Verizon is launching a 5G home internet service (Update: Live now in 4 cities)

Verizon

Update, October 1, 2018 (11:15AM EST): Today, Verizon switched on what is technically the world’s first commercial 5G network. However, the network is only available in select areas within four U.S. cities: Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento.

What’s worse is that the network is only temporary. The service is currently based on Verizon’s 5G TF standard, but the global 5G NR standard hasn’t yet been approved by the regulatory body known as 3GPP. This means at some point in the future, Verizon is going to have to upgrade its own hardware — and the in-home hardware of anyone buying into this 5G Home service.

In other words, unless you are absolutely desperate to check out 5G speeds in your home, it’d be smart to pass on this service for now.

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Original Article, September 11, 2018 (06:14PM EST): Verizon has talked extensively about bringing 5G service to it customers and even confirmed its plans to make it available as soon as this fall. True to its word, Verizon announced this afternoon that it is going to begin rolling out a 5G broadband service starting on October 1.

Branded as Verizon 5G Home, the broadband internet service will initially be limited to Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento. While the service won’t be using the mobile 5G standard, Verizon will utilize mmWave technology which uses spectrum between 30 and 300 GHz.

Using Verizon 5G Home, customers can expect to see download speeds around 300mbps with the network sometimes peaking close to 1 Gib. Additionally, Verizon will not be putting any data cap on the plan.

Editor’s Pick

What is 5G, and what can we expect from it?

You’ve likely heard the term a lot recently, but what is 5G? Good question. Simply put, 5G networking is the next major evolution of mobile wireless technology. It will empower customers with even faster data connections, …

Customers wishing to sign up for Verizon 5G Home can do so starting on September 13 at 8 am ET. The broadband internet service will cost current Verizon customers $50 a month while non-Verizon customers will have to pay $70 a month. The company states that it won’t be charging any additional hardware fees or installation charges.

Verizon is also sweetening the deal by giving customers a couple of freebies. In addition to a free three-month membership for YouTube TV, the company will let customers choose between receiving a free Chromecast Ultra or Apple TV 4K at the time of installation. 

You can learn more about Verizon 5G Home and sign up for the service when it’s available by clicking on the button below.

Verizon 5G Home

Source: Android Zone

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Don’t update to Pie if you own a Samsung wearable (Update: Fix and app name change)

Update, August 14, 2018 (11:15AM EST): Samsung has fixed the problem listed below with Samsung-branded wearables not linking correctly with the Samsung Gear Android app. Along with the fix, Samsung also rebranded the app to Galaxy Wearable, furthering the company’s ambitions to do away with the Gear branding.

After updating to the new Galaxy Wearable app, you will finally be able to use your Samsung smartwatches, headphones, and fitness bands with your Android 9.0 Pie device. Other than the rebrand (and the inclusion of the new Samsung Galaxy Watch), the app appears to function in much the same way as it did when it was Samsung Gear.

Click the button below to update your app:

update galaxy wearable

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Original Article, August 9, 2018 (01:21PM EST): While there aren’t too many phones out there that are currently capable of updating to Android 9.0 Pie, you should know that updating to the latest version of Android might cause some problems for your Samsung wearables.

According to users on Reddit, the Samsung Gear app won’t connect to your wearable if you are running Android Pie. The Gear app will work on the phone just fine, and the smartwatch, headset, or fitness tracker will be fine on its own, but the two devices will not be able to communicate.

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Android 9.0 Pie update tracker: What we know so far (Updated August 13)

The next major version of Android, Android 9.0 Pie, has already made its way to the Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, and Pixel 2 XL. Google announced this official Android 9.0 update on August …

If you attempt to connect a wearable with the Samsung Gear app on an Android Pie device, the process begins but then crashes before completion.

While we don’t have an exact list of the affected wearables, the Reddit thread makes it seem that this is a Samsung Gear-wide issue, not a problem with specific wearables.

Users are already complaining in the Google Play Store listing for the Samsung Gear app, and Samsung reps have chimed in to say that the company is aware of the issue. However, we don’t know a timeline yet for the fix.

Hopefully, the fix comes soon as Samsung just launched the newest wearable in its roster: the Samsung Galaxy Watch. Read more about that here, and also check out our info on the other device Samsung announced today: the Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

NEXT: Samsung announces Galaxy Home smart speaker and big Bixby improvements

Source: Android Zone

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Dish Network boxes will support Google Assistant (Update: Available now)

Update 07/09/2018 at 11:15 A.M. EST: Dish Network announced today that the official rollout of Google Assistant support to certain Dish set-top boxes is here. However, the company originally promised both English and Spanish language support at launch, but it appears just English is supported for now.

To use Google Assistant voice commands on your set-top box, you have to connect your box with the Google Home app on your Android smartphone. Dish provides these step-by-step instructions for your convenience.

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Original Article (01/11/18): If there’s one thing we’ve learned from CES 2018 (besides how thousands of tech geeks will react when the power goes out), it’s that Google Assistant is going to be in everything. By the end of the year, it will be in headphones, coffee makers, alarm clocks, and even washing machines.

Not to be left out, Dish Network announced today certain Dish-branded cable boxes will support the virtual assistant in 2018. Using your smartphone, tablet, or smart speaker, you will be able to control your set top box with commands like, “Change the channel to NBC,” “Pause,” or even “Search for funny shows.”

Only a few months ago, Dish released a voice-controlled remote with similar features, but pairing with Google Assistant gives you the freedom to use whichever supported device you like to control your television.

Both English and Spanish commands will be supported at launch. Presumably more languages will come along later.

If you own the Hopper, Joey, or Wally set-top boxes from Dish, you won’t have to buy anything extra to take advantage of the new feature. You’ll just have to add the hardware to your Google Home profile once the option is available for it to work. If you own any other set-top box model though, you will have to upgrade.

What a day it will be when you can say “Ugh, this show is terrible, change the channel,” and your TV will listen.

Source: Android Zone

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T-Mobile rolls out band 71 coverage to 120 new places, Puerto Rico this Fall

• Today, T-Mobile announced that it recently brought 600MHz spectrum (band 71) to 120 new places.
• That brings the total rollout to 900 cities and towns across 32 states.
• Puerto Rico is next, with T-Mobile band 71 coverage coming this Fall.

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A little over a year ago, T-Mobile spent some big money at the FCC spectrum auction for the 600MHz band. Today, the company announced that it recently lit up 600MHz spectrum in 120 new places across the U.S., and will light up Puerto Rico sometime this Fall.

Otherwise known as band 71, the 600MHz spectrum was formerly used by TV stations to broadcast analog television signals. With no need for this spectrum anymore, the FCC auctioned it off to wireless carriers in April last year.

Using band 71, wireless customers who live in rural areas can get better signal, with some places receiving 4G LTE coverage for the very first time. The 600MHz spectrum also does a better job at going long-range and penetrating walls, which further ups the value of the spectrum band.

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LG K30 is a low-cost 600MHz (Band 71) phone at T-Mobile

T-Mobile

Late last week, T-Mobile released the LG K30, which is a budget Android smartphone that costs $225. There’s nothing particularly notable about the wallet-friendly device, save one thing: it supports T-Mobile’s 600MHz network, …

That enhanced distribution is why T-Mobile spent nearly $8 billion at that auction last year. The company has long-fought its negative reputation as only servicing urban areas while providing minimal or even zero coverage to rural populations.

However, the downside to 600MHz spectrum is that only a select few devices actually support it – and most of those devices are high-end flagships, like the Samsung Galaxy S9. However, LG just released the LG K30, which supports band 71 at the very reasonable price of $225. More devices with band 71 support will likely come soon.

With the 120 towns that T-Mobile recently added, it now supports 600MHz spectrum in over 900 cities and towns across 32 states.

T-Mobile also made a significant commitment to bring band 71 to Puerto Rico, where the devastation caused by hurricanes is still a major roadblock to wireless service. The company did not make any hard commitments on how many areas will see 600MHz spectrum by the end of the year, however.

You can read the full press release from T-Mobile here.

get a t-mobile band 71 phone

Source: Android Zone

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