Question

Galaxy s20+ 5G Slower then my 10+ 4G?


Badge +4

Hi,

so I just got the S20+ and it shows I am on 5G.  I also have a 10+ not 5G.  When I run speed test my 10+ 4G is faster then the S20 5G, seriously?  did they just put a 5G there to help justify charging $1200 for a phone?


11 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +14

This is one reason I'm not investing in a 5G phone yet and why I bought the

Pixel 4XL when they had them on sale recently.

Userlevel 7
Badge +15

Devices with 5G have a separate 5G modem in order to access 5G connectivity.  With the 5G rollout, don't expect it to have as many towers to spread the demand for bandwidth across as of yet.  You can shut off the 5G connectivity on your device to force it down to 4G LTE.  This should extend your battery life as well. 

As gramps mentioned.  5G isn't really worth adopting yet.  The fall of 2020 should start to see the integration of the Sprint and T-Mobile networks, which should help improve 5G coverage and speeds. 

Userlevel 4
Badge +9

All I can say is I believe it has something to do with where you are using the 5G phone. I've been extremely pleased with my Note 10+ 5G - the speeds are amazing and the phone is more responsive using 5G than my Note 8 was on 4G LTE. I'm in the DFW area (pop. 7,000,000+) and I rarely venture too far out to the countryside except by highway. Tmobile has been a preferred carrier in the area for years and we've been happy with the service (except when my daughter was living in a Faraday cage at Baylor, even wifi didn't work there or any other carrier's service).

Your habits, where you use the service, and your preferences all have to come together in your choice of phone. I've had no problems that weren't self-inflicted and fixed by normal Android troubleshooting. I'm very happy with the Tmobile deal & the Note 10+ 5G! 😀

Badge +4

Thanks for the replies but I am having a little trouble understanding them.  I have a spanking new Galaxy s20+. I am in Pa.  The 5G lights up so I am connecting to towers.  The phone is made to function on 5G so I do not understand why I would need to do anything to get "better" 5G.  The 5G lights up and check download speed it is slower then my 10+ 4G,

Userlevel 7
Badge +15

Yes, but there are less 5G transmitters/towers compared to 4G transmitters/towers, so those 5G transmitters/towers get congested faster.  5G for T-Mobile is currently n71 only, which focuses on range, not speed.  Speeds on average for 5G under ideal conditions should be a bit better than 4G LTE. 

5G currently is data only, so the device does not need 5G to work.  Calls and data still work great over 4G LTE.  Speeds will improve once the Sprint integration starts to happen on the network side.  Sprint's 5G bands are sort of the best of both but best at none solution.  You get better range than mmWave but not as good as low band n71.  The same applies for speeds.  It won't be as fast as mmWave but will be faster than the current low band n71. 

The point of disabling 5G was so you could benefit from the currently faster 4G in your area.  This will kick data down to 4G LTE so you can take advantage of the faster speeds that your other device gets on 4G and also see your battery usage improve because the add-on 5G modem is a bit of a battery leech.

Userlevel 6
Badge +15

Our community folks have posted some helpful info about how speeds can be impacted. We also have our that gives some additional info about speeds. What can be done is a Service Complaint can be filed for a specific location to see if there's something impacting your speeds.

I live in an industrial/agricultural suburb of Sacramento County in California. I am not getting very good DL/UL speeds compared to my LTE speeds but building penetration is much better and there are no dead spots left in my area. “5G allows signals to travel the farthest and penetrate walls.” (networkcomputing.com). I think its best to have 5G enabled during driving and while at home and turned off in most other situations.

Tmobile lies!.

I have been using cell phones from Car phone to current 5g phone for at least more than 35 years.

Tmobile network coverage map cleary shows 5G coverage yet, where I live,zip 92883, I barely get 3 Mbps/DN & 3.22Mbps/UP.

What is 5G?

5G is similar speed of data transfer as WIFI yet, 3 mbpn/DN & 3 Mbpn/Up is a joke, it is 2G!

if you never gets 5G data transfer speed as much as wifi, but 2G speed, you should not name it.

This is fake ADs by T mobil.

I have Galaxy A71 5G, just bought from Samsung, and worked great with other network yet, when I use T Mobile sim, the data speed drops down almost non sence. 

Even if I switch phone to receive to 4g/3g on my Galaxy A71 5G, it remains still as 3 mbps/DN, but it gets better with upload as 11 Mbpn/Up.

Another thought,  I guess T mobile is again screwed up by merging with sprint as same as when sprint took Clear wire for Tri band(WiMax)

Sprint failed this Triband signal system because of lack of understanding of the signal requirement and lack of new antennas.

WIMAX is way better and almost as same as 5G network and still requires alot of antennas, but not the same antennas that Sprint had. Clear WIre did not have enough cell tower or antennas to support the signal.

Now, that stupid Sprint Triband jumps to T mobile and it is messing up like Sprint.

T mobile should not be merged with sprint since Sprint Triband cell tower is not that much efficient. 

By just merging Sprint and getting more cell tower does not mean that you can have best 5G. 

5G signal nearly requires the antennas as much as the car that we own.

 

Bring me 5G with proper data Speed T mobile!

Don’t tell us that you have the Map shows that there is 5G.

5G needs more antennas or ask Elon Musk to use his Satellite for T mobile customer better.

 

 

 

 

I did a test with my OnePlus 7T Pro 5G.

Full bars, same place with 5G Automatic first, and then 4G forced.

It's just ridiculous the difference. I bought a 5G phone, but it works A LOT better if I disable the 5G.

Yep, still a problem.  4G, I get 60 down / 10 up.  5G was 3 down, 0.5 up.  Brand new OnePlus 9 5G.

I got the note 20 ultra 5g , i don't notices any speed difference,  seem like its slower than my 4g lte note 8 and doesn't cover many places keep switching to lte.

Awful thinking about switching to att or Verizon 

Reply