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AT&T to Put Misleading '5G E' Logo on Some 4G Phones

Dec 21, 2018, 1:30 PM by Eric M. Zeman

AT&T plans to change the indicator in the status bar of some Android phones from "LTE" to "5G E" in select markets. Specifically, this logo will appear in cities and towns that have been upgraded to AT&T's 5G Evolution technology, which is not 5G at all. Instead, the phones will be connecting to faster 4G LTE that relies on 4x4 MIMO, LAA, 256 QAM, and other LTE-based technologies. What AT&T calls 5G Evolution will be up and running in more than 400 markets by the end of the year. It is in these markets that Android device owners will see the logo change. The change arrives just as AT&T launches its mobile 5G network. The only device that can access the nascent 5G network is a mobile hotspot. AT&T isn't expected to offer a 5G phone until February or March. That 5G service will appear as "5G+" once it arrives. AT&T's planned "5G E" change is likely to mislead some consumers into believing they are connecting to 5G service when in fact they are not.

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Comments

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This forum is closed.

aeternavi

Jan 7, 2019, 2:30 PM

Could be worse

Like Sprint trying to pass off WiMax as 4G
Nevermind, I saw for only a (reported) 10Mbps difference, it's just as bad.

Jaden10

Dec 21, 2018, 1:55 PM

No surprise

This comes as no surprise. AT&T did this back when 4G became a hot word. They had 4G LTE phones which were on LTE and 4G phones that ran on HSPA+.

acdc1a

Great Scott!

psycros

Glad I'm not the only one who remembers. I still have my "4G" Blackberry Bold.

gloopey1

Dec 27, 2018, 9:29 AM

4G Plus

AT&T should’ve called it “4G+.” By calling it 5G, they’ve opened themselves up to the possibility of lawsuits from disgruntled customers as well as competitors who might challenge their claim.

brad162

Some lawyer somewhere is just counting cash already thinking of this...

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