Picture Credit: Julian Schrader
Interestingly enough, the answer is probably no.
While this may sound surprising, according to this post, which was in turn inspired by the following post, has actually discovered that the signal bars which we seem to “worship” (I use the term lightly, as teens especially go nuts when there’s no signal) are rather useless and misleading.
- Cellphones tend to estimate signal strength when they’re not being used, or in the “idle” state. This means that while your cellphone is telling you that there isn’t a signal, it will only actually be telling the truth when you attempt to make a call!
- Under a special protocol, CDMA in North America, the bars represent signal strength, but not what portion of that signal is usable. So a military signal may not be so useful if you can’t use it.
- There are no international standards for what those bars actually mean, therefore a 1 bar and a 2 bar could mean the same thing on different cellphones.
So there you have it! Be sure to check out the link above, as the author lists some really useful ways to improve the system.
by KiwiPulse
06 Feb 2008 at 17:59
In my city, we have some detectors to increase your cellphone signal. So we can talk even if we are in the subway
by The Internet Journalist
13 Feb 2008 at 15:59
wow, that’s pretty awesome. Which City you live in?
Cape Town doesn’t have a subway at all
by Lloyd Lopez
13 Feb 2008 at 19:04
Here in the Philippines, it depends on the provider you’re in. Some providers have strong signals if your within the metro while others have strong signals when you’re outside.
I have to agree with you that the signal bars is misleading. I have a couple of instances that I can still call someone even though the signal bar is showing no signal at all.
For me, WiFi is much important now instead of Cell signal. I use the Internet functionality of my phone more often that its cell capabilities.
by USB Hubs
05 Aug 2009 at 11:50
This means that while your cellphone is telling you that there isn’t a signal, it will only actually be telling the truth when you attempt to make a call!