iPad Pro Anyone got the 5G version of the new iPad Pro and not seeing the 5G option?

[haruhiko]

I just got the new 12.9 inch iPad Pro with 5G and I plugged in the SIM card from my carrier (I’m already on a 5G plan and my iPhone 12 on the same plan can connect to 5G without any problems) and was surprised to see that my connection was only LTE on the iPad.

I checked the Mobile Data (Cellular Data) settings, and only LTE and 3G are selectable.
Then I checked the Settings -> General -> About screen and was surprised to see the the Network Name is “Carrier 46.0” instead of the name of my carrier.

I even tried to copy the APN settings from my iPhone and to reset the network settings on the iPad Pro.

It looks like that iOS does not recognise the carrier of the SIM card and therefore not enabling 5G support for me.

Anyone has any idea why this is happening or can your new iPad connect to 5G network automatically?

Thank you.

Update: My carrier called me back saying that they are not compatible with the iPad Pro’s 5G capabilities now but they are consulting Apple to add support in the future. So I’ve come to this weird situation of iPhone having 5G but not the iPad Pro cellular version despite being on the same network and same SIM card.

 

[AutomaticApple]

I just got the new 12.9 inch iPad Pro with 5G and I plugged in the SIM card from my carrier (I’m already on a 5G plan and my iPhone 12 on the same plan can connect to 5G without any problems) and was surprised to see that my connection is only LTE on the iPad.

I checked the Mobile Data (Cellular Data) settings, and only LTE and 3G are selectable.
Then I checked the Settings -> General -> About screen and was surprised to see the the Network Name is “Carrier 46.0” instead of the name of my carrier.

Anyone has any idea why this is happening or can your new iPad connect to 5G network automatically?

Thank you.

I can see the 5G option on mine. I'm not sure what's going wrong on your end.

 

[haruhiko]

I can see the 5G option on mine. I'm not sure what's going wrong on your end.

Whoops.. I think I need to make a call to my carrier. I even tried ‘Reset Network Settings’ and it is still ‘Carrier 46.0’ and with LTE support only.

 

[haruhiko]

I also tried to plug in the SIM card from my iPhone 12. Same result: Carrier 46.0 with only LTE support. Very weird.

 

[haruhiko]

Whooooooops. I checked the “Wireless carrier support and features for iPad“ page on Apple website and found that despite my carrier (Smartone HK) having full support of 5G on iPhone, it is not listed on the aforementioned iPad page. How can one carrier support 5G on iPhone but not iPad?!

However, on my other SIM card on the same plan, my iPad mini recognizes the network provider but of course it only has LTE.

 

[haruhiko]

The whole thing is so confusing that I doubt anyone will be able to answer clearly. I foresee that Apple will tell me to ask my carrier and my carrier will ask me to go back to Apple.

 

[rui no onna]

It's the carriers that provision for 5G so Apple's right that you need to talk to your carrier.

Problem is I doubt you'll actually reach anyone at your carrier who can actually do something about your provisioning issue.

 

[haruhiko]

It's the carriers that provision for 5G so Apple's right that you need to talk to your carrier.

Problem is I doubt you'll actually reach anyone at your carrier who can actually do something about your provisioning issue.

It’s so confusing and I think talking to Apple and the carrier is not going to yield any meaningful results. I’d better save some time and wait for the problem to solve itself in some future iOS updates - or never.
It’s weird to see the same SIM card supporting 5G on the iPhone but only LTE on the iPad. Switching SIM cards between iPhone and iPad didn’t work apparently.

 

[el-John-o]

Note that some data plans do not include 5G.

For example, I’m on AT&T’s “Mobile Share” plan. For me, it’s a better value that ‘unlimited’, because I have plenty of data, can tether, and don’t get any compression on streaming video. I don’t mind, occasionally, paying for a bit more data when it means I can use it however I want. But; mobile share doesn’t support 5G at all. So neither my iPhone nor iPad will connect to 5G as long as I have this plan.

 

[rui no onna]

Note that some data plans do not include 5G.

For example, I’m on AT&T’s “Mobile Share” plan. For me, it’s a better value that ‘unlimited’, because I have plenty of data, can tether, and don’t get any compression on streaming video. I don’t mind, occasionally, paying for a bit more data when it means I can use it however I want. But; mobile share doesn’t support 5G at all. So neither my iPhone nor iPad will connect to 5G as long as I have this plan.

In the OP's case though, the same SIM card (presumably with same plan) works at 5G on the iPhone but just LTE on the new iPad Pro.

 

[kycophpd]

I can’t even get AT&T to activate my iPad. I called by phone and they told me that the Apple SIM inside will not allow them to activate it remotely. So I have to go to an AT&T store and get a Sim card or wait for them to send me one.

 

[PennHunter]

I can’t even get AT&T to activate my iPad. I called by phone and they told me that the Apple SIM inside will not allow them to activate it remotely. So I have to go to an AT&T store and get a Sim card or wait for them to send me one.

My iPad activated with AT&T no problem. I just added it to my current plan.

 

[haruhiko]

Installing iOS 14.6 RC2 didn’t help either. As expected. ?

 

[kimmyben]

I just got the new 12.9 inch iPad Pro with 5G and I plugged in the SIM card from my carrier (I’m already on a 5G plan and my iPhone 12 on the same plan can connect to 5G without any problems) and was surprised to see that my connection was only LTE on the iPad.

I checked the Mobile Data (Cellular Data) settings, and only LTE and 3G are selectable.
Then I checked the Settings -> General -> About screen and was surprised to see the the Network Name is “Carrier 46.0” instead of the name of my carrier.

I even tried to copy the APN settings from my iPhone and to reset the network settings on the iPad Pro.

It looks like that iOS does not recognise the carrier of the SIM card and therefore not enabling 5G support for me.

Anyone has any idea why this is happening or can your new iPad connect to 5G network automatically?

Thank you.

I had the same question today and just got off the phone with ATT who told me as long as you have 5G on your plan and a 5G device it will connect automatically when you are near a 5G tower.

 

[haruhiko]

I had the same question today and just got off the phone with ATT who told me as long as you have 5G on your plan and a 5G device it will connect automatically when you are near a 5G tower.

I’m near a 5G tower as my iPhone 12 is connected to 5G on the same network now. But thanks for your info!

 

[haruhiko]

Over the phone with AppleCare tech support now. They’re running a diagnostics on the iPad and see if there is any problem. But I don’t this will yield any encouraging results ?

 

[haruhiko]

AppleCare rep confirmed no hardware issues. Carrier confirmed that my SIM card supports 5G and no specific settings is needed for 5G connection as long as the device supports.

The AppleCare telephone support staff suggested me to go to the Genius Bar for checking the device physically.

dead end

 

[Lobwedgephil]

My carriers version is 46.0.2, don’t really have advice, hope you get it figured out soon.

 

[haruhiko]

My carriers version is 46.0.2, don’t really have advice, hope you get it figured out soon.

Thanks, I think I can only hope for a carrier settings update (which doesn’t come very often) or 14.7 since 14.6 RC2 didn’t help either.

 

[haruhiko]

One very interesting thing. My carrier is listed in the supported carriers of 5G on iPhone but it’s absent on the same page for iPad. Is it possible that a carrier supports iPhone’s 5G but not the iPad? This seems ridiculous….

Wireless carrier support and features for iPhone in Asia-Pacific - Apple Support

Choose your country or region to learn about the wireless carriers available to you.

support.apple.com

SmarTone is listed to support 5G on iPhone in Hong Kong

Wireless carrier support and features for iPad in Asia-Pacific - Apple Support (HK)

Choose your country or region to learn about the wireless carriers available to you.

support.apple.com

Here, Smartone is completely absent from from the carrier list for iPad in Hong Kong.

?

I called SmarTone but it seems that their staff is puzzled too and said they would ask their technical team and get back to me to confirm the above.

 

[haruhiko]

Update: My carrier called me back saying that they are not compatible with the iPad Pro’s 5G capabilities now but they are consulting Apple to add support in the future. So I’ve come to this weird situation of iPhone having 5G but not the iPad despite being on the same network and same SIM card.

 

[NM08SRT8]

I’m out on 5G either with Verizon but I am with my iPhone mini. Wonder if this Was a limitation of esim? I need to check and see if this has a sim in it or not. Lol

 

[NM08SRT8]

I’m out on 5G either with Verizon but I am with my iPhone mini. Wonder if this Was a limitation of esim? I need to check and see if this has a sim in it or not. Lol

Yup, I’m connected through esim.. that explains why I’m not on 5G

 

[roberthodgson]

Same issue with Rogers here in Canada 5g is fine on the phone but my Ipad pro will not switch over to 5G even if I set it to none auto switch Nopefully its just a modem carrier update thats required. Unfortunately Rogers is always a bit slow some times supporting new hardware for some reason.

 

[haruhiko]

Same issue with Rogers here in Canada 5g is fine on the phone but my Ipad pro will not switch over to 5G even if I set it to none auto switch Nopefully its just a modem carrier update thats required. Unfortunately Rogers is always a bit slow some times supporting new hardware for some reason.

I just wonder why it needs to be specifically “supported”… I guess the modem on the iPad should be similar if not the same as the iPhone 12 series. Apple’s tight control sometimes brings some weird inconvenience to the users, like what we are experiencing now.