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AT&T Shuts Down 2G Network, Ends Cellular Connectivity For Original iPhone (macrumors.com)
ATT yesterday announced that its 2G wireless network was officially shut down on January 1, 2017. Since the network is no longer active, it means that, as the Verge points out, the original first-generation iPhone (also known as the iPhone 2G) will no longer receive cellular service from ATT's network. If you still happen to use an iPhone 2G, it may be time to upgrade or list it on eBay. Mac Rumors reports: Few people appear to have been using the original iPhone as there were no complaints from iPhone owners two weeks ago when the network was shuttered, but going forward, customers who keep the device as part of a collection will only be able to use it on WiFi. Originally released in June of 2007 and discontinued in 2008, the first iPhone was made obsolete by Apple back in 2013, and it has not received software updates since the 2009 release of iPhone OS 3, later renamed iOS 3. According to ATT, shutting down its 2G network frees up valuable spectrum for future network technologies, including 5G. ATT says the spectrum will be repurposed for LTE.
This same service was used for my Nissan Leaf. I can no longer pre-heat or check the charge status remotely without paying for a modem swap.
Dumb that cars that should be targeting a 15-20 year life span are larded up with the current flavor of the month that will be obsolete in a fraction of that. Wish it had WIFI so I could maintain the remote pre-heat functionality at home at least.
In my experience when I messed up and went over 5 GB, I was still connected via LTE. My connection was getting like 64 kbps (or something like that, it was one month over a year ago, so I don't exactly remember the exact speed), though.
If only we could now shut down, AM, FM, Broadcast TV and Postal Delivery on Saturdays maybe we can start to modernize the hell out of the 70000 mile/hour dirtball. Nah just kidding I am just glad vaccines are gone so polio can make a come back. Lets make polio great again.
Actually, no, my original iPhone still works just fine on its original battery. I used it until I got my iPhone 5, and up until a few months ago, I still kept it powered, up until the original charger started malfunctioning and shutting off power randomly, causing it to buzz over and over. I decided it wasn't worth buying a new charger to keep it charged up.
At last check, it still worked correctly on the T-Mobile network with my OneSim.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
Some of us use SIM cards on 2G, because API calls are difficult/more expensive on 3G supporter boards.
Originally released in June of 2007 and discontinued in 2008
If you're still using a phone you've had for 9.5 years, my hat's off to you, you thrifty bastard.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
I realize that was a consumer-level link, but still... I expect better from Slashdot.
There are plenty of other devices out there that are still liable to use 2G that are now effectively bricked. The iPhone is probably the least likely of them to cause a real concern for people. (Though, hell, until 2 years ago my parents were still on 2G PCS phones (not through AT&T though).)
How is rural 3G coverage these days? I remember when the analog shut down happened, there were folks out there who needed lots of repeaters to get anything... Some of whom decided to go back to HAM repeaters to patch into the phone network.
Hire a Linux system administrator, systems engineer,
Shutting down 2G shuts down also some of the elder/patient tracking devices that depend on 2G network (that was more energy/cost effective than 3/4G).
exactly its throttled not using the older spec.
If you are a Vivint subscriber, most of the 2GIG panels that used a 2G connection are also unable to contact Vivint. Vivint is working to fix this by sending out new modems (Very slowly)...
so this is why my phone hasn't worked for three weeks!!!!?!?
Yeah, my old iPhone 3G from 2008 somehow still holds a charge. I stopped using it as a phone a long time ago, but it still works as an MP3 player for the clock radio.
Today's iPhones might not have cellular connectivity by 2027. Just a thought to ponder...
Seeing as Straight Talk and similar providers merely piggyback on AT&T's towers if AT&T no longer accept 2G connections that would also cut off carriers like Straight Talk. Interestingly T-Mobile has offered 2G AT&T customers a home until 2020. https://newsroom.t-mobile.com/...
By contrast, I replaced my iPhone 5 battery after only about three years because it had swelled up like someone with a peanut allergy on a Planters factory tour.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
AT&T is turning iPhones into iPods at the push of a button.
My iPhone 3gs still works and spends its days being an mp3 player always docked in a cradle in my car.
It does technically still hold a tiny charge but we're talking like 15 minutes. Seeing as it is wired into the cars power and stereo, that isn't much of an issue.
I haven't had cell service on the thing for many years now, and although wifi technically works, I only ever sync it over USB on the rare occasion to update the music on it.
It's the 64gb model so it works great as an iPod.
Their current cheap candy-bar style phones are 2G and will only work on T-Mobile's network, now.
I'm a fan of cheap phones, but I guess 3G costs too much to implement on these low-end devices.
I really fucking hope that T-Mobile doesn't follow in AT&Ts footsteps with this one. This isn't just about old phones. With my Galaxy S5, I will sometimes force it into 2G only mode? "WHY?" might you ask. Well, let me tell ya somethin. Try going to PAX Prime/East, and look at how many high-end cell phones there are in such a small space, all being constantly used by tech savy and data hungry users. 3G/4G networks become extremely unreliable at events like this. However, practically nobody is on the 2G network. Yes, it is slow. But when all you need to do is push out SMS messages to meet up with friends in person, it is seriously a life saver.
Another reason is this. When traveling the country side, there are places that ONLY have 2G networks available, because they're literally in the middle of fucking nowhere. In rural America, 2G antennas are set to their maximum operating distance, because there are no other network towers to compete with. The "cells" become their maximum size. The furthest I've been away from a cell tower and still had 2G coverage was 20 miles up in the Rocky Mountains. These places are too difficult to run wiring to. Entire communities rely upon 2G connectivity for the most basic levels of outside communication, myself being one of them when I lived up there temporarily for a few months.
Good ol "PROGRESS"!
Almost all dual-SIM phones are also affected; i.e., they become single-SIM phones because--except in very new phones--the second SIM uses the 2G network to provide voice ad SMS services they never provided data).
hmm? Supposedly this happened a few years ago - at least Garmin told me that was the reason my 1695 GPS could no longer use its AT&T SIM to get traffic reports. Someone mistaken on the timing here?
RO
Why can no one use this term correctly? Bricked means the device is dead and can't be powered up without reflashing firmware. Bricked does not mean it can't connect to a 2G network.
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
how about 20-30 bucks?
christssakes, even nokia x (an android nokia) was 80 bucks _new_ couple of years ago.
there's many unsubsidized smartphones you can choose for under 100 bucks. many, many MANY.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
I'm curious to see what comes of this, and whether there is legal fallout. I wonder this because StraightTalk is still selling "unlimited" plans that explicitly state you will drop to 2G once you reach 5GB in your 30 day period. So since January 1 they have effectively been selling something that doesn't exist, for their customers on AT&T's network. I use ST (beginning to shop around again now) and definitely bought a service card after 1/1/2017 that clearly specified 2G service rather than throttling or "2G like" speed.
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
All the flagship smartphones of the time like Nokia N95 had 3.5G..
LOL. Your attempt at refuting GP post actually confirms OP's claim that nobody still uses it.
Bought a brand-new Blu phone a couple of months back. It was a nice inexpensive dual-SIM phone. Not the latest and greatest tech, but that's actually good since it lacked the infamous Blu back-door to China.
I just put a Net10 SIM in it and it won't work. Net10 is apparently outsourcing to the local AT&T tower and the phone turned out to be 2G.
I just wanted to say that Nissan is a Global/Japanese/French car brand and the US is just one country, a huge one but with its idiosyncrasies.
In most countries approximately 100% of mobile phones support GSM, I never heard of 2G being phased out as every operator supports it and I thought it's what regular calls / SMS use. Dumb phones still are widely available. This would be about as dumb as proposals to turn off FM radio, perhaps worse as many rely on being able to be called by a temporary job agency for instance, or emergency services or whatever.
What does it mean? Apple left users without security updates to a device that contains the keys to a user's life for four years before informing them they needed to replace it. If you can't afford to replace your phone every other year, Apple is going to give you the finger and leave you vulnerable.
That is some piss-poor behavior.
If Apple says the first iPhone was obsolete in 2013, why did they stop updating it four years before that?
Apple pushes updates to old phones for precisely one reason, to make them slower. They don't actually give a shit about those users, they only care about users who buy new devices. That's why they always try to weasel out of fixing their hardware problems. Buy a new ATA card to get around data corruption on your B&W G3. You're holding it wrong. The cube is cracking because you're abusing it. The list goes on and on and on forever.
When the majority of users have moved off the platform, they can stop pushing updates to it to slow it down, because most people have already moved on and it's not economically beneficial.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
But the AT&T 2G network did hang on for a few more days, depending on location.
http://povertymobile.com/att_2g_sunset/.
On StraightTalk's website they have everything asterisked where they say you will drop to 2G. In the footnotes it then says 2G speeds. No legal issues there...
My house alarm stopped communicating on Jan1 as well; my guess is that the alarm system piggybacked on AT&T's network. I have to replace the modem to get it monitored again. Thanks AT&T!
Our home security system has been in an error state since the 2G shutdown. The 3G cell phone communication hardware is on backorder (given the recent high demand). Since we don't have a landline, our security system will alarm and yell, but central station will not know. Thankfully we have an old android running Perch, so any intrusion would be on video and I would receive an email.
I was still using a phone made in 2006. Luckily my phone provider is on top of things and shipped me a free 3G phone as a replacement, so I'm good for a couple more years now I suppose! ;-)
Well, old phones had less than 512MB RAM, shit CPU, older flash memory etc.
Now hopefully slowing down the phones has ended, or they don't slow down so as to make them unusable. How's iOS 9.x on the 4S and iOS 10 on the 5?
"2G speed" != "2G network"
I wasn't trying to refute that claim—just the claim that they were all incapable of being used.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
It's not just owners of private vehicles that are affected -- the Next Bus prediction system for the San Francisco MTA is now completely broken: https://www.sfmta.com/about-sf...
About 20 months ago, AT&T sent me a letter offering a free Android phone to replace my otherwise-working 5 year old BlackBerry 8900 phone, so they could begin turning off 2G. They said my old phone's coverage would become progressively worse, and I needed to upgrade to a newer device for connectivity to their network. I accepted their free offer, but immediately bought a used BlackBerry Q10, which I use every day, while the LG Optimus Pro gets rarely used as a WiFi-only small tablet.
And reference to original is more an example than specific device.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
There's nothing preventing Apple from patching more than one version of iOS. The security fixes in iOS 4 could have been added to an iOS 3.1.4 for 1st gen iPhone users. But no, they released version 4 and gave the finger to anyone with the unmitigated gall to still own a two year old cellphone.