Why is Skinny/Spark not provisioning 5G on Pixel 5/5A?

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Why is Skinny/Spark not provisioning 5G on Pixel 5/5A?

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consolation

104 posts

Master Geek

#3115285 13-Aug-2023 15:10

farcus:

exactly, all pixels 6 and up have had NZ carrier settings rolled out to them by Google - not by the carriers.

Yep - but when you jump through the hoops to talk to a Google human, their answer is "the carrier needs to ask us to have settings enabled for each phone." So, my question is why not ask for 4(5g)/5/5a as well? OR- did Spark ask and they said NO? OR - is Google just full of crap and it was a unilateral decision?

Ruphus: Isn't this the risk you take when you choose to import a phone that is not offically supported by a carrier in NZ? YMMV.

Oh, totally - my problem is that there is a large install base, they are still one of the more popular 2nd hand imports and this decision pushes them into obsolescence quicker. We don't need to push stuff towards e-waste quicker than we already do. These phones are getting android 14, are one of the few small factor phones that aren't junk and have a robust body polycarb body that can take a few hits; they fill a niche.

gajan

287 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Spark NZ

Lifetime subscriber

#3115289 13-Aug-2023 15:24

If you DM me some details - I can take a look at it and get back to you.

My comments and remarks are not necessarily of my employer.

consolation

104 posts

Master Geek

#3115292 13-Aug-2023 15:35

gajan: If you DM me some details - I can take a look at it and get back to you.

Which details do you need? And, thank you.

gajan

287 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Spark NZ

Lifetime subscriber

#3115295 13-Aug-2023 15:44

As per DM.

My comments and remarks are not necessarily of my employer.

ShaneKNZ

28 posts

Geek

Trusted

Spark

#3115651 14-Aug-2023 12:21

Hi Team. I understand OP has been in touch with Gajan to check our NW provisioning, but just adding some context for those interested.

Spark do not actively restrict which devices are allowed to use services like IMS and 5G. In fact it’s the opposite. We want our services to work with as many devices as possible. Devices sold by Spark are thoroughly tested to ensure maximum compatibility. For devices not sold through Spark - we take a pro-active approach in regards to sharing our network config with OEMs (handset manufacturers) to try and maximise compatibility with our services.

However, there are still 2 parts required for things like VoLTE and 5G to work. The service must be available and provisioned on the carrier side. And the handset must be configured to allow those services for that specific carrier.

Some handset makers use an open model, basically enabling services on carriers without any requirement for testing or checking that those features work correctly. Some handset makers take a more conservative approach - and only enable services after they have been successfully tested.

I can’t go into too much detail about Google or any other OEM process, but it is our understanding that they have only enabled IMS and 5G (for Spark and Skinny) for devices with Tensor chipsets, so Pixel 6/6A and newer. There is nothing more Spark can do on the network side to enable these services for older devices. If you want to try a work-around to enable it on the handset side, we are happy to provision VoLTE and 5G on your line.

Also just to clarify - while we can provision the network services. We cannot push provisioning profiles to devices.

huckster

844 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3115679 14-Aug-2023 13:14

So if I were to look at what ShaneKNZ has said and what the OP was saying about Pixels working with Aussie SIMs here in NZ, Google is recognising the SIM to determine the network capabilities rather than the network itself and making a call as to whether to enable 5G or not.

I have no inside knowledge of either........

andyb

236 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

Spark NZ

#3115694 14-Aug-2023 13:35

@ShaneKNZ

Nice summary - can we pin that at the top somewhere!

andyb

Quic Broadband

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consolation

104 posts

Master Geek

#3115726 14-Aug-2023 14:35

Well.. at least we know.

Thanks to everyone who looked into this, your time and effort is appreciated.

Google support are a bunch of lying pos btw, amazing how quickly they went to throw local telcos under the bus.

[Mod edit (MF): edited post to remove slurs, user warned]

ShaneKNZ

28 posts

Geek

Trusted

Spark

#3115733 14-Aug-2023 14:57

Afraid the problem isn't exclusive to Google. We have similar challenges with older models and models from different regions across most/all OEMs. iOS seem to have a better approach - but we still face situations where devices like iPhone 6 (that are VoLTE capable) are not enabled for VoLTE on Spark + Skinny.

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