iPad Pro Anyone getting 5G on their 13" iPad Pro M4?

[jwt873]

I'm with Rogers in Canada (same infrastructure as T-Mobile in the US). I have a 5G cellular plan covering my phone with the iPad added on sharing the same data pool.

I just upgraded my first generation iPad Pro 11 to an iPad Pro 13 M4. The original iPad wasn't capable of 5G, so it only had an LTE connection. The problem is that after the upgrade, I'm still only getting LTE on the new iPad despite the fact that it is 5G capable.

I did some digging on the forum before posting this question. There's a thread dating back to 2021 discussing this.. https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...o-and-not-seeing-the-5g-option.2297065/page-2

To save a long read, the thread above came to the conclusion that some carriers weren't supporting 5G on iPads... I couldn't find a newer discussion. It's three years later. I wonder if people are getting 5G on 5G capable iPads?

BTW, my carrier is of no use. I've spoken to several reps so far who can only suggest restarting the iPad and selecting '5G on' in the cellular options. All of which I've already done.

 

[Misheemee]

Did you change the settings - settings - cellular data - cellular data options - data. There you will see 45, 5G, and 5G auto options

 

[Misheemee]

..

 

[jwt873]

Did you change the settings - settings - cellular data - cellular data options - data. There you will see 45, 5G, and 5G auto options

Hey, thanks for the reply!.. Yes, that was one of the first things I did. But setting it to 5G (or any other option makes no difference), it still shows that I'm connected via LTE on the display.

I just noticed that my question is approaching 200 views, Are cellular capable iPad Pros that rare that nobody can comment on their own experience with using their devices on a cellular network?

 

[Aka757]

I haven’t had any issues getting 5G on my 13” iPad Pro. I’m on Verizon in the US.

 

[jwt873]

I haven’t had any issues getting 5G on my 13” iPad Pro. I’m on Verizon in the US.

Thanks! Just what I wanted to know. Now I have some ammunition when I get in touch with my cell provider again..

 

[Misheemee]

Hey, thanks for the reply!.. Yes, that was one of the first things I did. But setting it to 5G (or any other option makes no difference), it still shows that I'm connected via LTE on the display.

View attachment 2465217

I just noticed that my question is approaching 200 views, Are cellular capable iPad Pros that rare that nobody can comment on their own experience with using their devices on a cellular network?

Maybe try 5G auto instead of 5G on

A lot of people buy wifi and hotspot from their phones. It’s about 5usd here per month in Oz to add your iPad to data share so I went cellular. I think the forums are just quiet atm. There’s a poll on this forum of people have cellular vs wifi. I havent had any issue with 5G on my ipp 13 or 11

 

[Dominican]

yep 13 PP 2024 1 TB 5G

 

[jwt873]

Thanks Dominican for posting your situation and thanks Misheemee for posting the chart.. (This is my fourth iPad and all have been cellular capable).

I've tried all the settings in the cell options.. Auto, 5g only, and LTE.. I've even restarted the iPad after changing each setting to see if that would help. But no.

I don't like to hotspot. It puts a strain on the phone's battery. And in public places I don't like my SSID showing up on neighboring devices. Plus I'm lazy and don't want to be turning the hotspot on and off. (I carry my iPad like a woman carries a purse. I rarely leave home without it). It's $10 per month here to add the iPad to my data plan,

I'm just working up the energy to contact my provider again after Christmas so I can have another 2 hr unproductive conversation trying to find out why my iPad says LTE.

 

[hovscorpion12]

I have a 5G iPad Pro M4 as well. i am getting LTE only in my home, with 5G outside, [whether it be in the city or at the office]. It may depend on the coverage.

 

[SierraVista]

I get 5G/5G UWB on my M4 iPad more often than not. Did you transfer the eSIM or do a SIM-to-eSIM transfer from the old iPad? The carrier may have to update the line to allow 5G now that there is a 5G-compatible device attached.

 

[MockT]

I don't even get this. It's trivial to share your phone's data.

When would you have the iPad but not the phone - and pay an upcharge and ongoing cost for covering that weird situation? What am I missing?

 

[philliphall123]

I don't even get this. It's trivial to share your phone's data.

When would you have the iPad but not the phone - and pay an upcharge and ongoing cost for covering that weird situation? What am I missing?

I felt the same way for a long time. But the last iPad Pro I bought second-hand and it had cellular already so I thought I'd give it a shot. It's really a game changer. I don't have to carry a second battery for my iPhone all the time (tethering drains the battery super fast), AND the built-in cellular connection is about 50% faster than the same 5G connection tethered. It's so good that I cancelled my home internet and I just use the 5G of the iPad and the 5G of my iPhone. Lastly, where I live (middle east), to add an unlimited 5G line to my existing plan is only $9 a month. It's super worth the convince and speed for a very minimal cost.

 

[jwt873]

I couldn't transfer the SIM to the eSIM in the pad. I'd get a message on the iPad saying the SIM can't be transferred. I went to my carrier. They generated a QR code that I scanned. It activated the eSIM, but I'm only getting LTE.. Even when standing next to a 5G tower. I'm going to hit up my carrier again when the holiday season dies down.

On tethering....

I guess it depends on how one uses an iPad. Many people survive without an iPad at all. It's far from a necessity. On the other hand, I don't leave home without mine. I use it a lot. (Otherwise I wouldn't have dished out the cash for an M4 13" iPad Pro).

I hate browsing on a phone. I prefer a big screen. That's one of the main reasons I use an iPad. I consult it quite a few times during a normal day at home and when I'm out and about.

As mentioned, leaving the phone hotspot on all the time greatly decreases battery life. Turning it on and off every time I want to use it is a pain. And I use my iPad a lot.

Then there's security. When I'm out in public, everyone around will see the hotspot on their devices. Despite being WPA capable, the hotspot can still be hacked (look up wardriving). The connection to the cell network is secure, but the WiFi between the phone and tablet isn't It can be seen by those with the ability to see it.

I often use my iPad for navigation. I have a holder for it and again I like the nice big screen in my vehicle. (see image below).

Wifi only iPads have no ability to receive GPS signals since they have no GPS receiver. 'Location services' is done by triangulating nearby known WiFi locations. Works pretty well in urban settings, but is lacking in sparsely populate areas.

Unlike a wifi only iPad, wifi+cellular devices have a true GPS receiver built in. They can directly receive GPS/GLONASS satellite signals from which a location fix is obtained. Not only that but they use what is known as Assisted GPS, which uses signals from both the satellites and cell towers to increase accuracy.

The iPhone has a true built in GPS but unlike wifi, the position data can't be passed on to the iPad to provide the same GPS accuracy. And back to my original statement. I like a great big 13" screen over a phone screen. One of my vehicles has carplay.. But again I prefer the bigger screen of the iPad.

 

[Devyn89]

Question, how do you know you’re only getting LTE? Did you run a speed test?

 

[jwt873]

Question, how do you know you’re only getting LTE? Did you run a speed test?

That's a good question. It's something I've been pondering.

When I connect to the cell network, the indicator on the top right of the display shows LTE rather than 5G (like it does on my iPhone 16 Pro).

However, using the Ookla speed test app, I'm getting some pretty good download speeds with the new iPad, Sometimes exceeding 400 Mbps. I never got that high on my old LTE only iPad Pro 11.

So, the iPhone showing 5G and the iPad showing LTE are very similar when it comes to download speeds. I'm thinking that perhaps there's a bit out of order somewhere in the software causing the display to show LTE when in fact it is 5G.

 

[Devyn89]

That's a good question. It's something I've been pondering.

When I connect to the cell network, the indicator on the top right of the display shows LTE rather than 5G (like it does on my iPhone 16 Pro).

However, using the Ookla speed test app, I'm getting some pretty good download speeds with the new iPad, Sometimes exceeding 400 Mbps. I never got that high on my old LTE only iPad Pro 11.

So, the iPhone showing 5G and the iPad showing LTE are very similar when it comes to download speeds. I'm thinking that perhaps there's a bit out of order somewhere in the software causing the display to show LTE when in fact it is 5G.

Yeah, I know with Telus 5G is 250MBPS roughly and 5G+ is 250MBPS-2GBPS so that sounds like you’re getting 5G speeds but it’s not showing properly for some reason.