How fast is T-Mobile's 5G network? We took it for a test drive in New York
Phones
So we just finished testing T-Mobile's 5G network in New York.
How was it?
Well, a 5G network on day one, there's a lot of good and a lot that still needs to be worked on.
Download speeds are fantastic, getting between 300 and 600 megabits per second.
Not as fast as what we saw on AT&T and Verizon's millimeter wave networks.
But much faster than T-Mobile's 4G LTE network, which we were also testing today on the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus.
As for what needs to be improved, coverage, for one.
T-Mobile, like AT&T and Verizon, is using millimeter wave for its first 5G deployment.
While this provides great speeds, it also means that if you're not near.
The 5G node that's on top of the building, you probably are not gonna get 5G.
The signal is very limited.
If there's a tree in the way, or if you walk into a building, you're pretty much out of luck.
We had that when we went in to buy some water from a coffee shop.
And we walked a few steps in and we were switched off of 5G to 4G LTE, walked back outside, we picked up 5G pretty quickly.
But still, going inside buildings, Not something that millimeter wave is well equipped for right now.
As for speeds themselves, they are very good, much faster than 4G LTE on T-Mobile's network, which on its own is pretty impressive in New York, but they weren't as fast as the millimeter wave networks that Verizon and AT&T are using, at least not yet.
Those networks are getting between one gigabit per second to, in AT's case we're getting two gigabits per second.
On T-Mobile we were getting between 300 and 600 megabits per second.
So some speed improvements to come there.
Couple of other things that we noticed in our testing today is the heat is about 85 90 degree day in New York and millimeter waves because it's a high frequency technology.
When we're taxing the Galaxy S 10 downloading files or running speed tests gets hot.
And as a preventive measure, the phone will switch off of 5G and on to 4G LTE to prevent the phone from getting too hot and to keep the experience of the phone going.
So that's something that we're gonna have to keep in mind, especially as 5G gets rolled out to warmer areas and as well the weather heats up here in New York.
Otherwise, again, lots to like about 5G, especially on day one.
It's fast.
T-Mobile's coverage is actually pretty good for a millimeter-wave network.
Walking around downtown Manhattan, we actually have coverage in a lot of different areas.
And it wasn't just limited to a couple of city blocks.
So props to them there.
But again, still some things that need to be worked on, still very early days.
Stick to CNET for more on 5G.
