Measuring 5G depends on what you’re trying to measure: your connection speed, the signal strength reaching your device, or the radio frequency energy in your environment. Each requires different tools and gives you different numbers. Here’s how to approach all three.
Measuring Your 5G Speed
The simplest way to measure 5G performance is a speed test. Apps like Speedtest by Ookla or Fast.com will measure three things: download speed (how fast data reaches you), upload speed (how fast you send data), and latency (the delay between your device and the server, measured in milliseconds).
To get a meaningful result, close background apps, make sure you’re connected to 5G (not Wi-Fi), and run the test a few times at different hours. Your numbers will vary based on location, congestion, and which 5G band you’re on. As a benchmark, median 5G download speeds in the U.S. during early 2025 were about 299 Mbps on T-Mobile, 215 Mbps on Verizon, and 159 Mbps on AT&T. T-Mobile’s median upload speed was 14 Mbps, with latency around 45 ms. If your results fall well below these, you likely have a weak signal or are connected to a lower-frequency 5G band.
Checking Your 5G Signal Strength
Speed tests tell you the end result, but signal metrics tell you why your connection is fast or slow. Three numbers matter most:
- RSRP (signal power): How strong the signal is from the tower. Measured in dBm, where less negative is better. Between -65 and -80 dBm is excellent. Between -80 and -85 is good. Below -90 means a very weak connection with frequent drops.
- RSRQ (signal quality): How clean that signal is after accounting for interference. Between -5 and -10 dB is excellent. Between -10 and -15 is good. Below -20 means interference is seriously degrading your connection.
- SINR (signal-to-noise ratio): How much stronger the desired signal is compared to background noise. Above 25 dB is excellent. Between 15 and 25 is good for most uses. Below 5 means noise is overwhelming the signal.
On iPhone
Open the Phone app, dial *3001#12345#*, and tap the green call button. This launches Field Test Mode, which displays raw signal data including RSRP, RSRQ, and SINR for your active 5G connection. The interface isn’t pretty, but the numbers are the same ones your phone uses internally to decide how many bars to show you.
On Android
Android doesn’t have a universal dialer code. Instead, free apps like Network Cell Info Lite or Waveform’s SignalStream app pull the same field test data and display it in a more readable format. SignalStream also lets you save and compare readings from different locations, which is useful if you’re trying to figure out where in your home or office the signal is strongest.
Finding Nearby 5G Towers
If you want to know where your 5G signal is actually coming from, AntennaSearch.com maintains a database of tower and antenna locations across the United States. You can search by address to see which carriers have equipment nearby, what frequencies they’re using, and how far the towers are from your location. This is especially helpful if you’re troubleshooting poor signal or deciding where to place a 5G home internet gateway. The closer and less obstructed your line of sight to the tower, the better your RSRP and speed will be.
Measuring 5G Radio Frequency Exposure
Some people searching “how to measure 5G” want to know about the radio frequency energy that 5G equipment emits. This is measured in either volts per meter (V/m) for electric field strength or milliwatts per square centimeter (mW/cm²) for power density.
Professional-grade instruments like the Narda SRM-3006 spectrum analyzer are what researchers use. In field tests near 5G base stations, readings at about 50 meters ranged from 0.09 to 2.44 V/m, depending on whether the tower was actively transmitting data to a user. When no device was actively communicating with the tower, the background signal dropped to around 0.09 to 0.10 V/m.
Consumer-grade EMF meters exist, but most affordable models max out at frequencies well below the higher 5G bands. If you want readings that actually capture 5G signals, you need a meter or software-defined radio that covers at least 3.5 GHz, since that’s the primary mid-band frequency used by U.S. carriers. Low-cost options based on software-defined radio hardware (like the Adalm Pluto, which covers up to 3.8 GHz) can detect 5G signals, though they require some technical knowledge to set up and calibrate.
How 5G Readings Compare to Safety Limits
The FCC sets maximum permissible exposure limits for radio frequency energy. For frequencies above 1,500 MHz, which includes all 5G bands, the general public exposure limit is 1 mW/cm² averaged over the whole body. For localized exposure above 6 GHz (where some millimeter-wave 5G operates), the limit is 4 mW/cm² averaged over 1 cm² of tissue. These limits are averaged over 30-minute periods.
To put this in context, the field measurements taken 50 meters from active 5G base stations (topping out at 2.44 V/m) are well below the FCC’s general population limit of 10 V/m at 3.5 GHz. The readings at that distance without active traffic, around 0.1 V/m, are roughly 100 times below the limit. Exposure drops further as you move away from the antenna.