4G LTE in Bangladesh

Apple doesn't control this; the carriers do. They need to create a carrier update to be installed on the phone. To check for a carrier update go to Settings/General/About on the phone and tap on the carrier name. If the carrier has issued a carrier data update you will be prompted to install it. If they haven't you need to contact them to find out when they plan to.

You also need to make sure that the phones you have support the LTE bands available in Bangladesh. You can check the bands here: http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/.

Also, just because the feature has been announced it does not mean that all towers have been upgraded to LTE yet, so coverage may be spotty or non-existent in some (or many) areas.

Read the link you provided. Apple has not released the carrier file because the carriers have not provided all of the information for supporting LTE. Once they do, Apple releases the carrier files. It is the carrier, whether you wish to admit it or not. If you wish to yell and complain to someone, complain to them. That is how it works for a carrier to be a supported carrier for the iPhone.

It’s working fine now after the 32.2 update. Thanks 😀

Grameenphone,Banglalink & Robi are approved Apple networks for iPhone in Bangladesh.

Check here:https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203982

Apple is blocking, they are waiting for the carrier update file once the carriers have verified launches, which is what is said in the link you provided. Once the carriers have fulfilled their obligations, Apple can send out the carrier file. You need to get the carriers to get their act together and get the information to Apple. They are the ones delaying things. And what Samsung phones do or do not do has nothing to do with Apple.

There's your problem. Where you purchased the phone DOES matter, because not all LTE bands are supported. You might want to buy a phone next time in your region and in addition, check the Bands the phone uses and compare them to your provider.

I'm on Freedom Mobile in Canada. I get LTE on Band 7, and Band 66. I don't have this issue.

Freedom Mobile uses Band 4 UMTS, Band 4 LTE, Band 7 LTE, Band 13 LTE and Band 66 LTE. My iPhone 8 Plus gets them all. My 6S Plus doesn't get Band 66 but the rest of them it does. According to the Tech Specs of both phones and comparing them to the Bands Freedom uses, my phones will work on the network.

By the way, you're going to have to get some Frequent Flyer Miles if you want the phone serviced. Apple is not blocking it. I doubt it. Before Apple approved my provider, I could still access Band 7 LTE. So we can rule out Apple blocking the network.

And for ChrisJ4203, Freedom does have Band 13 LTE, but has not deployed it.

According to this list, Wireless carrier support and features for iPhone in Asia-Pacific - Apple Support and you scroll down to Bangladesh, LTE support is absent. Which means, and it's purely speculation, that Apple might have to recertify the network for LTE. That will definitely take some time.

Yell at the provider some more. It's not Apple. As I mentioned before I got my 8 Plus, I could access LTE Band 7 (IMT-E) on Freedom Mobile on a 6S Plus, before my provider got approved by Apple. So what the IT Specialist said I can debunk quite easily. Now I can access LTE on Band 7 and Band 66 (AWS 1/3). Mostly Band 66, but sometimes Band 7.

Apple is not blocking LTE, if you look at that link. So, start protesting outside your providers office. I know how important this is for you, so I'm holding off on how I usually approach these things.

Can't speak for the Android crowd over there though.

Also we'll have to avoid the term "each and every" and change that to "every". Each and Every, comes right out of the Tech Support Scammers Dictionary. It's actually "Each and Everything", but without "thing" it's close enough. Keep that in mind. Minor slip, but you probably didn't know that.

1. There's another problem here. 4G is not LTE. In the instruction manual for iOS 11, "4G" and "LTE" are treated different, so in this context it will be treated differently too. There was a recent thread on this as well. There was never any formal definition of what constitutes 4G speed and the definition has been changed once. Here's the problem. "4G" can mean LTE speeds, or HSPA+ speeds. My dad has a Samsung and before Band 7 came on live in my "hood" his phone showed "4G" while mine showed "3G". This is when I did the research on it. You would not know unless you performed a Speed Test. Sometimes my phone will drop to 3G. On my provider I don't get 4G. It's either 3G (and whatever is part of that family) or LTE. Since I have a Band 66 phone, I'm not subjected to the Band 7 "hood" rollout here in Toronto. If I was still using my 6S Plus (now on WiFi only), I'd be able to tell you. I'll agree that your phone is ready to go. Any iPhone is "ready to go". But I guess you're still waiting. You don't want anything to crop up.

2. The network has to be certified by Apple. Right now none of the providers are certified in Bangladesh. This does take time, but I'm guessing that they are treating the 4G network as LTE. Are you saying iPhone users are part of the "Elite" group? Lol.

3. As mentioned before, Apple is brutal on it's LTE requirements. Once Apple approves the network, you'll get a Carrier Update which will eliminate the need to manually put in the APN settings. It's also required for VoLTE and VoWiFi. Both of those require the network to be certified by Apple.

I have iPhone 8 Plus and I figured out the problem. Certain model will not work in Bangladesh until Apple release carrier patch for Bangladesh. Like I have the A1864 model and looks like it was bought from Sprint by someone and sold in Bangladesh through a shop to me. I believe this model is locked for Bangladesh LTE according to iPhone LTE support page. I bought an iPhone from Bangladesh authorized delaer and that is simply working fine. But I bought also 3 phones from Apple store from New York which are Iphone 7 plus, 6 plus and 6S and none of them are working in 4G at all even after carrier update with 11.3.1 ios.

So definitely it is from Apple who is not giving patch for phone sold in the USA market and not in Bangladesh. I guess it may help some frustrated user like me.

There are two points here:

1. APPLE does not release carrier update patches. ONLY carriers can update carrier data.
2. Not all iPhones support all LTE bands and modulations. A US phone may not have the hardware to support the bands you need in Bangladesh. No software update can fix this.

Additionally, Apple does not support phones bought in one country for use in a different country, except for EU countries.

Did you get Airtel 32.2 carrier update?

Apple did not approve Teletalk & Airtel as an approved Apple Network. So their networks will not get 4G (or other 4G features) on iPhone. Robi also acquired Airtel, so it’s best to get Robi 4G sim.

With carrier 32.0 (thouupdated CB) and iOS 11.4 I can use LTE on Airtel but had to reset mobile date setting and restart phone. But still a same message appear that Apple not certified this network for LTE. Anyway no problem with LTE on my iPhone.

I'm not trying to yell at anyone.

What you don't understand is that we are not at the mercy of the carriers here unlike US/Canada where you get locked to carriers, sometimes pay the same as others even if you buy your own phone or be locked out of things because your phone/carrier don't like each other.

Nothing is locked in here. You can use any carrier SIM on any phone and it would work instantly without doing anything provided the phone supports the frequencies/bands the carrier supports. Carriers do not sell "plans with phones" here. If the carriers sell a phone, they do it like any other retail store where you can buy the phone outright or use your credit card to finance. Either way, 100% of the phones sold are unlocked, no-contract based.

All four carriers have been ready to launch LTE long ago and have just been waiting to get license. As you can see, one carrier even have near 100% coverage of the country within just a few days: https://bdnews24.com/business/2018/02/21/robi-rolls-out-4g-wireless-services-in- all-64-districts

It has been working fine for low-end $200 Xiaomi phones to $800 flagship Galaxies. All except...you guessed right, $1200 iPhones.

Now my understanding is, the situation is one of these:

- Carrier has rolled out LTE support for some band that is supported by other common phones but not iPhone. They will do that later or whatever.
Highly unlikely that all four carrier would do this and lie about it being an issue with iPhone, at the same time.

- Apple is blocking LTE for these four carriers (even for unlocked phones). They all need to ask Apple to "certify" their network for LTE on iPhones (they did apparently) and once Apple does that, they will push a firmware (or whatever) update that will remove these carriers from blacklist (or add them to whitelist).

The thing is, my understanding is, the unlocked phone should require no updates to work on a new service that follows standards. It should not matter if it is in Bangladesh or Mars or Antarctica.

If it never works, that's fine. There's a physical mismatch between the phone and carrier. I can go yell at my carrier to support necessary bands.

But if it works after Apple pushes an "update", that means there is a blocking whitelist/blacklist and it is not carriers' fault. Apple is the one to blame.

PS: I have read it somewhere that, our country code, "880" is blocked for LTE in iPhones.

It's not a coverage issue. All city is now covered by 4G / LTE service as well. Each and every 4G / LTE enabled device running very smooth with better speed and signals but iPhone users are only in the problem. Bangladeshi mobile operators providing LTE Band 1 (2100 MHz), 3 (1800 MHz) and 8 (900 MHz). Ihave talked to the operator's IT specialist and they said,"Apple authorities should update the 4G / LTE network security patch. Ones they will update the patch every 4G / LTE enabled iPhone user will able to use 4G / LTE facility."

So, we are just eagerly waiting for the update.

Reference: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/4g-internet-in-bangladesh-spectrum-auction- be-less-competitive-1530598.

Thank you

and if you didn't notice, riaz already posted the bands. 1, 3 and 8.

Go here: https://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

Check Model A1865 (GSM) US.

It supports those bands 🙂

In fact, you will be hard pressed to find an iphone model NOT supporting those bands.