5G vs 4G. Which is better?
Discussion
I have been with EE for many years. I live in a relatively rural part of North west Essex. I am near a large communications mast and have always had excellent 4G signal. Until fibre to home was installed about 4 years ago I used to rely on 4G for my broadband and it was always fast enough (around 30Mbps normally and sometimes double that).
EE have just (in last week) completed some upgrades and now I seem to get 5G locally. It is slower than the 4G was (just ran speedtest and 12Mbps)
Is it just me or is 5G worse that 4G? Will it get better as it "adapts" to local traffic?
Thanks
EE have just (in last week) completed some upgrades and now I seem to get 5G locally. It is slower than the 4G was (just ran speedtest and 12Mbps)
Is it just me or is 5G worse that 4G? Will it get better as it "adapts" to local traffic?
Thanks
What you're seeing is not unusual, and it doesn't necessarily mean 5G is inherently worse than 4G.
Many UK operators, including EE, initially deployed 5G using higher frequency spectrum than some of their existing 4G coverage. Higher frequencies can deliver much greater speeds, but they don't always travel as far or penetrate buildings as well.
As a result, your phone may be seeing a usable but relatively weak 5G signal and preferring it over a stronger, faster 4G connection.
A lot of people assume 5G = faster than 4G
In reality: A good 4G connection can easily outperform a poor 5G connection.
Strong 4G = 30 to 100+ Mbps
Weak or congested 5G = 5 to 20 Mbps
So your 12 Mbps result doesn't automatically indicate a fault.
Network work may still be bedding in Since you say the upgrade was completed only recently, it is possible EE are still:
Optimising parameters
Rebalancing traffic between 4G and 5G
Integrating new spectrum
Adjusting sector configurations
That said, mobile networks don't really "adapt" in the sense that they gradually learn and become faster with regular use. If speeds improve, it is usually because engineers make further adjustments rather than the network learning from local traffic patterns.
If the local mast now offers 5G, more users may be attaching to it, or traffic may have been redistributed between different frequency bands.
It's possible the upgrade unintentionally reduced performance for some users while EE tunes the site.
Many UK operators, including EE, initially deployed 5G using higher frequency spectrum than some of their existing 4G coverage. Higher frequencies can deliver much greater speeds, but they don't always travel as far or penetrate buildings as well.
As a result, your phone may be seeing a usable but relatively weak 5G signal and preferring it over a stronger, faster 4G connection.
A lot of people assume 5G = faster than 4G
In reality: A good 4G connection can easily outperform a poor 5G connection.
Strong 4G = 30 to 100+ Mbps
Weak or congested 5G = 5 to 20 Mbps
So your 12 Mbps result doesn't automatically indicate a fault.
Network work may still be bedding in Since you say the upgrade was completed only recently, it is possible EE are still:
Optimising parameters
Rebalancing traffic between 4G and 5G
Integrating new spectrum
Adjusting sector configurations
That said, mobile networks don't really "adapt" in the sense that they gradually learn and become faster with regular use. If speeds improve, it is usually because engineers make further adjustments rather than the network learning from local traffic patterns.
If the local mast now offers 5G, more users may be attaching to it, or traffic may have been redistributed between different frequency bands.
It's possible the upgrade unintentionally reduced performance for some users while EE tunes the site.
It'll be a combination of signal strength and contention ratio.
Most phones will auto-switch to the latest tech, in this case it'll be 5G. So, even though the base station has a single back-haul, if everyone is trying to use the 5G antennas, instead of the 4G ones, you can end up with a really crap throughput on 5G. If that's the case, switching to 4G will make a significant difference.
M
Most phones will auto-switch to the latest tech, in this case it'll be 5G. So, even though the base station has a single back-haul, if everyone is trying to use the 5G antennas, instead of the 4G ones, you can end up with a really crap throughput on 5G. If that's the case, switching to 4G will make a significant difference.
M
Pixelpeep Electric said:
What you're seeing is not unusual, and it doesn't necessarily mean 5G is inherently worse than 4G.
Many UK operators, including EE, initially deployed 5G using higher frequency spectrum than some of their existing 4G coverage. Higher frequencies can deliver much greater speeds, but they don't always travel as far or penetrate buildings as well.
As a result, your phone may be seeing a usable but relatively weak 5G signal and preferring it over a stronger, faster 4G connection.
A lot of people assume 5G = faster than 4G
In reality: A good 4G connection can easily outperform a poor 5G connection.
Strong 4G = 30 to 100+ Mbps
Weak or congested 5G = 5 to 20 Mbps
So your 12 Mbps result doesn't automatically indicate a fault.
Network work may still be bedding in Since you say the upgrade was completed only recently, it is possible EE are still:
Optimising parameters
Rebalancing traffic between 4G and 5G
Integrating new spectrum
Adjusting sector configurations
That said, mobile networks don't really "adapt" in the sense that they gradually learn and become faster with regular use. If speeds improve, it is usually because engineers make further adjustments rather than the network learning from local traffic patterns.
If the local mast now offers 5G, more users may be attaching to it, or traffic may have been redistributed between different frequency bands.
It's possible the upgrade unintentionally reduced performance for some users while EE tunes the site.
Thanks very much for the comprehensive reply. Many UK operators, including EE, initially deployed 5G using higher frequency spectrum than some of their existing 4G coverage. Higher frequencies can deliver much greater speeds, but they don't always travel as far or penetrate buildings as well.
As a result, your phone may be seeing a usable but relatively weak 5G signal and preferring it over a stronger, faster 4G connection.
A lot of people assume 5G = faster than 4G
In reality: A good 4G connection can easily outperform a poor 5G connection.
Strong 4G = 30 to 100+ Mbps
Weak or congested 5G = 5 to 20 Mbps
So your 12 Mbps result doesn't automatically indicate a fault.
Network work may still be bedding in Since you say the upgrade was completed only recently, it is possible EE are still:
Optimising parameters
Rebalancing traffic between 4G and 5G
Integrating new spectrum
Adjusting sector configurations
That said, mobile networks don't really "adapt" in the sense that they gradually learn and become faster with regular use. If speeds improve, it is usually because engineers make further adjustments rather than the network learning from local traffic patterns.
If the local mast now offers 5G, more users may be attaching to it, or traffic may have been redistributed between different frequency bands.
It's possible the upgrade unintentionally reduced performance for some users while EE tunes the site.
Thought I might be doing something.wrong on my side.
Rgds
Peter
I have had 5g disabled for several years now, but I did pop it back on recently to check if it has improved. I found it to be much worse than 4g, which itself is pretty poor in many parts of the country. I am, however, on the Three network which is less than great, and my work phone is on Vodafone, which seems equally poor.
For all the reasons set out already around signal strength and congestion, I turned 5g back off again. To be honest, when on 4g I never wanted more speed, just better coverage.
For all the reasons set out already around signal strength and congestion, I turned 5g back off again. To be honest, when on 4g I never wanted more speed, just better coverage.
Something seems to have changed with EE. I used to get 5G in and around the house and now I can only get 4G - I’m literally sat staring at the mast about half a mile away across a field. It’s also started being a lot more hit and miss wherever I go and most of the time I seem to be on 4G when in the UK. I’ll probably try a PAYG sim from another network soon as EE seems to have gone downhill.
I'm on a EE ripoff and not too far off 30% of the time when out and about I can't get a usable page load. Much of the rest of the time it's still substandard.
O2 was even worse.
4G is more solid, but it's still non existent in far, far too many of the places I hang out in.
I thought 5G was supposed to mean our cars, fridges and vibrators would be trading stocks on our behalf 24/7.
Instead, they can barely to squeeze out a couple of sentences on a largely blank html page.
O2 was even worse.
4G is more solid, but it's still non existent in far, far too many of the places I hang out in.
I thought 5G was supposed to mean our cars, fridges and vibrators would be trading stocks on our behalf 24/7.
Instead, they can barely to squeeze out a couple of sentences on a largely blank html page.
Edited by bloomen on Saturday 18th July 20:48
5G is better if the signal's right.
Yours doesn't seem to be, and if your phone/device is set to favour 5G, that will be your issue.
Turn off 5G (or see if the settings on your phone can be otherwise changed). And possibly have a word with EE.
I live rurally in North Essex...no 5G signal at all here. But 4G works well enough as a backup to fibre for remote working.
When in London with full on 5G service, there's no comparison.
Yours doesn't seem to be, and if your phone/device is set to favour 5G, that will be your issue.
Turn off 5G (or see if the settings on your phone can be otherwise changed). And possibly have a word with EE.
I live rurally in North Essex...no 5G signal at all here. But 4G works well enough as a backup to fibre for remote working.
When in London with full on 5G service, there's no comparison.
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff