Thinking about picking up the Nexus 5X or the Nexus 6P for yourself? Why not? It is pretty affordable after all and comes with some pretty amazing specs, and not to mention the Nexus 6P’s camera which is now ranked the second best according to the folks at DxOMark. However if you are planning on getting it on T-Mobile, there is a catch.
When asked if the new Nexus handsets will support Band 12 LTE, the carrier responded in the negative (via Android Police). According to T-Mobile, “They are not going to support Band 12, but we will continue to work with Google to enable this.” What this means is that in some areas where T-Mobile only has Band 12, you will not be able to place calls unless you have VoLTE.
Now what is odd here is that despite the new Nexus handsets having the hardware to support Band 12, that they have not bothered to get VoLTE certification ahead of the launch. We’re not sure if this is because Google has no plans to do so or if they were short on time, but for the sake of would-be T-Mobile Nexus owners that Google gets this done soon.
For those unfamiliar with Band 12 LTE, this is a version of LTE that is being heavily promoted by the carrier. It apparently has a greater reach and can penetrate buildings a lot better than T-Mobile’s regular LTE coverage. The carrier expects that they will have the service cover as many as 350 markets by the end of the year.
Filed in . Read more about LTE, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6p and T-Mobile.