which are weak, or that you're suffering from some sort of irregular RF interference. Even so, as long as the signal isn't routinely dropping into the -105 or worse range, you'll probably be able to make a call. It won't be a fantastic call, but it's not likely it'll drop on you.

Sensorly and Opensignalmaps both have nice apps that allow you to examine signal strength, and "donate" that information to near-real-time (in Sensorly's case) and eventually-when-they-feel-like-it-time (in OpenSignalMaps' case) "heat maps" that show general signal strengths in your area. Where a Sensorly map is properly populated (see 4G + CDMA + GSM + WiFi - Coverage maps at your fingertips | Sensorly | Sensorly) you'll have a lot more fine-grained and accurate data than the carrier's coverage maps.

OpenSignalMaps has the better app since it also has a tower locator built-in (of questionable accuracy, but it's pretty cool and fairly accurate), but Sensorly has the better map since they actually use the data people submit and update their maps within about 15-30 minutes or so.

Running either app is a great education on signal strengths, while at the same time (especially in Sensorly's case) giving you information about what sort of signal strengths to expect where you are going.

 

[swieder]

Signal strength = -81 dBm