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Will Zenfone 8 Actually get 5G Service?

DailyDose
Star I
So yes, I see that the Zenfone 8 has the SD 888 and supports the various 5G bands. However, if you look at my attached JPEGs supplied by AT&T (snipped from their official PDF), AT&T doesn't appear to have the Zenfone 8 (Or any ASUS phone for that matter) on its 5G network list.
Can someone from ASUS comment on this? Or is there anyone out there with the Zenfone 8 running around who can confirm or deny this?
@Kris_ASUS @Anders_ASUS @Laura_ASUS @Titan_ASUS
12 REPLIES 12

johnsmith303
Star II
DailyDose

https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/comment/180171#Comment_180171

Looks like you're on T-Mobile. Anybody got AT&T test they be willing to share?


View post
Im in the same boat, I have ATT, located in CO, map says I should have 5g, its turned on in settings, yet the 5g icon has never popped up, anywhere in US i have traveled. VOlte works though. Still debating about returning the phone if it does not have 5g capability on AT&T... Any word from ASUS moderator would be helpful. Is AT&T not allowing Zenfone 8 on its 5g network, or do we just need a firmware update?

DailyDose
Star I
johnsmith303

https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/comment/180497#Comment_180497

Im in the same boat, I have ATT, located in CO, map says I should have 5g, its turned on in settings, yet the 5g icon has never popped up, anywhere in US i have traveled. VOlte works though. Still debating about returning the phone if it does not have 5g capability on AT&T... Any word from ASUS moderator would be helpful. Is AT&T not allowing Zenfone 8 on its 5g network, or do we just need a firmware update?


View post
So based on AT&T pdf (I made it available in JPEG format at the top), it appears AT&T is supporting a very limited number of phones on their 5G network. From what I understand (and take it with a grain of salt), AT&T requires phone manufacturers to go through a certification process which, of course, takes money and time. It's possible ASUS is working on it, but it's probably more likely they don't want to pay for it.
If I'm ASUS, my target demographic is Europe and Asia. Samsung, Apple, and even Google have a bit of a strangle hold on the US market. So I don't waste my time or resources on something like that that probably won't net any real results. Cuz as someone on here already posted, the 5G works on T-Mobile. (Cuz T-Mobile doesn't have that certification crap) There's very little incentive for ASUS to get the AT&T cert when AT&T seems to be pretty heavily partnered with Samsung, Apple, and Google.
But I'd love for an ASUS rep to tell me and everyone else I'm wrong and that they're working on getting it.
(Also, I appreciate you responding, this was exactly what I wanted to know - whether or not 5G was working on the phone, in US, on AT&T network, and it sounds like it is not - thus confirming the document)

LastRedWitch
Star III
Good luck! I have Metro-by T-mobile, 5g, wifi6 work fine.
I had similar problem with Asus 3max & Metro/T-mobile 3 years ago. I spent several hours in calls and a 2 hour visit in store while store tech achieved live escalation to an engineer at T-mobile who had the power to get the phone to register correctly on all bands, no problems since. ZenFone 8 was straight forward registration on a new sim $20 total. Perhaps changing carrier is the solution - making sure you loudly let AT&T know via calls, email, social posts, etc. on the way out the door.