Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G ready to support DSDS 5G

Since launch, the Pixel 5 and the upcoming Pixel 4a 5G have had you choosing between using either a Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS) connection or a 5G connection, but that seems to change soon.

Since the Pixel 3a, Google’s phones have been able to use two SIM cards simultaneously, allowing things like calls and texts through one carrier and one data line only through another. To do this, you will need to use a standard SIM card paired with an eSIM downloaded to your Pixel.

This system, officially called Dual SIM Dual Standby, is currently limited on the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5. Specifically, if both SIMs are enabled, you are limited to connecting to 4G networks, as explained on the page of Google support.

However, a code change was released today in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), explicitly claiming to enable DSDS on 5G networks for “Bramble,” aka the Pixel 4a 5G. Although AOSP is open source and allows input from all developers, a comment explicitly states that this code comes from Google’s internal Android code.

While the code change specifically calls the Pixel 4a 5G “Bramble,” we believe this ability to use 5G and DSDS together is also found on the Pixel 5. This fall, Google released two separate phones, the Pixel. 5 and the Pixel 4a 5G, named Redfin and Bramble respectively.

Since these two phones have a lot in common, using the same Qualcomm chip and camera sensors, Google uses a common baseline for the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G code. Today’s code change comes from this common code.

As the code change is barely coming today, Pixel 5 owners likely won’t be able to enjoy connecting to 5G networks in DSDS until the December security patch at the earliest.

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