MC Explains | Why are software updates needed to access 5G services in India?

(Representative Image: 5G Logo)

The rollout of 5G has begun in the country, but many users are still waiting on software updates from manufacturers that will allow their devices to connect to the network. Here's why these software updates are needed.

Hardware is only part of the equation

You may have seen this viral tweet from PayTm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma floating around the inter webs.

Ouch ! Hello @GoogleIndia do you think India should get 5G handset software upgrade soon ? @GooglePixel_USpic.twitter.com/lrv2IJiEXa

— Vijay Shekhar Sharma (@vijayshekhar) October 9, 2022

Now, why is it that a new Google Pixel 6A, a phone that was sold on the promise of being 5G Ready, refusing to connect to 5G networks in India? Also, why does it need a software update? Isn't the hardware already good enough for support?

Let's break those questions down. First, let's understand why a 5G device that works just fine abroad needs a software update to work in India. The simple answer to this is that it needs to be optimised for the 5G frequency bands in India.

Frequency bands for 5G in India have been divided into low-band, mid-band and high-band mmWave. Some phones like the iPhone 14 or Google Pixel 6A have hardware that supports these bands but won't work until the companies push an update to remove the software lock on frequencies.

Why were the software locks enabled in the first place? Good question. The answer is that these smartphones were released before the 5G rollout began, and a soft lock was put in place that prevented the phone from accessing the networks before they were ready.

Okay. By when will I get the update? 

That depends entirely on the manufacturer. Some phones don't need an update at all and work out of the box with 5G services. If you are using Airtel, you may want to check out the official list of supported devices.

If you have an older Samsung phone, OnePlus phone or Apple smartphone, chances are you will start seeing the software update roll-out sometime in December. This includes Google's 5G-ready handsets as well.

So once I get the update, will it be enabled for international roaming as well? 

That entirely depends on what frequencies your network carrier is using to enable 5G speeds. For example, most countries should have support for the n41 and n78 bands, but you may end up facing certain issues if the country doesn't support the band your carrier uses.

In India, the following 5G bands are supported:

n1 2100MHz, n3 1800MHz, n5 800MHz, n8 900MHz, n28 700MHz, n40 2300MHz, n41 2500MHz, n71 600MHz, n77 3300MHz-4200MHz, n78 3300MHz-3800MHz, n257 26.5GHz-29.5GHz, n258 26GHz, n260 37GHz-40GHz and n261 27.5GHz-28.35GHz.