When it first surfaced in mid-March, the matter seemed to almost be on a par with a simple one meme. The idea of add 5G connectivity to Huawei smartphones via an optional cover it seemed precisely that kind of absurd news that aims to highlight the gravity of the situation in which the Shenzhen company finds itself, for which the only solution is precisely that of adopting drastic and even more absurd measures.
The last few years have accustomed us to the fact that nothing is really impossible, and so here we are in front of the realization of what seemed to be just a rumor that was a bit too pushed and imaginative. The cover designed to bring 5G to Huawei smartphones really exists, as evidenced by the renderings and the official website of the product, but let’s go in order.
FOR HUAWEI, BUT NOT
To understand the meaning of this product we must recall for a moment the reasons behind its existence, or the ban imposed by the United States on the Chinese house, which prohibits Huawei – among other things – from accessing 5G technology on its products. This has led to the release of smartphones to the limit of the impossible, such as the P50 Pro version Snapdragon 888 (which we told you about in our preview) without a 5G modem, an option that on paper shouldn’t even exist, but that Qualcomm made it possible to deactivate the modem via software indictedin order to be able to sell its top-of-the-range chip to Huawei.
The impossibility for Huawei to be able touch any 5G device it also translates into the impossibility of creating accessories capable of accessing this type of connectivity which is why the cover in question was not made by the Shenzhen company, but by the Chinese Soyealink which seems to be very active in the theme of network connectivity with solutions that are very reminiscent of those proposed in the past by Huawei.
It is clear that even in this case we are faced with a new attempt to circumvent the ban through third-party companies apparently disconnected from Huawei, as we have recently seen with the Hi Nova brand. However the design lines of this accessory the perfect software compatibility with the P50 Pro and the integration with the EMUI interface suggest that this is not the classic unofficial accessory of third parties, but of one made by Soyealink in close collaboration with Huawei.
As for functionality, this cover allows compatible smartphones – it seems that it will come for different models in the future – to be able to access 5G technology again. Inside it is in fact present all the necessary network hardware, including an eSIM and a dual core processor that takes care of managing the system. Compatibility does not seem to include millimeter waves, but only the sub 6 GHz spectrum in both SA and NSA versions.
For those wondering, the connection does not take place using the physical SIM of the phone, but through the integrated eSIM in the cover that it is nothing more than a copy of the physical one and the process of cloning takes place directly during the configuration phase of the cover (for example, you can choose which of the two physical SIMs to copy). You can then turn the 5G cover on and off at will, so you can access the new generation network only when you want.
In practice it is as if the cover acts as a sort of external modem stick, only in this case the connection with the smartphone is physical and takes place via the USB-C connector, which also allows you to connect the device in passtrought mode with external accessories and charging systems, even if in this case the standard supported is only USB 2.0, therefore with not very high speeds. For the moment there are no details regarding the price and availability of the accessory.
