If you intend to purchase a 5G smartphone, it would be best that you buy those that are listed and certified by the telco you intend to use it on.
The reason is because, in most countries, handsets might not be ‘provisioned’ to be used on the 5G networks. For example, if you have bought a XXX cheap parallel smartphone online and the specs indicate that the 5G NSA bands are supported, it may not login to the 5G network here.
This can be easily verified if you have a 5G phone, subscribed to the M1 VAS and go downtown to do a speedtest. It might show you the 5G logo but it will only run in 4G mode.
What we test the OnePlus 8T with M1 SIM with 5G activated at Raffles Place (outside Exit A).
Here is our result :
The results are generally faster than our previous test on at 6 different locations. Could it be because of the phone ?
So far, OnePlus 8T is not on the M1’s certified 5G device list. So, it is really a trial and error and it worked.