5G Cell Coverage highly degraded

Hello paintbing, we're here to help with your 5G cell coverage.

The first step is to powercycle/restart your device. Simultaneously press and hold the Side button and the Volume up or down button until the slider appears, then select and drag the Power icon to the right.

Also, make sure you have the most recent software update to have the latest features and device protection options.

1. Go to Device Support.
2. Choose or change the device brand and model.
3. Select Device diagram.
4. Scroll to More Device Help and select Software updates if it’s there. You’ll only see it if there’s an update for the selected device.

If you're still experiencing no service check out our helpful Troubleshoot & Resolve Tool to help fix your 5G connection. You'll need to navigate to Fix my wireless>sign in to start to assist you with personalized troubleshooting steps. 

Visit Dropped Calls & Low Signal - Solutions From The AT&T Community where you will learn about what things can affect your wireless signal and what you can do to improve it.

Check out the section Environmental Factors - Dead Zones. There, you will find recommended solutions including: 

• Move away from dead-zone(s) in your home, near a window or area without electronics.

• Consider using Wi-Fi Calling.

• Know your surroundings.

Network trends, including dropped calls, failed call attempts, and poor call quality can occur for a number of reasons, including but not limited to:

• Gaps in network coverage.
• A geographic obstruction, such as a mountain.
• A type of building construction.

To minimize connectivity issues, we constantly monitor and optimize our network to deliver the best possible wireless service.

Let us know if this helps. Reach back out to us if you have any other questions or concerns.

Jeff, AT&T Community Specialist

Appreciate the canned response. I have completed all the steps above and this is not a user or device issue. This is an infrastructure issue with the 5G tower.

The gain of the antenna seems to have been reduced significantly and needs to be addressed. Please. 

The issue is impacting all AT&T users in the immediate area when we had great service previously. 

How do I trigger a service team to inspect/possibly replace the faulty antenna?

Hello, @paintbing! We want to take a closer look at this for you.

Let's meet in a Direct Message to further discuss your options. Please check your Direct Message Inbox (it's the chat icon next to the bell icon in the upper right corner of the Forums).

We look forward to chatting with you soon!

Rachel, AT&T Community Specialist

It could be that 2 years ago there weren't that many folks using 5G. Now that everyone has been convinced that they need 5G, the capacity of these mini-towers installed on light poles, which has limited range, has reached maximum. I'm sure AT&T, or any other provider, can just increase power output without FCC and local governmental approval, and that takes time.

For improving your in-home coverage, you can either just switch your phone to LTE or use WiFi-C (WiFi Calling). Works great for us as 5G is still not very reliable in our area. WiFi-C for in-home, LTE for outside of home.

@OttoPylot  I've had to resort to using wifi-calling as a workaround, but my internet is not always reliable as I'd like. I don't believe the 5G network is saturated to the point that I cannot even connect to the network. I walk down the street and I connect. I walk up the street and I connect. Inside I lose all coverage. 

I'm looking forward to a call from Customer Support and hope they have an answer or solution or at least tell me if there's an 'issue'. Another neighbor of mine said the signals were reduced along our street since there was concern the 5G coverage was interfering with "official government business" that is conducted from a building on the other side of the tower from me.  Hoping this isn't actually the case. :/ 

@paintbing  I need to make a clarification on my first response to you. I meant to say that, "I'm sure AT&T, or any other provider, CAN'T just increase power output without FCC and local governmental approval, and that takes time".

So, you are saying that you lose cellular 5G inside your home but outside of your home 5G is fine? It doesn't take much to interfere with the cellular 5G signal. It's kind of like the 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi bands. 2.4GHz has fewer interferences (building construction for example) but doesn't go very far. Whereas the 5GHz signal can go further but it is subject to more interference from building construction etc). 

For in-home cellular calls, WiFi-C is really the recommended method. Of course WiFi-C is totally dependent on how robust your WiFi is and how well your phone handles WiFi-C. You'd be surprised how many 5G towers have reached their capacity in some areas. I'm not sure how accurate the 5G signal "interfering with official government business" is. The only interference I've read about is in and around airports with regards to the control towers communicating with the airplanes.

Don't hold your breath for Customer Support to call you back. If they do they will probably say that all is fine with the tower closest to you.

@OttoPylot Thanks for replying back!  I had realized on your first post you were being sarcastic about them [not] being able to increase the power. What I'm saying here is that the signal strength has been reduced to the point that I no longer receive service in my house. I have to be direct line of sight outside (no even through a window) to receive service. If they reduced the strength, they don't need FCC approval to increase it again back to what it was before. 

Anyway, I guess you can say the 5G "connection" I get outside works. But is akin to me taking a shower with almost zero water pressure. Sure the shower "works" but it's dribbling out of the shower head instead of having good pressure that it had for the previous 2 years.  

FWIW, I went into a local AT&T store just to find out if they have heard of anything from anybody else in the area. They asked if I lived near XYZ (which I do) and they repeated the claim regarding interference with official government business. My neighbor must have talked to the same guy. It's so absurd, it sounds like a conspiracy theory. 

I do live near an airport, however I get a better connection closer to the airport and tower than I do here. So I'm ruling the airport interference theory out for now.  

If you went to an Authorized AT&T Retail Store, and not a Corporate Store, those folks are clueless. Not that a Corporate Store would have any better information but Retail Stores are not AT&T-owned stores and are not staffed with AT&T employees.

All you can do is file a BBB complaint and wait for someone from the Office of the President to contact you. They usually contact folks within a couple of days of receiving the complaint. That's about as high up in AT&T that you can go to talk to someone who has more knowledge and resources than any store employee and certainly phone support.