Carrier Network Shutdown Dates

[Randy Jennings]

I did some research on when carriers are shutting down 3G and LTE networks. Note I added LTE (aka 4G LTE), as T-Mobile is shutting down Sprint's LTE network. I will also note that when AT&T shutdown 3G a co-worker who had AT&T and an international version of a "4G LTE" Samsung phone lost the ability to send text messages and make phone calls and he had to get a new phone (and he switched carriers) because AT&T white listed phones they would allow on their LTE network and while they had US versions of the same phone white listed, they refused to add the international version.

	Shutdown Date	Shutdown Date
Company	3G	LTE	Source
Verizon	12/31/2022	None	3G CDMA Network Shut off date set for December 31, 2022 | About Verizon https://www.verizon.com/support/prepaid-3g-to-4g-lte-upgrade-faqs/
AT&T	2/22/2022	None, however they appear to have white lists to only allow certain devices	Act Now - 3G is Gone - Wireless Customer Support (att.com)
T-Mobile	7/1/2022	None	T-Mobile Network Evolution | T-Mobile Support
Sprint (T-Mobile)	3/31/2022 (not fully cutoff until 5/31/22 now)	6/30/22 many devices will work on T-Mobile LTE with Sim swap and setings changes	T-Mobile Network Evolution | T-Mobile Support

 

[Brett Roberts]

I will also note that when AT&T shutdown 3G a co-worker who had AT&T and an international version of a "4G LTE" Samsung phone lost the ability to send text messages and make phone calls and he had to get a new phone (and he switched carriers) because AT&T white listed phones they would allow on their LTE network and while they had US versions of the same phone white listed, they refused to add the international version.

AT&T's whitelist approach is borderline criminal, IMO. I have an old Google Pixel that I'd used on their network several years ago, upgraded from, and then decided last year I wanted to activate again on their network for backup chase data. Its modem and antennae are of course still perfectly capable of functioning on their LTE network. But as soon as I put in an AT&T SIM and booted up, my new AT&T account was immediately suspended (!) for using a non-whitelisted phone. (That led to a disastrous series of events that culminated in hours on the phone battling to get a refund for >$400 I was charged for a suspended/unused account that they told me was deactivated, but I digress.) I guess they decided arbitrarily to drop a previously supported device after all of 4 years just to help drive new device purchases.

At the end of the day, if I wanted AT&T data in my chase vehicle, my least bad option was to buy an objectively inferior but newer phone simply to be on the whitelist -- which I did. It never ceases to amaze me what telecoms are able to get away with in this country.

 

[Ethan Schisler]

With how Verizon has been operating, it surprises me not to see them on the shut-down list for LTE forcing users to buy a new phone. I've stuck with the same phone for 4 years now, don't plan on upgrading anytime soon unless they shut me off lol. Of course nowadays it doesn't really matter much when you get on the same storm with 500 other chasers and have full bars of LTE and can't even send a text or get a radar update.....beyond annoying.