Performance
Why mobile network speed changes
Mobile speed is the result of radio conditions, technology, load, and the phone itself. Coverage tells you a network was observed. Speed tells you how that connection behaved during a test.
Coverage and speed are different questions
Coverage asks whether a technology was observed in a place. Speed asks how much data moved, and how quickly the network answered, during a test. A place can have 5G and a slow test. A place can have a fast 4G test. Mixing the two questions produces bad conclusions.
Heatmaps of signal, speed, and ping are three layers for that reason. Signal describes the radio reading. Speed describes throughput. Ping describes delay. 5G Signal Finder is designed so those layers can be explored separately once production measurements are available. This site does not fill them with placeholder figures.
What usually moves the result
- Technology and band: 4G, 5G NSA, and 5G SA can share a place while offering different radios.
- Distance and clutter: walls, vehicles, and terrain change the path between phone and cell.
- Load: the same cell is a different network at a quiet hour and at a crowded one.
- Device: modem, antenna, and the bands it supports are part of the measurement.
- Test path: the server and the route to it are part of ping and throughput, not only the air interface.
How to use a result
Treat a test as a sample with a time and a place. If you are deciding between operators, compare tests that share those conditions as closely as you can. If you are deciding whether 5G is present, look at technology observations, then test if performance is the decision you actually need to make.