Lately 5G signal has gotten much better in my area and when I run a speed test I get 900-1000 Mbps vs 300 on Wifi but when I try to watch a 4K video for example I have no issues on Wifi but 5G lags and buffers. I wonder why that is.

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almeuit t1_j9ymydf wrote on February 25, 2023 at 3:08 PM

#1,995,417

Raw speed is only one factor of many when it comes to how the internet performs. Link below for an in depth dive.

https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/network-layer/how-does-the-internet-work/

randomguy9731 OP t1_j9ynig4 wrote on February 25, 2023 at 3:12 PM

#1,995,513

Replying to almeuit (#1,995,417)

Thank you!

Entertainnosis t1_j9zgtwj wrote on February 25, 2023 at 6:29 PM

#2,000,761

You could be getting throttled depending on carrier?

SignalRevenue t1_ja04hku wrote on February 25, 2023 at 9:08 PM

#2,004,776

Traffic to speedtest and similar services is always prioritized first. Other services are prioritized based on the potential profit a provider could gain from it.

KafkaExploring t1_ja0hxuv wrote on February 25, 2023 at 10:44 PM

#2,007,046

Replying to SignalRevenue (#2,004,776)

That's giving a lot of credit to carriers' prioritization. Probably simpler to say that streaming is prioritized below browsing traffic, and most speed tests use TCP (like web browsing), not UDP (like most streaming).

Never ascribe to malice what can be explained by laziness.

MattW22192 t1_ja1mqra wrote on February 26, 2023 at 4:06 AM

#2,014,716

Only certain mobile plans support 4k or higher video streaming while the rest throttle video streaming to a certain bandwidth which is likely why your video plays but constantly lags and buffers.

SignalRevenue t1_ja3e8ck wrote on February 26, 2023 at 3:34 PM

#2,025,762

Replying to KafkaExploring (#2,007,046)

Thank you for the information. Though, in cases with mobile operators, I would always attribute malice to what can be explained by incompetence or laziness :)