How it works
RSRP is the power of the cell's reference signal at your antenna: how strong the cell is. RSRQ sets that against all the power received in the channel, other cells, interference and noise included: how clean it is. SINR is how far the signal stands above interference and noise.5 Phones and modems report RSRP from −140 to −44 dBm and RSRQ from −19.5 to −3 dB.67
Each reading gets its own verdict on the scale Teltonika publishes for its 4G and 5G modems; Digi and a Sierra Wireless table use the same boundaries.123
| Reading | Unit | Excellent | Good | Fair to poor | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSRP | dBm | Excellent ≥ −80 | −90 to −80 | −100 to −90 | < −100 |
| RSRQ | dB | Excellent ≥ −10 | −15 to −10 | −20 to −15 | ≤ −20 |
| SINR | dB | Excellent ≥ 20 | 13 to 20 | 0 to 13 | ≤ 0 |
The three are never averaged into one score: a strong signal can still be noisy. Teltonika's own example, RSRP −56 dBm with RSRQ −16 dB and SINR 1.8 dB, is borderline usable.1 Other scales put the lines elsewhere: Digi's device manuals call RSRP above −90 dBm excellent and −106 to −115 dBm fair.4 Values move with the modem, the operator and the load on the cell, so compare readings taken with the same device.1
A good signal and a missing band are different problems: whether a radio has your operator's bands is in the LTE band checker.
