Anyone here still have a 3G cell phone?

[Archae]

Mine was just upgraded to 5G a couple weeks ago.

3G services ending soon, not upgrading will ultimately impact calls

RIB MOUNTAIN, Wis. (WSAW) - With just a month left in 2021 and as people think about gifts for the holidays, some people will need to think about upgrading their technology. Most cellular companies will be ending their 3G services in 2022 to make way for more efficient and faster 5G coverage. Those who do not upgrade their devices that are not compatible will eventually have problems using them at all.

The transition out of 3G has been happening for years as companies encourage their customers to upgrade. It is only a small percentage of customers at the various wireless companies across the nation who are still on devices and phones that are not compatible with the new networks. AT&T has a detailed guide to check whether your device is compatible or if it will need to be upgraded. Cellcom said the customers make up a single-digit percent of all of its customers. Verizon has said it is at less than a percent of its customers who have not switched yet.

https://www.wbay.com/2021/11/29/3g-services-ending-soon-not-upgrading-will-ultimately-impact-calls/

[TheBlackAdder]

1. Nah! Since 3G is nearly deprecated, the vaccine nanobots are only being made for 5G.

.

I want to be able to use my body to boost cell signal strength and be able to control my TV just by thinking.

Interfacing the nanobots to my home router remains elusive, so I can't surf the web while in bed sleeping yet.



.

[RainCaster]

17. Those nanobots only work with wifi 6

You may need to upgrade your router first.

[applegrove]

2. So does that effect only phone calls? Will I be able to use my old phone and an ipad

using wifi?

[Archae]

3. I don't know.

[LeftInTX]

14. Wifi should be OK

[applegrove]

15. Thank you.

[Mr.Bill]

4. I have one.

The people at the Verizon store tell me it won't work after January 1st. They have been telling me that for about five years.

[elleng]

6. Guy @ 'my' verizon store said mine's OK, no rush away to 'other.'

[RockRaven]

11. Yeah, a guy at a Verizon store told me similar three years ago... I used it for 2 more years before

battery and operating system inadequacies induced me to swap it out... But not because they decommissioned the network, as they fearmonger about to goose sales.

Someday, of course, they will be right about the 3G network going offline. But when... Who knows?

[Deminpenn]

20. Guy at my local authorized Verizon dealer

said 3G has been "going away" for at least a few years now. Did get a new phone for a different reason, but when the plan's monthly 5 gig of data runs out, data service reverts to 3G for the balance of the month.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

23. I think its official now, this is on the FCC's website

[link:https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/plan-ahead-phase-out-3g-cellular-networks-and-service|]

When is it happening?
As early as January 1, 2022, though plans and timing to phase out 3G services will vary by company and may change. Consult your mobile provider's website for the most up-to-date information.

AT&T announced that it will finish shutting down its 3G network by February 2022.
Verizon announced that will finish shutting down its 3G network by December 31, 2022.
T-Mobile announced that it will finish shutting down Sprint's 3G CDMA network by March 31, 2022 and Sprint's 4G LTE network by June 30, 2022. It also announced it will shut down T-Mobile's 3G UMTS network by July 1, 2022, but has not yet announced a shutdown date for its 2G network.
If your mobile carrier is not listed here, you may still be affected. Many carriers, such as Cricket, Boost, Straight Talk, and several Lifeline mobile service providers, utilize AT&T's, Verizon's, and T-Mobile's networks.

Note: These are dates for completing the shutdowns. Carriers may begin retiring parts of their networks sooner.

[elleng]

5. I suspect I'm one among that small percentage,

I don't want a big 'phone' that does things my laptop does. I hope my verizon kyocera flip phone keeps working, thank you very much.

[Wounded Bear]

7. 4G LTE...good enough for now...nt

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

22. If its on Sprint's LTE network

You have till middle of next year. T Mobile is shutting Sprints LTE network down by June 2022. [link:https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/plan-ahead-phase-out-3g-cellular-networks-and-service|]

When is it happening?
As early as January 1, 2022, though plans and timing to phase out 3G services will vary by company and may change. Consult your mobile provider's website for the most up-to-date information.

AT&T announced that it will finish shutting down its 3G network by February 2022.
Verizon announced that will finish shutting down its 3G network by December 31, 2022.
T-Mobile announced that it will finish shutting down Sprint's 3G CDMA network by March 31, 2022 and Sprint's 4G LTE network by June 30, 2022. It also announced it will shut down T-Mobile's 3G UMTS network by July 1, 2022, but has not yet announced a shutdown date for its 2G network.
If your mobile carrier is not listed here, you may still be affected. Many carriers, such as Cricket, Boost, Straight Talk, and several Lifeline mobile service providers, utilize AT&T's, Verizon's, and T-Mobile's networks.

Note: These are dates for completing the shutdowns. Carriers may begin retiring parts of their networks sooner.

[Wounded Bear]

25. According to my carrier, I am on the T-Mobile network...

and my phone is approved. They had been on the Sprint network, but sent me a new SIM card.

[question everything]

8. I think that are concerns that 5G may interfere with airline communications

[gopiscrap]

9. yes, it is a flip phone

in fact Saturday we celebrated Thanksgiving with a bunch of friends and it was the 11th anniversary of the day I bought it. I made everyone sing happy birthday to it. ATT has informed me that I have to convert to 5G and get a new phone by Feb 28 2022

[KY_EnviroGuy]

10. Yes and I just got another letter from Consumer Cellular about it.

They're now saying upgrade within the next 30 days and offering $35 off on a new ZTE smartphone.

I'm now using an old HTE phone that would otherwise last the rest of my days, but I have my wife's (RIP) 4G cellphone I can use, a Motorola G4. It's probably 6 or 8 years old but I don't care since I don't use mine as a smart phone (I miss my original Nokia flip phone). I don't pay for digital access and just use it as a phone for $23/month.

So, I'd best get off my arse and order a SIM card for the Motorola. I can do that on-line quite easily!

Thanks for posting this reminder....

[Mosby]

13. They keep sending me alerts also

But I use a galaxy s9, so I don't get it. When I make calls it drops out of 4glte, but it didn't do that when I used Verizon.

I need to figure out whats going on.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

16. Not familiar with that phone but it must be a common problem. See this search result:

Go to: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=galaxy+s9+drops+calls+on+4g+lte&t=ffsb&ia=web

Looks like there's some pretty sharp folks addressing that issue.

Good luck!

[Jacson6]

12. I accidently bought a 3G phone two years ago for $200+

Now I have to buy a VoLTE capable phone to use the cellular networks, but it still works fine with WiFi!

[OneBro]

18. Funny you should ask.

I have a 3g that I kept as an iPod with over 1000 songs until tonight when I fell for the oldest trick in the Apple book when I synced it with my Mac.

A new button on the back-up page made it appear that I could now manage my media manually rather than have it sync everything. I thought, it’s 2021 and Apple has finally made it possible to sync without deleting all non-iTunes music. Wrong!

Years ago, I uploaded my old CDs to my computer, then to my phone before donating the CDs. Many hours to upload; less than a minute to delete. Sigh.

Apple made it damned near impossible to delete their pre-loaded copy of U2 from our iPhones, but made it damned easy for us to inadvertently delete our non-iTunes music.

Online research showed that when other folks lost their non-iTunes music when syncing, some Apple techs suggested that people could simply sign up for iTunes and buy new music. Ha!

Well played, Apple. Well . . . played.

[Earth-shine]

19. Our 3G phones became unreliable about 8 months ago.

Calls not coming in. Dropped calls. Bad voicemail connections.

I suppose it was never great.

So, now we have 5G phones. They have other problems.

[eShirl]

21. I don't even have a cellphone anymore because reception is too crappy where I live.

I used to have a pay-as-you-go Tracfone with recurring automatic payments, but they cancelled it on me for never actually using the phone. they didn't want my money.
So now I just have an older wifi tablet.

edited to add: there is a landline where I live

[Midnight Writer]

24. Yep. Old flip phone I got for ten bucks years ago.

I don't know if my service has been impaired because I rarely use it. I just keep it in case of an emergency.

[bif]

26. I have an iPhone 6. Is that 3G?

I have no clue.

[obamanut2012]

28. You are good

They are 4G rated.

[obamanut2012]

27. No, it doesn't work with my vax microchip

5G all the way!

[GoCubsGo]

29. Thanks for the heads-up.

I have a cheap-o "no contract" phone for emergencies. Been thinking about upgrading anyway, because its nearly useless (no camera or earphone jack), and I hate it. Just put my order in with my carrier for an upgrade. It's only 4G, but that will do for now. I mostly want it for phone calls, of which I don't make many.