Yes, setting your phone's network preference to "5G" or "Auto" can help improve your data speeds in areas with mixed 5G and LTE coverage[1]. This ensures that your device prioritizes the fastest available network[1]. 5G is significantly faster, more secure, and more stable than older networks, offering more speed, coverage, and capacity compared to LTE[4].
5G's increased speed and low latency can reduce congestion on mobile networks[3]. In theory, 5G can deliver average speeds of 10 Gbps, which is more than 100 times faster than 4G technology[3]. Actual average 5G download speeds are currently being measured between 1.4 and 14 times faster than 4G[3]. The maximum 5G network speed can be 20 Gbps for downloads and 10 Gbps for uploads, while 4G can only reach 1 Gbps for both[5]. Also, 5G aims to deliver 100 times higher user data rates and five times reduced end-to-end latency[4].
5G achieves its faster speeds through the use of higher frequency bands, such as millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum, and technologies like massive MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output), beamforming, network slicing, and edge computing[5][7].
Citations:
[1] https://www.newspointapp.com/news/tech/boost-5g-speed-adjust-this-simple-setting-for-faster-internet/articleshow/112871388
[2] https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/11/423
[3] https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/what-is-5g/what-are-5g-speeds.html
[4] https://telecoms.adaptit.tech/blog/lte-vs-5g-whats-the-difference-and-why-does-it-matter/
[5] https://nybsys.com/5g-network-speed-explained/
[6] https://onomondo.com/blog/what-is-5g-iot-lte-m-nb-iot-and-your-deployment/
[7] https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/markets/digital-identity-and-security/mobile/inspired/5G
[8] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9965472/