LTE fail over when 5G not working?
I have a pixel 6 on Google Fi. The cell coverage at my new home is not great. If I have my preferred network type set to 5G I have no Internet connectivity. If I manually change it to LTE I get connectivity (albeit slow).
Shouldn't the phone try this on its own? If not, is there a legitimate app that will do this for me transparently and effectively?
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The phone is trying this on it's own but you are preferring not to use it, instead preferring 5g networks.
Honestly you should probably just let the phone do its thing. Various bands have various capabilities. 5g is very fast, goes through concrete but doesn't travel far (even via air). LTE has more bands in lower frequencies than 5G does IIRC, and lower bands travel greater distances and serve more customers. Phones automatically try to use the 5g signal, falling back on 4g, then 3g, 2g.. the reason the feature you enabled exists is when there are stronger 4g signals that are getting picked up and there is still a 5g signal within range. In your case I doubt the 5g signal is in range.
Btw, your pixel should be using wifi calling at home, which uses the internet and gets as good of a signal as your home wifi does.
You would think the phone would do it on its own, but it doesn't seem to. The default selection for preferred network type is 5G. The only other options are LTE and 3G. There is no way to leave that setting blank or automatic.
The Wi-Fi calling does generally work, but we've been experiencing a lot of power outages lately and I have to rely on cellular data.
the phone does it when you set it to automatic. but you haven’t set it to automatic, so it sees 4g and 3g and says “nope, my user would rather have no service than 4g or 3g service”.
you may want to get a UPS for your modem and wifi. a nice 1000watt UPS should give you a few hours of internet when the power goes out.
Again, there is no 'automatic' option. My only options are 5G, LTE, and 3G. It's also not possible to leave the setting unconfigured. The default is 5G.
I have my modem and WiFi on a 1500va backup, but we have had several extended outages recently.
maybe then you want to try manually falling back to LTE. from the docs:
Yeah, that's what I've been doing. It's annoying though because I have good 5G coverage in other parts of the city and I don't want to have to remember to switch back and forth manually 🤷🏼♂️
Can you fish an antenna outside your window, and have a few hundred dollars to spare? You might get better signal with a booster. I use one from surecall on my car and it fills in the gaps in coverage well. Not sure if I get 5g or not, but I get adequate cell service. I think they have ones for the home, ideally with a directional antenna and mast. At that point, you should have great 5g, but your mileage may vary.