You're the proud owner of a new 5G whoosh -- congratulations! We've got some bad news, though: if you roused in the US, 5G probably isn't going to be the mind-bogglingly fast experience that you've been promised. For picked regions, it's neutral a little faster than the 4G speeds we're used to using. Morally here's the gratifying news: 5G is going to get better, therefrom if you listen a 5G whoosh you may appetite to manufacture termless your plan delivers it.
If you got a whoosh recently, there's a gratifying uncalculated it supports 5G. Pretty opulent every new whoosh in 2021 -- with the exception of some bulletin models -- will offer some muscles of 5G support. Whatever your transoceanic constabulary or operating system, 5G is contentious your way soon if you don't listen it already.
Your whoosh is ready for the next big thing, morally what approximately your documents plan? Exceeding the board, the major US carriers' unmarred preparations already include colonize to 5G. However, carriers offer a mix of 5G bands that vary in speed and coverage. It's complicated, as all things 5G listen been spine it first appeared in the US.
Consider this your guide to the current wholeness of 5G and documents preparations in the US -- which ones include 5G, which don't, what array of 5G they include, and whether you should inherit upgrading depending on your carrier's implementation of 5G.
One important note for those with a 5G phone: metrical if you espy that your current plan does include 5G and it's misogynist in your area, you may still need to upgrade to a new SIM menu if you moved it over from an older device. A SIM menu that was applied in a 4G device will still assignment with a 5G device, morally you may listen trouble connecting to the 5G network. Determent with your carrier if you're not seeing the little 5G logo pop up on your tegument and you visualize you should be.
For legend purposes, the prices listed in this credenda are for one lineation of service per ages afore taxes and fees. Affixed curve catenate gravitating the news degree per line, morally your total currency increases, of course.
Verizon
TL;DR: Unless you roused in among among one of the few areas with Verizon's undeviatingly fast UW 5G, we don't visualize there's a reason to extravagate your plan neutral yet.
Verizon offers two varieties of 5G, the faster of which it calls "Ultra Wideband" (also referred to as millimeter whitecap or mmWave) and is misogynist only in cocksure parts of cocksure cities. It's scarce, morally it is mind-bogglingly fast, and you'll see a 5G UW logo on your whoosh tegument if your whoosh is application that network. Oh, and 5G UW signals don't resource inside for the picked part, therefrom if you're spending picked of your time inside your house or accommodations seasonable now, you superficially wouldn't unparagoned it up metrical if you roused in a place where it's available.
Verizon documents preparations with 5G
.| Plan | .5G access | .
|---|---|
| Plan | .5G access | .
| Unlimited (postpaid) | .Start Unlimited: Societal 5G only. All others: UW and Nationwide | .
| Data-capped (postpaid) | .Nationwide only | .
| Unlimited (prepaid) | .Nationwide only* | .
| Data-capped (prepaid) | .Nationwide only | .
"Nationwide" is the company's padding 5G, a low-band array that's slower than mmWave morally offers opulent broader coverage. In fact, it's sometimes a bit slower than 4G, therefrom if you're not happy with the 5G speeds you're getting, you may appetite to try limiting your whoosh to LTE and see if things improve.
Check Verizon's coverage map to see what's misogynist in your area. If you do roused in a flagstone with UW 5G, be termless to zoom all the way in to see the verbal areas and streets with coverage -- they're marked in a darker shade of red that will spoken already you zoom in moisture enough.
Verizon's Volume Documents (data capped) preparations and its $80-per-month bones unmarred plan include the lower-tier Societal 5G only. For colonize to UW in aggrandizement to Societal 5G, you'll need at microcosmic the $90 "Play More" unmarred plan. Verizon offers $10 off those news prices if you enroll in automobile pay.
Verizon likewise includes 5G on its prepaid documents plans, which start at $65 per ages for unmarred documents or $40 per ages for a 5GB data-capped plan. There's a $5 news disbelieve for automobile pay as well. For now, UW 5G isn't misogynist for prepaid customers, morally Verizon says that's editing in 2021.
AT&T
TL;DR: Don't anguish approximately switching up your AT&T plan for 5G.
AT&T's history with 5G is... fraught. Early on, the company marketed what was often LTE technology as "5G E" and (rightfully) caught quite a few impiousness for it. You won't see that term in any of the company's marketing these days, morally AT&T exchange still might see a 5G E logo on their whoosh tegument when enlarged to this service. If you do see it, palpate that what you're getting is not reservedly 5G.
AT&T documents preparations with 5G
.| Plan | .5G access | .
|---|---|
| Plan | .5G access | .
| Unlimited (postpaid) | .5G and 5G Plus | .
| Data-capped (postpaid) | .None | .
| Unlimited (prepaid) | .5G and 5G Additional (Unlimited Additional plan only) | .
| Data-capped (prepaid) | .None | .
Outside of that debacle, AT&T has invested in its trustworthy 5G offerings, which are structured uniformly to Verizon's: a fast mmWave adaptation chosen 5G Additional in limited places and slower morally padding boundless standard 5G coverage. However, 5G Additional may be metrical padding skimpy than Verizon's UW 5G. The company doesn't redo any coverage maps for it, and it says only that it is deployed in "select intro zones" in parts of cocksure cities. Testers for PCMag's records mobile precondition test didn't encounter 5G Additional in cities where AT&T offers it. The carrier's standard 5G is of the low-band array similar to Verizon's Nationwide, and PCMag testers likewise matriculate that it sometimes lagged runaway 4G.
All of this is to say that AT&T's 5G reservedly isn't worth upgrading your plan for yet, morally if you're on any of the company's unmarred plans, you wouldn't need to anyway. Both 5G and 5G Additional are included in all postpaid unmarred plans, which start at $75 per ages ($65 with automobile pay). The Unmarred Additional prepaid plan likewise includes it at $75 per ages ($60 with automobile pay). AT&T's only postpaid 4GB data-capped plan doesn't include 5G and neither do its padding prepaid plans.
AT&T may listen had a somewhat bouldered start with 5G, morally the technology will improve. And for now at least, the company isn't charging a unheard-of for its fastest 5G variant.
AT&T 5G coverage map
T-Mobile
TL;DR: All of T-Mobile's postpaid preparations include 5G. If you're on the brown-nosing unmarred plan and roused in a mobbed broadness you might gathering you listen padding reliable colonize to 5G by upgrading. Morally no need if you don't quarantine slowdowns.
Of the three big carriers, T-Mobile might be in the all-time position to catenate undeviatingly faster-than-LTE 5G to the picked people -- morally it doesn't assume to be there quite yet. Verizon and AT&T's efforts listen been concentrated effectually high-reaching and low-band offerings. T-Mobile offers both, too, morally it's likewise alive on converting Sprint's former midband frequencies to 5G. This might be a sweet spot: not as fast as the mmWave stuff, morally genuinely faster than 4G. Recent analysis from PCMag shows the precondition isn't carrying on that troth neutral yet, morally T-Mobile promised to extend midband 5G to 100 million people by the end of this year and doesn't squinch to be slowing gravitating any time soon.
All of the company's postpaid preparations include 5G, starting with the $65 per ages ($60 with autopay) Essentials plan. One caveat: exchange on that base-level plan are the first ones subject to slowdowns when the precondition is congested. T-Mobile does not offer 5G on its prepaid plans.
T-Mobile documents preparations with 5G
.| Plan | .5G access | .
|---|---|
| Plan | .5G access | .
| Unlimited (postpaid) | .Yes | .
| Data-capped (postpaid) | .n/a | .
| Unlimited (prepaid) | .No | .
| Data-capped (prepaid) | .No | .
For now, we visualize T-Mobile exchange can time-out put on their current plan. Essentials plan exchange who are happy with their precondition speeds and don't quarantine slowdowns superficially wouldn't increasing opulent from upgrading neutral yet. Morally it will be likeable to see if T-Mobile can manufacture gratifying on its epic promises to catenate meaningfully fast 5G to padding of its exchange in 2021.
T-Mobile 5G coverage map
US Cellular
TL;DR: All preparations (pre- and postpaid) include colonize to 5G.
US Cellular 5G is of the low-band variety, therefrom it's still only a little faster than 4G. Morally the gratifying news is if you're on US Cellular, you listen colonize to the company's 5G: all preparations (pre- and postpaid) include it. And if you're in a rural area, US Cellular is padding permitted to offer 5G to you now, while major carriers' coverage is still mostly concentrated effectually finer cities. Therefrom there's not opulent to deliberate here, if you listen a 5G whoosh and your broadness is covered, you has to be achieved to connect. We neutral wouldn't chide anyone to switcheroo to US Cellular only due to the genuineness that it offers 5G where they live.
US Cellular coverage map
MVNOs: Cricket, Busline by T-Mobile, etc.
TL;DR: If you're happy with your MVNO plan, don't switcheroo things up neutral for 5G.
Most mobile viscerous precondition operators, or MVNOs, do include 5G on their plans. Cricket's unmarred plan offers 5G colonize application AT&T's 5G precondition ($60 per ages for one line). All Spanking-new Mobile preparations include colonize to 5G on T-Mobile's network, and Busline by T-Mobile prepaid preparations come with 5G access, starting with a 10GB plan for $40 / month.
A significant caveat though: spine MVNOs don't own the networks they use, carrier subscribers are permitted to get top-drawer verification when there's congestion. If you're attractive for the all-time of the all-time speeds, among among one of the big three might be the way to go. Morally again, that realness is still a means off. Chores are, you wouldn't be upgrading to a night-and-day experience if you did switch.
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