Hmm OK, have you tried turning off the Smart 5G option, this will likely stop 5G connecting unless the device is doing a large amount of data transfer!
So this is where current 5G standards can get complex, Vodafone's network in your area may not be using the N78 band and might be broadcasting using DSS on Band 1 (N1), but it's unclear what devices can support this and what support is required to connect.
I know the above is a bit advanced so I'll try simplify it a bit,
5G comes in 3 different versions, there is a Standalone (NR-SA) version that is not yet activated, it operates as a single network and connects without need for 4G, there is then Non-Standalone (NR-NSA) which is most common across the world which add 5G spectrum to work with 4G to provide my download speed and there is Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (NR-DSS) where 4G and 5G share the same signal.
Lately in your region I've been seeing a lot of reports that Vodafone have been turning on NR-DSS however not all devices support it and to be honest it has disadvantages for overall performance though will enable fast speeds, however Vodafone also has coverage using NR-NSA operating at Band N78 which I would expect you to be able to connect.
Looking around your local area I can find all Vodafone masts are monopoles which I've yet too see any with 5G enabled as they generally need additional cell panels to be added and these setups don't have space for them, so I'm lead to believe that Vodafone haven't rolled out NR-NSA here but have enabled DSS on one of the poles and your device is unable to take advantage of it or is not working as it should.
My suspicion is that the mast next to Tesco here is the one enabled with NR-DSS and is the one you connect to from the postcode above, I would say Virgin needs to look into confirming if coverage is in fact using N78 or DSS N1/N8
The Giggitty 1
