Mobile service in the GTA

[vaidabhishek]

I recently switched from Roger’s and Fido to Bell. I was on Roger’s and my wife on Fido. We switched in Jan 2026. Both of us have 5G iPhone pros. 

The 5G is absolutely horrible. I mean it takes 10 seconds for YouTube to stream or any website to open. All this in downtown Toronto , in liberty village, lakeshore, near CN tower area. Basically anywhere you go there’s night and day diff between Roger’s and Bell. 

[BellAntonie · Accepted solution]

Hi there @vaidabhishek ,

Welcome to the community and thanks for your post.

For the community to be better able to assist you, could you please provide further details as to the issues you're experiencing?

Do keep in mind that many factors can limit signal strength; topography, environmental conditions, line of sight to towers, high amount of users in the area, types of buildings in the area, etc. 

• Do you know of anyone else in the area having similar issues?
• Have you tried changing the network settings in your phone? Sometimes preventing your phone from searching for 5G can free up resources to focus on LTE instead.
• What troubleshooting steps have you done so far?
• Have you gotten in touch with our technical support team to open a ticket?

We'd also recommend checking out our How To article on Troubleshooting data connectivity on your Bell Mobility phoneand Troubleshooting voice calls on your Bell Mobility phone

Looking forward to hearing back from you.

[dks · Accepted solution]

Thanks for your question. In spite of the marketing hype, your phone selects the best available network for your location automatically. That may or may not be 5G service, depending on your location. Make sure your iPhone setting nder Cellular Data Options is set to 5G Auto to maximize battery life. Tower congestion can also cause some of the symptoms you are experiencing. 

[heatspeedy]

I couldn't locate my previous posts on here so I'm posting a follow up message to my experience getting a low 5G signal (one bar or less) all over Toronto. I decided to contact Google support after posting on here back in October 2025. In December 2025 they decided they were going to give me a replacement Pixel 8. I was hoping this would correct the problem but it didn't. I've had the same issue and I'm always using LTE even though the Pixel 8 is a 5G phone supported by the Bell network. I am concluding that the Pixel 8 is not a compatible phone with the Bell 5G network and when I have the chance I'm going to change to a Samsung or upgrade to the Pixel 10 or higher. Just thought others on here could learn from my experience. I have also placed a call yesterday with Bell tech support and they escalated the issue.

[dks]

There are helpful replies with green checkmarks which offer suggestions and reasons for your experience. It is not unusual for any mobile phone, no matter what the make, to move between 4G, LTE and 5G service. The phone does it itself, as that is how cell phones work. A full time, always on, permanent 5G connection does not happen, no matter who the provider is.  

[Jcraze]

I live in wasaga beach and my cell service is terrible. I only get 1 or maybe 2 bars. It’s horrible. Also when travelling to the GTA up airport road, the service drops all the time. How can this be one of the top providers and the service is that horrible? Shouldn’t we be in an age where service should be strong in most places?

[Jcraze]

This is terrible. I am just shocked that we are in an age where this shouldn’t be an issue but Bells service is like in the dark ages. TBH, I had Roger’s and it wasn’t much better in my area. Maybe there needs to be more investments in their infrastructure. Period. 

[dks]

That is rural cell service. Wasaga Beach can be especially crowded for cell service. Cell service is also affected by geography (hills and valleys) going north on Airport Road through the Caledon Hills. In rural areas, do not expect continuous perfect cell service. It is normal for your phone to self select the best signal from 4G to LTE to 5G. 

[dks]

With respect to Wasaga Beach, my favourite cell map shows seven towers within Wasaga Beach town limits. That does not mean there are not issues, but it does give some idea of Bell's towers in the area. That is the same number as Collingwood and other nearby towns. That does not meant service can't be improved, just an idea of what Bell has in place.