Sensorly lets you know how close you are to LTE on Sprint or other networks
Sensorly is a web site and an app that will give you user-reported coverage maps based on carrier, G-level, and signal strength. And while I’m naturally focusing on Sprint and LTE here, if you’re on AT&T and wondering where some good 3G service is, you can find that out, as well.
The Sensorly website allows you to drill down coverage maps to voice, 2G-3G, 3G, WiMAX, 4G LTE, or see WiFi maps on networks that provide those. It is built on maps provided by the mobile app, which will share your connectivity experience and location as you travel, if you allow it.
Sensorly only appears to map what people have experienced, so the coverage maps are still limited by what someone with the Sensorly app might have run across. In my neck of the woods, that means most of the coverage that’s reported is people driving by on the interstate, and not in the cemetery which is right between the tower and the interstate, for example.
I’m not too big of a fan of the app in passive mode. It tends to turn the screen on to notify me that it’s doing something every few seconds when I’m driving, which drains the battery faster than I’d like it to. If you experience that, just take it out of passive reporting mode – that should take care of this issue and only report in when you want it to.
The app and website are great for finding out if you are near a location with high speed or better. This can be quite useful if you’re in an unfamiliar area.
The only thing I really wish Sensorly’s app could do is pre-cache an area for coverage. If you’re out in 2G land, trying to pull a coverage overlay can take forever, making it difficult to find a place where you can set up for a minute of work.
Sensorly’s website, which does not require you to use the app in order to view, is available at sensorly.com. The app is available for free in Google Play.
Download: Google Play
