5G in China Is Wildly Fast — But There's a Catch for Foreign Phones

Kurokun

Stay2CN Community Update | Mobile & Internet | May 2026

I ran a speed test on my phone in downtown Shanghai last week: 847 Mbps download. That's not a typo. Eight hundred and forty-seven.

China's 5G network is, without exaggeration, the fastest and most widely deployed I've seen anywhere in the world. But if you're coming with a foreign phone, there are some things you need to know.

The Good: Coverage Is Everywhere

I'm talking EVERYWHERE. High-speed rail tunnels? 5G. Remote mountain villages? Usually at least 4G. Underground metro lines? Full bars.

China has built over 3.5 million 5G base stations. For comparison, the entire US has about 200,000. The density is unreal.

The Catch: Your Foreign Phone Might Not Get Full Speed

Here's what I learned the hard way:

Band compatibility matters. Chinese carriers use 5G bands (n41, n78, n79) that some foreign phones don't fully support. My iPhone 15 Pro got great speeds. My friend's Pixel 7 was stuck on 4G in some areas.

Check your phone's 5G bands before you come. If it doesn't support n41 or n78, you'll still get 4G (which is fine), but you won't see those insane speed tests.

eSIM vs Physical SIM: 5G Performance

I tested both during my last trip:

• China Mobile physical SIM: Full 5G, best coverage in rural areas
• Airalo eSIM: Good 5G in cities, sometimes dropped to 4G in buildings
• Holafly eSIM: Similar to Airalo, solid urban performance

For pure speed and coverage, the local physical SIM still wins. But eSIMs are catching up fast.

The WiFi Situation

Public WiFi in China has improved dramatically. Most cafes, malls, and hotels now offer speeds that rival 5G. The annoying "SMS verification" step is still common, but many places now accept WeChat login instead.

One Weird Thing

Chinese 5G is so fast that I found myself downloading entire Netflix seasons in minutes... until I remembered Netflix is blocked here. The speed is real, but you'll need a VPN to use it for anything outside China's ecosystem.

What phone are you bringing to China? Have you checked if it supports Chinese 5G bands?

Stay2CN Team