topic How do I get 5G service? in Tech Support

How do I get 5G service?

bejb — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 00:31:42 GMT

I used to live in a total mobile signal blackspot - until a phone mast was built about 1.2 miles away with clear line of sight, and O2 started transmitting about 6 months ago (I live in the UK postcode NE65 7AN).

The O2 website says I should get 5G signal outside. I have an O2 SIM which they say is 5g ready. I have a 5g router - a Zyxel FWA510.

But the router says it cannot receive 5G signal, only 4g - even when I have it outside.

So it could be the transmitter, the sim or the router.

How do I get O2 to confirm they are transmitting 5g (which band?) and that my SIM can detect and use 5g?

Re: How do I get 5G service?

jonsie — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 01:11:34 GMT

Is this a contract sim or PAYG?

Re: How do I get 5G service?

Bambino — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 03:18:08 GMT

@bejb What phone do you have? Is it capable of receiving a 5G signal?

Re: How do I get 5G service?

bejb — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 10:10:07 GMT

It is a contract sim, with unlimited data.

Re: How do I get 5G service?

bejb — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 10:11:48 GMT

Regrettably not. It is a Motorola G13. I bought it when there was no hope of any mobile signal at all, let alone 5G. Then they built the transmitter!

Re: How do I get 5G service?

madasaf1sh — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 10:15:04 GMT

Put the sim in a phone and use the likes of nperf and see if it tells you information on which mast it is connecting to , and just because a mast is nearby doesn't mean your devices are connecting to it.. @bejb

Have you spoken to Zxyel at all and made sure the device has the correct settings (google may help)..

Re: How do I get 5G service?

bejb — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 10:34:51 GMT

Many thanks for your response.

Regrettably I don't have a 5G phone. Until very recently, there was no point, as there was no signal nearby, let alone 5G.

There really is no chance of connecting to another cell. There aren't any. We live in remote Northumberland and until recently it was a total radio blackspot. No mobile signal from any of the phone providers (so no 999), no Freeview TV, not even FM radio. The fact that they have built a transmitter about a mile away is an absolute miracle!

Yes, I have contacted Zyxel. They remotely connected to my router and spent about an hour checking it over. They confirmed that the router connects to cell 139356794 (PCI 223) and only sees LTE band B8 rather than 5G.

It just feels odd that O2 says I have 5G coverage, I have a 5G ready sim and a 5 G router, but I connect using 4G.

Re: How do I get 5G service?

Oxonian — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 16:00:27 GMT

@bejb

I have had a look at Cellmapper and I am not convinced that there is 5G at NE65 7AN. If there is, it is coming from a distant mast as all of the local ones are 4G-LTE.

Would it be possible for you to take your router to a less rural location for testing ? This could be to work, to the house of a relation or friend, anywhere in fact that seems to have a 5G signal. At least that test will eliminate any possibility that the Zyxel FWA510 is at fault if your router makes a 5G connection.

Please keep us updated on developments.

Re: How do I get 5G service?

Enlli — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 16:31:26 GMT

My Network App is showing problems in that postcode

Re: How do I get 5G service?

bejb — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 09:46:53 GMT

That is a very good call. I'm not sure how I will do that, but it is worth a go. Thanks for the idea!

Re: How do I get 5G service?

bejb — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 10:05:01 GMT

Thanks for the reply. I've had a look on my pone and also in the website. and they don't seem to say there is an issue now. I've turned the router off and on again and I still can't get 5g 😞

Re: How do I get 5G service?

Enlli — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 10:17:07 GMT

You need to either get someone with O2 5G standing next to the router to see what they get or trying the router in another area where O2 5G is solid.

Of course, it may be that O2 have not enabled 5G on your account.

Re: How do I get 5G service?

Oxonian — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 12:22:32 GMT

@bejb wrote:
That is a very good call. I'm not sure how I will do that, but it is worth a go. Thanks for the idea!

You are welcome @bejb. Please report back when you have an outcome.

And please don't forget to follow up the point that @Enlli has made - have O2 enabled 5G on your account ?

Re: How do I get 5G service?

bejb — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 10:51:55 GMT

OK, so I did the test, as suggested. I have a 12V, 12Ah LiFePO4 battery with a solar panel in an outbuilding, providing lights, so I took that, put a connector on it, so the 5G router would work and was portable. I then took it with me on a trip I was already taking to the West Denton area of Newcastle and tested it there.

The router said it had very strong 5G and LTE signal, connected via 5G-NSA, bands N78 (RSRP -65) and B8 (RSRP -58).

So to me, that proved that the router was working with 5G and so was the sim.

It suggested to me that the transmitter near my home is not currently broadcasting 5G. This is disappointing. Previously, there was no O2 mast for many miles, and no mobile phone signal. The O2 coverage map showed no signal of any kind at my house (2, 4 or 5G). They then built this mast just over a mile away, clear line of sight. I can get decent 4G signal and the O2 coverage map has been updated to show good outdoor & indoor coverage for 2G and 4G and outdoor coverage for 5G. So O2 say the mast should be providing 5G. But it isn't.

This suggests to me that the 5G coverage map for O2 is over optimistic and shouldn't be relied upon as a guide to the likelihood of coverage.

Assuming at some point it is going to be enabled for 5G (as their coverage map says), I wish I knew when that was planned.

Re: How do I get 5G service?

Oxonian — Sat, 06 Jan 2024 11:17:59 GMT

@bejb

Coverage maps are always an indicator rather than a promise ; for all networks, they always seem to be optimistic.

I don't believe that Customer Service will be able to tell you when 5G is available on that mast.

At least you are now aware that it isn't your kit that is at fault.