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AT&T users are having trouble connecting their $1,800 Pixel 9 Pro Fold to the carrier's 5G network

The smartphone was unveiled almost a month ago along with its non-foldable brothers and sisters and only really launched last week. Pixel 9 Pro Fold is… not a perfect phone. That's true of every mobile device known to man since the dawn of time, of course, but some of this bad boy's imperfections might take you completely by surprise and are hard to accept at a retail price of $1,799 and up.

Aside from the odd lack of support for a major modern accessory made by none other than Google, the latest and greatest foldable phone Even more bizarre, it appears to refuse to connect to the latest cellular technology provided by one of the leading US wireless carriers and for a worrying number of early adopters.

Enjoy 4G LTE life like it's 2013 again!

This may sound like a joke or an unnecessary dig at AT&T, but one of the mobile operator's customers, who has a Pixel 9 Pro Fold with unexpected connectivity issues seriously claims to enjoy its “LTE only” mobile experience.
The user in question is none other than the initiator of a Reddit thread from five days ago, which has since received a few dozen comments from various Pixel 9 Pro Fold owners are in the same situation, with some even more annoyed that they don't have access to AT&T's 5G network.

While that's not exactly a huge number of complaints, they're certainly not insignificant either, especially when it comes to such a fundamental issue in this day and age as nonexistent 5G speeds. As frustratingly inconsistent as these can be on AT&T, some people undoubtedly rely on the technology right now, so being permanently stuck with an outdated 4G signal has to be a thousand times more frustrating.

Although the mobile operator has been clearly made aware of the problem in recent days, there is currently no solution. Despite all the efforts of AT&T technical support staff and the patience of those affected Pixel 9 Pro Fold users, so far no one has “upgraded” from 4G LTE to 5G connectivity.

Even complicated workarounds like removing the SIM card from Google's second-generation foldable device, inserting it into another 5G-enabled mobile phone, and then Pixel 9 Pro Fold is proving effective only for a limited time, leading some to speculate that AT&T has “soft locked” the phone and excluded it from 5G without telling anyone.

Is it still worth buying the Pixel 9 Pro Fold?

This is definitely a tough question that can't be answered in one word, but if you like the Tensor G4-powered foldable on paper and you use a carrier other than AT&T, you should probably go ahead and buy it anyway.

AT&T is, of course, the only leading mobile operator in America that does not officially Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which is obviously no excuse for the current lack of 5G support on the network of unlocked devices sold by vendors like Amazon or Best Buy.
Hopefully Google and AT&T will work together to fix this unacceptable issue as soon as possible. Until then, it is definitely important to consider this potential inconvenience if you are thinking about buying an unlocked Pixel 9 Pro Fold from any of the US retailers mentioned above, especially with Google’s great pre-order offers in the rearview mirror.
With Amazon's second Prime Day sales event of the year just around the corner, it might be wise to wait at least a few more weeks for some new deals and possibly a happy ending to this (mini) 5G debacle.

A mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, Adrian has been a dynamic presence in the technology journalism space, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans multiple platforms, with a particular interest in the diversity of the Android ecosystem. While it's difficult to balance full-time parenting with his work, his passion for technology trends, running and movies keeps him energized. His dedication to mid-range smartphones has resulted in an eclectic collection of devices that he has saved from bankruptcy because he prefers “reasonable” over “overpriced”.

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