The interesting part of this decision is that Verizon is making it solely for customers who are still using their existing 3G devices. The company no longer allows customers to activate new 3G phones on its network (as of 2018), nor does it offer prepaid 3G service (as of 2019).
Does Verizon still use the 3G network?
“Virtually all Verizon data traffic runs on our 4G LTE network, and as we actively work to decommission the 3G network we encourage customers still using 3G service to migrate to newer technology.” .
This of course begs the query “How long will verizon support 3g?”
Verizon’s plan to end 3G support may be the most straightforward of the carriers. It will drop support by the end of 2020 after ceasing to activate any new phones on 3G as of 2018. The gap there appears to have given its customers time to switch over to new devices.
Most of America’s largest carriers have already shuttered their 2G service or plan to soon: AT&T stopped servicing its 2G network back in 2017. Verizon Wireless phased out its 2G CDMA network at the end of 2020. Sprint sunsetted their 2G CDMA network in December of 2021.
One more question we ran across in our research was “How long will verizon support 4g?”.
CDMA (3G) devices and 4G Non-Vo. LTE devices will continue to make/receive calls, send/receive text messages, and use data services on the Verizon network until December 31st, 2022 . Upgrades or device changes to compatible 4G/5G devices.
When will Verizon shut down its 3G network?
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 network by January 1, 2022 and Sprint’s LTE network by June 30, 2022. It also plans to shut down T-Mobile’s 2G and 3G networks, but has not yet announced a date.
Verizon has delayed its CDMA 3G network shutdown several times but is now firmly committed to shutting the network down by December 31st, 2022 . All 3G basic phones and smartphones will lose service, but some 4G devices will be impacted as well — namely, those that don’t support Vo. LTE (Voice over LTE).
You should be wondering “When will 3G phone service end?”
Here are some at-a-glance dates: Verizon will sunset its CDMA network at the end of 2022. AT&T has stated they will sunset their 3G network in February of 2022 with the last date for phone activation on the 3G network being already past. T-Mobile has stated that they will shutter their 3G networks in April, 2022.
Can I activate a device that is not 4G LTE capable?
We’ve already communicated to customers that we are no longer allowing devices that are not 4G LTE capable to be activated on our network , so the focus now is the smooth migration of the remaining 3G devices in the market onto 4G LTE or 5G capable products and services.
Within the U. S, it’s reasonable to assume that by the end of 2022 there will not be a single major carrier supporting 2G. The same fate awaits 3G. 4G LTE operates under a different scenario, and we can confidently say that 4G will be around for at least another decade .
The good news is that 4G LTE will be available for at least a decade to come, and will co-exist with 5G networks . In this post, we’ll provide updates on the sunsetting of 2G and 3G networks and the outlook for 4G LTE and 5G networks, to support those who are planning their migration path.
Do you have to upgrade from 3G to 5G?
However, people with 3G phones don’t have to upgrade to 5G — 4G works just fine . “The sunset of 3G does not impact our 4G network,” a Verizon spokesperson said.