UPDATE (16th May, 2013) : Nexus 4 is now officially available in India for 25999Rs

Are you thinking of buying a Nexus 4, but are skeptical whether it works well in India ? Are you worried that you can use your existing sim card like Airtel/Vodafone with your new phone ? Are you scared that you wont be able to download India-only apps on the play store ?

Then this blog post is for you. This will help you decide whether it is safe to import nexus 4 from outside India.

If you want to buy a nexus 4, read my article on how to buy nexus 4 in india.

Does Nexus 4 work well on Indian SIM cards ?

Yes it does.

 

See the screenshot below which shows Nexus 4 running on Airtel prepaid sim.

 

But the only catch is that it requires you to have a micro sim .. just like iPhones and iPads. Its easy to ask your connection providers like Idea, BSNL etc to provide you a new micro sim with the same number, but if you are impatient, you could as well cut out your regular sized sim card to micro sim. This is what I did with my Airtel sim and it works without a glitch. There are loads of tutorials which help you in cutting your sim, in addition to that you can buy a cheap micro sim cutter from ebay for 150 bucks. I personally used a micro sim template (a print out which helps you cut your sim), and it need not be a perfect cut for the sim to work.
Nexus 4 works well on both 3G and 2G bands on all India mobile service providers, although it is incompatible with the upcoming Airtel 4g postpaid connections. The call quality is good and I have never experienced call drops on nexus.

Can Nexus 4 download India-only apps from the app store ?

Yes it can. There have been some reports floating around about some devices bought in the US showing messages like “this app is not available for your country”. But nexus 4 is not one among them. You will be able to sign in with your google account tied to your Indian address and will be able to download
both free and paid apps easily.

Will nexus 4 devices in India get android OS updates later than the ones in US ?

Nope. You will get it around the same time as the update is released. Unlike some Samsung and Sony devices who roll out updates slowly to  India, Nexus 4 updates can be downloaded instantly. Personally, I was able to download the android 4.2.2 update the same day it released in US. Nexus devices are usually the first ones to get android updates. With Android Key lime pie around the corner, you will be the lucky ones to experience it before your friends on non google devices.

What about warranty in India ?

Unfortunately warranty of LG nexus 4 devices are only valid in the country you bought them in. If anything goes wrong, you will have to take it back to the place you bought it from.

How about accessory availability ?

There are already a lot of accessories floating around on Indian shopping sites which sell accessories like screen guards, hard covers, wireless chargers etc. With time they will only become more cheaper.

Do I have to buy a separate adapter to accomodate the voltage difference ?

No. The adapter provided will work in Indian voltage range (~230 Volts).

Can I root Nexus 4 ?

Yes, I have done it myself and it is very easy to install custom roms like Cyanogen mod. It is also very easy to restore your old OS, in case something goes wrong. By rooting, you have an advantage of getting OS upgrades faster. For e.g, if google releases an OS update for the upcoming Nexus 5, the developer community will port it to Nexus 4 and you can install it by rooting.
Also, for android developers, rooting is a must, since you get access to internals like reading SQLite database of other apps to see their schema, reading other apps private files/shared preferences etc.

Will LG provide paid service in India ?

No, I have contacted LG and they say that until LG officially launches Nexus 4 in India, even paid service is not an option. You have to take it back to the country you bought it in to get paid service.

UPDATE: Since Nexus 4 has launched in India, you can get service from the following service centers :

Bangalore :

OPTIMA MOBILE SERVICES
Address	New No:90 (old no 577), 1st Floor, 2nd Main 2nd Block, Off Rajkumar Road (opp Bridge Stone TVS Show Room), Rajajinagar, Bangalore,BANGALORE,KA,560010	Phone
DIRECT SERVICE CENTRE KH ROAD-BLR
Address	No: 93, TKN Mansion, KH Road (Double Road), ,BANGALORE,KA,560027	Phone
Josh Tech Services P Ltd
Address	#F-57, KSSIDC, INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, RAJAJINAGAR,BANGALORE,KA,560044	Phone
DIRECT SERVICE CENTER KR ROAD
Address	No:335, K R Road, Banashankari 2nd Stage,,BANGALORE,KA,560070	Phone
Delhi:

ELCOM TRADING CO P L CDMA
Address	308, 3rd Floor Madhuban Building 55,Nehru Place,DELHI,DL,110019	Phone
Rohan Tele Services
Address	C-21, 1st Floor, Near Bus Stand Bhajanpura,DELHI,DL,110053	Phone
SUKRITI COMMUNICATIONS
Address	101 Patparganj Mayur Vihar Phase I,DELHI,DL,110091	Phone
LGEIL Delhi Direct Service
Address	LGEIL,13 Milestone, Rohtak Road, Opp Maharaja Agrsen Hospital Punjabi Bagh,New Delhi ,DELHI,DL,	Phone
Mumbai:

G P ELECTRONICS
Address	Shop No 6 Ambika Cooperative Housing Society, Jawahar Nagar Road No 2, Near Railway Crossing, Goregaon West, Mumbai 400062,MUMBAI,MH,400062	Phone
GRACE TELESERVICES
Address	Shop No.3, C/1 Manik Nagar Society,MUMBAI,MH,400092	Phone
Chennai :

SABISU
Address	B2, GOLDEN ENCLAVE, NEW 275, OLD 184,,CHENNAI,TN,600010	Phone
GENESIS COMMUNICATION
Address	63/3,First Main Road Gandhi Nagar,Adyar Chennai,CHENNAI,TN,600020	Phone
FORWARD INFO SYSTEM PVT LTD
Address	NO.293, ARCOT ROAD KODAMBAKKAM CHENNAI,CHENNAI,TN,600024	Phone
GS SYSTEM
Address	547/352,F.M. TOWERS MOUNT ROAD,NADANAM Chennai,CHENNAI,TN,600035	Phone
How about Indian language support ?

Nexus 4 supports all major Indian fonts. I could receive hindi SMS, open hindi websites etc without any modifications. This is because Jelly bean officially supports all major Indian languages. Checkout the screenshot on the left.

Some queries I received via email

Hi Kiran,

I really liked your blog and it has inspired me a lot to buy a Nexus 4 for myself. I’ve a friend in US who has already ordered phone for me from Google Play, and expecting to deliver it in a day to two. Now, I’m looking to find a cost effective and reliable option for shipping from New Jersey to Bangalore. I did check with Fedex, and UPS but they’re quoting around $100, which seems to be pretty high to me. I’m wondering how come you got $35 as shipping cost? Any pointers you can share to guide me in this regard. Appreciate for your response.

Thanks,
Rajat

Hi Rajat,

---

I bought a Nexus 4 from US recently, when I had my Sim cut yesterday and tried to put inside Nexus 4 and when I selected Airtel Network after Searching for Networks it throwed me up an error stating ” This Sim doesnt allow connection to this network”???

Please let me know if you have come across this and any solutions to get it worked?

Thanks
Kaushik

I did not face such an issue, nor did my friends who have a Nexus 4 in India.
You should try some online solutions like http://thewichitacomputerguy.com/blog/how-i-fixed-your-sim-card-does-not-allow-connection-network-g1 where they ask you to change network type etc.
Also do try putting the same sim on someone who has an iOS device like iPhone 4, iPad 2 etc to check whether the SIM has got damaged

---

I am planning to buy an android phone and i already have a nexus 7 tab (wifi 32gb). Is there any added advantage to buy nexus 4 then. As both the gadgets are of nexus series.
Is there any other phone in the market with specs even close nexus 4 as my budget is quite constrained.
Also can i use internet on my nexus tab using dongles…connecting the dongle using usb converter.
and the $299 nexus 4 works well in india or is there some other model?

Normally people with android phones buy iOS tablets and vice versa. But there is not better android phone than nexus 4 in that price range.

---

Hi Kiran,

I came across your blog and want to share one problem i am having with the nexus device. I am using a vodafone sim and have enabled 2g on my phone. Although the net works fine but there is a problem of delayed connecivity and slow internet speed. I can tell that since i have another phone samsung galaxy s duos and that also have a vodafone sim.

Some problems i face are:

1. When i open whatsapp it shows the last online time after some delay…like 20-30 seconds but my galaxy s duos shows it instantly.

2. Also when i am browing pages take longer time to load and gets stuck quite often which doesnt happen on my galaxy.

Please let me know if u face such issues and let me know if u can check it from your end.

Thanks and Regards,
Asim Khan

No. I am with Airtel and never faced any issues. Did u try upgrading to android 4.2.2

i was already upgraded to 4.2.2 when i bought it. Anyways thanks for the help. I guess its a device specific issue, since it was bought from us i can’t even give for repairing.

Screen guard

The video embedded below is a review I made for expert shield screen protector. Its very easy to apply and is almost invisible to the naked eye. The glossy surface enhances the feel of the gorilla glass while protecting your screen against dust and scratches. Check it out from Expertshield website

Incoming search terms:

• does nexus 4 work in india (38)
• nexus 4 service center in india (29)
• will nexus 4 work in india (28)
• nexus 4 service center in chennai (22)
• nexus 4 service center in bangalore (20)
• nexus service center in delhi (18)
• nexus service center in india (15)
• lg nexus 4 service center in bangalore (14)
• nexus 4 work in india (14)
• nexus service center in mumbai (14)