Mobile operators will cut off these phones from certain services. Check if your smartphone goes silent [MAPA]

Some mobile network customers still use the archaic 3G technology. People who have old-style phones that still have old SIM cards in them should consider that the end of the standard is coming.

3G is a thing of the past. “To be able to develop newer generations of networks”

The predecessor of 4G and the great-grandfather of 5G is now going down in history. The networks have just started preparations to switch off transmitters operating in this standard. – 3G will be switched off only in regions where we will be able to handle the remaining 4G/LTE and voice traffic in the older 2G technology – explains Orange spokesman Wojciech Jabczyński in an interview with “Fakt”.

He assures that a handful of customers use archaic solutions. – More than 96 percent of data in the Orange mobile network already flows through 4G/LTE. Only about 3 percent stays on 3G. The use of 4G/LTE, and in the future also the development of 5G, means better call quality and definitely faster internet. To be able to develop newer generations of networks, we need more “space” for them, i.e. frequencies. Disabling 3G will allow this.

He explained the changes last year, when the network announced that the transmitters would be turned off. “Older 2G and 3G radio technologies are used by you less and less. The demand for data transmission is breaking records. This is the nature of development. New ones come and old ones disappear. It’s time for changes” – he wrote on social media.

Some SIM cards will need to be replaced

T-Mobile Polska, which is also preparing for a technological revolution, ensures that customers who use old SIM cards have been informed about the upcoming changes. At least some of the cards will have to be replaced. – Persons with incompatible cards have been or will be informed by us and invited to the store for a free exchange – explain the representatives of the operator.

A complete shutdown of 3G on T-Mobile’s network across the country is currently planned for late April this year

he adds.

Plan to turn off 3G transmitters photo. T-Mobile

The network has published a map showing that in February the outages began in the area of ​​Koszalin, Piła, Elbląg, Płock, Łódź, Lesz and Legnica. Opole, Częstochowa, Katowice, Ełk, Radom, Chełm, Zamość. In March, they will cover the regions of Szczecin, Słupsk, Gdańsk, Olsztyn, Łomża, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Zielona Góra, Włocławek, Konin, Kalisz, Wałbrzych, Kielce, Lublin, Rzeszów, Kraków, Bielsko-Biała and Nowy Sącz.

Orange, in turn, will turn off the transmitters by the end of 2025. Plus has not yet announced when it will start turning off the transmitters.

Will old phones stop working?

T-Mobile also answered the question of whether people who currently use mainly 3G networks have to switch to 4G/LTE? “No, it is still possible to use the 2G network where voice calls and SMS are available. This technology offers Internet access service, but with a very low data transfer speed.” So the problem mainly affects those who use 3G networks for data transmission. Conversations should still be possible.

What about old phones like the iconic Nokia 3310? If someone is still using the model presented 23 years ago, they do not have to worry, because their phone supports the 2G standard. In some countries, this standard is already turned off, so it is possible that the change will affect Poland someday.

So which phones may have a problem with operation? “Fact” mentions, among others: Alcatel 3025X, Apple iPhone 3G S, Apple iPhone 5, BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300, HTC One Ma,x Huawei Ascend P6, LG Swift 2X, Motorola RAZR, or Nokia Lumia 1020. also other models that entered the market before 2017.

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