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The Big -5G Nationwide- Lie

Been living with Verizon shared data for years. Thought I would explore 5G. After lots of confusion and then reading, and more reading... I understand that Verizon 5G UW is not offered in my area, and many times Verizon's 4G LTE is actually faster than (non UW) 5G... But I figure hey, "5G Nationwide" is supposedly everywhere right now. So it should be possible for me to get 5G on my phones, right? So let's check it out...

Step 1 - Go to https://www.verizon.com/coverage-map/ and verified the entire area around my home is covered in RED with "5G Nationwide".

Step 2 - Confirm that both the phones I purchased from Verizon are 5G capable.

Step 3 - Chat with Verizon and ask them how can I get "5G Nationwide" signal on my 5G capable phones. They tell me I just need to sign up for an Unlimited 5G Plan.

Step 4 - Sign up for Unlimited 5G Plans on both phones.

Step 5 - Reboot the phones.

Step 6 - Look at the Network icons on both phone but they still say 4G LTE !

Step 7 - Chat again with Verizon, two different agents. First level has me go through a bunch of network resets and reboots, then escalates to second level who tells me the closest 5G tower is 15 miles away. And then the chat gets conveniently disconnected after I asks why the coverage map says I am supposed to get 5G.

So is there some "activation" that Verizon Chat, first and second level, don't know about? Please tell me how to turn on "5G Nationwide" on my two phones!!! Otherwise I am thinking this whole "5G Nationwide" thing is a complete Lie. Right now it seems like there is no such thing, and the entire "5G Nationwide" coverage map is complete garbage. It seems to me that one must live in a city that has 5G UW to even consider getting a 5G icon on their phone.

Sure I now have "Unlimited" data and a bunch of free streaming add-ons, but those were not the reasons I signed up. I really want to see that 5G icon on my phones. How can I please?

Comments

Piscestg

The 5G coverage map for my area indicates complete coverage also. However I bought a new iPhone 12 Pro Max (from Apple) last month and found something interesting. I have it set to 5G service when it's available. The phone would frequently jump to 5G however it wasn't any faster than 4G. No big deal I guess. But for the last two weeks I haven't gotten 5G service once. I did reset the network settings twice but no success. Again, not a big deal but Verizon's advertising is very misleading. Of course most advertising these days is mostly lies.

Good luck.

tzr209

Used Chat again, got to second tier again, they ordered and sent "5G SIM Cards" to me. I just got through activating one of them, and still no 5G Nationwide on the phone. Guess I have to spend another 2 to 3 hours on chat again....

tzr209

Well, I found the problem with ONE of my devices on my own by using the verizon website "troubleshooting assistant", it states in order to get 5G Nationwide:

Most 5G devices released in 2020 require a software update to enable access to 5G Nationwide. Customers will be pushed the software update when it is available for their device. After completing the device software update, the 5G icon displays on the device when in 5G Nationwide coverage.
- Note: 5G phones released in 2019 are not 5G Nationwide-capable; instead a device upgrade is required to see the 5G icon in addition to the 5G Ultra Wideband icon when in 5G coverage.

So my LG v50 isn't even going to get Nationwide at all, period. Already activated "5G SIM".

My GF's S20 Ultra needs a software update. Have not activated the "5G SIM" yet... How do I know if the 5G software has been even been released for the S20????

tzr209

@tzr209
wrote:
My GF's S20 Ultra needs a software update. Have not activated the "5G SIM" yet... How do I know if the 5G software has been even been released for the S20????

Activated the new 5G SIM on the S20 Ultra... No 5G Nationwide, still 4G.

I really feel duped by Verizon's FAKE coverage map that shows 5G Nationwide is basically everywhere. Plus the completely EVIL lack of disclosing that a 2019 "5G phone" purchased from Verizon will not get 5G ever, and a 2020 "5G phone" purchased from Verizon needs some unknown software update that likely will never come.

tzr209

I just love these customer forums where I get to talk to myself and never actually get any help from the provider...

Road trip yesterday... First stop the Authorized Verizon Customer Service location in Stockton CA. Due to COVID, they place an employee at the front door taking appointments and asking why you want to get inside. This employee seemed completely ignorant regarding 5G Nationwide / 5G UW. She claimed that 5G Nationwide and 5G UW is only available in "big cities like Los Angeles, SF, Atlanta".

I explained that the Verizon coverage map is clearly shows 5G Nationwide is basically everywhere. And that we went to Sacramento yesterday, which is on the list for 5G UW, and the Verizon coverage map shows there are areas of downtown Sacramento where 5G UW is Live right now. She wasn't having any of it, so we just bailed out of there.

Took a drive to a Verizon retail store about 10 miles away... Talked to a nice person who actually lives in Stockton and says she gets 5G on her phone in a specific area. Hmm, really, ok...

During the driving, my GF notices that 5G icon appeared on her s20 Ultra for about 20 seconds while on the connector between two major highways. Tried to get off at the first exit, but by then it was back to 4G.

We continued on toward the spot where the Verizon store employee said she gets 5G, and sure enough the s20 Ultra does! Did some speed tests and they were horrible. Sadly, driving only a few blocks, the icon changed back to 4G. Seems like the area with 5G Nationwide is very small, and it's about 3 miles from my home.

This certainly does not match up with the Verizon coverage map that claims 5G Nationwide is basically everywhere around here. What a big fat lie.

Grit11

Thank You for posting this info. Helps a lot for those of us trying to navigate Verizon's 5G chaos and confusion.

Master-Blaster

Hey brother, I just came over to Verizon "Prepaid" from Straight Talk a week ago to test them out. I thought it maybe was me or my LG V50 was defective. Just got a 5G sim sent to me by a Verizon tech rep and still no 5G even though I'm in a 5G area according to their map. So this whole experience you went through and what I'm experiencing now confirms what I've been saying for years: Verizon is the Devil and they lie, cheat and steal and when they're caught they pay the 20 million dollar class action law suit because they already made a half billion on their garbage marketing. What's funny is now that I'm direct with Verizon I get worse signal and slower speed than when I was on Straight Talk with a Verizon sim. Go figure! Sooooo, it's back to Straight Talk! It's about the same service cost but at least with Straight Talk I get a good 30-60 Mbps 4G speed which I'm not getting with Verizon direct! Filthy liars. Is ATT much better? Probably not by much. The big cell companies will no doubt continue to get away with false advertising for another 5-10 years or so. I just read a tech article that pointed out that real 4G is at least 100Mbps and real 5G is at least 1Gbps as per the FCC and that after all these supposed 4G years it's only in the past couple 2 or 3 years that some areas are finally experiencing close to real 4G. The idea that anyone will have more than 100Mbps on 5G right now is "slim" and none. And guess what? "Slim" left town.

Kmodek

I just signed up today, have a 2021 Motorola 5g phone, 5g sim, and no 5g. Then read in another place on the site that my prepaid plan DOESN'T get 5g, but right above it, said ALL prepaid plans get 5g. So why do I do now? Pay MORE to get the advertised service???

Verizon2183

Yes Verizon 5G coverage is really bad. I have a iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPad Pro 5g. No 5g coverage from Verizon in Salem Oregon and no home internet from Verizon wireless. On the other hand T-Mobile has low band 5g as of late 2019 and as late 2021 T-Mobile has mid band 5g here in Salem Oregon with download speeds up to 744mb down and 49 up. T-Mobile also has home internet here in Salem Oregon. T-Mobile has improved there network in two years way to go T-Mobile on doing good job. What has Verizon done with there network here in Salem Oregon the answer is nothing. Come on Verizon get your head out of blank. Get your 5G in Salem Oregon now.

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