Times change. Every few years, we’re greeted with even faster standards for wireless connectivity. 2G was first deployed in 1991, and has since been succeeded by 3G, 4G/LTE, and now, 5G.
It’s safe to say that by this point, not many people are using 2G — it’s mostly stuck around as a fallback just in case literally everything else fails or is out of reach. Verizon and AT&T have both phased out 2G in order to give way to faster spectrum, and now, T-Mobile is almost ready to take the big step as well, and will soon fully kill off 2G in the US for good, at long last.
According to documents shared with us here at The Mobile Report, T-Mobile has started to send out notices via email, physical mail, and text messages that the 2G GSM network will be phased out soon.
These notices are being sent out to users with phones and other devices that are incompatible with newer networks, so if you’re not affected by this (like if you have a 4G or 5G smartphone), you shouldn’t get one.
According to the documents and confirmed by a secondary source, the 2G GSM network shutdown will happen on April 2nd, 2024, so affected users have plenty of time to make arrangements to get themselves on newer networks. From this date, you have 90 days to get yourself on newer networks, or your line will be canceled.
The good news is that affected customers should actually have plenty of ways to get off those old phones. If the phone is the problem, and you’re considered to be impacted by the shutdown by T-Mobile, the carrier will apparently provide you with a budget 5G smartphone, such as the OnePlus Nord N300 5G, the TCL 30 XE 5G, or the 3rd generation iPhone SE.
These phones are free, and not financed, so if you want to stay connected, they are probably your best choice. Just be aware that only customers affected by the shutdown will be offered the free device, so don’t go complaining to support that you aren’t eligible.
If you aren’t impacted, but still want a free phone, you can still get one financed (24 months of bill credits) when you trade in any device. See our articles about that here and here.
If you’re affected by the shutdown, you should make arrangements to go to your nearest T-Mobile location as soon as possible, where they should sort things out for you.
