Poor 5G Standalone performance

[5GEE]

I've recently received 5G Standalone coverage here in Ipswich but the performance in my home is very poor compared to non-standalone.

I have also verified via iPhone field test that I am getting a standalone signal. When I do it's pretty much always two bars while NSA gets 4 bars. My phone also constantly switches between NSA and SA every few minutes.

This is the speed I get on non-standalone:

And this is on standalone:

Considering it was just made available here and my phone keeps switching between NSA and SA, is it still going through some testing? I noticed if I put my postcode in the 5G Standalone checker it still says not available even though I am getting a signal.

[Northerner]

Hi @5GEE 

Do you have SA entitlement on your plan.

Does the signal you receive cause you any issues. 

Thanks 

[5GEE]

Yes I got a new Full Works plan this year. As mentioned previously the Field Test on my iPhone shows I'm getting SA. But with poor internet speed compared to NSA.

[Lesley_W]

Hi @5GEE 

Have you tried this in an area which has confirmed 5G Standalone? Just wondering if you had the same experience.

Lesley

[5GEE]

Yes, Ipswich is one of the new areas that are being covered by 5G standalone: https://newsroom.ee.co.uk/millions-get-mobile-network-boost-as-ee-expands-5g-standalone-for-the-uk/

[Ali_A · Accepted solution]

@5GEE 

Not all of Ipswich is covered by 5G SA yet. 

You can check the 5G Standalone coverage in different postcode areas of Ipswich at EE's 5G Coverage. 
Just scroll to the bottom of the page to "How to get 5G Standalone on EE"

Ali 

[5GEE]

It says not available, but my phone is showing that it's receiving a standalone signal.

[Ali_A]

@5GEE 

We have no active Stand-Alone service in Ipswich or the surrounding area at the moment. However, as our Newsroom article mentions it being available by the end of this month, it's safe to assume there will be and have been performing some testing in the area. 

We don't have sight of any testing schedules that may be carried out, but once the service is fully active in Ipswich it would be good to then compare the service you receive. You should get faster download and upload speeds as well as better network performance in crowded areas. 

Keep an eye on the coverage check link. If you have any issues once launched in the area you can get in touch with our technical team who can investigate. 

Ali 

[simesa]

Same for me. Im in SE London in an area covered by SA and in particular the upload speeds are shockingly bad compared to NSA and 4G.

Speedtests consistently show SA uploads way below 4G and NSA 5G and usually the upload is really ragged giving wild fluctuations where the others are consistent.

Top is 4G (usually actually get more like 400 Mbps) then NSA then SA - with SA routinely lowest upload, worst ping.

i upload quite a lot from my phone and have been really not impressed so far, usually turning to 4G when doing a lot of uploading.

There are rules of physics at play a little - here I’m often on band 3 for 4G but band n78 for 5G SA. Band 3 is lower frequency so will travel further and likely be more consistent, N78 higher and need to be nearer the mast for better, reliable speeds.

Kind of answering my own complaint here - until we have a lot more (possibly lower power) cells particularly for higher frequencies the experience of 5G SA is likely to be patchy as it’s always at the higher bands which = higher speed but lower range (tied with phones which like the networks favour the download portion).