OnePlus 9 series gets Verizon nod to work on its 5G network

OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro are now up for pre-orders in the US market, but the carrier situation is a bit tricky at the moment. To start, T-Mobile is the only major carrier right now whose 5G network the OnePlus 9 series phones can latch on to. If you go with another carrier, says AT&T, you can only use 4G LTE, and will simply end up paying a 5G tax. The situation has been no different for Verizon, but that is about to change.

Verizon executive George Koroneos has revealed that OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro have been certified by Verizon to work on its 5G network. If you’ve been on a Visible line, you will also be able to enjoy 5G on your OnePlus 9 series phone. The 5G certification applies to both business and regular tiers of Verizon’s service, which means you don’t have to worry about being left out if you maintain a business account line. But there is still a catch – the flavor of Verizon 5G you can enjoy on your OnePlus 9. 

You see, OnePlus 9 only supports the Sub-6GHz band, which means it can only work on the much slower Verizon 5G Nationwide network. But that’s not necessarily good news, as the Verizon 5G Nationwide network offers speeds slower than 4G LTE. PCMag’s Sascha Segan recently ran some tests across multiple locations and found that Verizon’s 4G network actually is much faster than its nationwide 5G. 

However, if you want to enjoy the perks of Verizon’s Ultra Wideband (UW) 5G, you’ll have to buy the pricier OnePlus 9 Pro because that’s the only model in the series to support mmWave 5G band. While the carrier situation has been sorted out, Verizon is yet to start selling the phones officially.   

Since I’m getting a ton of questions. The @OnePlus 9 is certified for @Verizon 5G Nationwide and 4G LTE. The OnePlus 9 Pro brings 5G Ultra Wideband to the party. The OP8 Pro was one of my favorite phones of 2020 and I can’t wait to get my hands on an OP9 Pro. pic.twitter.com/PkYtFsOst7

— George Koroneos 🗿🍹 (@GLKCreative) March 26, 2021

If you have a Verizon line and don’t want to switch carriers, you can pre-order an unlocked OnePlus 9 or 9 Pro from the official OnePlus e-store, Best Buy, and B&H Photo Video in the US. Irrespective of the retailer you choose, you can buy an unlocked OnePlus 9 or OnePlus 9 Pro and enjoy Verizon’s 5G network on it. 

View OnePlus 9 Pro at Best Buy


View OnePlus 9 at Best Buy

Nadeem Sarwar

I’ve been writing about consumer technology for over three years now, having worked with names such as NDTV and Beebom in the past. Aside from covering the latest news, I’ve reviewed my fair share of devices ranging from smartphones and laptops to smart home devices. I also have interviewed tech execs and appeared as a host in YouTube videos talking about the latest and greatest gadgets out there.