5G launch not successful till software updated in handsets

Indian telecom operators Airtel and Reliance Jio officially started 5G services in select cities from October 1. While the former enabled 5G in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur, and Varanasi, the latter took off with beta trials in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Varanasi. However, not everyone in the aforementioned cities are receiving 5G signals despite using supported smartphones. This is because some smartphones require software updates to enable 5G. From Lava to Apple, smartphone makers are preparing to roll out software updates for 5G. Below are the details:

Apple
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it is planning to roll out a 5G-related software update for iPhones in December. The iPhone 12 series and above, and iPhone SE (third-gen) are 5G compatible.

“We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed. 5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December,” said Apple

Samsung
South Korean electronics maker Samsung is planning to rollout software updates for its supported smartphones to enable 5G by mid-November.

“We are working closely with our operator partners and are committed to rolling out OTA updates across all our 5G devices by mid November 2022, enabling Indian consumers to experience 5G seamlessly,” said Samsung.

Lava
The indigenous smartphone maker on October 19 announced the roll out of 5G FOTA (Firmware Over-The-Air) update for its only 5G smartphone – the AGNI 5G.

“It has always been our aim to provide frequent software updates to our users to enhance the overall experience. Our teams have speedily implemented the FOTA update for the flagship AGNI 5G smartphone after the government announced the roll-out of 5G services earlier this month,” said Tejinder Singh, Product Head, Lava.

Vivo
Vivo announced that it would release a software update for its devices in October to enable 5G.

“More than six of our smartphones are supporting the 5G SA (standalone) network. Most of our smartphones are compatible with NSA (non-standalone network). We will release software updates this month which will make most of our smartphones compatible with 5G SA as well,” said Vivo in a statement.

Xiaomi
Xiaomi said that its 5G smartphones support the NSA and SA networks, and all its smartphones support NSA networks out of the box. Therefore, all Xiaomi smartphones are compatible with the Airtel network. For the Jio’s standalone 5G network, Xiaomi said it would roll out the software update for most devices by Diwali, October.

OPPO
OPPO said its smartphones support the NSA network and the company is working to enable the standalone 5G support through software update at the earliest.

Realme
Realme started rolling out its software update within a few days of 5G launch. The new software update brings support for Jio’s standalone 5G network.

“We have partnered with the leading telcos in India. 85 per cent of our devices already support SA and 100 per cent of our devices will have full SA support by October. We are also rolling out OTA updates for our devices to ensure that all our users can make the most of 5G,” said Madhav Sheth, VP, Realme. Business Standard