Why is my 5G so bad? Worse than 4G actually...

[MikeLanglois]

So I have just gotten back from holiday in Greece, and while I was out there I did a speedtest and my down/upload speeds were 219Mbps and 131Mbps respectively. It was amazing.

I get home to the south east in the UK, and run a 5G speed test here. 9Mbps download and 0.50Mbps upload???

It was so bad, I actually switched my phone to 4G and managed to get 16.7Mbps download and 0.28Mbps upload.

Why is the service so bad in terms of speed? Not even just speed, the little up/down arrows showing network connectivity will be constantly on, but it still takes ages for anything to even start loading. I assume congestion, but it wasn't always a problem?

[Enlli]

The UK lags behind much of Europe when it comes to mobile coverage and data speeds. Much of it self inflicted by planning officers and NIMBYS.

Also most 5G relies on 4G infrastructure. If that's not up to the mark 5G is not going to be good either.

However, it does look like you may have capacity issues 

Guide: How can I sort out my network issues? 

https://www.o2.co.uk/apps/my-network

[japitts]

Much can depend how much 5G spectrum O2 has deployed on the sites covering your areas.

4G & 5G technologies are delivered over a combination of frequency bands, each with different radio characteristics. There'll always be local differences, but O2 does tend to perform worse than other networks on data speed benchmarking & comparison tests.

[Kabss]

O2 are liars. They will show that you have 5G but it won’t work. I work around central London and my phone shows full 5G signal but nothing loads. It’s a scam! I’ve chosen to only use 4g. O2 in my opinion are the worst for signal. I regret joining and being stuck for 24 months! 

[Oxonian]

That is why we say @Kabss to invest in some PAYG SIMs and actually test the network in the areas that you frequent. do not rely on the coverage maps ! 👍

[madasaf1sh]

Where I am and where I work the worst network is EE followed by Vodafone on 5G and 4G...  o2 are scarily the worse network. 

Central London is a nightmare across all networks due to the building and density of people, hence a lot of companies install nano and macro cells in there offices to help.. 

And never trust any netwoks coverage maps they are computer simulations, and not to be trusted, always best to do your own research...

[japitts]

---

@Kabss wrote:

They will show that you have 5G but it won’t work. I work around central London and my phone shows full 5G signal but nothing loads.

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Important here to understand the difference between coverage & capacity.

Coverage maps predict the coverage in a given area - roughly indicated by your on-screen bars.

Data speeds are dictated by the capacity available, this is not predicted by the website tool nor visible without use of engineering menus.

The previous comments regarding predictions vs real-world experience are partly driven by this.

[Enlli]

I would never sign up for 24 months with anybody, even if I had checked them out first.

Too much can change in that time. 12 months max I would say.

[AmerjitDosanjh]

I can't wait to leave O2 in August, I'm going to try other networks before then to test who gives me best 5G speeds around my house 

I got 2 3 bars of 5G reception but getting around 9mbps which is just over 1MB per second download speed, sometimes I get less than 5mbps, I don't rely on WiFi in the bedroom because it's worse than O2.

Right now while I type this message I am getting 400kbps which is a joke in this day and age of high end tech 

I'm using Sony Xperia 1 V 5G 

[Enlli]

Be careful in August as Vodafone and Three start combining networks. As that happens there will  be areas which will be winners and other areas losers. What you get in August may not be what you get 18 months from now