Signal Spy FAQ

Signal Spy started as a companion app for Project Fi called Fi Spy. It provides information about your connectivity via cellular and wi-fi connections. It also gives you the ability to control that connection via dialer codes and monitor your connections with a history log. We also provide quick links to Fi communities. That is where we started, and we've made our features compatible with more carriers in the US and worldwide!

Signal Spy was developed for users of the Google MVNO called Project Fi. Therefore, they are currently the target users of our app. However, the app can be used by anyone on any network! Band detection is available on all carriers with Android N. All non-Fi carriers will not be able to use the Fi specific dialer codes (T-Mobile, Sprint, Next, Repair), but they will be able to use the history page. So apart from the Fi specific features, this app is useful for carriers around the world!

Bryan Gintz is the founder of Signal Spy (originally called Fi Spy). A few months in, Ziggy Dziegman joined the project. Yara Abdallah joined the project about a year later. These three have worked on the project ever since. Bryan and Ziggy actively participate in the Google+ communities, support inquiries, and on Reddit.

Signal Spy does not cost anything to install! We will always have a free level that provides most of the functionality of our app. We do include ads to help offset development costs. We also created a pro level to allow our users to have an even better experience. That is available as an in-app purchase from the store section.

Of course! Request to join our beta community and get the latest updates before almost everyone else!* Then click here once you are a member of the community to join the beta program.

* - Our Backers and the developers (obviously) see the updates first.

The pro level is an in app purchase within the Project Fi app. With this purchase, Pro...

• Removes ads
• Provides more detailed history
• Allows for rooted and rootless switching without copy and pasting codes
• More powerful data consumption tools
• Data limiter, which stops data usage at a daily limit
• Data usage breakdown per app per day, or customized range
• Dark theme

We are constantly adding features to the Pro level of the app. We will update this list as more become available! We thank you for supporting Signal Spy with your generosity!

A Backer is a user who has been with us since the beginning and donated more than $2 to the app, or a user who bought the pro level and continues to donate through optional in-app purchases. Backers are invited to a special community where we provide alpha builds of Signal Spy and provide first looks at new features or content! In other words, you become a "stakeholder" of our app. We thank you for supporting Signal Spy with your generosity!

We would love to hear from you! Whether you have an idea for a feature, a problem with the app, or just want to say hi, we love getting messages from our users! Send us a support email at support@novvia.com, or post in one of our communities.

Users want to know if they are connected and how. Our app shows you what carrier partner you are connected to, the signal strength, and other tower specific information. If you are connected to Wi-Fi, we provide the signal strength, frequency, and bandwidth (not to be confused with your internet speed).

Signal Spy can detect what LTE band your device is connected to for any carrier with the Enhanced LTE setting, available from the settings menu. Non-enhanced LTE band detection is done only for Sprint and T-Mobile.

Signal Spy provides easier access to the dialer codes that change the connectivity of your Fi device. The codes we allow easy access to include

• Force T-Mobile
• Force Sprint
• Force US Cellular
• Auto
• Checkin
• Repair
• Next
• Info

Our network switching logging will be extremely useful to show you how often you switch between Sprint and T-Mobile networks. It will show you the time that the network changed and what it changed to, whether Wi-Fi was connected or disconnected, mobile networks switched, or if you went into airplane mode.

If you want to have more details, including the signal strength, location of the change, and technology changes (LTE/3G/2G), consider upgrading to Pro!

If you want to know what you are connected to regardless of if your phone is locked or unlocked or if you are in Gmail or Facebook, you will be able to tell with the notification! We allow you to customize when you want to see that notification and where within Android limitations.

If you like knowing what you are connected to all the time, using our handy dandy widget will be useful! It provides all the info for the current connection in the app in a handy resizable widget!

There are a ton of different helpful resources for Project Fi customers, including many communities and FAQ websites. We link to all of them, as well as the Project Fi app and other useful apps, within the resources page of the app.

Dialer codes allow users to access information, control the connectivity of their device, and access troubleshooting/technical menus that are typically hidden or inaccessible without them. Android device (and many other OSes as well) have some sort of dialer codes to force actions and view hidden menus.

Dialer codes are entered into the stock (blue) dialer of your Android device. Typically, they start with *#*# and end with #*#*. Pro users do not have to copy/paste these codes into the dialer; you can just touch them from our notification. However, for free users, after you click on a dialer code from our app, you have to press and hold on the dialing space within the stock dialer until the "paste" menu appears. Once you hit paste, the dialer code actions will occur. It may take a few seconds before they are triggered, so please be patient. Also, entering multiple codes rapidly will definitely delay their response.

Pro users who are not rooted can activate the not copy/paste dialer by going to System Settings, Accessibility (near the bottom), Signal Spy, Turn On Service. This will allow Signal Spy to copy and paste the dialer codes automatically when you click on them!

The T-Mobile code changes the carrier that you are currently on to the T-Mobile network. The code will ensure you stay on that carrier for at least two hours or until you use the "Auto" dialer code. The two hour limit is a dialer code limitation, and not something that Signal Spy has any ability to change.

The Sprint code changes the carrier that you are currently on to the Sprint network. The code will ensure you stay on that carrier for at least two hours or until you use the "Auto" dialer code. The two hour limit is a dialer code limitation, and not something that Signal Spy has any ability to change.

The US Cellular code changes the carrier that you are currently on to the US Cellular network. The code will ensure you stay on that carrier for at least two hours or until you use the "Auto" dialer code. The two hour limit is a dialer code limitation, and not something that Signal Spy has any ability to change.

The auto dialer code turns back on the switching algorithm. This means that your phone will begin to automatically switch to the best carrier available.

The checkin dialer code pings Google for updates. These updates can include, but are not limited to, app updates, system updates, Google config settings, etc.

The next dialer code goes to the next available Project Fi carrier partner. This is useful for international roaming when you do not have dialer codes for all of the roaming partners.

The repair code reactivates your Project Fi device on the network. This is a good first step if you are experiencing connectivity issues.

The info code provides a small popup giving basic information about the cellular network you are connected to. Signal Spy provides a lot more information than this popup does, so you should not need this often. :)

Signal Spy requires certain permissions to run. These include location and phone. If you do not provide both of these permissions, we cannot access the required information to show you how your device is connecting to the network. We do not sell your personal location to anyone, nor do we transmit your history data or export it without your permission.

For the best/most accurate results, use the Enahanced LTE Band Detection. If you have that off, Signal Spy sometimes does not have access to all of the LTE tower data. The un-enhanced algorithm is not perfect.

There is a long standing known issue with accessibility services being enabled and keeping the volume bar on the screen longer when enabled.

Location: In order to determine your LTE band, we need to access information about that tower. Accessing tower information requires the coarse location permission because of the data you can extract from that tower. We also use Location to determine where events took place. You can turn this off in settings.
Phone: In order to use the dialer, which is necessary for the carrier switch codes, we need to have the phone permission.

If you do not provide both of these permissions, we cannot access the required information to show you how your device is connecting to the network. We do not sell your personal location to anyone, nor do we transmit your history data or export it without your permission. If you have any further questions, please reach out to us.