5g slow

[marymulhall]

Hi, since switching to EE from Three I've noticed 5g is considerably worse.  I'm constantly getting 4g like speeds on 5g (40-50mbps) whereas on threes I was getting over 200mbps. I also noticed a wider 5g availability in Northampton on three compared to EE. Does anyone know if ee is expanding their 5g capacity in Northampton to allow faster speeds and further coverage? I use an iPhone 14 Pro Max. I don't have any speed restrictions as the contract is no max mbps (your best speeds).

[bristolian]

Both 4G & 5G carrier & tech-adds are a continual process, rollout is ongoing for both technologies.

[Naynay79]

For the last 3 weeks I've noticed the 5g in Northampton has been rubbish, I keep having to switch back to 4g to get anything to work!

If I'm on 5g nothing will load it it buffers constantly.

Considering EE is supposed to be the best network this 5g issue isn't really representative of that! 

[bristolian]

There's no wider issues that I'm aware of.

Have you reported those issues using the status checker?

[marymulhall]

This has been the case since I switched to EE in December 2023. I'm kinda disappointed. I switched because of the roaming and the advertisement that it's a faster network including increased reliability. But I've just been disappointed. I love the 200mbps+ speeds on three and I expected it to either match or exceed as EE is the largest network. 5g network availability I'm finding is less as well.

[bristolian]

Just out of interest, what do you use your phone for that 4G network speeds are insufficient?

[marymulhall]

I don't use it to the point that I need those speeds but I use it to watch videos / general serf the net. This is more of a I like the speeds being at x not that I need it. Although during the summer I use the personal hotspot function as I go to the caravan so watch films via that.

[bristolian]

It makes for an interesting debate - I've used 4G to tether a laptop that video streams, with the phone also streaming simultaneously.

Much depends on the bandwidth deployed on an individual site, hence my comment earlier about carrier & tech adds being an ongoing process. Each operator also has different strategies.

[marymulhall]

I have noticed 5g is slower or feels slower. I wish that they would fix this. 5g is supposed to be snappier and faster than 4g.

I managed to have constant 200mbp+ on three. I even managed to reach over 1gb in certain instances. No matter where I was if I had 5g I had triple digit speeds if I had a 5g signal. I am very disappointed in EE tbh. Three a smaller network managing to have a better network wasn't on my bingo card. Sure they have different strategies but EE is touting themselves as the fastest and most reliable. EE has more customers (it is of course the biggest network) and has more money. Surely it can invest in its own network?