Glo 4G LTE not working on your smartphone? I have two news for you folks, one is a goodnews and the other is a badnews. I’m thinking of starting with the badnews, but let’s have the goodnews first.
The goodnews is that Glo 4G LTE is cheap, very cheap and affordable. Maybe it’s cheap because of the badnews I am about to reveal to you. Take a look at the Glo 4G LTE data plans and lets continue.
Alright, this is the badnews!
When Glo announced their 4G LTE service, I was really happy, I went to look for my Glo SIM, removed the dust then subscribed to a week 4G LTE data plan just to test the speed. I waited for 4G network without any positive result because I didn’t read the part of the press release that says we must purchase a 4G LTE SIM, and that’s the SIM pack below.
I eventually got the 4G SIM and did not get any 4G network. It was frustrating, trust me…
Here’s what I did to get myself out of that bad state. I did more research and I have to advise you to prepare yourself for the devastating shock!
Glo 4G LTE Not Working On My Smartphone: What Is The Only Problem?
Alright, I have to tell you once and for all. If you have any Tecno, Infinix, Gionee or iTel smartphone, please forget about using Glo 4G LTE service, unless something changes in the future.
When you get to Glo office, they will tempt you to buy their expensive MiFi for N35,000 or one of those lame smartphones for N40,000+ to enjoy their 4G LTE network.
Glo operates on LTE band 28 and no Chinese based smartphone in Nigeria has the LTE band 28. So, it’s like Glo announced the 4G LTE service for 3% of Nigerians and made it very cheap because no one will be in the network.
How To Find Your Smartphone LTE Band
For now, this is how I discovered my LTE band on my smartphone. I am sure there would be easier ways, and once I discover that, I will update this article.
- You will download MTK Engineering Tools from Google Play
- Install the app
- Tap MTK Settings
- Tap BandMode
- Select your SIM
- You will see a list of band mode, from GSM to LTE,
- If you can’t tick the band 28 check box, then forget about using Glo 4G LTE service.
It’s a nightmare, but just move on…
I actually thought there could be a way to fix it but I realized it is plain stupid to try to fix a hardware problem with a software.
So, here is a list of smartphones that supports Glo 4G LTE band 28, 700MHz spectrum. Consider yourself lucky if your smartphone is in the list because you won’t be needing a Glo MiFi.
Understanding The LTE Band Frequency
Now, I don’t know why Glo went for band 28, (700mhz) when all the LTE smartphones in Nigeria are either band 20, 7, 4 or 3.
Let us take a look at other network currently offering 4G in Nigeria and how it compares to Glo. You will discover something shocking.
- MTN 4G LTE is Band 20 (800MHz) and Band 7 (2600MHz)
- NTEL 4G LTE is Band 8 (900MHz) and Band 3 (1800MHz)
From what you see here, MTN is more likely to appeal to Nigerians compared to what Glo has to offer. You will recall that MTN acquired Visafone 800MHz spectrum for this purpose. The company had some legal battle with other telecom giants in Nigeria and I cannot provide accurate detail on that development at this time.
Glo 4G LTE Not Working On My Smartphone:What Is The Fix?
There are several options:
- One is to get a Glo MiFi,
- Get a smartphone with Band 28. Even Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge doesn’t have the LTE 28 frequency, but LG G5 has it, even the LG G4 has it also.
- Wait till Ntel or MTN 4G LTE service becomes available in your city/area.
I had advised some folks to take a look at the list of top Tecno smartphones to enjoy Glo 4G LTE service, it didn’t really go down well because it is now clear that no Tecno smartphone can comply with Glo’s 4G LTE service at this time.
If there is any other simple solution to this problem, I will let you know. Maybe Glo could get license for the other bands in future. Whatever the case lets keep our fingers crossed and I hope this was helpful.
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One Comment
Browsing Phones
If Glo 4G LTE appeals to 3% of smartphone users in Nigerian, then whoever is there Business analyst should be shown the way out.
That’s completely senseless for a company to launch a tech product that is not compatible with what’s already selling….Glo should know that a good number of users own Android: Samsung, Tecno, Infinix , Gionee, and iTel. MTN is winning finally.