All smartphones will soon start supporting Airtel 5G services by mid-November, as confirmed by a senior Bharti Airtel official.
However, if you are an iPhone user, you will not be able to enjoy 5G connectivity yet.
All Smartphones To Support 5G Connectivity Mid-November
Bharti Airtel Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Gopal Vittal confirmed during an earnings call that Apple will release the software update in the first week of November. This will result in 5G connectivity for iPhones by mid-December.
The company is now building a 5G network, he said, adding that “then we take decision as to what we do, possibly in next 6-9 months.”
He said, “As the network starts getting built out we will see a significant part of our existing data traffic on 4G move to Airtel 5G plus. This is important since it will allow us to gradually move more and more spectrum to 5G at the flick of a button. We have also started testing the SA (standalone) mode on 5G. This mode may be relevant for some enterprise use cases.”
He also stated that Airtel is currently offering 5G services at 4G rates, but in the ensuing 6 to 9 months, the company will probably decide how much to charge for the services of the next generation.
Which Phones Are 5G Compatible?
As per Vittal, there are probably 27 different 5G models of Samsung, of which, 16 are enabled and prepared models. Rest will come between November 10 and 12. All 17 OnePlus models will function on our network.
Additionally, all 34 models of Vivo and Realme will function on Airtel’s network. Oppo’s 14 models and all 33 of Xiaomi’s models are compatible.
Because the network and some 5G handsets are incompatible, some devices have been unable to use 5G services.
How To Switch To 5G Connectivity?
If your phone supports 5G connectivity, you can access the fast network in a matter of seconds.
Here’s a step by step process of how you can switch to 5G connectivity.
- Go to your phone’s settings app.
- Select the “Wi-Fi & Network” link.
- Select “SIM & Network.”
- The ‘Preferred network type’ option will display a list of all technologies.
- Your phone will be listed among other services like 2G/3G/4G/5G if it supports 5G.