Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Some AT&T iPhones Displaying Misleading '5GE' Icon in iOS 12.2 Beta 2 [Updated]
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm surprised Apple is letting AT&T roll with this marketing on iPhones. I'm more forgiving that HSPA+ was labeled as 4G by T-Mobile and AT&T, because officially HSPA+ got classified as 4G, and it was much faster than the 3G Verizon and Sprint were offering.
AT&T pulled the same crap with their faster 3G (HSPA+) networks around the time that 4G was about to go mainstream, and that's why 4G ended up being called LTE instead since a lot of people were misled into thinking they already had 4G. Looks like history is repeating itself. Someone should slap them with a lawsuit for misleading their customers.
AT&T is such a sketchy company, it's pathetic. I got to experience it firsthand as I was cancelling my line. An employee gave me misinformation, and then they basically told me that it didn't matter what he said.. they then tried to squeeze every last penny out of me on my way out. Nothing says customer service like getting told to, "kick rocks." No wonder T-Mobile's "un-carrier" mentality has been so warmly received. I only wished I had switched sooner. Also, free Netflix for the win!
you would think that after they got called out and ridiculed by both T-mobile and Verizon they would have scrapped this but I guess not. Now that its on the iPhone it will get way more publicity than when they just added it to a few androids.
I never understood why american carriers forced apple to rename the tech 4G instead of LTE like the rest of the planet...
The number of people on Twitter that think they got a 5g update is comical. The folks at AT&T are smart for taking advantage of dumb people. FTC, where you at?
What is 5G anyway? Could anyone tell the difference between an actual real live bad 5G connection or a good 4G connection? I was expecting 10x improvement, but in reality it's not better than a good 4G connection anyway.
What a load of baloney
Some AT&T users who have installed the new iOS 12.2 beta are noticing their iPhones displaying a '5G E' connection to AT&T's network, which is AT&T's misleading name for an "upgraded" version of 4G LTE.
AT&T began rolling out its fake 5G icon to Android smartphones in early January, and it now appears the change is extending to the iPhone.
Devices in certain areas are displaying a "5G E" icon instead of LTE, but as the "E" suggests, this is not real 5G. No iPhone that exists right now is capable of connecting to a 5G network, nor is AT&T's network 5G at this time.
The "E" stands for Evolution, a new brand name AT&T is using for some parts of its LTE network. According to AT&T, 5G Evolution reaches a peak theoretical wireless speed of 400Mb/s, which does not match 5G data transfer speeds and is in fact the same as traditional LTE speeds.
AT&T claims that 5G Evolution is the "first step on the road to 5G," bringing improvements to already-existing LTE networks. Technically, 5G Evolution uses technologies already employed by other carriers.According to AT&T, its "5G Evolution" network is live in more than 400 markets, with more to come. Other carriers, such as T-Mobile, have made fun of AT&T for its misleading branding.
True 5G smartphones won't be coming until later in 2019, and rumors suggest Apple will not introduce 5G support until 2020 at the earliest.
Article Link: Some AT&T iPhones Displaying Misleading '5G E' Icon in iOS 12.2 Beta 2
Bamboozlers.
I'm still waiting for LTE-LAA to be launched in Las Vegas. Does anyone who has LTE-LAA coverage get actual triple-digit speeds? I'm in a "5G E" market and I just got 70.7 Mbps which is the fastest I've ever seen myself. I was going to slam their speeds until I just tested it and now I guess I can't really complain too much. Lol
I'm still waiting for LTE-LAA to be launched in Las Vegas. Does anyone who has LTE-LAA coverage get actual triple-digit speeds? I'm in a "5G E" market and I just got 70.7 Mbps which is the fastest I've ever seen myself. I was going to slam their speeds until I just tested it and now I guess I can't really complain too much. Lol
I think tricks like this should be illegal because the laymen person will thinks it's 5G, not some insignificant enhancement to an earlier standard. Just my opinion... others may like the warm feeling that they are getting something even if it's not real.
A deceptive marketing practice that ATT feels they are not doing anything wrong and still went ahead with this.
Do they "force" Apple to display that or is it that the network identifies itself and the icon displays based on what the network says it is?
Might really be something that comes more from carrier settings side of things, although iOS would certainly still have to support it at least.
Hmmm wait, Apple would have to have this coded into iOS. How would iOS automatically know to display this?
Apple is complicit and I think we all need answers as to why this showing up.
5G coming to iPhone sooner than we think?
Apple is complicit and I think we all need answers as to why this showing up.
5G coming to iPhone sooner than we think?
I was thinking the same...
However, it's only the iPhone that does work so badly on EDGE. I mean EDGE indeed is slow, but on the iPhone it's much worse than on any other phone. For email only use I often forced EDGE rather than 3G as that worked just a little bit slower but a lot more reliable (especially in tunnels, including subway) than 3G back than -but that was on a BlackBerry Z30.
Actually it was T-mobile who started fake 4G symbol.
Last edited:
Is it not that people that make the phones that are to blame?
AT&T can do what they like with the network but they need the HANDSET maunfacturers to put that icon in the menu bar.
Huh? Apple calls LTE LTE.
[doublepost=1549320292][/doublepost]
You remember incorrectly.
https://wontek.com/news/T-Mobile-Continues-To-Push-Fake-4G-Branding
T-mobile started fake 4G, Att is starting 5Ge, Verizon will start 6G?
T-mobile started fake 4G, Att is starting 5Ge, Verizon will start 6G?