My Experience with Circles.Life’s 5G SA Network in Singapore
I’ve been a Circles.Life customer in the past, but due to recurring reception issues, I decided to port out previously. On 14 October 2024, I chose to give them another try, hoping for an improved experience. After signing up that morning and receiving confirmation of my payment, I quickly activated my eSIM.
Immediate Network Issues
Later that morning, after activating my eSIM, I ran into an immediate issue. While I could connect to the 4G and 5G NSA networks without a hitch, I was completely unable to connect to the 5G SA (standalone) network. As someone who uses Singtel’s 5G SA without any problems, it was clear to me that the issue wasn’t with my device—it had to be something on Circles.Life’s end.
After some attempts to troubleshoot on my own, I reached out to Circles.Life support. They suggested the usual fixes—toggling mobile data, turning airplane mode on and off, and resetting my network settings. I tried to toggle mobile data, turn airplane mode on and off and my phone still wouldn’t connect to the 5G SA network. I did not try to reset my network settings as I did not want to lose my saved Wi-Fi networks.
eSIM Replacement – Still No Luck
In hopes of a quick resolution, I tried an eSIM replacement on 15 October, thinking that maybe the issue was tied to my initial eSIM. Unfortunately, even after replacing it, the problem persisted. Despite several exchanges with Circles.Life’s support team and going through all their recommended troubleshooting steps, the 5G SA network continued to elude me.
To add to my frustration, I knew this wasn’t an issue with my phone, as Singtel’s 5G SA worked flawlessly on it. Yet, with Circles.Life, I simply couldn’t access the service I was paying for.
Circles.Life and M1’s Network
Circles.Life operates on M1’s network, and my experience with it through other providers hasn’t been stellar either. In Singapore’s telco landscape, it often feels like M1—and by extension, providers like Circles.Life—are playing catch-up to the big names like Singtel and StarHub.
Telco Situation in Singapore: The Dominance of Singtel and StarHub
The state of the telco industry in Singapore seems to paint a clear picture: Singtel and StarHub are at the top, dominating the market. Both M1 and SIMBA (formerly known as TPG) have struggled to gain a solid foothold in the face of their larger competitors. It often feels like these two underdog networks are being “sat on” by the dominance of Singtel and StarHub, who continue to expand their coverage and services.
For consumers like me, this creates a situation where the smaller providers, though often more competitively priced, struggle to deliver the same level of reliability—particularly when it comes to next-gen services like 5G SA.
The Frustration Builds
As of now, I’m still waiting for Circles.Life’s technical team to figure out what’s wrong. I’ve tested their service across multiple locations in Singapore. Everywhere I go, the same issue persists: no access to 5G SA. This seems to be a technical issue rather than a coverage issue. Meanwhile, SMS and calls on 4G work perfectly fine, but that isn’t what I signed up for.
At this point, I’m left questioning whether Circles.Life is worth sticking with, especially when I’m paying for 5G SA that I can’t even use. While their customer service has been responsive, I’m still left without a solution, and it’s becoming harder to justify staying on a service that doesn’t deliver what it promises.
For now, I remain hopeful that Circles.Life’s backend team can fix the issue, but until then, I’m thoroughly unimpressed with the experience I’ve had so far.