5G mmWave Phones Can't Stand the Heat

Tests show that hot days can cause the Samsung S10 5G phone to drop from a 5G connection to a 4G signal from overheating.

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

July 19, 2019

1 Min Read
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The US is suffering a heatwave, and so, it turns out, are the early millimeter wave (mmWave), high-frequency phones being used to test initial 5G networks in cities across the country.

The expensive ($1,300) and short-range (up to 2,000 feet) Samsung S10 5G phones that are being used for early consumer tests of 5G promise speeds of over 1 Gbit/s on 5G networks.

The catch? They can overheat as the temperature gets hotter.

"When I ran tests, the phone's 5G often switched off due to overheating, leaving me with a 4G connection," reports the Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern in a multi-city test of the 5G devices recently.

During 80 and 90-degree days, In Atlanta, New York and Chicago, Stern used ice packs, air conditioning in cars or simply the sun going down to cool the phones.

Samsung says the S10 5G phone can switch to a 4G connection when the phone reaches a certain temperature to preserve battery life and optimize operation. "As 5G technology and the ecosystem evolve, it's only going to get better," a Samsung spokeswoman told the Journal.

AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon presently operate limited mmWave 5G networks in cities in the US. As we've reported already, the higher-frequency 28GHz and 39GHz bands used in millimeter wave can have short signal coverage ranges, don't work indoors and could even suffer from fingers directly blocking the high-frequency antennas.

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— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading

About the Author

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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