Question

Force 5G on Pixel 7 Pro

  • 3 November 2023
  • 5 replies
  • 348 views
J
Rank

Hey,

To give some context, 5G and 4G both work on my phone with ID. 5G works flawlessly near the 5G tower, and intermittently from my desk. When the phone does connect to 5G from my desk (not exactly sure what prompts it to make that connection) - I get speeds of ~480mbps, which is much better than 4G’s ~10-20mpbs.

I’d like to figure a way to force this 5G connection to happen - even if it means I can’t connect to 4G when there’s no 5G available.

I’ve tried setting ‘NR Only’ in the service menu of the Pixel, as well as changing my preferred network types in my SIM settings to 5G. At the moment, 5G still only connects (4-5 bars) once in a blue moon and for only a few minutes when I’m at my desk.

I don’t seem to have the 5G/LTE Debugging option which allows you to completely disable LTE either.


My last and undesired option is rooting the phone to use a slightly dodgy looking app that promises it can force 5G - want to avoid this if possible though!

P.s. Battery saver / ANY adaptive battery or connectivity settings are all off.
 

Any advice or help is much appreciated!
J

5 replies

andewhite
Rank
Userlevel 8
Badge +9

If you root your Pixel device, you might not get Android updates from Google - I think Google provide Android updates for 5-years (after device is launched).

Not sure what you can do about forcing device to use 5G. Perhaps this option isn’t available because iD 4G Calling service (VoLTE) might need device in 4G mode.
VoLTE will be needed after 2024, as Three UK (the iD network partner) will have decommissioned their 3G mobile network. 

 

J
Rank

Thanks for the info, I’m open to installing updates manually etc but it’s definitely end of the list in terms of things I’ll try 😥

The explanation makes sense, it’s just frustrating that I can see a strong 5G signal exists here, and will improve my broadband speed by a factor of ~25x 😅 But can’t figure out how to get it to consistently connect

Appreciate the response anyhow 😄

andewhite
Rank
Userlevel 8
Badge +9

Seems odd, with a strong 5G signal, device doesn’t consistently use 5G for mobile data. 

Does https://mastdata.com have some real world data for 5G reception at your location @JJB1010?

 

J
Rank

Thanks for the link - Three has middling/orange signal via mastdata, however this is uniform across the city, including places I get 5 bars of 5G indoors and out 😕

The only issue I can see empirically is that the ID coverage tracker https://www.idmobile.co.uk/help-and-advice/coverage#coverage-info has me in a small window where the coverage switches from “outdoor and indoor” to “outdoor only” - however, I’m skeptical since, as mentioned, I’ve gotten strong 5G inside before for a few mins at a time and heading outside doesn’t necessarily switch to 5G (switches seem fairly random).

andewhite
Rank
Userlevel 8
Badge +9

Okay @JJB1010, I think all UK mobile networks offer a coverage checker based on computer models of theoretical signal reception at a given location. 

Most checkers seem to have a footnote such as: 

 

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