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Carrier AT&T Adding 5G to older Unlimited plans. [emoji3]
- Thread starter Aceroller
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Quick question. So we have an old Unlimited and More with AT&T and qualify for the 5G addition. My wife’s 12 arrived on the 30th. In the one known area with 5G the phone does not switch nor do the data options in settings. AT&T states we have 5G on all our lines from the March 12th decision. I took her 12 to AT&T and had a new sim installed. The 5G option appeared in the store, but there was no 5G signal. After leaving the store the menu in settings reverted back to LTE/4G only, and when returning to the 5G area near us once again no signal? I’ve never received any email text stating we now have 5G even though AT&T states it’s active.
The phone has had diagnostics run on it with Apple and no hardware issues were detected.
Do you think AT&T is being disingenuous about my plans status, and it really is still a back end issue? Are you of the opinion that the Data option in settings will change automatically when in an area with a strong enough signal? I was under the impression that if the phone is activated on a 5G plan one will always see the 5G, 5G Auto, LTE selections in settings regardless? It should be on 5G Auto and switch automatically itself, yes?
Or do the selections really change on the fly?
I‘m confused and frustrated. Maybe it’s just going to take a while longer since Business customer changes started in April? If we knew this would be the situation we would have waited longer before selling her 7+.
Suggestions appreciated.
When you took your wife's phone to the AT&T store, did anyone else there have 5G on their phones? If so, then I would think it still might have something to do with the plan. Have you tried resetting all network settings?Quick question. So we have an old Unlimited and More with AT&T and qualify for the 5G addition. My wife’s 12 arrived on the 30th. In the one known area with 5G the phone does not switch nor do the data options in settings. AT&T states we have 5G on all our lines from the March 12th decision. I took her 12 to AT&T and had a new sim installed. The 5G option appeared in the store, but there was no 5G signal. After leaving the store the menu in settings reverted back to LTE/4G only, and when returning to the 5G area near us once again no signal? I’ve never received any email text stating we now have 5G even though AT&T states it’s active.
The phone has had diagnostics run on it with Apple and no hardware issues were detected.
Do you think AT&T is being disingenuous about my plans status, and it really is still a back end issue? Are you of the opinion that the Data option in settings will change automatically when in an area with a strong enough signal? I was under the impression that if the phone is activated on a 5G plan one will always see the 5G, 5G Auto, LTE selections in settings regardless? It should be on 5G Auto and switch automatically itself, yes?
Or do the selections really change on the fly?
I‘m confused and frustrated. Maybe it’s just going to take a while longer since Business customer changes started in April? If we knew this would be the situation we would have waited longer before selling her 7+.
Suggestions appreciated.
Our previous plan with AT&T we all shared data, I changed our plans to the new unlimited plan when my wife still had her iPhone 6S. So when I swapped SIM cards from the 6S to the 12, the plan showed 5G included, and when I popped in the SIM from her old phone, 5G showed up. And she has not had any problems with coverage or 5G.
Yes, the tech had intermittent 5G while we were working. It would come and go. However, when her 12 would drop to LTE she would still see the 3 options. 5G, 5G Auto, LTE.
My wife had the options for 20 min or so after reactivating with a new 5G Sim then it defaulted back to LTE, 4G only in settings. Yes, I’ve restored Network Settings, Airplane Mode and all the other trouble shooting. AT&T must be the issue.
Extremely frustrating. 🤬
I see. They were supposed to come before consumer plans as well. So, I’ll wager it’s AT&T feeding me BS. That’s unfortunate. Amazingly this is the first time in my 20 years with them that I’ve really felt abused. I know many feel this daily with AT&T but I’ve been good.
Most likely they are trying to back out of the March 12th announcement realizing how must potential for increased revenue they are loosing. Really unfortunate. I might start looking at T-Mobile as none of our phones are locked to a carrier.
So I stated getting 5G on my legacy AT&T plan with my 12 Mini in March and all was good. 3 weeks ago I upgraded to a 12 Pro and gave my Mini to my daughter. As soon as the 12 Pro was added both devices lost 5G and no longer have the option. Working with AT&T tech, they could not help and sent me to get a new SIM in the 12 Pro. This gave me the 5G option for like 2 minutes and then it disappeared. Somehow the Legacy plans are getting un-provisioned with the 5G. I’m supposed to get a call from higher tech levels but we will see. Disappointing that no one at AT&T can explain this. But they say we should have it. 
yeah I was with AT&T and didnt like it. I switched to T-Mobile in late 2018 and have loved the service. Its pretty fast and reliable. my wife is still stuck with AT&T as her phone is through her work. So hopefully AT&T will upgrade the legacy packages to 5G soon!
Well I never received a call back from AT&T tech support so I called in again to Customer Service. This time the rep looked at my plan and said, “oh, I see what the problem is. We just need to re-provision your lines for 5G”. A few minutes later she said to restart the phone and suddenly I had the 5G option again and the 5G icon for my signal. Wish the 5 reps I spoke with last week knew about this. 
Thanks. I need to do this then! Did you get tech help or a regular customer service Rep.?Well I never received a call back from AT&T tech support so I called in again to Customer Service. This time the rep looked at my plan and said, “oh, I see what the problem is. We just need to re-provision your lines for 5G”. A few minutes later she said to restart the phone and suddenly I had the 5G option again and the 5G icon for my signal. Wish the 5 reps I spoke with last week knew about this.
Regular customer service. For some reason this rep really knew a lot more than anyone else I dealt with. She said, “I see there is a 5G code on the line, but it isn’t provisioned correctly.” Then she fixed it in about 4 minutes.
Wouldn't you need a 5G compatible SIM card? I know my parents in the UK had to get new SIM cards to enable 5G on their plan.
Many people say that you don't need a new SIM card, just the account has to be provisioned in the carriers system for 5G.
I called my carrier a few weeks ago & the Rep said 5G was already enabled on my (& all) AT&T legacy unlimited plans as of the 1st of April. Not showing for me so she said she'd mail me a new 5G SIM card. A week after that I never got the new SIM card but she had noted my account so I was able to pick one up for free at a store. New SIM card didn't matter, still don't have 5G. Now I need to make some time to call again & see if they'll provision my account for 5G. These calls always take a long, long time which is why I haven't made it yet.
I see, I really hate AT&T, I’ve dealt a lot with their enterprise side of things and it’s hand down the worst company I’ve ever dealt with. I would pay more just to avoid ever using them.
I hear ya... I've been with them for over 2 decades (in one form or another). It's these "Little" things that I personally waste so much time on. Other than that I can pretty much live with them & have decent/competitive plans.
They certainly can be a big turd company & quite often...
Just thought I’d update you as AT&T finally got around to our “Grandfathered Plan” today. We received a text, and all of our 12’s now show the 5G options in settings. LTE is still faster in my area than 5G. So I’ll keep it on LTE when off Wi-Fi. So, it’s taking time, but they did deliver on the promise. No change in our plans with cost.
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How much are you paying for the plan out of curiosity? Is it really unlimited + unlimited tethering.
I forgot to post an update. After talking to 3 service reps & going into an AT&T store to get a new SIM (because it was free) I still didn't get 5G. Finally a few weeks ago I happened to see the 5G icon. A day later, I got the same text message as you did. Not too many places where I actually get 5G speeds so hoping the service will improve. 4G LTE is fine. I wish I had better cell service at my house. Almost worthless if I don't use wifi calling.
No tethering, but it's ok as we have no need. It's an old Unlimited and More plan from back when AT&T acquired Dish. It's 4 lines. Each has Unlimited Data, Talk, and Text. Each line is throttled slightly after reaching 21g in the period and in very congested areas but it's not an issue as none of us has gone over 19.3g of data in one month yet. All 4 lines together average around 65g per month of data.
Otherwise we have all the features of the new plans. With our FAN and AT&T Loyalty discounts we pay $140 per month out the door all charges and taxes included on the 4 line plan. Before taxes and mandated surcharges it breaks down to $30 per line per month.
While many have had issues with AT&T we have never had an issue and it's been decades. I don't expect 5G in our area to be faster than LTE until February of 2022 when they plan to have all the towers switched over. I'm fine with that as my LTE speeds are very good.
You might have to switch to T-Mobile and get the 5G service u require
Lol! I actually already have a phone with T-Mo service. Not much better but have had 5G longer. I'm out in a rural area so T-Mo cell service is just as poor as AT&T.
Its tough in some rural areas for sure. We are in a rural area and up until 2019 when a big tower went up on a hill about a mile from us we struggled with 3G, 4G etc…..
Great coverage after that. With 5G it’s much more about location than carrier to be honest. I had to do some consulting today around the Albany, NY area and the 5G signal on AT&T was robust in quite a large area.
I have friends with other carriers and all have issues based on location. It’s at least another year until there is widespread coverage comparable to LTE if not longer if your not in a major metropolitan market.