RSSI

In telecommunications, Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) is a measurement of the power present in a received radio signal.

The RSSI is indicated by a negative dBm value. This value relates to the signal strength of the cellular signal from the tower to the modem. The higher the number, the better the signal. The exact numbers vary between cellular carriers. However, -70 dBm and higher values usually equate to the modem being in an excellent coverage area. The closer to 0 dBm, the stronger the signal. There is a point at which trying to obtain more signal delivers diminishing returns, because the quality of the connection is defined by more values than just RSSI (you will find more information on the other measurements in the Mobile Signal Strength Recommendations page).

The RSSI is a relative value. Its measurement depends on the receiving device. For Teltonika-Networks devices, RSSI values represent these signal conditions:

2G and 3G signal levels

RSSI	Signal strength	Description
>= -70 dBm	Excellent	Strong signal for best achievable speeds
-70 dBm to -85 dBm	Good	Strong signal with good data speeds
-85 dBm to -100 dBm	Fair	Fair but useful, fast and reliable data speeds may be attained, but marginal data with drop-outs is possible
-100 dBm to -110 dBm	Poor	Performance will drop drastically
<= -110 dBm	Very poor	Connection may be lost

4G signal levels

RSSI	Signal strength	Description
> -65 dBm	Excellent	Strong signal with maximum data speeds
-65 dBm to -75 dBm	Good	Strong signal with good data speeds
-75 dBm to -85 dBm	Fair	Fair but useful, fast and reliable data speeds may be attained, but marginal data with drop-outs is possible
-85 dBm to -95 dBm	Poor	Performance will drop drastically
<= -95 dBm	Very poor	Connection may be lost