Spark | 5G Performance in The Midwest (Re: August 11th's Episode)

David Blue David Blue davidblue@extratone.com

Vergecast (more specifically, Nilay,) In response to Nilay's prompt for emails about 5G in August 11th's episode: > If you are a person - beyond just my phone is faster or I've downloaded more pirated

The Vergecast The Vergecast vergecast@theverge.com

Vergecast (more specifically, Nilay,)

In response to Nilay's prompt for emails about 5G in August 11th's episode:

If you are a person - beyond just my phone is faster or I've downloaded more pirated Netflix videos than ever in an airport - if you're someone who's actually like experienced the benefits of 5G, I want to hear from you.

...I'm afraid I'm probably going a bit off prompt, but I can't help but share basically my only anecdote about 5G as someone who lives ~two hours or so from the geographic center of the USA (specifically in Columbia, Missouri.)

Since first purchasing my iPhone 12 Pro Max in December 2020, I've experienced all sort of network issues when leaving the device in "5G Auto" or "5G On" modes. I'm not so sure how long I'd had the phone before I set it in LTE-only mode, but I've left it there for the vast majority of the time since because of how much more reliable the whole device became, basically.

I chose to reach out about this anecdote specifically because I actually have data to back it up. Using an iOS app called Net Analyzer, I've been intermittently testing 5G vs LTE performance all over the mid-Missouri area since ~Feb 2021 or so.

I primarily wanted to share this Twitter thread with you and leave you - assuming you've got the time and curiosity - to draw your own conclusions.

I've also started a Mastodon thread and attached a CSV export of my speedtest(dot)net results (which unfortunately do not accurately represent the different cellular bands used) mostly for the hell of it.

Oh also! I can tell you this also seems to apply to newer devices. My girlfriend - whom I can convince of hardly anything, usually - has switched to LTE-only on her iPhone 14.

Thanks!

David Blue+1 (573) 823-4380 bilge.world