Android Carrier Config Contains Flag to Inflate Signal Strength Display by One Bar
By
tsujamin
Properly proved. Has structure, has flavour, has a point.
Summary
The article reveals that Android's Carrier Config manager contains a hidden flag (KEY_INFLATE_SIGNAL_STRENGTH_BOOL) that allows mobile carriers to artificially inflate signal strength readings by one bar higher than the actual signal. The author discovered this undocumented feature while exploring Android's source code and found that both AT&T and Verizon have this flag enabled on their networks, though the origin of the feature request remains unclear.
Key quotes
· 3 pulleda flag (KEY_INFLATE_SIGNAL_STRENGTH_BOOL) to always report the signal strength to the user as one bar higher than it really is
It's not documented in the Android docs, but it's there in the source available for any operator to use
Notably both AT&T and Verizon have this flag enabled on their networks
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