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Though LG's Nexus 4 handset notably lacks official support for LTE, iFixit's teardown last week revealed that the phone did in fact harbor an LTE chip from Qualcomm. Further digging by AnandTech and XDA Developers forum users has now revealed the extent to which that chip can actually be used.
It turns out that the phone does do LTE, but the hardware is only capable of connecting to LTE networks that use UMTS band IV, also known as Advanced Wireless Services (AWS). It's possible to specify a preference for the kinds of cellular networks Android phones connect to by going into their hidden Phone Info menu, accessible by dialing *#*#4636#*#* or by installing and launching the Phone Info app from the Google Play store. Choosing to connect to AWS networks will enable LTE support for the Nexus 4, at least in areas with coverage. No other bands are supported, though, cutting out the vast majority of current LTE networks in the United States and in other countries.
At the time of this writing, AWS is predominantly supported by Canadian cellular providers, but T-Mobile's LTE rollout, which will begin in earnest next year, should also happen mostly on this band. The fact that the Nexus 4's hardware supports LTE could, in theory, allow Google to enable that functionality on the phones with a simple software update once T-Mobile's network is up to the task.
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