General USA model not actually a 5G phone

[kevinmcmurtrie]

My US model (XQBC62) is has having trouble with 5G on T-Mobile. 5G connects only intermittently in NSA mode.

Sony support says:
I'm asking you this because at this moment Verizon is currently the only U.S. carrier that supports 5G on the Xperia PRO model. The 5G network service is not currently available in the Xperia 1 III model and this is why you're getting that issue. In this particular case we recommend you to check with your phone carrier if there is a way for them either to provide a different network service or if there is a work around on their system for you to use your Xperia phone with their service
...
The Xperia 1 III phone does support 5G however at this moment the only phone carrier that provides 5G service on the Xperia phones in the USA is Verizon and at this moment they only support it on the Xperia Pro model. The phone carriers still working on providing the 5G service on all phone models they support and that depends on their coverage. I would like to give you a different solution however the phone service is covered by the phone's carrier and the best option you have is to contact T Mobile directly so they can further assist you with this issue
...
I would like to give you a different answer Kevin but at this moment the phone carriers don't support 5G service on the Xperia 1 III model and this function will be available through future updates by the phone carriers.

 

[blackhawk]

5G isn't all that great yet, maybe never.
More limited range and more obstacle intolerant than 4G. Average users see a 20% speed increase when in range.
Don't sweat it...

 

[kevinmcmurtrie]

T-Mobile has 5G on the 600 MHz Band 71 so their 5G coverage is literally better than their LTE coverage where there's high signal attenuation (trees, mountains, stucco buildings).

It's disappointing to go from an LG Velvet 5G to an Xperia 1 III and start losing signal everywhere.

 

[blackhawk]

Does turning Airplane mode on/off get it to reacquire the 4G signal?
May be a firmware issue meaning the phone doesn't react to the signal conditions appropriately.
Maybe disabling 5G if it's possible would yield better results.

I just got a new 4G N10+ in part because of issues like this.

 

[kevinmcmurtrie]

Does turning Airplane mode on/off get it to reacquire the 4G signal?
May be a firmware issue meaning the phone doesn't react to the signal conditions appropriately.
Maybe disabling 5G if it's possible would yield better results.

I just got a new 4G N10+ in part because of issues like this.

Like I said, coverage and performance is better if it can do SA 5G.

Releasing a NSA 5G phone was forgivable a year ago, but TODAY? It's probably sucking more power by constantly switching between LTE and LTE+NR constantly rather than just using NR all the time like other phones.

 

[blackhawk]

Like I said, coverage and performance is better if it can do SA 5G.

Releasing a NSA 5G phone was forgivable a year ago, but TODAY? It's probably sucking more power by constantly switching between LTE and LTE+NR constantly rather than just using NR all the time like other phones.

Pretty much why I decided to avoid this hornet's nest.

 

[raven213]

Have you tried switching NSA and SA to use SA only?

 

[kevinmcmurtrie]

Have you tried switching NSA and SA to use SA only?

That was the first thing I tried after I noticed loss of connectivity without LTE. SA mode disables 5G. I even tried powering it off for a while then powering it back on. Only NSA + SA and NSA work.

 

[Evil_Sephiroth]

I have 5G coverage in Europe (italy) on Xperia 1 III, but it's limited to some cities (not operator) then i switched to 4G only mode.

here operator have NO phone limited 5G, you only need to have coverage

 

[jaseman]

Excuse my 5G ignorance but...I use T-Mobile here in the US. I have 5G all day long if I want it. I rarely use it though because even though speed tests show that 5G is faster than LTE it also uses more battery. Also, there are times that while using 5G web pages load slower and YouTube videos buffer whereas when using LTE I have none of those issues. So while I agree that 5G is more gimmick than anything (for me) I still can connect to 5G without any issues at all so I am not sure what to think about the so-called Sony support answers????

 

[kevinmcmurtrie]

Excuse my 5G ignorance but...I use T-Mobile here in the US. I have 5G all day long if I want it. I rarely use it though because even though speed tests show that 5G is faster than LTE it also uses more battery. Also, there are times that while using 5G web pages load slower and YouTube videos buffer whereas when using LTE I have none of those issues. So while I agree that 5G is more gimmick than anything (for me) I still can connect to 5G without any issues at all so I am not sure what to think about the so-called Sony support answers????

There are two types of 5G.

Early phones had "non standalone" meaning that NR was only a temporary booster. The phone shows "5G" all the time but it's only momentarily connecting and disconnecting NR while keeping LTE on. These phones don't know how to use NR by itself or for phone calls. This sucks battery life and it causes stalls in data transfer.

Modern phones have "standalone" 5G. This means that the phone can use any mix of NR and LTE together all the time, including only NR. There's no switching and the phone can use whatever works best.

My T-Mo Velvet 5G got a huge performance boost in cell data when it received the SA update. Lag and dropouts around town were 100% gone . When walking around town, it's on LTE 2 + LTE 66 + NR 71. It can lose any two of those bands and be fine. It beats any LTE phone in stability. (RF absorbing stucco houses around here)

My new Sony has a MUCH faster CPU but it's a step back in cell performance. It's using LTE 2 or 66 (not both) and switching NR 71 on and off for data transfer. I frequently take it out of my pocket and see that it has no cell reception. Signal Check says it has NR 71 and is trying to connect to LTE.

I'm hoping a software update eventually fixes this. Much like the fingerprint reader crashes, this is a shameful launch for Sony.

 

[jaseman]

There are two types of 5G.

Early phones had "non standalone" meaning that NR was only a temporary booster. The phone shows "5G" all the time but it's only momentarily connecting and disconnecting NR while keeping LTE on. These phones don't know how to use NR by itself or for phone calls. This sucks battery life and it causes stalls in data transfer.

Modern phones have "standalone" 5G. This means that the phone can use any mix of NR and LTE together all the time, including only NR. There's no switching and the phone can use whatever works best.

My T-Mo Velvet 5G got a huge performance boost in cell data when it received the SA update. Lag and dropouts around town were 100% gone . When walking around town, it's on LTE 2 + LTE 66 + NR 71. It can lose any two of those bands and be fine. It beats any LTE phone in stability. (RF absorbing stucco houses around here)

My new Sony has a MUCH faster CPU but it's a step back in cell performance. It's using LTE 2 or 66 (not both) and switching NR 71 on and off for data transfer. I frequently take it out of my pocket and see that it has no cell reception. Signal Check says it has NR 71 and is trying to connect to LTE.

I'm hoping a software update eventually fixes this. Much like the fingerprint reader crashes, this is a shameful launch for Sony.

Well, assuming you know what you're talking about I appreciate your explanation of why I have stalls in data transfer and high battery use on 5G. Hopefully a software fix is possible and on Sony's radar. I have not experienced any fingerprint crashes nor have I heard anything about that. My fingerprint reader works great all the time. Anyway, thanks for the explanation!

 

[blackhawk]

Don't feel bad about "shameful" Sony launches.
Even Pixel's are dropping the ball as well as all the major brands. Too much, too fast...

Android 11 is the worst dropped ball of them all and that comes right from the top leaving the manufacturers with a mess they can't completely rectify. 2021 was a bad year for Androids. Google could have prevented much of this... Android, so secure it's unusable.

 

[Norma Stitz]

FWIW, the Pixel 6 seems to be swilling battery on 5G so most people are just disabling it. 5G was my original reservation on the 1 III, but now it seems less relevant so I'm considering returning my pixel and trying the sony.

Can anyone confirm that 5G radio can be shut down to save battery on the Sony? I'm pretty sure I'm reading that it can be, but want to be sure before I order. If it matters, I'll be on AT&T in the US.

 

[jaseman]

Yes you can choose to NOT use 5G on this phone. I have turned it on/off several times and while speed tests show 5G as faster than LTE ... it uses more battery, and YouTube videos will buffer and web pages load more slowly??? Whereas on LTE none of those issues appear. So for now, at least on the 1 mark 3 - 5G is useless. Sad really but for me LTE runs everything just fine and fast!

 

[blackhawk]

Yes, well is any carrier on top of this?
Verizon's 5G rollout is going really... horrible.
T-mobile made this bold offer to boned AT&T and Verizon 5G users.

 

[DeXel55]

Anyone else contacted Sony about this? I posted a question here.

 

[kevinmcmurtrie]

If this information is up-to-date, Sony disabled NR SA on all the bands used by T-Mobile.

Sony Xperia 1 III (US) (XQ-BC62) | 4G/5G Bands & Combos

4G & 5G Bands, Carrier Aggregation and Dual Connectivity Combinations for Sony Xperia 1 III (US) (XQ-BC62)

cacombos.com

This is weird because only T-Mobile has good NR SA coverage in the US.

 

[DeXel55]

I've tried to get customer service to forward this bug to engineering, but I don't think it happened (at least they provided no way for me to track it). And community support link I provided earlier just doing the typical finger pointing to blame the career.

 

[kevinmcmurtrie]

I did a 5G comparison to a T-Mo LG Velvet 5G that does support SA 5G. The Velvet 5G has 10x the download performance but the Xperia 1 III has 10x the upload performance. When walking, the Velvet 5G produces a stable signal from carrier aggregation while the Xperial 1 III drops and reconnects frequently.