Field Test Mode

I’ve been having a lot of call trouble at home lately using Eastlink and an iPhone 13 mini.

Even though I have all the signal bars:

Received and placed calls would fail right away or audio would cut in and out for both sides.

I’ve been working with Eastlink support but no breakthroughs yet.

Today, I got to thinking there must be a way to see more detailed signal/noise info.

That led me to learn about Field Test Mode!

If you dial *3001#12345#* no call is placed but you get a dashboard with this and other info:

Using this site for reference, I think it makes sense now why I have all the signal bars but my calls are poor.

My RSRP (signal strength) value is pretty good but my SINR (interference and noise) values are bad.

Going into Settings > Cellular > Network Selection, I tried forcing my network to one of the roaming networks that appear if I turn off Automatic.

Looking at the Field Test Mode dashboard after that, I see:

The stregth value is about the same but the interference/noise values are much better. Trying a test call to Eastlink’s support number works and doesn’t cut out!

This may not be sustainable but it’s nice to have an option for now.