The Nexus 4 smartphone from Google does not support 4G LTE. Needless to say, it was a pretty big letdown that Google is still sticking to HSPA in its devices. Funny enough, the Nexus 4 does have a LTE chip, but you can’t use it.

Droid Life reported over the weekend that some Canadian Nexus 4 owners were able to access LTE speeds on their phones. All it took were a few simple tweaks, and the Nexus 4 could connect to LTE Band 4 networks. It raised hopes that the Nexus 4 could connect to LTE Bands in the US, but LG immediately shot down those hopes by saying that the LTE chip on board the Nexus 4 won’t work in its current state.

Here’s the full statement that LG gave to TechRadar:

“In order to provide the best possible specification for Nexus 4, LG utilised the same powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset as can be found in its 4G LTE product, namely LG Optimus G.

This powerful chipset is only available with a combined processor and modem and cannot be implemented separately.

The modem contains 4G LTE capabilities but is only effective when combined with other essential hardware parts such as a signal amplifier and filter in order for it to work. It therefore cannot be upgraded to 4G LTE capability through software.”

Despite a few Canadians being able to get on their LTE networks, it probably won’t be possible for the rest of us. For now, Nexus 4 owners can just be content that they got a LG Optimus G at a much cheaper price. The lack of LTE speed is a small price to pay for having cutting edge technology everywhere else, right?

[h/t: Droid Life]