When Sprint announced that it would be getting the HTC EVO 4G LTE, one of the many features it promoted for the handset was its NFC support and compatibility with Google Wallet. Despite those claims, new owners of the phone have apparently been running into nothing but problems with trying to get the service to work. Just what’s going on here?

Initially, Google Wallet on the EVO 4G LTE would return error messages regarding prepaid cards when attempting to use the app, but enterprising owners quickly realized that by doing a bit of build.prop sleight-of-hand, they could trick the app into working just fine by pretending to be a phone like the Galaxy Nexus. Recently, though, the app has started returning the message “Google Wallet has not yet been certified in your country or on your device / carrier” when attempting to access it on the EVO 4G LTE.

There are a lot of rumors out now attempting to identify what’s going on with the app, and the recent leaks regarding Sprint’s own NFC payment system aren’t doing anything to reduce the number of conspiracy theories. Cooler heads suggest that there’s a much more innocent explanation for the problems, and that seems backed-up by a comment a Sprint tech made in the carrier’s support forum for the phone last week, noting that “we are aware of the issue and are working with HTC to get a fix out.”

That’s not quite the same as an official statement, but we’re hoping it’s true and a fix is forthcoming. Considering the nature of the error message Wallet is now returning, and the expectation Sprint has given its users that the EVO 4G LTE fully supports Google Wallet, we think it owes its customers a bit of a better explanation, along with an ETA for when they can expect their phones to function as advertised.

Source: Sprint
Via: Android Police