Skip to main content

Android 4.2.2 kills the Nexus 4’s unofficial LTE support

Nexus 4 users are finally beginning to receive their Android 4.2.2 update, about 48 hours after it was first spotted on Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10 devices. Users of LG and Google's latest Nexus handset may find themselves losing a desirable feature, though—AnandTech reports that an update to the phone's baseband software included in Android 4.2.2 appears to completely disable its partial, unofficial LTE support.
While LTE was never an advertised feature of the Nexus 4, the phone's internal similarities to LG's LTE-capable Optimus G handset extended to its Qualcomm-supplied WTR1605L LTE chip, which is sold in a package with the particular Snapdragon SoC used in both phones. Shortly after the phone's release, tinkering by AnandTech and some XDA Developers forum users found that by digging into Android's hidden settings, partial LTE support could in fact be enabled and used. However, since the phone wasn't designed to support LTE, its hardware could only make use of Band 4 (also known as AWS), used fairly widely in Canada but less so in the United States—T-Mobile is planning an LTE rollout using Band 4, but that is still in its early stages.
Google's latest software update has closed that backdoor, so the few users who are able to take advantage of it to get faster data speeds may want to hold off on updating for now. If you want to keep your Nexus 4's partial LTE intact, you'll have to hope that third-party ROMs restore the hidden feature—likewise, if you were holding out for a software update to make the Nexus 4's LTE support official, this is a pretty clear message from Google: it's not happening.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

What do you Think about This Article? Share Your Comments Here

Popular posts from this blog

LG’s first flexible OLED phone due before the year is out

LG plans to launch a flexible OLED smartphone before the end of the year, the company’s VP of mobile has confirmed, though it’s unclear to what extent the work-in-progress handset will actually flex. The OLED panel in question is the handiwork of LG Display according to VP of LG mobile Yoon Bu-hyun, the WSJ  reports, with the proposed device set to launch sometime in Q4. LG Display’s work on flexible OLEDs has been underway for some time, though the company’s efforts have perhaps been overshadowed somewhat by rival Samsung’s YOUM development. Last year, according to a Korea Times report, LG Display was preparing for
Post a Comment
Full Story »

Bing Apps for Windows 8 get major updates

Late least year, Microsoft rolled out a half dozen Bing Apps for Windows 8 users, each one focused on a specific category, such as travel and sports. The apps were designed to offer “immersive vertical experiences,” and now, about six months later, a big line of updates for them is being pushed out. Users can grab the updates now by heading into the Windows Store and selecting the updates notification.
Post a Comment
Full Story »

Syrian Electronic Army claims credit for CBS Twitter accounts hack

Yesterday, several of CBS ’s Twitter accounts were hacked, including its main account, and its accounts for 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, and CBS Denver. The hackers got into the account and tweeted a series of things relating to President Obama and the United States being in cahoots with Al-Qaeda . The tweets also had links that led users to malware-infested sites. While CBS was able to regain access to its accounts, it was unable to figure out who was behind the attacks, until now. The Syrian Electronic Army , the same group that hacked 3 of the BBC’s Twitter accounts, claimed
Post a Comment
Full Story »