5G not working

[HighHopes]

Hi, I just signed up yesterday everything went smooth as far as porting goes and I'm up and running.

My phone is an S20 Ultra with the correct firmware required and confirmed working by others users.

My question and suspicion is the sim card. I bought the sim card from a Public Mobile distributor and I believe I got a really old sim card as the packing and look of it doesn't match anything I've seen only or mentions 5G. Could this be the issue? Also if that is the case where can I change it? And would PM change it for free as it would be a bummer to pay again when I just got the chip. I am aware esim is an option but I'd rather use an actual sim card.

Thank you!

[sheytoon]

@HighHopes you're on LTE B7, and it's a valid anchor band for 5G, just not on your current phone. That's why you don't see the 5G icon. If you move your SIM to an S21 for example, you'll get 5G when you're anchored on B7 or B2.

Makes sense?

[HighHopes]

 It seems I do get supported many times depends where I'm at but still only shows LTE. What do you think is going on?

[sheytoon]

@hTideGnow unfortunately band combos are not published. You'd have to check with advanced logging tools.

iPhone 12 and S20 are the only phones I'm aware of for Canadian market that must use B13 for n66 5G. Other phones that can use 5G in Canada should be able to use B2 or B7 as anchors for n66.

I believe B4/B66 can also be used for n78.

[hTideGnow]

hi @sheytoon 

how cam i tell which phone uses with anchor band?  And newer iPhone , like 13, can use other anchor bands??

[sheytoon · Accepted solution]

@HighHopes that confirms it.

Upper layer indication: not supported.

You will have no 5G with this phone in GTA on Telus/Bell and all their sub brands.

Good news is S20 speeds are just as good for LTE as they were on 5G. You can still get great performance with LTE B2-B4-B7-B7 CA combo.

[HighHopes]

 

[HighHopes]

Sorry realized I replied by accident to your thread.

[sheytoon]

I can't speak for Bell, but they do have a lack of low band spectrum compared to Rogers and Telus (in their RAN markets). There may be a desire to keep low bands like B13 for poor coverage users and not congest it with high data users in good signal conditions.

S20 and iPhone 12 can only use B13 anchor with n66.

Newer phones can use other anchor bands with n66, such as B2 and B7.

[softech]

@sheytoon ehy would Bell do that? would they enable it back soon? 

and most phones are using only n66 on 5D, isn't it?  if so, it will be a not more affected than iPhone 12 and S20, isn't it? Or many other phones are using a different anchor band??

[sheytoon]

@HighHopes I think Bell has disabled B13 anchor for 5G in GTA. Unfortunately it means phones like iPhone 12 and S20 series won't be able to use 5G as they can only do so with B13 on n66.

Can you verify your signal details by dialing *#0011#?

[JRod]

@HighHopes 

In your cellular settings options do your voice and data setting on Global or are you specially choosing the option that lists 5G? I would try that and see if that changes anything. 

To be honest though I think it just might be your device as the S20 line of phones have been known to be problematic when it comes to 5G support with Public Mobile. You could purchase another SIM card but I feel like you’d just be spending $5-$10 to experience the same issue. Seems like other’s in that thread followed the steps and like you still had issues with not connecting to 5G.

While this might be disappointing, 5G plans around here is really just a buzzword for the speed cap that is placed on those plans. 5G plans cap you at 250Mbps and 4G plans cap you at 100Mbps but LTE can support speeds way faster. So even if your device is only going to give you LTE, on a 5G plan you will see faster speeds if your device and connection allow it. 

[HighHopes]

Downtown and I moved all around of it. Even Dundas square and just does LTE and LTE+. Wonder what else could it be.

[JRod]

@HighHopes 

Was it something like this? 

Even if you have this design of SIM card you won’t need a new one to get 5G. I think the issue might lie with where you are located, perhaps there aren’t as many 5G towers around you? 

I’d advise checking here:

https://www.telus.com/en/mobility/network/coverage-map

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/coverage

[HighHopes]

Thank you so much for taking time to help! Yes I have that exact firmware and fallowed all those steps. No I wish it looked like that. It had a plain color scheme like a light peach/pink (and the older logo). Did I get ripped off with an old sim card?

[JRod]

@HighHopes 

Just to confirm, did you follow the steps outlined here by @mtbman ?

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Get-Support/Samsung-s20-5G/m-p/1046009/highlight/true...

As for having an older SIM card, did yours look like this? 

This is the same one that I have and I have no issues getting 5G with it on my iPhone 15 Pro Max and it’s my understanding that this one an older design for SIM cards. Seems to be a firmware issue with the S20’s that doesn’t play nice with Public Mobile and causes you to jump through more hoops to enable 5G, I’d be surprised if your SIM card was the reason.