Two days ago, M1 launched it’s 5G SA network which will cover 50% of the island. We were excited about it and decided to subscribe a Bespoke SIM ONLY plan to give it a trial run.

After a long wait, the 5G SIM card arrived and this is how it looks like.

M1 5G SIM card

Inserting the SIM card into the Samsung S21 Ultra 5G, we activated the SIM card accordingly per instruction from the email.

Before that, I have already updated the firmware to the latest July 2021 version.

It took around 30 secs and the 4G+ signal appeared.

As we are in the 5G coverage area based on the map, I am surprised that there is no 5G signal at all.

I checked all the settings including *#2263# trying to force it to 5G SA only. No 5G network is detected.

I decided to set the network to automatic and tada, 5G appeared. A check using *#0011# shows that it is indeed running on band n78. An alternative way is to turn airplane mode to off and on again. I think this could be due to the weaker 5G signal indoors.

Speedtest was done against M1 server and it recorded a speed of 502 Mbps. This is way better than what we achieved back then using 5G NSA network. The speed is pretty good. It probably can do better in town area. e.g. Orchard or CBD areas.

Test done near Bukit Batok HDB estate near MRT station

We will do a more detail review later on. Stay tuned. Post your questions below or at http://www.facebook.com/ocworkbench