Q: What does it mean to have '4 bars?'
A: Not much.
Why? Your phone is showing you how powerful the signal from the tower is, and each provider and phone manufacturer assigns arbitrary ranges to 1-4 bars. If you look at your phone's field test settings (see earlier post) it's using the 'Rx' value from ~0-105. The *real* number that tells you whether or not your call will go through is a ratio of that strength over the strength of the 'noise floor' (interference) around you, and is called 'EC/I0', or 'Pilot Strength'. EC is more or less your 'Rx' value, 'I0' is the noise floor... and both change constantly.
Your cell phone shows you 'bars' related to Rx because it changes less frequently than EC/I0... you're near a tower, but you may not be able to make a call.
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