5G what am I missing?
Discussion
Just signed up to EE via one of the little guys as O2 have taken the piss with their price rises and they were supposed to have good 5G coverage where we are in the world.
However, it appears to be crap. Slow web loading, calls connecting but other end couldn’t hear me until I hang up and call back.
Phone is currently set to 5g auto which I thought would be ideal, but after setting it to LTE (4g) we thing seems to be working great.
So, why is 5g being heralded as the next best thing?
Or is there a setting I have missed somewhere?
However, it appears to be crap. Slow web loading, calls connecting but other end couldn’t hear me until I hang up and call back.
Phone is currently set to 5g auto which I thought would be ideal, but after setting it to LTE (4g) we thing seems to be working great.
So, why is 5g being heralded as the next best thing?
Or is there a setting I have missed somewhere?
5g generally doesn't work in the UK, I'm on Three and everything is slower and worse if on a 5g connection, so I tend to stick with 4g as you describe. Been that way since it's introduction and the same across the country, whether rural or in a city.
I work in London and Brighton, but have also worked in Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Peterborough and Lincoln and none of the 5g stuff works well anywhere.
I work in London and Brighton, but have also worked in Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Peterborough and Lincoln and none of the 5g stuff works well anywhere.
I've just left O2 as well due to their price rise. It was a handy excuse because the signal has always been crap, whether on 4G or 5G.
Switched to iD Mobile (£5 a month vs O2 at £28.50!) and the difference is massive. I don't think I've been without signal at all since. I believe iD Mobile uses Three's network.
Switched to iD Mobile (£5 a month vs O2 at £28.50!) and the difference is massive. I don't think I've been without signal at all since. I believe iD Mobile uses Three's network.
The problem the operators have with 5G is upgrading their core networks to cope, the air interface is so fast the rest of the network needs to catchup whether that is the data link from the cell tower, faster/more servers in the core network or even their connections into the internet itself.
The other issue is too many users per cell tower, there is only so much bandwidth available on the tower that is split between all the connected users, when heavily utilised everyone gets poor rates or nothing at all. Building extra capacity means more cell towers everywhere which gets push back, the operators are in a no win situation as customers want good service but object to the cell towers that would provide it.
All the networks are pretty similar in this respect and will be an on-going problem made worse with each new faster network generation.
The other issue is too many users per cell tower, there is only so much bandwidth available on the tower that is split between all the connected users, when heavily utilised everyone gets poor rates or nothing at all. Building extra capacity means more cell towers everywhere which gets push back, the operators are in a no win situation as customers want good service but object to the cell towers that would provide it.
All the networks are pretty similar in this respect and will be an on-going problem made worse with each new faster network generation.
MikeM6 said:
5g generally doesn't work in the UK, I'm on Three and everything is slower and worse if on a 5g connection, so I tend to stick with 4g as you describe. Been that way since it's introduction and the same across the country, whether rural or in a city.
I work in London and Brighton, but have also worked in Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Peterborough and Lincoln and none of the 5g stuff works well anywhere.
My 5g works brilliantly all over the country too. Three Mobile. Also use Three 5g broadband for the last four years, can't fault it at all.I work in London and Brighton, but have also worked in Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Peterborough and Lincoln and none of the 5g stuff works well anywhere.
Liamjrhodes said:
phone signal seems to have taken a massive downturn in recent years, constant calls failing and slow loading. Ive been with all the major networks over the last couple of years and none are any better
On the plus side, it does mean you might as well just go for the cheapest deal!The_Doc said:
Well performing 5G can serve 350Mb/s with a ping of under 20s. That's lightening fast.
The tower you are connecting to sounds oversubscribed or rubbish.
And the rest. I was getting between 750 and 900 Mbps on Ookla at my previous place near a new 5G mast (2 miles away, decent antenna on my roof) - new industrial / trade estate. The tower you are connecting to sounds oversubscribed or rubbish.
I've just moved to the countryside and I'm still getting 152 Mbps down and 80 up. I've maxed out my nearest mast as that's with a 5G router on my windowsill, but using my one with external antennas is no faster. - so I've hit what the microwave link to that cell site is set up for. (old house was fibre to the cell site - no micrrowave dish)
Three UK . I tried EE but they use CGNAT which is no good to me .
Do the challenger brands that sit on someone else s network get full access to that network?
Someone above mentioned ID Mobile and I use Smarty. Both sit on the Three network so do we get the same service as someone who has a three contract?
In my experience, 5G is turd. I can be in the centre of London and get naff all and I never get more than one bar at home in south bucks. I m usually pleased to see a few bars of 4G rather than 5G which is rarely more than one bar.
Over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that all of the network providers can be frustrating so I may as well pay peanuts for a turd service as pay an arm and a leg for a turd service.
Edit: fixed a couple of autocorrect errors.
Someone above mentioned ID Mobile and I use Smarty. Both sit on the Three network so do we get the same service as someone who has a three contract?
In my experience, 5G is turd. I can be in the centre of London and get naff all and I never get more than one bar at home in south bucks. I m usually pleased to see a few bars of 4G rather than 5G which is rarely more than one bar.
Over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that all of the network providers can be frustrating so I may as well pay peanuts for a turd service as pay an arm and a leg for a turd service.
Edit: fixed a couple of autocorrect errors.
Edited by Stanley Rous on Tuesday 11th November 21:10
Stanley Rous said:
Do the challenger brands that sit on someone else s network get full access to that network?
Someone above mentioned ID Mobile and I use Smarty. Both sit on the Three network so do we get the same service as someone who has a three contract?
In my experience, 5G is turd. I can be in the centre of London and get naff all and I never get more than one bar at home in south bucks. I m usually pleased to see a few bars of 4G rather than 5G which is rarely more than one bar.
Over the years I ve come to the conclusion that all often network providers can be frustrating so I may as well peanuts for a turd service as pay an arm and a leg for a turd service.
I pay peanuts for Three. £20 a month and that is unlim broadband PLUS a phone sim on another number with a few Gb. I also have Lebera for normal personal voice due to the travel/roaming inc Goa/IndiaSomeone above mentioned ID Mobile and I use Smarty. Both sit on the Three network so do we get the same service as someone who has a three contract?
In my experience, 5G is turd. I can be in the centre of London and get naff all and I never get more than one bar at home in south bucks. I m usually pleased to see a few bars of 4G rather than 5G which is rarely more than one bar.
Over the years I ve come to the conclusion that all often network providers can be frustrating so I may as well peanuts for a turd service as pay an arm and a leg for a turd service.
[/quote]
I pay peanuts for Three. £20 a month and that is unlim broadband PLUS a phone sim on another number with a few Gb. I also have Lebera for normal personal voice due to the travel/roaming inc Goa/India
[/quote]
I pay £10 a month for 40GB of data and unlimited calls and text with Smarty (on Three). I consider that cheap as chips and pay more for my lunch on most days. Question is, am I getting the same service as you who pays double to Three directly?
gus607 said:
My 5g works brilliantly all over the country too. Three Mobile. Also use Three 5g broadband for the last four years, can't fault it at all.
I’ve been using Three 5G home broadband for a couple of years now with no issues. Ping can be slow at times and upload can be around 3mb during peak so not good for gaming or video conferences. Just did a test …..
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