CoverageMap Launches Signal Mapping for Android
Longmont, CO — CoverageMap today launched Signal Mapping, a new Android feature that logs cellular signal readings as you move throughout your day. The app automatically uploads the readings to the free public crowdsourced map, effortlessly building out a robust, real-world view of signal quality. There is no button to press or test to run, making it a truly passive experience for users.
Signal Mapping: The Ground Truth of Reception Quality
Carrier coverage maps show what a network is predicted to cover. They are a carrier's best guess at how their signal propagates and where service is usable based on modeled data.
Our Signal Mapping feature captures what a phone actually experiences. It is the ground-truth of what reception quality is like in a given area. As users move, the app samples and records the cellular connection at each location, building a picture of real coverage rather than a modeled one.
Every reading is a snapshot of the connection at a specific place and moment, including the RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, and SINR. Alongside the signal measurements, the app captures the serving carrier, the network technology, the frequency band in use, and details about the tower the device is connected to.
Readings are processed in real time and appear on the Crowdsourced Map within minutes, alongside contributions from other users around the world.
Built with Privacy First
Having your app collect data in the background takes a huge amount of trust between users and an app developer. That is why we built Signal Mapping with privacy in mind.
- Opt-in only: there is no way for us to passively collect signal data on a user's device unless they specifically turn on the Signal Mapping feature
- Contribute Options: choose if you want to contribute data always, only while using the app, or never
- Exclusion Zones: set areas where signal data should not collected or mapped, such as your home or work
- Pause/Resume: pause Signal Mapping at any time for 1 hour, until the end of the day, or for a custom duration
Users remain in full control of the Signal Mapping feature and settings. And all of our app permissions can easily be turned on or off under the Permissions settings menu.
An Unmatched Visualization of Signal Data
The new Signal Mapping feature brings an all-new view to our crowdsourced coverage map. Now, users can select the signal strength as a metric to view the contributed signal data.
Tapping on a square reveals the measured signal strength in that area, along with additional key metrics:
- RSRP: Reference Signal Received Power
- RSRQ: Reference Signal Received Quality
- RSSI: Received Signal Strength Indicator
- SINR: Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio
- Readings: number of signal readings taken in that location
- Towers: how many unique towers devices have connected to in that location
- Frequencies: all frequencies available in that location
The new crowdsourced signal strength map also allows users to easily compare metrics between providers.
Powerful Filters
Our integrated filters allow users to refine the map to only show data they care about most.
- Carrier: filter signal data by carrier
- Technology: filter signal data by technology to see maps of 3G, 4G LTE, or 5G coverage
- Frequencies: filter by frequency to see exactly where certain bands are being used. For example, 2500 MHz to see where T-Mobile has n41, or 3700 MHz to see where Verizon has n77
- Best/Average/Median: view signal quality data based on best, average, or median values
Dual-SIM Mapping & Roaming-Aware Attribution
Signal Mapping works perfectly with dual-SIM phones. If you have two active SIMs, both are mapped at the same time. A single trip produces a full set of readings for each carrier, with no switching back and forth between lines.
Signal Mapping works while roaming, too. Each signal reading is credited to the carrier your phone is actually connected to, regardless of who provided your SIM. So, whether you get a roaming add-on from your current carrier or grab a dedicated international eSIM pan, all the metrics your phone collects are correctly mapped to the local carrier.
What's New: Full Feature List
- 📡 Automatic Signal Mapping: Record real-world reception quality & contribute to a public crowdsourced map
- 🔄 Background Collection: Run it in the background, only while the app is open, or not at all
- 🌍 Global Support: Works with all 30+ countries & carriers supported by CoverageMap today
- 🔋 Battery Efficient: Minimizes battery impact while prioritizing collecting data in new locations
- 🧠 Smart Duplicate Detection: Fingerprints location, carrier, tower, frequency, and technology so the same spot isn't remapped endlessly
- ⚙️ Configurable Remapping: Set your own remap distance and recheck interval
- 📶 Dual-SIM Mapping: Both active lines mapped in parallel on a single trip
- 🌐 Roaming-Aware Attribution: Works perfectly while roaming or while on your native network
- 📊 Full Metric Suite: RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, and SINR, with side-by-side Carrier Comparison
- 🎚️ Advanced Filtering: Filter by carrier, technology (4G LTE, 5G), and frequency band
- 🗼 Tower Data Collection: Recorded with every reading today, ready for tower mapping in the future
- ⚡ Runs Alongside Speed Tests: Mapping never pauses when you run a test
- 🚫 Exclusion Zones: Prevent mapping in certain areas
- 🔒 Opt-In and Reversible: Off until you enable it, and deleting your account deletes your readings
Try It Now
Signal Mapping is live today for Android. Here's how to try it:
- Download the free CoverageMap app on Google Play and create a free account to track your contributions
- Switch on Signal Mapping, choose background collection or only while using the app, and set your exclusion zones
- Watch readings appear on the Crowdsourced Map within minutes, helping build out the most accurate maps of coverage data worldwide.
Full details are available on the Signal Mapping page.
About CoverageMap.com
CoverageMap.com is a crowdsourced cellular performance mapping platform that gives consumers and businesses a transparent, data-driven view of real-world network performance. Users run speed tests and collect signal readings from their own devices, and the aggregated results reveal how carriers actually perform, by location, by technology, and by metric, across the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico and 30+ other countries. CoverageMap also offers a Coverage API for business customers seeking network performance data at scale.
Media Contact:
Stetson Doggett
Co-Founder