What to keep in mind?
What does it take to connect to this technology? There are a number of aspects that are needed to connect to the Internet with 5G technology.
- An operator offering the coverage
- Live in an area where coverage is currently available
- Make your mobile phone compatible with 5G technology
- Have a SIM card that supports 5G
What operators offer 5G? Where?
At the moment, there are not many operators that offer 5G technology. Or not, at least, virtual mobile operators. Movistar, Orange and Vodafone already offer this technology to all their users in municipalities where there is coverage and with phones or devices compatible with the technology.
Movistar has deployed 5G using DSS technology for more than 75% of the population and expects to reach 100% of the population by 2025. In addition, O2 also offers its users 5G connectivity, although it does not specify it on its website, but it does Users and customers who have a contracted rate have already been able to test it. Orange in July 2021 already covered more than 600 municipalities in almost 40 provinces throughout Spain and some of its second brands already offer it, such as Jazztel in some specific rates and clients. For its part, Vodafone was the first to reach 5G technology and it works at all operator rates and in more than 25 cities in the national territory as long as we have a compatible phone and coverage. MásMóvil and Yoigo also offer 5G to their customers.
Does the same card and the same mobile serve?
One of the doubts that arose years ago was related to the compatibility of SIM cards with the new technology that was to arrive. In fact, with the arrival of 4G it was necessary to replace some of these older cards, but it seems that practically all of those in use are compatible. Companies like Ericsson or China Mobile confirmed that the current SIMs, according to information from 2019, were already compatible with the new 5G networks.
What we must bear in mind that not all mobile phones are compatible with 5G networks so we must look at the specifications of the one we have or the one we are going to buy. In addition, the recommendation is that you look closely and buy a 5G-compatible phone in 2021 as it will soon be a technology available in all operators and in all places. We simply have to look in the technical specifications and we will find this data in the connectivity section of our mobile phone.
How to check our SIM
Although it depends on each operator, Movistar explains how we can know if our SIM card is compatible with 5G networks or if We will have to change it so that we can activate this technology. Generally it will not be necessary and it will simply be an automatic change in your mobile network but you may also want to check if the change can be made or not.
In that case, to know if the SIM card we have is compatible with 5G, we must be connected to the mobile network (not WiFi) and dial the following number on our mobile accompanied by the call key:
* # 102 # + call key
Movistar customers will see a result with “A series of data of the type: 68392 P54 4G 64 KB”. The operator confirms that if the legend 4G is included in that message, it is that the SIM card does support both 4G and 5G. If not, it will be necessary to change the SIM for a more modern one at an authorized dealer or store.
But it is the only operator that allows us to check it and the others simply assure us that any card with 4G coverage is valid with 5G.
Other operators
There are other operators that also have a guide on their help page that allows us to consult the different data. Vodafone specifies it on the customer support website and ensures that you can use your current sim card in any 5G terminal to access coverage as long as you have a compatible phone. It will not be necessary, in the red operator, to change the SIM to be able to have this coverage.
The same happens with Orange, which solves it and explains it on its community help website: no need to switch to a 5G card because the cards that offer 4ª already allow you to connect to a faster network as long as you are in an area where there is coverage and your mobile phone is compatible with it.
Neither MásMóvil and Yoigo specify if we have to change the card but from both pages they explain that we only have to have a compatible phone, a compatible rate and be in an area where there is coverage. You do not have to ask for a duplicate or look for a new or specific card for this task.
Check your phone
Even if your card is valid, you may have to check your phone for network preference on. We can look for it in the settings.
- Open the settings from your mobile phone
- Go to the SIM card and mobile data section
- Choose the SIM you use if there are two
- Go to the section d Network settings
- Look for the option “Preferred network type”
Once here, you may have several options:
- 5G / 4G / 3G / 2G (Auto)
- 4G / 3G / 2G (Auto)
- 3G / 2G (Auto)
- Only 2G
Mark the first to be capable of connecting to a 5G network. If there are not, it will look for alternatives and we will connect to 4G or 3G.
The steps may change slightly from one mobile phone to another depending on the operating system you have or its customization layer, but we will always have to look for the preferred type of network and make sure that 5G is activated so that it can connect. Also, make sure to change it on each of the SIM cards in case you have a Dual SIM phone with two cards.