The wait is finally over. 5G is here in Indian markets! Now you can get 20-30 times faster speed than 4G to watch your favourite shows online, work remotely, have a better gaming experience, and so much more. The launch and implementation of 5G will definitely transform the way we experience the online world. Rise in OTT entertainment and more people investing in metaverse will parallelly grow with 5G speed.
Currently, Airtel and Jio have launched their 5G services in few select cities in India. While Jio has launched only in 4 cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Varanasi, the telco giant Airtel has launched its services in 8 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, Chennai, Bangalore, Siliguri, Hyderabad, and Nagpur. People with latest Android updates and compatible devices can soon start using 5G network.
Now coming to the main question – Can I use 5G with an esim?
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Is esim 5G compatible?
The short answer is yes. Esims are already 5G enabled, just like 4G physical sim cards.
As you must have heard, you don’t have to change your 4G sim to get 5G network. Similarly, if you are currently using esim with a 4G network, you don’t need to upgrade it or take a physical sim to get 5G network. All you need to do is activate 5G network for your phone.
So, it doesn’t matter if you have a physical sim card or an esim, the 5G network will work for you (keeping in mind your device is compatible and enabled).
Even if you have converted your physical sim card to online esim, it will be compatible with 5G.
Do we need 5G sim card?
No, you don’t need a new sim card to use 5G. Your existing 4G sim cards will work for 5G without any issues.
What is required for 5G network?
Remember when we upgraded our 3G sim cards to 4G ones to get better network and speed? Similarly, 5G network also has a few requirements for usage. Let’s look into those and check if you are 5G ready.
A 5G compatible device
Not all smartphones support 5G. For example: iPhone 11 users won’t be able to use 5G because only iPhone 12 and above phones support 5G. Similarly, many Android phones also don’t support 5G. In that case, you need to take a new phone to get 5G network or use 4G network.
5G update
Even if your phone is 5G compatible, you still might not get access to 5G network. Why? The smart phone manufacturers need to push out a software update to enable 5G on their device. For example, users with iPhone 13 still can’t use 5G network because Apple still hasn’t pushed out the 5G enabler update for their 5G compatible devices.
Although it’s not the same for all phones. If your device isn’t showing 5G as an option in mobile network settings on your phone, the manufacturer still hasn’t released 5G update.
5G enabled sim
As we discussed above, any 4G simdoesn’t need to be specifically updated to get 5G network. All the 4G sims (both physical and esim) can be used for 5G without any limitations.
If you have put tick marks against all these pre-requisites, you are undoubtedly 5G ready.
Wrapping up
As you know, both Jio and Airtel have launched 5G in India. Airtel has something called 5G Plus – indicating that the user is connected to a 5G NR mmWave tower with short-range, and better speeds. Whereas Vi still hasn’t launched its 5G plans up till now and states that process is taking time.
Therefore, if you wish to experience 5G right away, you should port number to get an Airtel sim with 5G Plus plans. Airtel also stated that users can enjoy 5G on 4G prepaid plans rates for now. Moreover, the 5G rates will be affordable for all!
So, what are you waiting for? You can check if your device is 5G ready or not by taking 5G enabled test on the Airtel Thanks app. Download the app to check if your phone is compatible for 5G network.