Signal Strength & Power Levels
Redstone signals carry a strength from 0 to 15. Sources output 15, dust loses 1 per block, and components like comparators read and act on that analog level rather than a simple on/off.
What is signal strength?
Every redstone signal carries a strength from 0 (off) to 15 (full power). Most sources — levers, buttons, torches, redstone blocks — output the maximum 15. As that signal travels through dust it weakens, and some components read the exact level to make decisions. Understanding strength is the difference between a circuit that almost works and one that does.
How far does a signal reach?
Dust drops one level per block, so a full 15 signal fades to 0 after 15 blocks — that's the hard reach limit of bare wire. A repeater resets the strength to 15, so dropping repeaters along a line extends it indefinitely. The demo below relays a signal across a ten-repeater chain, far beyond raw dust's range.
Strong power vs. weak power
There are two flavours of power. A source that strongly powers a block (a lever, button, repeater, or torch) lets that block pass power into adjacent dust and flip torches. Weak power — what dust gives a block it runs onto — can light a lamp or trigger components touching the block, but won't push into a new length of dust or flip a torch. Mixing these up is the most common reason a circuit silently fails.
Key facts
- Signal strength ranges
0–15; most sources output15. - Dust loses 1 level per block; bare wire reaches 15 blocks.
- A repeater resets strength to
15to extend range and force direction. - Strong power propagates and flips torches; weak power does neither.
- Comparators and some sensors output a variable strength you can measure and act on.
Bedrock vs. Java: weak power is absorbed
In Bedrock Edition, a solid block carrying only weak power absorbs it: that power does not continue into a second, separate piece of dust, and it will not turn off a redstone torch attached to the block. Only strong power does those jobs. This is a deliberate Bedrock behaviour and a frequent gotcha when porting Java builds. This simulator enforces it, so design your wiring with the strong/weak distinction in mind.