CellPi
CellPi
CellPi turns a WLAN Pi and a Quectel 5G modem into a pocket walk-test rig: RSRP, RSRQ and SINR, Orb network quality and raw signaling, mapped outdoors by GPS or indoors with LiDAR.
Coming to the App Store · works with your own WLAN Pi · built-in demo needs none
Every reading a walk-test needs, captured together and mapped in place, not spread across five tools.
Serving cell and neighbours: RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, RSSI, operator, band, PCI, ARFCN, bandwidth, and per-antenna branches.
Passive sweep of every operator and band, or active serving-cell logging with band and RAT locks for A/B comparisons.
Score, latency, jitter, lag, packet loss and throughput layered onto each point. Real experience, not just RF.
Map by GPS on the move, or drop points on a floor plan with LiDAR tracking you between taps. No beacons.
Capture the air interface and decode neighbours, handovers, SCG failures and RLF re-establishments per point.
Export JSON and PCAP, then open the desktop viewer for heatmaps, per-ride band preference and operator comparisons.
CellPi drives the modem over your local network and handles the mapping, math and reports.
Basic passive scanning works with no SIM and nothing installed on the Pi. Add a package for PCAP, Orb or enrichment.
AT+QSCANA separate companion app for a live look at which operator wins where you're standing. No map, no survey points, nothing to install on the Pi. It uses the same WLAN Pi and Quectel modem as CellPi, and runs the inline passive sweep for you.
Every operator and band in the air right now, ranked by SINR and RSRP. See at a glance who has the strongest, cleanest signal at your location.
Push any operator or band and watch its RSRP, SINR, RSRQ and RSSI update on a live graph every sweep. Great for validation and A/B checks.
Light never touches GPS, it's a pure signal scanner. Export a file and open it in the report tool for the full operator comparison.
CellPi Light is passive only (no Orb, data or PCAP): a quick way to compare operators and validate coverage before a full CellPi survey.
Install only what you will use. These run on the Pi over SSH. The full step-by-step lives in the manual.
Both apps are free and coming to the App Store. Bring your own WLAN Pi and Quectel modem, or try CellPi's built-in demo first. Already have a survey? Open it in the browser report tool, no install.
The full walk-test rig: signal, Orb, PCAP, outdoor GPS and indoor LiDAR maps. Exports a ZIP (survey JSON, PCAP and map image) you open in the report tool.
Live operator scanner: best operator by SINR and RSRP, Grafana-style graphs, no map, no location. Learn more.
Open a survey in the browser, no install. Coverage heatmaps, per-band and operator comparison, and PDF export.
CellPi would not exist without the people and projects that came first. Thank you.
Author of the original qscan.py that made WLAN Pi cellular scanning approachable. We inline the sweep now, but this is where it began. markhoutz.com
The 5G M.2 carrier board that hosts the modem over USB. gl-inet.com
A tidy 3D‑printed enclosure for the dev board. Printables
Firmware and flashing resources for the Quectel modem. 4IceG/RM520N-GL
The host platform that carries the modem and runs the inline sweep over SSH. wlanpi.com
Network quality, signaling decode, DIAG capture (QCSuper), and the QMI data path the backend leans on.