T-Mobile discontinues service for these phones, but offers free alternatives

This story was originally published 2020/12/22
8:58 p.m.On December 22, 2020 Last updated 2020/12/24
8:42 p.m.On December 24, 2020.

Based on internal documents from the T-Mobile provided to the Android Police, some older devices, including the OnePlus One, Xperia Z3 Series and Nexus 9, will not be able to connect to the company’s network starting January 29th. 19 devices are named by the document, including phones, tablets and cameras. Affected customers will be notified via SMS from December 28 and can upgrade to one of the four phones for free.

According to the documents sent to us (they have been verified accurately) the following devices will not be able to use the T-Mobile network until January 29, following the use of the network update:

Note that although AT&T and Verizon Note 4 are affected, there is no T-Mobile version of the phone. Other devices not on this list may also be affected.

Most of the devices on the T-Mobile listings are very old in terms of smartphone. Although the Huawei P9 landed in 2016, most came from 2014-2015. These are devices that stopped receiving official updates a long time ago, and with the exception of this decision of carrier support, the most recent security links can improve any of these customers’ best interests. However, the Arlo security camera and R11 and-LTE6 We will touch on that later for odd, reasons.

Following the network change, T-Mobile has added a long text list that explains why devices are left behind due to the inability to get the update needed for continuous operation on the network. We thought it was tied first Long-awaited mandatory VoLTE support D-Mobile’s legacy is associated with network shutdowns, but the company says not – although time and details are questionable. This change will also affect Metro and Sprint subscribers, and the details there are a bit confusing.

D-Mobile is required to maintain Sprint’s 3G network as a condition for three years Link, And indirectly, customers with these devices can still connect to that network. The document still states that Sprint customers will be affected, but the latter section states that only those in the metro via T-Mobile or T-Mobile will lose. All Network connection. Sprint subscribers with infected devices will only lose T-Mobile network roaming.

The document states that snail mail letters will be sent to victims of the change beginning on the 18th, and SMS-based notifications will be sent on the 28th, giving customers a one-month grace period to change their devices. Some business customers will be pushed into existing $ 150-off advertising, and D-Mobile employees are told to “wait for additional offers, which will specifically target affected customers.”

We have confirmed that this promotional offer starts on December 24th and target customers can get the free Samsung Galaxy A21, Samsung Galaxy A11, Alcatel Geo Flip 3 or T-Mobile REVVL 4. Honestly, a good deal on your half-decade-old phone, and up to $ 250 worth The A21 is a good phone.

After our story was initially published, T-Mobile confirmed that this change was not part of it VoLTE required Or any legacy network shutdown, time, explicit requirements and a list of devices that indicate the connection. We asked D-Mobile for more details on the change pushing these devices out of the network, but that information was not provided. The company did not accept our offer to issue a statement when asked.

The inclusion of devices such as the original Arlo security camera and the R11e-LTE6 mini PCIe card raises some doubts as to why VoLTE is needed because it is not needed. When asked how this will affect future software support and functionality on D-Mobile’s network, Arlow’s representative told us that no official decision has been made to discontinue production.

In the meantime, T-Mobile subscribers using any of those 19 devices need to see if they are eligible for the advertising offer. If you’re worried about your phone, check if your device supports VoLTE With our guide.