[Closed] Do I need a 5G sim card?

My 10 (?) year old Three sim just worked with 5G when I popped it in my new phone.

Check that 5G is enabled: Settings > Mobile data > Mobile Data Options > Voice & Data

Presumably VF do have 5G coverage where you were in London?

Don’t know much about Android but I did read that some of the lower end and mid level phones don’t use true 5G even though they say they do on the label.
Will find the review I’m referring to and post it online.
I do think you need a 5G contract or at least a 5g enabled data plan.

Quick edit after checking 02 out, you also need a 5g enabled Sim. For some reason I can’t link the website in my edit.

Frankly, I’d be very surprised if you get any significant 5G, there’s two types, one is little more than a slightly souped-up 4G, the other, mmWave, is basically line-of-sight, and will struggle to penetrate buildings, even 4G struggles with older, solid buildings - I frequently lose a signal in shops in the centre of Bath, for example.

I would think a specific SIM is needed - I had to get a 4G one when it finally and belatedly arrived in Chippenham, some time after it had rolled out across the country.

I had a fair bit of 5G coverage in central London over the weekend with o2. Absolute hammered the battery on my phone.

SIM cards aren't 4g or 5g, they're all the same. However you'd need to check you're on a 5g enabled plan, and make sure there's 5g coverage where you are.

Vodafone are lacking in coverage tbh, Three are the best, followed by EE.

As for signal quality, and speeds, well - Three 5g has been in our town in Kent for a few years, I've had 5G broadband via Three for 18 months and had 100mbps download at 1km away from the mast through houses/trees, 150-200mbps 1.6km away with direct unobstructed line of sight, and currently have 800mbps 300m away with unobstructed line of sight.

It is true though that each mast with have a smallish hotspot around it with maximum speeds, but it still travels a km or 2 in perfect conditions.

No idea if the below is relevant but it’s from my carrier:-

Getting on 5G

1. 5G phone
5G phones have started being released. If you don’t have one already, take a look at our range.

2. 5G sim
You’ll need to swap to a 5G sim. The good news is they’re the same size and shape as our other sims, so they’ll simply pop into your new 5G phone.

If you got a 5G phone before 17 October 2019, it would’ve come with a 4G sim. Now that our 5G network is on, you need to swap to a 5G sim. Just get in touch and we’ll get it sorted. Once you’ve swapped to your 5G sim, you will need to complete a software update and enable 5G on your phone.

The phone has to be 5g capable for a start.. It sounds like the op has an iPhone but it's not clear what model it is.

I just received a new 5g SIM from Virgin. I think they may have changed virtual provider to get 5g

I think it depends whether you've Covid-vaxxed or not.

You’ll need to swap to a 5G sim.

Only if the operator is a bit crap. The SIM card just identifies you with a unique number, there's nothing in it, that I can think of, which the phone or the network *need* for 5G to work.

If the phone is 5G compatible it could be one of two things:

Your plan doesn't include 5G
Your sim doesn't allow 5G.

I'm with Vodafone. When I renewed a while back I still had the option to NOT have 5G. I did get a 5G contract even though I don't have it where I live. The help on the VF website said I *may* need a new SIM. My SIM was a good few years old. I asked VF they weren't sure and sent me a new one instead. First time I went into a 5G area I hadn't swapped the SIM but did get 5G...

First things first - check with your provider what does your contract or PAYG plan allow?

As far as I'm aware our flappy-footed friend is correct, a SIM is a SIM and there is no such thing at a technical level as a "5G SIM". However - and I am speculating here, I don't actually know - there may be other considerations such as improvements to security which a given carrier may be insisting on. I know a few years back there was an issue with weak encryption protocols still being in use.

So it's possible that some carriers are insisting on a new SIM before allowing access to the 5G network just so that everything is up-to-date, it's nothing at all to do with 'supporting' 5G but rather they're calling it a "5G SIM" because that terminology is easier for people to understand.

But as I said, this is firmly into Educated Guess territory on my part. It could even just be a value-added Marketing tactic, a customer feels all warm and fuzzy because their card is 'better'.

Thanks all

As far as the new phone goes, its an iphone 13 pro, so certainly 5G 'capable'.

I tried Vodafone and was told no need for a new SIM, I do not have good coverage where I am at home but central London, by that I mean bang in the middle, didn't give me 5G at all either.

So its either VF were full of it as usual and just told me the wrong thing (I will ask again) about needing the SIM - or its contract related and they're just trying to get me to pay them more every month.

Now I know that the contract that I took out over 4 years ago will not have included 5G for obvious reasons but that implies that there is a switch somewhere at their end to facilitate 5G? I'd really prefer not to change contracts because the deal that I have is useful for the type of calls that I make i.e. 500 mins a month of international calls for a fiver.

I'll pop into the VF shop in town and see what they say! Surprised to hear that 5G is not particularly common - I was under the impression that I was about the only one not having access to it!

Is 5G turned on in the iPhone settings?

It’s under settings > mobile data > Mobile data options > Voice and data > 5G auto

Yes, the 5G mode is switched on

Just reminded me, I've yet to transfer my Three SIMs to my Poco F3, to see if Three are telling the truth about 5G being outdoor only here.