Why You Have Bars But Calls/Data Are Bad

Good “bars” can coexist with poor performance when quality, load, or band behavior is working against you.

1) Signal quality is poor (noise/interference)

You may be receiving a strong signal, but it’s corrupted by noise, reflections, or interference. This shows up as low SINR/SNR and causes drops, stalls, and high latency.

2) The network is loaded (congestion)

Cell sites and Wi-Fi networks are shared. If many users are active, performance can collapse even when signal looks fine.

3) Band/technology selection isn’t ideal

Your device may choose a band that looks strong but performs worse indoors, or it may bounce between technologies. That transition behavior can feel like instability.

4) Indoor environment is the real problem

Metal, low-E glass, dense walls, and building geometry can create strong multipath with poor usability. Sometimes the fix is placement, not power.

OCWS approach

We measure coverage + quality, map problem zones, identify the dominant cause, and then recommend changes you can defend with data (including validation after changes).