As promised, Airtel has finally launched its 5G services in eight cities in India. Dubbed Airtel 5G Plus, the network is geared to provide 30x faster download speeds than LTE. Earlier, we had compiled all the crucial resources related to Airtel 5G and what 5G bands are supported in India. And in this guide, we bring you a comprehensive tutorial on how to use the Airtel 5G network in India. We will teach you how to activate Airtel 5G on your Android phone or iPhone, find out the cities where Airtel 5G services are available, list the compatible handsets, and much more. On that note, let’s go ahead and check out the steps to enable and use Airtel 5G in India.
In this tutorial, we include detailed instructions on how to use the Airtel 5G network in India on both iPhones and Android phones. Along with that, we have also explained what is Airtel 5G Plus, have mentioned cities and compatible phones that support the Airtel 5G network. That said, let’s dive in.
- How to Activate Airtel 5G on Android PhonesHow to Activate and Use Airtel 5G on iPhoneWhat is Airtel 5G Plus?List of Airtel 5G Supported Cities (October 2022)How to Find Airtel 5G Tower Near Your LocationAirtel 5G: Compatible iPhones and Android PhonesAirtel 5G Recharge Plans and TariffsAirtel 5G Download/ Upload SpeedsDo You Need a New Airtel 5G SIM Card?
How to Activate Airtel 5G on Android Phones
First, let’s learn what settings you need to change on your Android phone to use Airtel 5G services with ease in India. Check out if the 5G service is available in your location and if you have a compatible handset in the sections below. That said, here’s how to go about it:
Next, you will find the “Preferred network type” option here. Open it and choose “5G/4G/3G/2G” or you can simply choose “5G”. This will set 5G as your preferred network type.
Now, wait for some time, and the Airtel 5G network should be activated on your Android phone, assuming you are currently in one of the serviceable areas and have a compatible 5G phone.
Here, open “Phone Information” and tap on the drop-down menu below “Set preferred network type”. Choose “NR only” or “NR/ LTE” (so you can use 4G in areas where 5G services are not yet available). The “NR only” is only for testing purposes and to check whether your phone is able to latch onto the Aitel 5G network. Later, change it to “NR/ LTE” to receive voice calls, as Airtel 5G is still dependent on the LTE infrastructure for voice calls.
How to Activate and Use Airtel 5G on iPhone
Currently, Airtel 5G is not available on iPhone in India, as Apple is yet to release an update that will make the iPhone compatible with Airtel’s 5G network. After the update is rolled out, you will be able to activate Airtel 5G on iPhones by following the below steps.
Next, navigate to “Mobile Data Options” and tap on “Voice and Data“.
Here, tap on “5G Auto” as this will enable 5G when the network is providing better speeds than 4G. Otherwise, it will switch to 4G to save battery life. In case you always want your phone to always use the 5G network, choose “5G On”.
Now, wait for some time or restart your iPhone. The Airtel 5G network should now be enabled on your iPhone.
With the 5G rollout, Airtel has started calling its service Airtel 5G Plus in India. It’s nothing but the Non-standalone 5G network that Airtel is using to offer 5G services. The telecom giant has said that it will move to SA 5G tech through software degradation in the coming years, but that is still far away.
List of Airtel 5G Supported Cities (October 2022)
Airtel has currently rolled out its 5G network in 8 cities, which include Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur, and Varanasi. Surprisingly, Kolkata is missing from the list. The company says Airtel will have its 5G network in all key metro by the end of 2022. And by March 2024, Airtel 5G will be available across the entire country.
If you are in one of the serviceable areas, you can find the precise location of Airtel 5G towers and the area it covers. Here are the steps you need to follow to find the Airtel 5G tower near your location.
- Now, you can use this app to find Airtel 5G towers labeled in blue color in India. You can zoom out and move to another location and zoom in to find detailed coverage info of the tower. By the way, green indicates 4G/LTE coverage on the map. You can also swipe up and check 5G towers for other operators.
Airtel 5G: Compatible iPhones and Android Phones
As Airtel has rolled out 5G in key cities, it has compiled a list of phones that support Airtel’s 5G network. Check out below the complete list of iPhones and Android phones currently compatible with Airtel 5G. The list also includes the phones that are due to receive an update for enabling 5G.
Airtel 5G Recharge Plans and Tariffs
Currently, Airtel has not come up with a separate 5G plan just yet, and the company says that its customers can continue to use Airtel 5G services on existing 4G plans in India. So if you already have a 4G plan, you can use it to access Airtel’s 5G network.
After the official launch, there have been many user reports showcasing Airtel 5G’s download speed. At a recent Airtel 5G Plus event, the download speeds hovered around 200 to 300Mbps, while the upload speed was close to 25Mbps. Some were even able to get download speeds up to 1Gbps. As for user reports, people in Delhi have got download speeds of around 200Mbps to 600Mbps (via tweet), based on the proximity to the 5G tower.
As we mentioned in a previous guide, you don’t need a 5G SIM card to use Airtel 5G in India. The telecom operator clearly states that existing Airtel SIM cards are already 5G enabled, and they will work with your 5G-compatible smartphone without any issue.
