Forum Discussion
5G UC 4 bars, "unlimited premium data " but network so congested its unuseable.
Last might I had a very important video stream I had to be on, the call of a lifetime. I am on magenta max, with unlimited premium data, no deprioritization. My phone shows 5G UC with 4/5 signal bars, yet embarrassingly, my network could not handle the stream. When I do a speed test, half the time it won't connect, when it does the jitter is extremely high, meaning the ping is going up and down wildly second by second, the download speed is anywhere between 20Mbps-140Mbps, but the upload speed is almost non existent. It's anywhere between 0.0-1.0 mbps, .2, .04, .02 etc.
How embarrassing, we have to cancel the entitr event, and why? Because I'm on the T-Mobil network. The network at my home is ALWAYS congested during peek hours, but it's usually not quite this bad. The only thing I can think is that they have been giving away so many cheap $100 phones on the metro network.
Yes, I've heard the trick and yeah sometimes when the network slows down I can switch to the 4g lte and get a momentary return to connectivity. After about 10 minutes this usually slows down too and I can switch back and forth from 5g to 4g, sometimes it helps, sometimes not much.
If I was on a cut rate carrier and paying $25 or $40 a month, it wouldn't be a big deal, but I'm not. You expect to get what you pay for, right? Even though I'm supposed to have network priority over those who pay $30-$50 a month because I'm paying double, it seems there are just so many of them it doesn't matter. I used to be on the Meteo network and yeah, after 35gb you get deprioritized, it sucked but it was expected.
Also, Im sure they would not admit to it but they also at times block certain online gaming servers. It won't connect, but when you flip on the VPN, it works no problem. Except using the VPN as a middle man makes the already mediocre speed just a but worse. I've seen them tell other users that it's a software glitch that will be fixed with the next update....nah. I get it, their network is congested and they are trying to open up capacity while inconveniencing the smallest number of users. This is more of an irritant than major issue.
The network being so congested its unusable is a big deal. Now they say they are ramping up 5g mid band to more areas. Seems like they just care about getting everybody "covered" not that their network performs to expectations.
Of course I've gone through tech support where they *reset* your connection. It works better for a couple hours, i think they are just temporarily giving you super prioritization on the network so you come absolutely first for a short time.
Is there something I'm missing here? Is there nothing to do aside from seeing if another carrier's network is better in my area?
I have also noticed the 5G UC being slow or actually just flat out not working almost everytime I am on it with my iPhone 12 Pro Max. I have to put on airplane mode, then back off, then let it reconnect to LTE, and it's fine. Why can't they figure this out? If you're going to force it on people, at least make sure it's stable first.
The 4 bars may actually be lte bars that you're seeing, and UC may be from a tower further away. I'd recommend filing a ticket with advanced technical support to get to the actual ussue.
I have magenta max for over a year now between 8am and 10pm this my speed I get Check out my Speedtest result! How fast is your internet? https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/a/8343989855. If I use a VPN it gets much faster but still even with a VPN can't watch any type of video only buffering only thing that works for me is buy a att prepaid 50.00 a month unlimited data sim put it in a old att comparable phone use it as a hotspot connect your t-mobile phone to it and problem solved t-mobile service is horrible and they block anything and everything after a year of horrible service this is my only working solution that works
Just as a note: Your 'local' tower may be overloaded .. but you may still be receiving 5G UC indicator from a tower a ways away. While I don't have congestion, my phone will show '4/5 bars' (tower ~1200' away), and 5G UC often, when the nearest 5G UC tower is ~1 mile away, and b41/n41 does not reach.
Samsung device will show B2/B4/B12 only indoors and often outdoors. A block away, I'll pick up n41.
In places like L.A. (San Fernando Valley), performance is either very good, or very poor depending on whether or not the site is upgraded.
data bandwidth isn't infinite. There's only so much to go around in any given area, and when congested like traffic not much you can do.
I cannot get 5G or 5GUC data while indoors, anywhere in my area. Only works outdoors (not in the car). I read that mmWave spectrum in 5G/5GUC can't penetrate glass or building.
Tmobile guy at the Tmobile store said, "Thats not true". My bad for believing him.
So paying for 5G, but can’t get it indoors.
Odd I am paying for 5G service, but have to use my wifi at home to get data from my cell phone.
Tmobile is pretty deceptive
tidbits wrote:
data bandwidth isn't infinite. There's only so much to go around in any given area, and when congested like traffic not much you can do.
Yea. Maybe. But Tmobile is cheap. They use AT&T for roaming. And with full signal strength using there towers you can only text. No speed for anything else. Here's a thought. After 3 years of this. Either quit selling false info on being the best in these areas where you don't have enough towers to cover. Or instead of using a ban with that is for distance. Use one for strength.
tsandco wrote:
I cannot get 5G or 5GUC data while indoors, anywhere in my area. Only works outdoors (not in the car). I read that mmWave spectrum in 5G/5GUC can't penetrate glass or building.
Tmobile guy at the Tmobile store said, "Thats not true". My bad for believing him.
So paying for 5G, but can’t get it indoors.
Odd I am paying for 5G service, but have to use my wifi at home to get data from my cell phone.
Tmobile is pretty deceptive
Their coverage is quite deceptive in many areas. 5g n71 will work indoors quite well. 5g n25 indoors is also as good or better than lte 1900. 5g n41 (aka 5g UC) is a bit weak. mmWave is very short range and clear line of site. I've had +5 miles on n41
Coreyrd wrote:
tidbits wrote:
data bandwidth isn't infinite. There's only so much to go around in any given area, and when congested like traffic not much you can do.
Yea. Maybe. But Tmobile is cheap. They use AT&T for roaming. And with full signal strength using there towers you can only text. No speed for anything else. Here's a thought. After 3 years of this. Either quit selling false info on being the best in these areas where you don't have enough towers to cover. Or instead of using a ban with that is for distance. Use one for strength.
There’s thousands more to it than you think there is.
AT&T uses Verizon AND T-Mobile for roaming in certain parts of the country as well. Verizon too.
Towers placement has a lot more than T-Mobile going hey we should put a tower here. You have to buy/lease the spectrum in that area, you'd need neighborhood boards approval. A spot where someone is willing to sell or lease you property to place it. You also need state/city approval as well to ensure it doesn't cause problems with communications.
The small the band the less data can travel through it. mmWave for example are tightly compact and can large amounts of data can travel with it.
There's a lot to it than this, but it's just some of the basic stuff involved. Your neighbors could be stopping towers being put up for example. Keep that in mind.
Coreyrd wrote:
tidbits wrote:
data bandwidth isn't infinite. There's only so much to go around in any given area, and when congested like traffic not much you can do.
Yea. Maybe. But Tmobile is cheap. They use AT&T for roaming. And with full signal strength using there towers you can only text. No speed for anything else. Here's a thought. After 3 years of this. Either quit selling false info on being the best in these areas where you don't have enough towers to cover. Or instead of using a ban with that is for distance. Use one for strength.
Tmobile roaming typically socks, and is quite limited in both speed and monthly allocation. At&t roaming is not much better than 2g, and if I'm correct, limited to 200MB/month. They have better roaming with US CELLULAR. 3Mbps vs 256kbps makes a world of difference. I had this I. Northern Maine. Default was .. At&t 🙄
