Signal symbols
At the top of your phone’s screen you might have seen letters and numbers like G, H+ and 4G. These tell you the speed of internet connection your phone is currently receiving. Don’t confuse them with Wi-Fi though, which you'll normally find in offices, cafes and your home.
Here’s a little summary to get you up to speed. Or, if you’re not getting any of these symbols, take a look at our guide to fixing mobile internet to get your phone back online.
NEW: Plus sign inside circle
A
lot of people have been asking about this one. The Data Saver icon is
75% of a circle with an addition sign in the middle, and it arrived on
Android devices with the Nougat update recently. It helps you save on
your data allowance, and be turned on and off by heading into your data
usage settings.Two horizontal arrows pointing in opposite directions
You’ll
see this symbol if your mobile network has launched, or is testing,
Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services. The new technology uses your 4G signal
to make voice calls – until now only internet data has been handled by
4G – giving you better coverage, especially indoors, and better call
quality.3 is the first UK network to launch the service (although it’s bizarrely called 4G Super-Voice), while Vodafone and EE are both testing ‘Voice over 4G’.
Wi-Fi
The
small radar symbol means you’re connected to Wi-Fi. This is normally
found in your house, at work or in coffee shops. It’s very fast and
great for all types of internet activities, but only works when you’re
in range of a Wi-Fi connection.Exclamation mark on the Wi-Fi symbol
If
your phone’s running Android 5.0 Lollipop or later, you might see this
new symbol. It shows that your phone’s using the new Smart Network
Switching feature to give you the best possible internet connection. If
you connect to a Wi-Fi network that’s not working, Smart Network
Switching will automatically put your phone back on the mobile network
so you get a stable internet connection.Captial G
G
is the slowest and oldest internet connection speed. It stands for GPRS
(General Packet Radio Service), and because of the slow data rate it’s
only useful for sending a few messages on WhatsApp, for example.Captial E
E
is a little faster than G, but still too slow to look at websites or
stream music effectively. It stands for EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for
GSM Evolution).3G
With
3G, internet becomes more practical. Web browsers load up fairly
quickly and music streaming is possible, although it’s not really fast
enough for video streaming or downloading.Capital H
H
is a faster form of 3G. Speeds make music streaming more reliable, but
you’ll need lots of patience if you want to download a movie. Streaming
anything longer than a few minutes might also take a lot of time. H is
short for HSDPA, which stands for High-Speed Downlink Packet Access.Capital H+
H+
is the next step up from H, but still not as fast as a 4G connection by
quite a way. Downloads are more practical and video streaming is much
more reliable. Reception for H+ is more widely spread than 4G right now.
H+ is short for HSDPA+.4G/LTE
4G,
or Long Term Evolution, is by far the fastest connection, and is almost
as fast as the Wi-Fi connection at your home or office. It’s suitable
for all internet activities like video streaming and movie downloading,
video calls and so on. But remember that downloading things over 4G will
be quick, but will use up your data quicker.Arrows next to or under internet symbols
On
a lot of phones, you’ll now see two arrows next to or underneath the
internet symbol on your phone (like in the images above). These flash
when your phone’s using its internet connection and are a handy
indicator that the connection is working properly (both arrows should
flash in that case). The arrows will also let you know if an apps using
the internet in the background, as they’ll flash when you’re not trying
to get online.R next to signal bars
The
capital ‘R’ that appears next to the signal bars on phones is the data
roaming symbol. When you see it, it means your phone’s connected to a
network that isn’t its regular one. Using the internet when you see that
symbol could generate big bills, but without roaming you won’t be able
to use mobile internet while out of the country. It can be turned on an
off in your phone’s network settings.Triangle next to signal bars
On
older Android phones, you might see a triangle next to your signal
bars. This shows that your phone’s roaming, like the ‘R’ symbol above
does.Phone with Wi-Fi symbol coming out of it
This
symbol shows that your phone’s set up for Wi-Fi calling. It’s a new
feature brought in by the UK’s biggest networks to help give you the
best call quality. If your phone doesn’t have good reception, like when
you’re indoors, it’ll make phone calls using an available Wi-Fi network
instead.Still not found what you're looking for?
Not all the symbols on your phone’s screen are related to its internet connections. Here’s a quick overview of what the other symbols on your screen mean. If you can’t find the one you’re looking for, drop us a comment below and we’ll let you know what it means.
Star
The
star symbol is new to Android Lollipop. It shows that Priority Mode is
active. With Priority Mode turned on, you won’t get any notifications
unless you’ve added select contacts to your priority list in the
settings.It’s a great mode if you want to get a good night’s rest, but annoying if you accidentally turned it on while at work. You can switch it off by pressing the volume rocker and unselecting it from the menu at the top.
Curvy capital N
No,
your phone hasn’t teamed up with Nescafe to start making you coffee,
this symbol actually shows that you have NFC, or Near Field
Communication, turned on. NFC lets you tap your phone to another device
to instantly connect to it or transfer data. If you want to get rid of
the symbol, you need to go to your phone’s wireless or connectivity
settings.Two rectangles with arrows in them
This
symbol shows that Android Beam is turned on. This works with NFC to
transfer files from one Android phone to another wirelessly and quickly.
It can be turned off in the ‘Wireless & Networks’ settings menu.Upside down teardrop
An
upside down teardrop at the top of your phone’s screen show’s that your
GPS/location services are turned on. You only need this on if you want
to use the phone for navigation, otherwise it’s just a drain on your
battery.Square with two vertical lines either side
This
symbol will appear if you’re using a Sony smartphone, and you have the
vibrate function turned on. To turn it off, simply alter the volume
using the volume rocker on the side of the phone next to the power
button.
No entry sign
A
symbol that looks like a no entry sign tells you that you don’t have a
data or cellular connection, preventing you from sending messages or
making phone calls. You might see this if you’re on an underground train
or if you're out in the wilderness away from civilisation.Rectangle with curved lines in the corner
This is the Google Cast symbol. You’ll see this if you’re using a Chromecast,
which plugs into your TV, letting you beam videos and photos from your
Android smartphone to the big screen. It may also appear if you’re using
a smart TV to do the same thing.Satellite with lines coming off it
This
kind of semi-circle with curved lines coming off it is supposed to look
like a satellite, meaning your GPS, or global positioning system, is
turned on. It’s called Location services on some phones, and can appear
as an upside down tear drop (see above).Square with mountains inside
This
image tells you that you’ve taken a screenshot on an Android
smartphone. It’s supposed to be a small landscape shot of some
mountains. If you’ve taken a shot of your screen by accident, you’ll
find the image in your gallery, which can easily be deleted.To take a screen shot, you generally have to hold the power button and home button at the same time. Once the screen flashes, or makes a camera’s shutter noise, you know it’s been successful. This method can differ slightly depended on which smartphone you’re using. Sometimes you’re to use the volume button, too.
Eye
If
you’re using a Samsung smartphone, you might have seen this eye symbol.
It’s for a function called Smart Stay. If you have Smart Stay turned
on, the screen will not automatically power off while you’re looking at
it. If you don’t want this feature, you can disable it by going to your
settings menu.Telephone with keyboard
The
telephone with a keyboard or buttons underneath it means you’ve got a
TTY accessibility feature turned on. TTY stands for teletypewriter - for
people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have trouble speaking. It
means you can type messages instead of saying them, making general
communication easier.Is there a symbol on your phone that we haven't got on our list? Drop us a comment below with a screenshot and which smartphone you're using, and we'll tell you what it is.
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