dB Ride 1.3: Everything free. No ads.… and now with frequency analysis, a noise dosimeter and long-term measurement

1. Completely free – no ads, no tracking

Up to version 1.2, dB Ride was funded by ads, and Premium was available as a one-time purchase. That's over: from 1.3, the app shows no ads and contains no ad SDK. It doesn't read the advertising ID, doesn't ask for tracking permission and offers no in-app purchases. You still don't need an account, and your recordings stay on your device.

All former Premium features are now free for everyone – and so is everything new in 1.3:

• Compare up to 8 recordings with chart and difference in dB – including saving, sharing as an image and Battle Mode.
• CSV export with raw data for Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
• PDF report with chart, map and readings.

2. Frequency analysis: wind or tires?

A level tells you how loud it is. The spectrum shows what is loud. Swipe across the level graph on the meter screen:

• Live 1/3-octave spectrum from 25 Hz to 16 kHz – computed with an IEC 61260-type filter bank, with peak markers, the dominant frequency (e.g. engine hum or a whistle) and the low / mid / high shares.
• Spectrogram as a waterfall of the last 15 seconds.
• Classification: low (below 250 Hz) engine, rolling, boom · mid (250 Hz – 2 kHz) tire tread, road surface · high (above 2 kHz) wind, hissing. A rough guide, not a diagnosis.

Every recording stores the frequencies. That powers new views in the analysis:

• Frequencies: octave bands of the whole recording in A, C or Z.
• Frequency by speed: low / mid / high shares per speed range. If the high share grows with speed, that fits wind noise. If low and mid frequencies grow, it rather fits rolling and tire noise. More in Car wind noise and Tire noise vs wheel bearing.
• Frequency comparison: the octave difference to a reference recording – e.g. before and after sound deadening. You see where it got quieter: in the boom at 63 Hz or in the road roar at 1 kHz. More in Sound deadening before/after.
• Frequencies are also included in the share image, the CSV and the PDF report.

Limits: phone microphones are less accurate below about 50 Hz and above about 10 kHz, and calibration applies at 1 kHz. Comparisons with the same phone in the same position remain meaningful. Recordings from versions before 1.3 have no frequency data.

3. Pro metrics and A/C/Z on the meter screen

Tap the big level to open the pro values – live, with their standard names per IEC 61672 and a short explanation:

• LAF (Fast, 125 ms) and LAS (Slow, 1 s)
• LAeq – the energy average, shown as “Avg” in the app
• LAFmax / LAFmin and LCpeak (C-weighted peak)
• the percentiles L10 / L50 / L90: loud peaks, median and background noise

You now switch the frequency weighting A, C or Z right on the meter screen – no detour via settings. With dB(C) or dB(Z), C or Z replaces the A in the pro values.

4. Noise dosimeter for occupational noise

How much noise adds up over a working day? The new noise dosimeter calculates with three standards: EU 2003/10/EC (including the German LärmVibrationsArbSchV), NIOSH and OSHA.

• Dose in percent, TWA / LEX,8h and time to 100 %
• projection to your shift length
• LCpeak traffic light for peaks and markers for action levels and limits
• keeps measuring in the background; the notification shows dose and LAeq
• PDF report to share

The dosimeter is for guidance only – not a measurement to ISO 9612 and not a calibrated instrument. What the numbers mean and where the limits are is covered in Workplace noise dosimeter.

5. Long-term measurement: the noise log

For noise that doesn't come from your car: neighbours, traffic, construction, bars. The long-term measurement runs for hours, overnight and with the screen off.

• Minute values (1-min LAeq) and hourly Leq
• Events above a threshold with start, duration and maximum
• Day / night analysis with the loudest night hour
• schedule start and end, e.g. from 10 pm to 6 am
• PDF report and CSV (minute values, events)

The log is a memory aid, not an expert report. How to combine it with notes is covered in Noise log for neighbour noise.

6. Level alarm

In the noise dosimeter and the long-term measurement, a level alarm tells you when a threshold is exceeded – for LAF, LAS or a moving LAeq. It alerts you by vibration, as a banner in the app or in the notification. There is deliberately no sound, because it would be measured too.

7. Noise by speed and comparison by speed range

The “noise by speed” analysis now shows the average level as a bar chart – in 10 mph steps, or 20 km/h steps if you use kilometres. You'll find it in the detail view of every recording and in the share image. The comparison now also lines recordings up by speed range – with Avg (Leq) and the difference to the reference. You see at a glance whether the new tires are quieter at 60 mph than the old ones. More in the tire noise test guide.

8. Calibration assistant and device profiles

Under Settings → Measurement & calibration, an assistant walks you through calibration in three steps:

1. Prepare: place your phone and the reference meter right next to each other, both set to dB(A), with a steady sound – ideally around 60–80 dB.
2. Measure: dB Ride averages the level over 30 seconds while you read the reference meter.
3. Match: enter the reference value – dB Ride calculates the offset (up to ±30 dB) and applies it to all new readings.

A calibrated sound level meter works as a reference, or on the iPhone the free “NIOSH SLM” app. Manual fine-tuning with the slider in 0.5 dB steps is still available.

New: device profiles. If a calibration value exists for your phone model, dB Ride uses it automatically. Profiles are updated via dbride.de – no app update needed. You can voluntarily contribute your own calibration for other users of the same model. It only contains the model, OS version, microphone source and calibration value – no location, no name, no device ID – and is only sent when you tap “Share” yourself. Your own calibration is always more accurate, as every unit varies a little.

9. Widgets and shortcuts

• Home screen widgets (Android): “Last measurement” with MAX, Avg and speed, and “Quick measure”.
• Quick settings tile (Android): opens the meter screen from the notification shade.
• App shortcuts: long-press the app icon to jump to “Start measuring”, “My measurements” or the noise dosimeter.

For safety, widgets, tile and shortcuts only open the meter screen – a recording never starts automatically.

10. Controls and driving safety

• No dialogs while driving: as long as you are driving or a recording is running, dB Ride shows no dialogs or overlays.
• Result right after saving: after STOP and save, you go straight to the analysis.
• My measurements: swipe to share or delete (with undo), long-press for multi-select – to compare or delete several recordings.
• Name suggestions when saving and a clear indication whether GPS is ready – without GPS it becomes a stationary measurement.
• Unit by region: km/h or mph now follows your region, not your language.

11. Measurement core and “How does dB Ride measure?”

• A, C and Z weighting per IEC 61672: dB(A) for what you hear, dB(C) for low drone, dB(Z) unweighted. More in the decibel chart.
• Fast (125 ms) and Slow (1 s) time weighting: like a sound level meter.
• Leq: averages are energy-based, as is standard for sound level meters.
• “How does dB Ride measure?” Tap the info icon on the meter screen to see the microphone source, frequency and time weighting, frequency analysis and your calibration offset – with an honest note on accuracy. Background in Phone decibel meter accuracy.

12. Smaller improvements

• CSV in Excel: the CSV file now also opens correctly in Excel with German regional settings – right columns, right decimals.
• Less battery use: microphone and GPS pause as soon as the app is in the background without a running recording. Running recordings, the dosimeter and long-term measurements are not affected.
• English as fallback: if your device is set to neither German nor English, the app starts in English.

The update is rolled out via Google Play and the App Store. Depending on the store and your device, it may take a little while to reach you. Questions or problems? Get in touch via support. What was new in version 1.2 is covered in What's new in 1.2.