Don't just look at the indicator on your phone though. Providers are free to scheme with those. Some honestly show the icon when you are on 5G. Others use the option of showing it when you are on 4G (not even 5G NSA) but the network offers 5G on the cell.
The marketing guys got involved with this indicator and completely ruined its trustworthiness.
I've been away from Twitter phone nerds scene for quite a while, what do they use now for those details? Is it still ##service## or something else entirely?
There's apps for that but yes the built in one is also still there.
I think it's not so much a nerd thing rather than a false advertising one though.
It has been going between 4G and 5G today while hiking, so if they lie it isn't all the time at least.
But what do you suggest instead (on Android, a Pixel specifically)?
It depends on the provider. They can choose what the logo means.
Ps I looked it up, it can show it if the cell has 5G even if you're not connected to that at the moment, not if the network has it somewhere.
But each provider makes different choices. They have like 4 options to choose from.
You can use a network monitor app (or the built in one but it's a bit technical) to see what you're really connected to.
Isn't the icon decided by the operating system?
The operating system vendor can be bribed. AT&T for example asked Apple to show a 5GE icon when an “advanced” LTE network is in use.