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Carrier AT&T iPhone 12 - Don't Have 5G as a Dropdown Option in Settings?

Not sure if this will help anybody, but the rep I chatted with said: "I have updated the device IMEI under the plan to get 5G access." It started working after that.

I’m not too impressed with the speed thus far but I am in my house. Will see if it gets any better throughout the day as I travel.
 

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I have ATT pre paid, I went on my account and saw what plans offered 5G and I noticed the next one up does offer it. So I switched over which was only $10 more. But I only have 4G or LTE available? not sure what I can do
 
Currently I’m paying AT&T $100/mo for my unlimited plan. I don’t have any 5G options on my phone. I called AT&T and they said I would have to upgrade my plan to get 5G and it would be more expensive. Apple has done a lot of 5G hawking since announcing these new iPhones but I wonder how many people know 5G is going to cost them more?
 
sulpfiction said:
I just went through this whole thing and now I’m thoroughly confused. The 5g sim in my née 12 pro wouldn’t activate. But in data settings it showed “5g on” 5g Auto” and LTE. Just wouldn’t work at all. Took my old sim out of my 11 and put in 12 and I had cellular service however data settings only showed 4G & LTE. Took it to at&t this morning and the “tech guy” told me he would fix it no problem. He proceeded to remove my sim, then put the tray in backwards and almost broke it. and then said “I’m going to show u a trick” and did a soft reset on my phone. 😆. When it booted back up the phone showed 5Ge and he handed it to me and said “all fixed”. At that point I knew this dude was worthless. Another guy interrupted and said “he needs a 5G sim” and put one on the table. It’s white and says 5G (which was exactly the same as the original that came in the 12 that wouldn’t activate). He sets it up, I put it in my phone, and boom. I have service and the data settings say “5g on, 5g auto (which is selected by default) and LTE. I thank the guy and I leave. I get to my car and I notice that the selected 5g auto has switched to LTE. Hmmm...so I try to select 5g auto and it won’t let me select it. Then after 30seconds or so all that disappeared and it’s back to showing 4G and LTE. No 5g options at all. So I’m back to square one. So strange. I call 611 and explain the whole issue and she tells me that there are a ton of people having this same issue and it’s an Apple issue that is currently being worked on and will be fixed with a software patch soon. I have no clue if she knew what she was talking about but I’m gonna do some digging to see what I can find out. Ugh!
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Your best bet is to call AT&T and have to update ur IMEI number and Sim number (the new white sim). do not let them be off the phone until they fix the issue for you. All that can be done over the phone.
 
Rogifan said:
Currently I’m paying AT&T $100/mo for my unlimited plan. I don’t have any 5G options on my phone. I called AT&T and they said I would have to upgrade my plan to get 5G and it would be more expensive. Apple has done a lot of 5G hawking since announcing these new iPhones but I wonder how many people know 5G is going to cost them more?
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If you go on ATT's website, you can walk through the process. It will show you the increase or decrease in price compared to your current plan. Like I previously mentioned, mine actually went down by a few dollars.
 
iPhone82 said:
I have ATT pre paid, I went on my account and saw what plans offered 5G and I noticed the next one up does offer it. So I switched over which was only $10 more. But I only have 4G or LTE available? not sure what I can do
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I’m prepaid as well and finally got it working. Using your online account, go to the menu, my device, update device, and update the device IMEI (and the sim card number if you switched to a new sim)

reboot your phone and the option should be there. If not give it a couple hours.
 
Paco II said:
Sigh. Spoke to rep. Fail. Apparently there are 'conflicting codes' on my account and they are unable to update the IMEI. So it is being escalated. 😞
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I had the same problem and supervisor had to come and do her magic. Don’t give up keep calling until u get a rep who knows what they are doing.
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Again guys! Don’t mention you are seeing 5Ge AT&T will get confused tell them you only see 4G and LTE. yet, you have a plan that says 5G so why am I paying for 5G. Say that, they will fix it.
 
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cchs2014 said:
I’m prepaid as well and finally got it working. Using your online account, go to the menu, my device, update device, and update the device IMEI (and the sim card number if you switched to a new sim)

reboot your phone and the option should be there. If not give it a couple hours.
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Ok I found the update device menu but when trying to add my IMEI number and SIM number it gives a system error. I have the same sim I got a couple of years ago
 
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Theyayarealivin said:
Maybe try to get another rep. It also depends on a rep how knowledgeable they are because the rep had to get it approved by a supervisor.
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I called ATT, they update IMEI and ICCID on new SIM, resent activation signal to phone - and still no 5G option. Reset network settings, took SIM out/In, and still no 5G. They said it could take a while for update to push through, so I will be back in a few hours, hopefully it will update soon - but. I thing has worked so far - I do not have 5G or 5G AUTO as an option under cellular data options, only 4G/LTE- on iPhone 12, with ATT UNLIMITED ELITE plan - any one else have any ideas ?
 
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iPhone82 said:
Ok I found the update device menu but when trying to add my IMEI number and SIM number it gives a system error. I have the same sim I got a couple of years ago. I tried doing the IMEI only same thing, it logged me out and told me to try later... I hope it works later
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It gave me that error the first time too. I tried to input the IMEI again and it gave me another error. I rebooted my phone and waited a couple hours then it showed up.

It probably still updates despite the error it gives you.
 
cchs2014 said:
It gave me that error the first time too. I tried to input the IMEI again and it gave me another error. I rebooted my phone and waited a couple hours then it showed up.

It probably still updates despite the error it gives you.
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Yeah I just rebooted, still don't have the 5G option in my roaming options..... I guess I just have to wait
 
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TEQREC said:
I called ATT, they update IMEI and ICCID on new SIM, resent activation signal to phone - and still no 5G option. Reset network settings, took SIM out/In, and still no 5G. They said it could take a while for update to push through, so I will be back in a few hours, hopefully it will update soon - but. I thing has worked so far - I do not have 5G or 5G AUTO as an option under cellular data options, only 4G/LTE- on iPhone 12, with ATT UNLIMITED ELITE plan - any one else have any ideas ?
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It should look like this.
 

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Just found this. I also think you can do this online? Feel like I’ve seen it somewhere.
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I called AT&T and was on the phone with them for an hour. They finally did this and I now have the option for 5G on, 5G Auto, and LTE. I tried 5G auto and 5G on, turned off WiFi and I still get 5Ge. I checked the coverage map in my area and it shows full 5G coverage. Even went outside still no 5G? I do have the new unlimited elite plan as well.
 
izzle22 said:
I called AT&T and was on the phone with them for an hour. They finally did this and I now have the option for 5G on, 5G Auto, and LTE. I tried 5G auto and 5G on, turned off WiFi and I still get 5Ge. I checked the coverage map in my area and it shows full 5G coverage. Even went outside still no 5G? I do have the new unlimited elite plan as well.
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I did this and it didn’t work - what exactly did you say to them in the call and what did they do ? Did you talk to a supervisor? They said they updated my IMEI, but still no 5G
 
TEQREC said:
I did this and it didn’t work - what exactly did you say to them in the call and what did they do ? Did you talk to a supervisor? They said they updated my IMEI, but still no 5G
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The person I spoke to said I need to update your IMEI as it still showed the 11Pro number. After she updated it the upsilon popped up as she did it. I still only show I’m getting 5Ge even with the 5G option on.
 
Theyayarealivin said:
Finally got it to work after 10 hours later. Yes, you physically have to call AT&T and have them update the IMEI number along with the SIM card number. Now, it is showing. I tried all the techniques it didn’t work however after I called them and had it update my IMEI number along with the SIM it did. Good luck to all of ya’ll.
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Thank you so much for your post it's super helpful. I did what you said about IMEI number and the SIM card number, rep changed it. Rep also told me that she will need to reset my data plan because it was started from Galaxy Fold last year & she did something to work for iPhone 12 but she did not change the plan. While she was doing that the line got disconnected but she called me back and when I turned off Wi-Fi I see 5G symbol so your post is spot on. You mentioned you cried 😆 I tried to cry but end up laughing.😆 BTW I have the same old orange blue and white sim card from last year. New sim is coming next week but most likely I won't insert it into iPhone since everything is working now. Thanks again for the amazing post! 👍
 

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Zune55 said:
Thank you so much for your post it's super helpful. I did what you said about IMEI number and the SIM card number, rep changed it. Rep also told me that she will need to reset my data plan because it was started from Galaxy Fold last year & she did something to work for iPhone 12 but she did not change the plan. While she was doing that the line got disconnected but she called me back and when I turned off Wi-Fi I see 5G symbol so your post is spot on. You mentioned you cried 😆 I tried to cry but end up laughing.😆 BTW I have the same old orange blue and white sim card from last year. New sim is coming next week but most likely I won't insert it into iPhone since everything is working now. Thanks again for the amazing post! 👍
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Did you provide the IMEI under the “primary” section or the “digital IMEI” ?
 
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