Getting poor internet despite full signal bars? This ‘scam’ could be the reason
Telecom carriers can now inflate network signal bars on Android devices, misleading users about their connection quality.
If you’ve ever stared at your phone in frustration, full signal bars showing on top, yet your videos buffer endlessly, you’re not imagining things. It turns out, those shiny signal bars might be lying to you.
Carriers may be faking your signal strength
According to a new report by Nick vs Networking, Google has quietly added a feature in Android’s Carrier Config Manager that lets telecom carriers “inflate” network signal bars. This means your phone could show one extra bar of strength, even when the actual connection is weak. The feature, marked as KEY_INFLATE_SIGNAL_STRENGTH_BOOL in Android’s source code, isn’t documented officially but can be found in Google’s Git repository.
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The kicker? Carriers can turn this on remotely through an OTA (over-the-air) update, potentially impacting both locked and unlocked Android phones. That means even if you bought your device outright, your SIM card could still trigger this misleading behaviour.
AT&T and Verizon caught in the act
While it’s not clear which company first requested the feature, the report confirms that major US carriers AT&T and Verizon already use it. Devices on their networks may therefore show artificially boosted signal strength, a tactic that not only misleads users but could help carriers exaggerate their network coverage in reports and ads.
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Why this matters for users everywhere
Although the findings are US-centric for now, such configurations are global in scope. Android’s open-source code means that carriers in other regions could easily replicate the same tweak. In markets like India or Southeast Asia, where consumers often switch networks based on perceived signal quality, this could mislead millions into staying with underperforming carriers.
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Not the first time
This isn’t a one-off incident. Back in 2017, several carriers lobbied to hide detailed signal strength readings (measured in dBm) from Android’s “About phone” section. Later, Android allowed custom signal thresholds, essentially letting carriers decide how many bars your screen should show for any given signal level.
So, the next time your phone shows full bars but can’t load a webpage, remember: the problem might not be your device, it could be a digital illusion designed to make your network look better than it is.
