So, T-Mobile 3G is Shutting Down July 1...

[cc333]

Good to know.. my "newer sim cards" comment was referring to T-Mobile proper branded SIM's

Anytime I try a "new" SIM in any old GSM-only device, i get a "Check Card" error.

Yeah, I pretty much discovered this by accident recently while attempting to port a number from U.S. Cellular a couple weeks ago.

The older cards will expire next February 14, but presumably if they're activated before then, they're good until 2G is gone, which, ironically, will probably be close to that time anyway.

It's funny, though, because I remember Verizon making a big fuss, telling people that their 2G and 3G networks would shut down by December 31, 2020 (they weren't), then by July 2021 (they still weren't), then finally December 21, 2021, (they weren't!), so, I guess they're just letting it hang around indefinitely in some sort of limbo? It's too bad I can't activate my now-orphaned StarTAC on there. It's really frustrating too, because the phone can see the network, it can connect to it, and I can even dial out on it and it works (to the extent that it rings a few times before redirecting to an operator), but I can't activate and get a number.

If only there were some sort of (legal) hack, like knowing someone high up in the system who knows how to activate phone ESNs that aren't usually activatable....

c

[ajholik]

2G coverage map is still live https://maps.t-mobile.com/pcc.html?map=mvno-roamd-2

Wonder how accurate it is?

[cc333]

Well, speaking from experience, it seems fairly accurate in my area (SF Bay Area, California) and farther north toward Mendocino. Elsewhere, I don't know. All I know is that it seems to work pretty much wherever I go, as long as I stay relatively close to a main highway or near a city (T-Mobile coverage in general seems to be concentrated along highways, freeways and in large-ish cities. Suburban coverage is generally reliable, but somewhat spotty in fringe areas like hills and deep valleys. Rural coverage, in my experience, is inconsistent and generally not very reliable, if it exists at all.

I can say with some certainty that even 2G is working better in places it didn't a few years ago, so pretty up to at least last year, it seems they still cared somewhat about maintaining and improving 2G coverage, if not expanding it (any improvements in range and quality, therefore, are most likely attributable to better, more efficient radio equipment).

Be that as it may, it seems the consensus here is that while 2G has some decent nostalgic value, it's days are numbered, and a shutdown date of sometime next year seems likely.

That being said, I'm gonna enjoy my Nokias and Motorolas while I still can (as I did my venerable and dearly missed StarTAC, which I found to be far superior in form and function to most newer phones, with the Nokia 5110 series a close second, and the RAZR series third).

<crazyidea>

If I can ever afford a LimeSDR (or some equivalent), I want to make a 1G/2G to 4G/5G converter base station, with the ability to connect to a modern 4G or 5G network either directly using some sort of 4G/5G modem/radio module or via bluetooth to a modern smartphone, enabling old phones, such as the DynaTAC and MicroTAC, and any number of other 1G phones (or many older 2G CDMA phones in analog mode, if supported), to interoperate almost seamlessly with modern smartphones, and with all the same benefits with regard to signal quality and coverage.

It wouldn't matter much for most 3G phones made in the past decade or so, as there are newer, 4G/5G capable models that are more or less the same, but it's not really intended for those anyway; what it is intended for is primarily 1G and 2G phones built before about 2004 or 2005 (about when 3G phones were just beginning to become available).

</crazyidea>

c

[formercanuck]

2G coverage map is still live https://maps.t-mobile.com/pcc.html?map=mvno-roamd-2

Wonder how accurate it is?

I suspect that it is quite accurate, as you can swap out the roamd-2 for roamd-34l or roamd-5. Same map, different layers

Sent from my SM-G991U using HoFo mobile app

[formercanuck]

Less than 1 week to go. I'm curious to see the end of Sprint lte

Sent from my SM-G991U using HoFo mobile app

[cc333]

Me too. That LTE network is the last trace of Sprint, and once it's gone, Sprint will officially be history.

c

[brad15]

Me too. That LTE network is the last trace of Sprint, and once it's gone, Sprint will officially be history.

c

Well the billing system will still be around for a while, until everyone is migrated to the T-Mobile billing system, and Sprint core is fully able to be shut down.. there will be some trace but it won't be apparent for the end user.

[ajholik]

I just activated a red pocket SIM in a Nokia phone, and manually forced it to 2G and 3G. The phone will place calls on either network. However, after sitting for 5 minutes, the phone will display "updating SIM card" and will move to searching for service.

[cc333]

That's odd. It's like maybe the carrier is trying to force the update for some reason?

The fact that it worked for 5 minutes proves that a phone can still be used on what's left of 2G on a presumably new SIM, and if the phone can somehow be forced to not update, it should be good until the eventual 2G shutdown.

c

[brad15]

That's odd. It's like maybe the carrier is trying to force the update for some reason?

The fact that it worked for 5 minutes proves that a phone can still be used on what's left of 2G on a presumably new SIM, and if the phone can somehow be forced to not update, it should be good until the eventual 2G shutdown.

c

I can force 2G/3G on my fold and both still work for an indefinite amount of time

I think they’re SIM is just having an issue with some sim software update T-Mobile is trying to send

[cc333]

Ah, I see. Yeah, that's probably right.

Oh, by the way, I tried this new Ting SIM that apparently can't do 2G or 3G in my iPhone 5, and it hesitated for a minute until it did finally connected to LTE. Calls, of course, fail because the 5 needs to fall back to 2G/3G in order to make or receive them, so that somewhat confirms my suspicions that this SIM is provisioned for VoLTE-capable phones, and the 5 (and presumably the 5s and 5c as well) falls into a weird hole where it'll connect, but nothing works (data presumably will, but I had it disabled on my plan at the time, so I couldn't test).

c

[formercanuck]

A few hours to go, and Sprint LTE is still live in SoCal

Sent from my SM-G991U using HoFo mobile app