5G icon in non 5G area...

pcwifi

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Jul 29, 2025
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5G mobile network. I live in an area where 5G is not yet available, but it is available on nearby transmitters about 3-4 km away. My old phone sometimes picked up a very weak signal from it, but it couldn't hold out and the phone switched to LTE+. The OnePlus 13 is paradoxically sometimes more sensitive, that is, than ever.. and it probably picks up a 5G signal, in my case the well-spreading 700Mhz band aka Band n28. But it is still so weak that it cannot use it, as if it only detected this band in the air and immediately wildly indicated 5G on the signal icon. I check which network the phone is actually connected to without any fabrications via NetMonster, thanks to which I know that the OnePlus13 simply distorts or incorrectly evaluates the signal situation.

Is there any way to prevent the phone from falling into the old 2G? For other brands, e.g. Samsung, the 2G data option can be turned off and the network preference is now only either LTE preference or 5G preference.

and that's the difference between different brands, everyone can install the latest HW but debugging the SW obviously takes a lot of effort... and time. But the user would like a ready-made solution right the first time.

Is there a way to provide feedback so that the manufacturer can address this ?

This shouldn't happen with a phone that costs almost 1000 Euros...
 
5G mobile network. I live in an area where 5G is not yet available, but it is available on nearby transmitters about 3-4 km away. My old phone sometimes picked up a very weak signal from it, but it couldn't hold out and the phone switched to LTE+. The OnePlus 13 is paradoxically sometimes more sensitive, that is, than ever.. and it probably picks up a 5G signal, in my case the well-spreading 700Mhz band aka Band n28. But it is still so weak that it cannot use it, as if it only detected this band in the air and immediately wildly indicated 5G on the signal icon. I check which network the phone is actually connected to without any fabrications via NetMonster, thanks to which I know that the OnePlus13 simply distorts or incorrectly evaluates the signal situation.

Is there any way to prevent the phone from falling into the old 2G? For other brands, e.g. Samsung, the 2G data option can be turned off and the network preference is now only either LTE preference or 5G preference.

and that's the difference between different brands, everyone can install the latest HW but debugging the SW obviously takes a lot of effort... and time. But the user would like a ready-made solution right the first time.

Is there a way to provide feedback so that the manufacturer can address this ?

This shouldn't happen with a phone that costs almost 1000 Euros...
Nevermind you said Euros. Old message deleted. Reworded.

In the US 2G has been shut down forever ago. Also we have SA and NSA 5G. NSA 5G uses 4G as a piggyback which makes it more akin to 3.5G. However even that is disappearing slowly as 5G is more available.
 
In the USA they may be turning off 2G but in the EU it's still a long way off. So far NSA is generally leading, it's also been at least a year in my country with my operator for SA.

and the fact that SA is turned on doesn't actually mean anything, as long as 2G is turned on, the phone will be able to fall into it in dead places.

On other phones, forcing LTE/NR works within the settings in the netmonster app, which should prevent drops to 2G, but it doesn't prevent...

Unfortunately I still don't know what I was asking about in the original Question...
 
In the USA they may be turning off 2G but in the EU it's still a long way off. So far NSA is generally leading, it's also been at least a year in my country with my operator for SA.

and the fact that SA is turned on doesn't actually mean anything, as long as 2G is turned on, the phone will be able to fall into it in dead places.

On other phones, forcing LTE/NR works within the settings in the netmonster app, which should prevent drops to 2G, but it doesn't prevent...

Unfortunately I still don't know what I was asking about in the original Question...
That depends on how aggressive the tower (and maybe phone?) are. I can be at 1 bar 5G and it will choose that over full strength 4G.

Either way, shouldnt be happening on a $1000 phone but OnePlus shouldn't cost as much as it does either.

Too many variables. Could be whatever OS you're running. The tower. Your provider. Your plan. And if 2G is that widespread, be cautious disabling it. You could kill voice calls altogether.

Id suggest listing your exact OS version, where in Euroland you are roughly, carrier and plan and see if anyone has a similar provider setup. The more info you provide upfront, the more likely you'll get a response.
 
Czech Republic, Tmobile CZ, the NetMonster app is currently verifying that the phone is in the LTE+ network and not 5G. It seems that a micro-weak 5G signal in the air is enough for it, but the signal level indication indicates the LTE network. It's quite mysterious. Only in a few places is 5G not available, mostly between hills / valleys and there it indicates LTE fine.
My FW: CPH2653_15.0.0.831 (EX01)

with Samsung there was no problem with deactivating 2G, forcing LTE/NR led to the phone sticking to at least LTE until it died, which was good, but yes, this is not Samsung. I don't know if that's good or bad.

tHx 🙃
 
5G on LTE.jpg

I see this every day... (including a location with only LTE800 and there it also indicates 5G, however, after some time, on the order of minutes, the correct LTE indication appears.) You don't understand... if I were in a city where 5G is basically almost everywhere, I probably wouldn't worry about it, but this seems like a pretty monstrous bug to me. Unfortunately, OnePlus mobiles are basically not discussed on the Czech Internet, either people have it and everything is ok or they live with existing errors or choose other brands.

A note from the point of view of sensitivity, if a place has a very bad signal, even OnePlus with perhaps better antennas inside won't save it... there are only a few such places, but they exist.

We'll see when TM launches 5G SA and the 700Mhz frequency becomes independent if it can push through to where 800 isn't.
 

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