What does 5G UC mean on an iPhone?

Ever since iOS 15 launched, many T-Mobile customers started seeing a new "5G UC" icon in their iPhone's status bar.

According to Neville Ray, the president of technology at T-Mobile, whenever the carrier’s customers see 5G UC, it means they are in an area with fast speeds.

So is 5G UC faster than 5G? Yes! The UC in 5G stands for Ultra Capacity and would give you faster speeds.

Technically, 5G UC (for T-Mobile users) means you are likely connected to mid-band. On the flip side, the 5G logo without UC indicates that you're connected to a low-band network.

What about other Carriers?

Verizon uses the term 5G UW (Ultra-Wideband) on iPhone to distinguish its faster counterpart from the low-band 5G.

Whereas, AT&T uses the following terms:

▶ 5G: Low-band network ▶ 5G Plus: mmWave network ▶ 5G E: The older 4G LTE network (which isn't really 5G)

However, the feature is limited to iPhone 12 series or later and a few Android devices. Besides, the feature isn't limited to the USA. Your carrier might not be displaying the logo!

Does your iPhone support 5G?

Data shows Android losing ground to iOS

Get free Apple Music for 6 months

Check out other stories: