Question 5G performance

[Vio281]

AT&T may throttle your provider speed during peak time...test the area at different time of the day and see...why own this phone and use 4G or LTE...it almost a sin

 

[EtherealRemnant]

AT&T may throttle your provider speed during peak time...test the area at different time of the day and see...why own this phone and use 4G or LTE...it almost a sin

AT&T only has 5MHz n5 in a lot of areas so leaving 5G on just adds extra battery drain for very little gain. Where I live, I've seen AT&T LTE over 400Mbps, that 5MHz of n5 doesn't do much.

Now when AT&T gets C-band, which won't happen here until 2024, it will be worth using 5G, but not likely before then.

 

[neelchauhan]

I don't have AT&T, only T-Mobile (primary) and a Verizon MVNO (fallback), but AT&T is generally the weakest of the Big 3 in terms of 5G. Like @EtherealRemnant said, AT&T has very little 5G spectrum versus a lot of LTE spectrum.

T-Mobile has the fastest 5G mainly since T-Mobile got the good mid-band spectrum when buying Sprint, while AT&T and Verizon had to get it in a FCC auction more recently to get something equivalent.

On a Pixel 6 and 7, T-Mobile 5G UC is great in Seattle. Unlocked OnePlus 8/9 5G phones support T-Mobile's 5G bands and while in theory should be "faster" due to Qualcomm having better chips versus Google/Samsung (Tensor ~= Exynos), aren't really faster in reality.

Probably unlocked OP phones while work with VoLTE/5G aren't whitelisted for carrier features like carrier aggregation (this is also the case with the Pixel 5).

Samsung isn't an option due to locked bootloaders, unless I want to use a S5 forever.

 

[EtherealRemnant]

Probably unlocked OP phones while work with VoLTE/5G aren't whitelisted for carrier features like carrier aggregation (this is also the case with the Pixel 5).

Huh? I have never heard of whitelisting for carrier aggregation as it's a direct function of the modem and it makes no sense to maintain a whitelist as it helps load balance the network as a whole. Do you have proof of this?

 

[neelchauhan]

I know AT&T does this: https://www.lightreading.com/the-co...-of-t-mobile-atandt-and-verizon/a/d-id/780466

I don't know about T-Mobile, maybe the unlocked OnePlus phones I had (and Pixel 5 that I never owned) didn't have the correct profiles. I don't know for sure, sorry.

 

[EtherealRemnant]

I know AT&T does this: https://www.lightreading.com/the-co...-of-t-mobile-atandt-and-verizon/a/d-id/780466

I don't know about T-Mobile, maybe the unlocked OnePlus phones I had (and Pixel 5 that I never owned) didn't have the correct profiles. I don't know for sure, sorry.

I'm not seeing anything about AT&T limiting modem features by whitelist in that article. They whitelist for things like 5G and VoLTE but I don't think there is a mechanism that enables them to decide to not use carrier aggregation. I will say that my OnePlus 9 doesn't have a 5G E icon (AT&T's preferred way to designate LTE-A) but that's a function of them not being a carrier partner for AT&T. I've gotten speeds in excess of 100Mbps on my OnePlus 9 which can't happen without carrier aggregation, even with a 20MHz carrier and 4x4 MIMO.

I do know that the OnePlus 9 isn't whitelisted for 5G but it works fine for everything else and is quite comparable to my Pixel 7 Pro. I was using an AT&T SIM card in my OnePlus 9 and the LTE performance is very similar between the two, I've been very pleased with my 7 Pro overall.

The modem in the Pixel 7 Pro is largely an unknown as Samsung launched it with the Pixel 7 series and hasn't released anything specific about its capabilities. It's very well possible that they have caught up to the X60 in the OnePlus 9 seeing how the modem was almost 3 years old (released February, 2020) and that's not even including the development time before that.

 

[Vio281]

AT&T only has 5MHz n5 in a lot of areas so leaving 5G on just adds extra battery drain for very little gain. Where I live, I've seen AT&T LTE over 400Mbps, that 5MHz of n5 doesn't do much.

Now when AT&T gets C-band, which won't happen here until 2024, it will be worth using 5G, but not likely before then.

4G LTE is more about congestion rather than speed...you can have fast speed and still lag...I could not go back to 4G LTE in the Baltimore area...lag all the time on the highway, now with 5G I never lag...

 

[EtherealRemnant]

4G LTE is more about congestion rather than speed...you can have fast speed and still lag...I could not go back to 4G LTE in the Baltimore area...lag all the time on the highway, now with 5G I never lag...

5G's spectral efficiency isn't much better than LTE's so the same spectrum will perform similarly between the two. Your experience with LTE was the product of a garbage network. I have directly compared 5G and LTE on AT&T's network here and there's little point to using 5G as the speeds and latency of both networks are comparable but with much worse power consumption than LTE.

AT&T just has ample capacity and a well-built network in a lot of the country. Their FirstNet contractor forced them to shore up weaknesses in their network.

5G, when it comes to AT&T, won't matter until they can use their C-band holdings in the market. I live in Denver, we won't see it until 2024. That's why I said

Now when AT&T gets C-band, which won't happen here until 2024, it will be worth using 5G, but not likely before then.

 

[neelchauhan]

I'm not seeing anything about AT&T limiting modem features by whitelist in that article. They whitelist for things like 5G and VoLTE but I don't think there is a mechanism that enables them to decide to not use carrier aggregation. I will say that my OnePlus 9 doesn't have a 5G E icon (AT&T's preferred way to designate LTE-A) but that's a function of them not being a carrier partner for AT&T. I've gotten speeds in excess of 100Mbps on my OnePlus 9 which can't happen without carrier aggregation, even with a 20MHz carrier and 4x4 MIMO.

I do know that the OnePlus 9 isn't whitelisted for 5G but it works fine for everything else and is quite comparable to my Pixel 7 Pro. I was using an AT&T SIM card in my OnePlus 9 and the LTE performance is very similar between the two, I've been very pleased with my 7 Pro overall.

The modem in the Pixel 7 Pro is largely an unknown as Samsung launched it with the Pixel 7 series and hasn't released anything specific about its capabilities. It's very well possible that they have caught up to the X60 in the OnePlus 9 seeing how the modem was almost 3 years old (released February, 2020) and that's not even including the development time before that.

For the two hours I tried a OnePlus 10 Pro, I only got LTE in my backyard on T-Mobile, when OnePlus 8/9 and Pixel 6/7 all had 5G.

Although I may go back to OP if LOS comes back to new models, OP hardware is so much better than Pixel if it weren't for no ROMs on the OP10. Maybe next time I should buy a Xiaomi model even without a US warranty, who knows?

 

[EtherealRemnant]

For the two hours I tried a OnePlus 10 Pro, I only got LTE in my backyard on T-Mobile, when OnePlus 8/9 and Pixel 6/7 all had 5G.

Although I may go back to OP if LOS comes back to new models, OP hardware is so much better than Pixel if it weren't for no ROMs on the OP10. Maybe next time I should buy a Xiaomi model even without a US warranty, who knows?

Xiaomi can't really be used on any of the three carriers. Their phones are missing Band 71, a key band for T-Mobile, in addition to lacking proper carrier aggregation combos for proper T-Mobile 5G and 4G performance plus they aren't whitelisted for Verizon or AT&T (although you can SIM swap an active SIM on Verizon, missing bands are another poor experience).

It really comes down to OnePlus and Pixel if you want a phone you can tinker with (although currently only the Pixel or a OP9 or earlier if you want a custom ROM) and as you have mentioned, OnePlus's current direction isn't all that friendly anymore.

10 Pro definitely should have gotten 5G. T-Mobile doesn't whitelist which devices can and can't access 5G, it comes down to the device's capabilities, and T-Mobile is OnePlus' only US carrier partner since the 8 series so the unlocked model should have worked as well as the T-Mobile one.

For my part, I got fed up with OnePlus's software, buggy bootloader, and anti-consumer stances so I won't go back. Pixel has been great for me other than the battery and charging and neither are a dealbreaker.

 

[Vio281]

5G's spectral efficiency isn't much better than LTE's so the same spectrum will perform similarly between the two. Your experience with LTE was the product of a garbage network. I have directly compared 5G and LTE on AT&T's network here and there's little point to using 5G as the speeds and latency of both networks are comparable but with much worse power consumption than LTE.

AT&T just has ample capacity and a well-built network in a lot of the country. Their FirstNet contractor forced them to shore up weaknesses in their network.

5G, when it comes to AT&T, won't matter until they can use their C-band holdings in the market. I live in Denver, we won't see it until 2024. That's why I said

but you are not using really using AT&T, your using a middle man, therefore your speed is cap. I been with Tmobile for over 15 years, never had any trouble other than what I stated for data usage but that problem is resolve with the upgrade to 5G

LTE congestion is a thing, its not a network or service provider fault, what you probably experiencing is people migrate from LTE to 5G therefore leaving LTE less congested then when it first came out.

 

[EtherealRemnant]

but you are not using really using AT&T, your using a middle man, therefore your speed is cap. I been with Tmobile for over 15 years, never had any trouble other than what I stated for data usage but that problem is resolve with the upgrade to 5G

LTE congestion is a thing, its not a network or service provider fault, what you probably experiencing is people migrate from LTE to 5G therefore leaving LTE less congested then when it first came out.

You really shouldn't speak of things you clearly know nothing about.

MVNOs pay the carriers wholesale rates for access to their network. The service can be deprioritized (as my AT&T plan is) or can be at the same priority as one of the carrier's own customers (at an additional cost).

My AT&T plan isn't congested on LTE *OR* 5G so again, you don't know what you're talking about, as being deprioritized (I intentionally chose a deprioritized plan as it was cheaper and I had full knowledge of the capabilites of AT&T's network here) would mean if the network was congested, I would have poor performance.

Your issue with T-Mobile was one of congestion. Plain and simple. I'm sorry that you don't understand how networks work or that you have drank the Kool-Aid of T-Mobile's advertising but if an LTE network lacks congestion in a given area, there is no need for 5G. It is absolutely possible to build a network, like AT&T has here, that has sufficient capacity without 5G.

Also, please note, I never said 5G has no benefits, I said that on AT&T specifically, there is no point to having 5G without C-band availability. T-Mobile and AT&T are not comparable here as T-Mobile had few restrictions put on their midband while AT&T and Verizon have had to contend with everything from the DoD still using the airwaves to satellite interference (which is why Hawaii will never have C-band) to the airlines throwing a fit because they're too cheap to update their altimeters and want the carriers to foot the bill. Until AT&T gets C-band, the 5G icon in most areas is nothing more than 5MHz of band n5 spectrum, not something that's going to make or break LTE that already works fine.

 

[Vio281]

You really shouldn't speak of things you clearly know nothing about.

MVNOs pay the carriers wholesale rates for access to their network. The service can be deprioritized (as my AT&T plan is) or can be at the same priority as one of the carrier's own customers (at an additional cost).

My AT&T plan isn't congested on LTE *OR* 5G so again, you don't know what you're talking about, as being deprioritized (I intentionally chose a deprioritized plan as it was cheaper and I had full knowledge of the capabilites of AT&T's network here) would mean if the network was congested, I would have poor performance.

Your issue with T-Mobile was one of congestion. Plain and simple. I'm sorry that you don't understand how networks work or that you have drank the Kool-Aid of T-Mobile's advertising but if an LTE network lacks congestion in a given area, there is no need for 5G. It is absolutely possible to build a network, like AT&T has here, that has sufficient capacity without 5G.

Also, please note, I never said 5G has no benefits, I said that on AT&T specifically, there is no point to having 5G without C-band availability. T-Mobile and AT&T are not comparable here as T-Mobile had few restrictions put on their midband while AT&T and Verizon have had to contend with everything from the DoD still using the airwaves to satellite interference (which is why Hawaii will never have C-band) to the airlines throwing a fit because they're too cheap to update their altimeters and want the carriers to foot the bill. Until AT&T gets C-band, the 5G icon in most areas is nothing more than 5MHz of band n5 spectrum, not something that's going to make or break LTE that already works fine.

clearly you dont comprehend what you read...so this conversation is useless...there is no such thing as Tmobile LTE or AT&T LTE. What I am talking about is LTE technology itself. but ok...good luck with your LTE