My current phone is approximately 7 years old and 3g. I have received a message from my carrier that it will have limited support. They recommend I upgrade my phone to 4g LTE or 5g. As the title suggests, do I need 5g? Currently, 5g is not that great in my area, but should I be ready when it is fully ready to go.
5G really only makes sense if you're using a lot of data on your phone and require (or want) a fast Internet connection from you phone.
If you are in a rural or rural-ish area, having 5G can make a difference in overall reception - for example, in my neck of the woods I get somewhat better reception on 5G than 4G on T-Mobile - but in general if you use a phone as a phone and not an Internet connected posting device, I don't see much benefit in going 5G.
Had a discussion with out phone carrier about going from 4 to 5g. They actually said that it's not really required to update to 5g *right now* - as 4g will be supported for many more years.
Also, most of your usage will be 4g instead of 5g, since that's pretty universal across the country.
Eventually, upgrading to 5g will be a need, but for the same life as your 7 year old 3g phone, 4g will still be around.
One other note the rep suggested- as people migrate to 5g, the speed of 4g will go up.
That being said, if you can get a 5g phone in the price range that you are happy with, it will run all day long on the existing 4g network. And then some.
It may be specific to this location, but the service in the area around my work just went from 4G to 5G, and it is notably slower on a 2-year-old 5G phone.
Meh... I'm due for a new phone soon. Mine is 3 years old and the battery life sucks. I'll be going 5G mostly because I want to, but its just a faster 4G. It's not like it suddenly does miracles that 4G can't.
Dad finally had to give up his flip phone a few years ago when they stopped doing 2G or whatever they called it. He was pissed.
I got an automatic 5G upgrade with my Pfizer shot.
Before you make the jump to 5G, check with others in your area if they actually get 5G on their phones. Dont trust the coverage maps, ads or salespeople. They all claim great 5G coverage in my area. My father has a 5G phone and only actually used 5G once in another state. Has never used 5G anywhere close to home. I am glad I asked as I need up buy a new phone and 5G phones are considerably more expensive but given the poor coverage, not worth the upgrade at this time. I will buy another 4G phone and once 5G is more accessible I will upgrade to 5G. This will probably be about the time they are rolling out 6G.
I live in rural southern illinois and our cell coverage is spotty with several of known dead spots with just 4g and currently 5g is very limited. The is a much better selection of 4g phones in my price range than 5g. I am trying to determine whether or not to splurge and go ahead and upgrade to 5g. I think at this point, I will probably just go with 4g.
Upgrading to a modern phone that utilizes 4G, 4G LTE, and/or 5G will get you a much, much faster and more powerful phone, much faster data speeds if you like sending pictures or videos to people, and a better camera for taking those photos and videos. You'll also have more storage space on your phone. Year to year there's often only small improvements, but upgrading from a 7 year old phone is going to get you something fantastic.
As someone that used to work for a cell phone company, the absolute best advice I can give you is to get a screen protector and a good case for your phone. It's much cheaper than replacing the phone because you dropped it.
I think my case was 40% the price of my phone lol
In reply to infinitenexus :
I have an otterbox for my current phone because I know what can happen to them while attached to me. I realize any new phone will be a huge improvement.
What kind of phone did you get 7 years of use?! That is insane...
5G is not ready for consumers, regardless of what is being told. Right now it's poor coverage, and jumps back and forth when it loses coverage. On top of that, it's super battery heavy. If you're used to 3g, 4g is going to be more than enough for you.
In reply to lnlogauge :
I just retired my Nokia Windows phone and it had to be at least that old.
Replaced with Samsung and I absolutely hate the size of new phones. Feels like carrying a desktop around after you got used to a laptop.
In reply to lnlogauge :
I currently have a motorola moto g running android 5.1. It is still on its original battery and goes multiple days between charges. I am tempted to get the latest moto g, but I am still researching phones. I am trying to avoid getting an overly large phone.
I just wish there was an alternative to Android and IOS in a currently produced phone. I really wish that HP hadn't bought Palm to kill WebOS. That was my favorite OS, simple, intuitive.
In reply to Chesterfield :
I know that g! I had one too! I ran Motorola g's up until recently. I would recommend stepping away from them as well. The experience fell apart since the generation you're using. I highly, highly recommend OnePlus. Used they are dirt cheap, and even new ones aren't expensive.
I always liked the smaller phone, until I got a larger phone. At no point have I ever said I wish it was smaller.
Personally look into the Motorola G9 Power Universal Unlocked. Currently I have a Motorola G7 Play and personally I like everything except for the personally miss chosen too small capacity.
It is what I am buying next.
I stuck it out with my Droid Turbo from 2015 until last fall. It had started locking up, and shutting off when it had plenty of battery left. I bought an aftermarket battery (not supposed to be replaceable) and found it easy to install.
That got me some more time, but the new battery didn't have the charge duration that it should have.
I don't like the giant phones either, and I don't like the giant prices that I'm seeing. After much deliberation, I jumped to an iPhone after always owning android phones. The 2020 SE is small, has the features I wanted, and the longer product support that comes with an apple product.
I did the 2020 SE last year when I was in San Diego. 5G out there as well. I was impressed with the speed, but could have just been the phone (old iphone was a 5S).
4G LTE at home and it is slower.
My wife and I got the same moto g at the same time, but hers did not last as long as mine. It started having battery issues after a few years, so I replaced the non-replaceable battery with a new one and got another year out of it. She spends more time on the internet on her phone than I do with mine. A friend is wanting me to switch to the darkside (apple). I am still researching phones.
So the missus made a decision for the four of us while at Sam's Club and now I own four Samsung Galaxy a52 5g phones.
If anyone is interested in three global unlocked Motorola G7 Play and a Motorola G7 Power in great condition with extras for less than the replacement cost of one let me know 
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