UPDATE: Here’s the statement that T-Mobile gave me regarding the Nexus 6P and its band 12 LTE support: “We’re continuing to work with Google to test Band 12 and VoLTE on the new Nexus P6, and should have more to share in the near future.”
When the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P were first announced, their spec lists included support for band 12 LTE. There were immediately questions about whether or not the phones would work on T-Mobile’s band 12 coverage, and Google said that it was working with T-Mobile to enable support. Now it looks like that support might finally be getting close, at least for one new Nexus.
T-Mobile has a dedicated web page that lists devices that are compatible with its Extended Range LTE (aka band 12 LTE) coverage. The Nexus 6P was recently added to that list, but so far there doesn’t appear to be any update rolling out to actually enable the T-Mobile band 12 LTE on the 6P. However, the addition of the 6P to T-Mo’s list of Extended Range LTE phones could suggest that that update is near. The Nexus 5X is still missing from that list.
When asked about the situation with the Nexus 6P and band 12 LTE, Des Smith said that he’s “clarifying now.” I’ve also reached out to T-Mobile about the update and am waiting to hear back, so perhaps we’ll learn more soon.
As I said before, Google is working on getting T-Mobile band 12 LTE working on the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, so we know that the feature is coming, it’s just unclear when the updates will actually arrive. Google originally said that T-Mo band 12 LTE would be enabled by the time that the Nexus phones shipped, but that hasn’t happened. Extended Range LTE is a big deal, offering better coverage over long distances and in buildings than T-Mo’s other LTE coverage, so here’s to hoping that the new Nexus phones get it soon.
Do any of you already have a Nexus 6P in your hands?