How do I get 5G service?

[bejb]

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?

[jonsie]

Is this a contract sim or PAYG?

[Bambino]

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

[bejb]

It is a contract sim, with unlimited data.

[bejb]

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!

[madasaf1sh]

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)..

[bejb]

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.

[Oxonian]

@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. 

[Enlli]

My Network App is showing problems in that postcode

[bejb]

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!