The last we heard about the new Nexus 7 and Verizon Wireless, the Big Red carrier was facing the FCC over allegedly blocking the tablet from accessing its 4G LTE network. The tablet actually works on the network, but not officially, and for now, Verizon will not add it to customer subscription plans. That infuriated one journalist to the point of making a formal complaint, hence the FCC's involvement.
Verizon Wireless responded by admitting that Google announced Verizon compatibility with the new second generation Nexus 7 in July. However, Asus supposedly didn't submit the device for certification until August, and that process proceeded "apace." Once the device is certified, Verizon will work with Google to enable the Nexus 7 to be activated on the 4G LTE network in a matter of days. The 4G LTE model didn't ship until the middle of September.
Now the Big Red claims that during certification, it was discovered that the tablet had a "systems issue" that presumably would have caused the device to fail testing. Instead of fixing the issue, Google and Asus reportedly have chosen to freeze the certification process until Android 4.4 "KitKat" rolls out, supposedly in the coming weeks. After that, it's unknown how long the certification process will take.
"During the certification process for the Nexus 7, Google, Asus and Verizon uncovered a systems issue that required Google and Asus to undertake additional work with the Jelly Bean OS running on the device," a company spokesperson said. "Since Google was about to launch its new Kit Kat OS, rather than undertake this work, Google and Asus asked Verizon to suspend its certification process until Google's new OS was available on the Nexus 7."
If that's the case, owners of the Nexus 7 4G LTE model may not see their tablet officially jumping on Verizon's network until December, three months after the tablet shipped to rightful owners. Naturally, all three parties have refrained from admitting the actual issue, and have not indicated if this Jelly Bean problem resides on other Verizon-focused 4G LTE Android devices as well, or if it's an isolated second generation Nexus 7 4G LTE incident.
