The Nothing Phone (3a) Lite currently cannot use Airtel Fast Lane (formerly Priority Postpaid), despite having modern 5G hardware capable of supporting the underlying technologies required for the service.
After investigating the issue with Airtel, the root cause appears to be handset compatibility and certification rather than any problem with my Airtel connection or plan.
I contacted Nothing Support regarding the lack of support. Their response confirms that they are “currently in discussions with Airtel to evaluate the feasibility of enabling this feature and determine the best approach for implementation.”
In other words, support is not currently available, and there is no committed timeline for when or whether it will arrive.
This raises a reasonable question:
Why is a device launched in 2025 with modern 5G capabilities (which apparently supports dual-5G) unable to access a carrier feature that relies on technologies the hardware already supports? This despite updating the device reguarly.
Consumers should not have to discover after purchase that carrier features depend on manufacturer-side enablement, certification, or software support that may never arrive.
To be clear, this is not a complaint about Airtel Fast Lane itself. Airtel’s side is functioning as intended. The issue is that the Nothing Phone (3a) Lite is not recognized as a supported device.
When asked whether support would be added, Nothing’s official response was essentially:
“We’re looking into it.”
No timeline.
No commitment.
No guarantee.
Users deserve transparency on whether Fast Lane support is planned, under development, awaiting certification, or simply not being pursued.
A feature being unavailable is understandable.
A feature being unavailable with no roadmap, no timeline, and no clear answer is not.
I hope this gets implemented within the month. If anyone from Nothing team is lurking around, I request your kind help.
