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Nexus 5 Question

kumaga said:
i see, so no verizon, if i wanted to get a nexus 5 on a carrier, would i have to buy it from google play?
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Well, technically the Nexus 5 CAN work with Verizon, but due to a spat with Google VZW says keep 'em off, and this may be the case with associated MVNO's, like TracFone, Net10 etc. I'm sure Verizon will eventually come to their senses on that one....

You can buy from a carrier, subsidized I guess. T-Mobile (I think) and Sprint are the only carriers I know of that sell them. Buy it directly from Google for $350 and you can bring it to almost any carrier you desire, as the Nexus 5 works with both GSM and CDMA bands.
 
kumaga said:
i see, so no verizon, if i wanted to get a nexus 5 on a carrier, would i have to buy it from google play?
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that would be the cheapest option. you can also buy it from carrier for more money but i do not know why anyone would do that unless they needed financing for it.if your carrier is GSM, just get their microsim and stick it in, done. if it is CDMA like sprint, call their customer service to activate it.
 
kumaga said:
ahh i see, so buying from google play is better, so if i buy this https://play.google.com/store/devices/details/Nexus_5_32GB_Bright_Red?id=nexus_5_red_32gb , im able to choose whatever carrier i want , or is there a cdma edition to a gsm edition?
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All N5's are the exact same.... The only difference is there's a 32g or 16g version. The one you can buy from T-Mobile or Sprint is the same as the GPE (Google Play Edition) If your carrier is CDMA or GSM it will work on there network. Except for Verizon as stated.
 
as xdrc45 said the same phone is GSM and CDMA both. the phone you linked has both these radios. just use it wherever you want (in the USA). outside it you will not get LTE.
 
I bought my Nexus 5 from Google Play and had it activated on AT&T. It took all of about 2 minutes for the salesperson to put in a sim card and have it activated. :-)
 
i see, for the at&t its byop plan? so that means i could pretty much use it on any carrier that provides a sim card? c:
 
ahh i see, well, now to find a prepaid plan that got a good coverage in my town, too bad t-mobile doesnt have coverage here ;-;
 
akmsr said:
as xdrc45 said the same phone is GSM and CDMA both. the phone you linked has both these radios. just use it wherever you want (in the USA). outside it you will not get LTE.
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You'll get lte in most North American counties, but European and Asian countries absolutely not.
 
Spec2nirvash said:
Well, technically the Nexus 5 CAN work with Verizon, but due to a spat with Google VZW says keep 'em off
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Although it doesn't affect me in any way, I'm interested to learn why Verizon fell out with Google.

As the Nexus 5 continues to become more popular, I'm sure that decision will be to Verizon's disadvantage.
 
JBentleyR said:
Although it doesn't affect me in any way, I'm interested to learn why Verizon fell out with Google.

As the Nexus 5 continues to become more popular, I'm sure that decision will be to Verizon's disadvantage.
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It all started back when Google was trying to release the 3rd generation Nexus phone (Galaxy Nexus). Google was ready to release the phone in mid-November when it launched the GSM version of it, but Verizon held back the release for about an entire month because of their "extensive testing system". When it finally did get to the market, it was a neutered Nexus because they blocked Google wallet from being used because they didn't want to let the competition get a leg up on their unreleased ISIS at the time, on top of holding back updates once again due to their testing system. Even though the GSM version managed to get up to 4.3 before EOL, the Verizon version still sits on 4.2.2 to this day.

Google got fed up with this and learned a lesson and thus made a GSM only Nexus 4. Google tried again with Verizon with the 2nd generation LTE version of the Nexus 7 tablet. They made it with an LTE only radio without the CDMA radio with the intention of taking advantage of the open network clause that Verizon agreed to when they bought the C block of the 700MHz spectrum. Verizon spit in the face of these regulations and refused to provision new SIM cards for Nexus 7 tablets until February when the tablet came out in September.

So yeah, Google has given Verizon chances and they just keep blowing it with their control freak nature.
 
It seems to me that Verizon is like a spoilt brat, spitting its dummy out of the pram.

If I lived in the US, I would certainly be looking at other providers and stuff Verizon!
 
Many on these forums who are able to have checked out other options.

Theyve got one of the largest networks, so unfortunately people don't always have the option of looking elsewhere. Sometimes Verizon is the only carrier they get service at home, or while traveling. And since their devices are locked down to their network they can't just pop in another Sim when needed like in Europe.
 
The funny thing is that, as of today, Verizon is introducing a BYOP plan, which ought to make it easy and possible for Google to create a Verizon Nexus 5 or Nexus 6 (or whatever the next one is called). Bet it still won't happen :rolleyes: (which is too bad because my wife has to have Verzon for where she travels and I'd love to replace her Moto G with a Nexus at some point).
 
Hook said:
The funny thing is that, as of today, Verizon is introducing a BYOP plan, which ought to make it easy and possible for Google to create a Verizon Nexus 5 or Nexus 6 (or whatever the next one is called). Bet it still won't happen :rolleyes: (which is too bad because my wife has to have Verzon for where she travels and I'd love to replace her Moto G with a Nexus at some point).
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I've mentioned before the LG rep I spoke to in a Sprint store one day was very adamant that the current Nexus 5 was produced with Verizon in mind. IE Google/LG designed it to work on Verizon, but for whatever reason it isn't supported.

Assuming that rep actually knew what he was talking about, If I'm going to speculate:
1) Verizon wouldn't allow Google to control updates
2) Verizon doesn't want low cost no contract phones available for purchase because:
a) To keep unlimited data current customers have to buy full priced devices
b) A cheap, unlocked nexus device will allow them to keep unlimited data and also makes it incredibly easy to switch carriers when they aren't on contract.
 
The Nexus 5 didn't get certified for band 13 LTE, so if it were to be available on Verizon it would likely require recertification or another device entirely.
 
jhawkkw said:
The Nexus 5 didn't get certified for band 13 LTE, so if it were to be available on Verizon it would likely require recertification or another device entirely.
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If I remember right, it didn't pass FCC certification til like a month before release.

I don't know how long that process takes, but no point getting it certified on that band if you know Verizon won't let it on the network.

Like I said, just speculation on my part :). You probably know more about that process than I do
 
Rxpert83 said:
If I remember right, it didn't pass FCC certification til like a month before release.

I don't know how long that process takes, but no point getting it certified on that band if you know Verizon won't let it on the network.

Like I said, just speculation on my part :). You probably know more about that process than I do
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Considering that the Nexus 4 could support band 4 lte, wasn't certified for it, and never did get certified for it, I doubt that would happen with the Nexus 5 regarding Verizon's band. A shame because a lot of people missed out on a great devices because of corporate politics.
 
peterc10 said:
Not quite. There are two types. One for North America, and another for pretty well the rest of the world. Different LTE bands supported. Both have 16G and 32Gb models. I am using the 32Gb "other" Nexus!
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True, but software wise they're the same. Even the radios had matching MD5's :thumbup:
 
Rxpert83 said:
True, but software wise they're the same. Even the radios had matching MD5's :thumbup:
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Yep. Only real difference is the LTE bands supported as far as I can see. But a vital one if, like me, you are upgrading for the 4G. And a very annoying one because they are
 
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