Posted 6 November 2023

Real world mobile network speeds 5G. What do you get please?

Looking to get new mobiles for wife and I, and probably getting pixel 8 pros, but struggling to decide o network. We are with EE and Vodafone on 4G at the moment.

I can see some great deals for ID Mobile, who use 3 as their provider, and was hoping to get some real world speed tests please, plus any good or bad points.

Would also appreciate any others, preferably with location, send am very interested in portsmouth and Havant speeds please.
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  1. KodaBear's avatar
    Suburbs of Newcastle - My personal testing with SIM in the same Google Pixel 6A within a few minutes of each other around 10PM:

    EE 4G - 110Mbps
    EE 5G - 300Mbps
    Vodafone 4G (Tested via TalkMobile SIM) - 80Mbps
    Vodafone 5G - Not Available
    Three 4G - 45Mbps
    Three 5G - 410Mbps
    O2 4G - 3Mbps
    O2 5G - 105Mbps

    From independent testing across England, EE Comes first place, followed by Vodafone, then Three, and O2 in last place for overall service. For data speeds, they are also in the same order for overall averages - However if comparing 5G Speeds alone then Three come out on top, followed by EE, then Vodafone, then O2. So my own results are quite similar to national averages.

    Three can be a little hit and miss especially when near the coast. Something I feel I should say when you mention you are around Portsmouth. However they do have good data speeds on average, as well as some of the best call quality of all networks. Only other thing to say is be aware that ID Mobile is owned by Currys and the customer service is just as bad as you would expect. Also with zero telephone support. It's all online only if you do need help.
    ghostm4n's avatar
    Author
    Thank you that really is very much appreciated. One of the Currys staff showed me his phone on mobile on Vodafone outside the Portsmouth store and he was getting almost 300MB
  2. one_eight_seven's avatar
    Real world speed tests won't help you much unless you live/work/frequent the same places as the people that provide them!

    My advice would be to get a PAYG SIM and test the network/s you want to move to for at least a week or two.
    ghostm4n's avatar
    Author
    I get your point but if 90% of people using ID Mobile, were only getting 25MB then that would tell me something. Likewise if they all got 200MB then thatvtells me something else. I did also say I was very interested to hear what people in portsmouth and Havant were getting. I don't have a 5G phone at the moment, and will get it as part of a package, so couldn't really do that anyway. (edited)
  3. Denney_Masters's avatar
    51371212-rhdjB.jpgThree mobile here but I'm not gonna lie there are more times I get next to nothing with them compared to O2 and Vodafone.
    ghostm4n's avatar
    Author
    Thank you, That is also useful to know.
  4. wafc's avatar
    I travel all around the north west for work. 5G is so inconsistent and poor unless In a stationary area of a city centre, I have it permanently turned off and accept a more reliable 4g.
    ghostm4n's avatar
    Author
    Now that helps a lot. I didn't actually realise you could even do that. I probably won't care most of the time, but occasionally I'll tether for work if my broadband is down, or I'll stream video remotely occasionally is all.
  5. SILLYCLINT's avatar
    Crazy...
    51372317-idZzM.jpg51372317-lPuB5.jpg51372317-Vmwb5.jpg51372317-rWGGn.jpg
    screenshots in Bolton, but signal pretty much non existent where I work in Burnley 🫤 (edited)
    harrythefish's avatar
    No ping values?
  6. Dyslexic_Dog's avatar
    I'm on the Devon/Cornwall border and on 3 or any mvno's that use the 3 network I get 0 up and 0 down! (edited)
    Ferris's avatar
    Oh, your area's had the upgrade too, then?
  7. bozo007's avatar
    I get over 100 Mbps on 4G and don't miss 5G at all. The latter is needed only if you are downloading a lot.
  8. wayners's avatar
    I get a full signal and 5g but no internet. Just hangs. It's very frustrating. I try and force the phone to stay on 4g in the settings.

    I few times I've had 5g and the internet works but for internet browsing, YouTube ect i can't tell the difference in speed between 4g and 5. Both is fast.
    Where is the benefit? Gamers or people wanting to download large files maybe? (edited)
    KodaBear's avatar
    Yeah. A lot of people get carried away with the need for the latest technology and fastest speeds. But even a 3G connection (where still available) is totally usable for browsing the web and even streaming music and videos on your phone.

    The only time you will notice the speed difference is if you are downloading lots of large files, or you are tethering with a computer connected to the mobile data.

    For me personally, I leave 5G Switched off for the sake of battery life more than anything else. It's just not necessary on my phone.
  9. kevlfc's avatar
    [deleted]
  10. harrythefish's avatar
    4G at home here and if the usual internet goes down, I use the hotspot that's somewhere around 20 Mbps. Never managed to max it out - everything including the usual streaming works fine. OK, I'm not into multi-user streaming of 4K movies.

    5G may have a place in very densely populated localities where supposedly (though I've never heard of proof) 5G can cope with a huge number of subscribers on one mast. That being so, what matters is not your speed at home, but how good the coverage is at city rail stations, major tourist spots, stadiums etc.

    Unless you are looking for a 5G main home router. If so, say why not say it in the first post?
    ghostm4n's avatar
    Author
    Not after a 5G router cheers. Virgin already gives me Gigabit broadband.
  11. PonJaul76's avatar
    Interested too having had a deal on a 5g contract for the last year but only a 4g phone
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