August 6, 2022

By Burton Kelso
The Technology Expert

5G cell service is here for most providers and if your phone supports it, you can experience lightning-fast speed as you would if you were sitting in front of your computer at home using fiber internet.

This is especially good news if you’re a rural customer as you can experience Internet speeds almost as fast as if you were living in the city. We’ve seen customers recently who have experienced 5G speeds slower than usual. The good news there are several easy ways to fix this problem. Need help because your 5G isn’t working on your phone? Check out these quick and easy tips to help you connect to 5G.

1. Your phone may be too old. Just because 5G has rolled out doesn’t mean your phone will work with it. Don’t assume just because your phone is “newish” that you can connect to the 5G network. It’s true that some phones that support 4G may work with 5G. To verify, take your phone to your provider or visit their website to search for the specs on your phone. A store or website visit will verify your phone will work with 5G.
2. Verify that there is 5G coverage where you are. Yes, 5G is everywhere, but there are still huge gaps in the network which means you won’t always have coverage. Your 5G capable phone will always find a signal and connect if 5G. If it isn’t available, your phone will revert back to LTE or 4G. Keep in mind there are a variety of 5G networks such as low-band and mid-band networks that your phone isn’t able to access. If you’re curious to find out where there is 5G coverage, visit the website of your carrier to check out their coverage map. You can also visit the 5G map at www.speedtest.net.
3. Confirm with your carrier that 5G is included in your plan. I know it sounds like common sense, but I have to put this bit of information out there you should always verify what coverage is included in your plan. Most providers offer 5G, but it’s better to be safe than sorry if you’re experiencing issues with 5G on your phone.
4. It might be time to replace the SIM card. If you’ve been moving your SIM card from phone to phone over the years, you might be preventing your current phone from taking advantage of 5G connectivity. Cellular providers aren’t always forthcoming about what will and will not work. If you have an older SIM card, stop by a carrier’s store or contact them to ask for a new SIM. It should be free and will take just a minute to install once the carrier support people have configured it to your phone number.
5. Update your phone’s operating system to the latest version. One of the last things you’re probably thinking of doing is updating your phone. The latest version of your iOS or Android can help your phone connect to the 5G network.
6. Turn airplane mode on. When you turn on airplane mode, it forces your phone to attempt to reconnect to your carrier’s network. When you do this, wait a few seconds, and then turn it back on.
7. Turn 5G on. Because of one of those great mysteries of technology, 5G may not be turned on with your device which would explain why you can’t connect. You can turn 5G on iPhone by visiting the Voice & Data area of the settings. Search for Preferred network type or Network mode if you’re on Android.
8. Restart your phone. Restarting is never fun because it takes several minutes for your phone to reboot and everything loads back up, but this is an easy step you shouldn’t overlook.

I hope you can use these tips to help you get connected to 5G with your smartphone. If you need further assistance, please reach out to me with any questions you might have. I am always happy to help!

Want to ask me a tech question? Send it to [email protected]. If you prefer to connect with me on social media, you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter and watch great tech tip videos on my YouTube channel. I love technology. I’ve read all of the manuals and I want to make technology fun and easy to use for everyone! If you need on-site or remote tech support for your Windows\Macintosh, computers, laptops, Android/Apple smartphone, tablets, printers, routers, smart home devices, and anything that connects to the Internet, please feel free to contact my team at Integral. My team of friendly tech experts are always standing by to answer your questions and help make your technology useful and fun. Reach out to us at www.callintegralnow.com or phone at 888.256.0829.