I *knew* I should've been careful what I asked for...think this doesn't even qualify for "broadband" speed! Verizon, what is going on with your 5G network? First I had some my-cable-ISP-is-scared speeds some weekends, and now it's this on 5G:
🙄
I have a Samsung Galaxy A14 5G and came to Verizon from another provider 2 months ago. My 5G was always on for the 2 months, but now it's suddenly gone to 4G LTE mode all the time. I am in Austin, TX inside the 5G UW coverage area. Tried live chat and got an empathetic representative who suggested several things, none of which worked, but never really got an answer to my question. Have network reset my phone, checked for software updates, restarted phone several times, took out SIM card and put it back in, no joy. After some period of time, the person then tried to upsell me on a more expensive plan than what I'm using now, which is simply annoying.
To make things worse, my phone immediately got around 15 robo-texts from Verizon all saying I could login to my account on the phone and update my preferences or whatever after the chat ended, and clicking on the link there gives me a message "You are experiencing slow data speeds and may have timeout errors" blah blah. One robo-text I'd understand, but 15 of the same all in a row buzzing my phone nonstop?
Because I don't use my phone all that much for anything, am I simply being deprioritized on the network, or is my phone acting up and I need to get a new one? So far my phone works for everything, albeit in LTE mode, but it's disappointing that I paid for 5G service and can't get it anymore. Can anyone get me a straight answer?
@Illinger, if you get a definitive answer from tech support, please let us know. Someone mentioned that Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) got shut off in their area, and I thought it was in the northeastern US affecting several states. If it is true this was done, will gander it was to reduce some of the demand on the towers since broadcasting both LTE and 5G through the same antennae must be putting extra strain on the network? - because I've also heard rumors it was going on in areas marked as "congested".
I've been having decent luck with getting my 5G light to come on in certain parts of my neighborhood these days and have gotten data speeds as fast as 350-430Mbps down in some places. Never got better than ~65Mbps down before. But I think Verizon has realized I'm still a prepaid customer, so now they've slowed it back down for me, although I still get 5G in the "sweet spots" around town. ("Hey Synth, pay us more bucks if you want the really good stuff!" Yes, I know one usually gets what one pays for in this world, but thanks for the awesome internet speeds the past 2 weekends. 🤣)
It's not crazy to think that DSS (or lack thereof) might be the issue here.
Digging deeper into my pre-support troubleshooting, I'm seeing this weird warning coming up in the My Verizon app:
Devices-->Manage-->Run health check-->Connectivity-->Network mode (message: "Not on a preferred setting.")
Drill into that and see:
Your phone could be on a better network.
Your phone can't automatically switch to a faster network if it's available. You're better off in LTE/CDMA or global modes for better signal strength.
So, I could be on a better network, but I'm better off not being on the better network? LOL
Unfortunately, "See Settings" literally just takes me to the home screen for Samsung settings. And no options in the Connections menu that would mitigate this. (Originally, I was looking there to divine where to check if I'd unintentionally disabled UW as someone else had suggested was the fix for them.)
@Illinger, there was a post elsewhere where somebody said their phone also displayed the same message in the My Verizon health check. With you being eligible for 5G UW access but not getting any right now, perhaps that's why the message is appearing? Having LTE is better than nothing, but at least the system knows you're paying for the good stuff.
Samsung and Verizon disabled the ability to manually band select sometime last year. I've seen posts from others who have other types of phones which I presume are not Verizon versions either who can still band select, but there's no way to do it on a Samsung, at least for US-based phones. I've got a good friend in Romania with an S21 who has no trouble with band selection, but we're out of luck.
We want to m
@Illinger wrote: @SynthpopAddict I have the identical issue as originally reported here, where I had a perfect UW signal everywhere in CT and even as far north as central VT, and about a month ago I (may have started earlier I wasn't paying attention) I now only get LTE. Also, this is on the identical phone you have; bought mine in May or June. Most of my state is suburban, so my two cents here is whatever is going on it isn't necessarily congestion. (Your specific area, though, you're probably on to something with the campuses nearby.) About to start my journey talking to tech support.
We want to make sure you get your 5G service no matter where you are and we're going to do everything we can to help you. Apart from your phone not showing 5G, how is your Verizon service performing? What download/upload speeds do you get?
~Jesse
Jesse ( @vzw_customer_support ),
Call quality is fine. I am at least getting a reliable 4G LTE signal. Ookala tests from home are confirming 19-23Mb downstream and 5.5-6Mb upstream. This is about what I could expect in my area, before the 5G rollout.
I'm just not getting a 5G signal anymore, and it doesn't seem to matter where I travel. When I bought the plan and phone, I had reliable 5G everywhere in CT, and up the I-91 corridor through western MA, and as far north as central VT. (Aside from occasional spots that are dead to all carriers; mountain in the way and nowhere to put a tower.)
I do not recall when I first noticed this change. However, in researching the problem, I have noticed a spike in the number of people with similar complaints on this forum on or after December 6th, which matches a recent software update on my phone.
As stated in the thread above, troubleshooting revealed this message copied below. Could you please explain?
"Digging deeper into my pre-support troubleshooting, I'm seeing this weird warning coming up in the My Verizon app:
Devices-->Manage-->Run health check-->Connectivity-->Network mode (message: "Not on a preferred setting.")
Drill into that and see:
Your phone could be on a better network.
Your phone can't automatically switch to a faster network if it's available. You're better off in LTE/CDMA or global modes for better signal strength."
Has anyone else in the Austin, TX area noticed their 5G light came back on? I haven't had continuous 5G service here since early last November, but my 5G light has been on for several hours. However, it's really slow as in 5-12Mbps down. Guess I still need to pay more bucks? Too bad I can't switch bands to LTE and see if that's better or worse. Check Network Status widget shows nothing.
Beats dial-up speeds I think you said you had at one point.
Good to know,. Maybe my area is to follow.
True! 😁
Here's the really weird thing though: If I open the OpenSignal app, that says I'm using 4G LTE despite my phone clearly displaying a 5G symbol at the top of the screen. And the data speeds I'm seeing are still what I was getting when the phone was showing LTE, although it hasn't been at dial-up speeds (yet?). Ookla speedtest app does say 5G when I open it.
If Verizon is trying to turn back on their nationwide (low-band) 5G to everyone, doesn't quite seem to be working all that well because either the 5G side of the network is now totally swamped, or else I'm being severely throttled due to being a prepaid customer. When I was getting 5G only some of the time, it would be at least 30Mbps down. Sure hope the postpaid customers will have a better experience.
I *knew* I should've been careful what I asked for...think this doesn't even qualify for "broadband" speed! Verizon, what is going on with your 5G network? First I had some my-cable-ISP-is-scared speeds some weekends, and now it's this on 5G:
🙄
It worries us to see you are experiencing issues with your data speeds and we are here to help. Please tell us, when did this start? Is this impacting multiple devices?~Geo
@vzw_customer_support: Geo, thanks for the reply. This started a few days ago when I suddenly noticed the status icon changed on my phone. Pretty sure I have figured it out. The towers in my immediate neighborhood must have gotten some kind of change to them, because my phone no longer displays an LTE icon when it is in 4G LTE mode. It only shows a 5G icon (see the screenshot above)...BUT...if the icon's background is transparent as in the image above, then the phone is actually in 4G LTE mode. OpenSignal is NOT fooled by this "5G" and indicates the phone is in 4G LTE if the icon has the clear background. The Ookla speedtest app, however, is fooled and thinks it's 5G when it's not.
If the 5G icon has a black or white background to it inside the little square, THEN the phone is truly in 5G mode and I get the data speeds I typically see when in 5G. If whatever app running happens to use a black background screen such as above, the 5G icon would have a white background to it to indicate the phone is in 5G. If whatever's running has a light background, then the 5G icon has a black background to indicate the phone is in 5G mode.
I happened to be on the other side of town last night and whatever tower was there must've not been upgraded yet, because my phone displayed either LTE or 5G as it changed bands. I am not eligible for 5G UW on my service plan, so have no idea what the icon for that would look like on my phone.
Might I respectfully ask that the status icons be reverted to the old ones? Having a "5G" showing constantly, albeit with different color changes to the background, is a little deceptive IMO and smacks of when AT&T used to use the terminology "5GE" to mean 4G LTE until they were forced to stop doing so. I don't expect to have 5G service all the time, but this was really confusing me until I paid more attention and did a number of speed tests.
Thank you for those additional details, SynthpopAddict. Unfortunately, we do not have a way to change the color of the icon. Have you restarted the phone since this came back?
-Melissa
@vzw_customer_support wrote:Thank you for those additional details, SynthpopAddict. Unfortunately, we do not have a way to change the color of the icon. Have you restarted the phone since this came back?
-Melissa
Yes, I have restarted the phone a few times, but that isn't the point. What I was saying earlier is my phone now shows a 5G icon all the time regardless of whether it is in 4G LTE or 5G. It's only the background color of the icon which changes. Can you not escalate this to the correct department and bring back the LTE icon for when our phones are in LTE mode? There are still some towers which still do have my phone showing an LTE icon when it's in LTE mode, but not all of them.
I could start another thread once I get the chance to take some screenshots of what I'm seeing if that would help explain it better.
I am in Austin. The signal inside home indeed will change from 4G 2-3 bars to 5G 1bar occasionally. The speed on 5G is much slower, 1-3 mbps download. 4G is 15-20 mbps.
When I stand in driveway outside house, the 5G can go to 2 bars and the down speed can go above 50mbps. It looks like 5G doesn't work well over distance or through the wall.
I am on the most expensive unlimited ultimate plan. Don't how much more I can pay...
@prvzw You mentioned you live west of Mopac earlier in this thread. OpenSignal doesn't show any towers nearby along a good stretch of Mopac. With it being a crowd-sourced app, may not be completely accurate, but I suspect this is why your service is kind of spotty and 5G radio waves already being limited in how far they can travel, doesn't work well for you. If you have to go outside to decently pick up 5G at all and the speeds are in the ~50Mbps down range, it's low-band 5G and not 5G UW. Not sure if it's worth it to be paying for Unlimited Ultimate since you're not getting 5G UW?
Correct, there is no 5G UW at home. There is at my work. But the phone is 100% on wifi at home or work. So I am really paying for the service when I am away. Verizon should give us a discount...
@prvzw wrote: Correct, there is no 5G UW at home. There is at my work. But the phone is 100% on wifi at home or work. So I am really paying for the service when I am away. Verizon should give us a discount...
Wi-Fi is a great way to supplement your data and Wi-Fi Calling can ensure you're always able to make calls. Are you having any problems calling or connecting to your Wi-Fi?
~Jesse
It's your money, but if you're always on Wi-Fi no matter what, why pay for the highest level plan? Unless...you had to sign up for it to get a free device and must therefore use Unlimited Ultimate for 36 months or whatever. Verizon has more cost effective service plans if you don't intend to use cellular data.
Please reply to our private note so we can get you the assistance that you need. -Joe
What private note? There are no private messages in the inbox
No one has reached out to me in a week. In addition to no response, there’s been no change in reception/service. I’ve never experienced such poor customer service from Verizon.
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
