Well finally. Pixel 4 to be sold by AT&T

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@lizdance40 wrote:

https://www.androidheadlines.com/2019/10/att-google-pixel-4.html

 My only concern is it will be burdened by carrier lock and treated like any other android, ruining a good thing.   I hope is that this phone will be treated like iPhones have been in the past, and the way the pixel is treated on Verizon. Updates come directly through the carrier and the phone is largely un fiddled with.  

@GLIMMERMAN76 

@pgrey 

 

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@lizdance40 

The updates will be unfiddled with but they will be held up by carrier testing even Verizon holds them up for a few days.

The pixels from verizon had a locked bootloader.  I am sure the same will apply with ATT.  So if you want one that is not locked down you have to buy from google.  

I'm pretty sure the phones will be locked to AT&T. Even iPhones are, so no reason to expect an unlocked Pixel unless bought from Google. I'm just hoping that all Pixel 4s will work the same on AT&T regardless of whether bought directly from Google or AT&T.

The updates I'm not concerned with as you can always just sideload them through ADB. About 80% of my Pixel updates are applied that way.

Yeah, @lizdance40 I concur with @GLIMMERMAN76 , I would NOT buy the ATT-branded one, the unlocked (Google) version has much more "freedom", there's just no question about that.  

@lizdance40 , @dmapr I'm confident that VoLTE will work fine, on ATT, with the unlocked Pixel4.  What I don't know (and perhaps @GLIMMERMAN76 doesn't either?), is if VoWiFi and TextoWiFi will work, with (either) version, but it's more likely to work with the branded-model.

I don't want ATT "gating my updates" though, in ANY way, so I would NEVER buy their version, even IF I could use WiFi calling/texting.  I want "update and carrier freedom" plain-and-simple, over those features.  

That my $0.02, based on MY needs though, whereas yours may differ; it's a very "pros/cons" type of deal, really, per-user-scenario.

ATT needs to become "a LOT MORE BYOD-friendly", for me to come back, it's just that simple.  They need to get "at least equal", to TMo and VZW, they need to "put up, or shut up", if they want informed BYOD customers to stick-around, or sing up with them.

It will be interesting to see how this works out. 

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@Lilybell2 wrote:

It will be interesting to see how this works out. 

 

 

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Yep, 1000%, @Lilybell2 .  ATT needs to "put up, or shut up", in terms of if they "actually want to retain/gain ACTUAL BYOD customers, with ACTUAL "features"", here (that "features" terms is not really very accurate, I do NOT consider deploying IPv6 to be a "feature", but whatever, I've left ATT, and don't plan on coming back, anytime soon, due to this and many other BYOD "missing features").

The Unlocked "Pixel 4", SHOULD behave EXACTLY the SAME, as their branded one, in terms of ALL the features (EVERY last one), but we'll see, we'll see...

They need to "ditch the stupid Android-whitelist "disaster"", permanently, IME/IMO, like ALL the other carriers have done, or are in the process of doing, AND START implementing RCS, FULL-RCS, period. 

Google has "reached out to them", they ignored it, now they need to "play ball" with the rest-of-the-world, or decide they don't want BYOD Android, at all, seems pretty simple to me...

Well you know I won’t be buying the At&t version.  I’m just curious if at&t will allow equal footing like Verizon does.  

If AT&T does something really dumb, like allowing the AT&T model Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL to be full featured, but not allowing the same provisioning for non-AT&T models, they would be the only US carrier to make such a blunder, and it would be a huge mistake. 

Verizon does not have equal footing either.

As far as I know, Verizon hasn't restricted features for non-Verizon models.  Is this something new? 

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@Lilybell2 wrote:

As far as I know, Verizon hasn't restricted features for non-Verizon models.  Is this something new? 

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To the best of my knowledge any Pixel works the same on VZW as the branded one.

@pgrey I haven't bought a branded phone since 2004 (Nokia 6820 which I could easily unbrand). Certainly not going to start now 😄