5G not working in NZ

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ScuL

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#312881 26-May-2024 14:25

Since purchasing a 5G phone I have never been able to get 5G service anywhere in NZ with Vodafone/ONE.

Surprisingly I recently made a trip to Europe and upon landing I got 5G service straight away, while roaming.

So somehow the configuration on the phone should be correct, but I don't understand why it doesn't work here.
My phone is a Sony Xperia 1 III 5G XQ-BC72.

I've visited the ONE store and they said that 5G should be enabled and provisioned for my account and they don't know why it isn't working.

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#3234802 26-May-2024 14:31

Is it an NZ phone? Where did you buy it from?

ScuL

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#3234806 26-May-2024 14:38

bought it from Dick Smith and it got shipped from Australia

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ScuL

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#3234807 26-May-2024 14:50

From what I can find on-line the phone supports the following NR bands:

1,3,5,7,8,28,38,40,41,77,78,79
https://cacombos.com/device/XQ-BC72

From what I see here Vodafone NZ should support
1,3,7,8,28,78
https://www.spectrum-tracker.com/New-Zealand/Vodafone

When I landed in Amsterdam I got Vodafone NL 5G reception. Their bands are;
1,3,7,8,20,28,75
https://www.spectrum-tracker.com/Netherlands/Vodafone

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mrgsm021

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#3234810 26-May-2024 14:51

These days unless an Android phone is purchased from a NZ mobile carrier, there is no guarantee things like 5G, VoLTE and WiFi calling will work in NZ on parallel imported phones.

Technofreak

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#3234823 26-May-2024 15:07

Welcome to the cluster of 4G VoLTE and from what I can tell similar applies to 5G VoNR. We have regressed from the days of 3.5G so far as having devices that work anywhere provided they have the correct frequencies.

I have an Xperia 10 iii which is VoLTE capable but VoLTE doesn't work here in New Zealand. 4G does work but I fall back to 3.5 G for voice.

My understanding is the manufacturer and the Telco both need to work together support a device in a market for VoLTE to work. I suspect the same applies to 5G/VoNR.

Sony don't sell phones in New Zealand therefore they don't support them here and as a result neither do the Telcos. This might explain why you cannot get 5G to work.

Currently the 5G radio on my Xperia 10 iii isn't enabled but shortly I will have access to an update that enables it. It will be interesting to see what happens, if anything.

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#3234829 26-May-2024 15:30

Does the same SIM card get 5G in another handset? This would be the best test of all and 5G coverage also depends on your location

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nztim

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#3234954 26-May-2024 17:31

There is no guarantee an parallel imported phone (Including those sold by PB Tech etc) will work in NZ with all features except for the Apple IPhone

Same goes for roaming to other countries with an NZ handset

This will become more of an issue when telcos switch off 3G

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ScuL

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#3235193 27-May-2024 11:47

Linux:

Does the same SIM card get 5G in another handset? This would be the best test of all and 5G coverage also depends on your location

Yeah I should try this, maybe see if someone in a ONE shop is willing to do this. I don't have any other 5G phones. I'm literally 10 minutes away from Takapuna so signal shouldn't be an issue.

mrgsm021:

parallel imported phones

I don't consider a phone purchased through an NZ based retailer as "parallel import". It would be something different if I purchased it overseas while travelling such Asia or USA where they have different frequencies.

Technofreak:

My understanding is the manufacturer and the Telco both need to work together support a device in a market

Yeah that may be possible but isn't it then up to the telco to set up profiles, it must be something in the configuration on their end. Do they have to configure model specific settings or something?
Honestly I was rather baffled when I switched on my phone overseas and 5G started working instantly (note that this is with the VF NZ SIM while roaming on it)

nztim: There is no guarantee an parallel imported phone (Including those sold by PB Tech etc) will work in NZ with all features except for the Apple IPhone

This is ridiculous...

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RunningMan

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#3235211 27-May-2024 12:47

ScuL:

mrgsm021:

parallel imported phones

I don't consider a phone purchased through an NZ based retailer as "parallel import". It would be something different if I purchased it overseas while travelling such Asia or USA where they have different frequencies.

It depends if the retailer is an official channel of the manufacturer. If the retailer has got it from Asia or the USA then it will quite possibly have the wrong config/hardware for NZ. The retailer being based in NZ is irrelevant, the origin of the physical product is the key here.

https://www.consumerprotection.govt.nz/general-help/guide-to-buying-smart/parallel-imports

richms

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#3235224 27-May-2024 13:29

ScuL:

mrgsm021:

parallel imported phones

I don't consider a phone purchased through an NZ based retailer as "parallel import". It would be something different if I purchased it overseas while travelling such Asia or USA where they have different frequencies.

Doesn't matter what you consider it to be, if the NZ distributor with the telco relationship did not bring it in, then it is a parallel import, or else a grey market phone. If you need support from the telco to do things with them, get the phone from them. Its annoying that android sucks so hard at things like this.

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nztim

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#3235228 27-May-2024 13:35

ScuL:

nztim: There is no guarantee an parallel imported phone (Including those sold by PB Tech etc) will work in NZ with all features except for the Apple IPhone

This is ridiculous...

Call it ridiculous but it's the hard truth, the Apple iPhone has all the worldwide frequencies (US has MMwave in addition to all other frequencies)

It also has the VoLTE profiles for every carrier in the world

Android phones have different sub models for each market sector for Example there are four versions of the Galaxy S20 G981U, G981U1, G981N, G981O for different market sectors, there is no generic model that will work everywhere worldwide.

The upside is a lighter operating system, the Apple iOS is over 10GB where the Android OS is only a fraction of that

The downside is the phone is not Generic and you need to get the right phone for the right market segment in the world.

PB Tech, Dick Smith, and all these other Parallel Import stores that you see in the malls should, effective immediately cease parallel importing Android phones.

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coffeebaron

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#3235238 27-May-2024 13:59

Did the retailer promote its a 5G phone, then maybe you have some recourse against them.

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#3235240 27-May-2024 14:01

Did the retailer promote its a 5G phone, then maybe you have some recourse against them.

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RunningMan

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#3235259 27-May-2024 14:25

ScuL:I don't consider a phone purchased through an NZ based retailer as "parallel import". It would be something different if I purchased it overseas while travelling such Asia or USA where they have different frequencies.

ScuL: bought it from Dick Smith and it got shipped from Australia

They're not what I'd call an NZ based retailer any more. Administrative presence only isn't it?

ScuL

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#3235264 27-May-2024 14:33

nztim:

PB Tech, Dick Smith, and all these other Parallel Import stores that you see in the malls should, effective immediately cease parallel importing Android phones.

That would be operating against a free market. I personally cannot stand iPhones and would never in my life purchase one. I can see that NZ based carriers do have a selection of Android phones however I don't like those brands either.
The critical issue here is that the phone is not the problem, it is the carrier. It would be a different story if you bought a physically incompatible phone that doesn't support the local frequency bands, like in the past GSM vs CDMA.
But if a phone supports the local frequency band it should be possible to pop in a SIM card and operate on the network. This seems like a form of consumer manipulation if carriers are indeed blocking consumers from using certain phones on their networks.

coffeebaron: Did the retailer promote its a 5G phone, then maybe you have some recourse against them.

On their website it does refer to 5G even for their current stock of Sony phones. Now I don't really care so much about the retailer, it is the telco aspect that riles me up.

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