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 Since the network is no longer active, it means that, as the Verge points out, the original first-generation iPhone (also known as the iPhone 2G) will no longer receive cellular service from ATT's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.

Comments

MVNO???

[Anonymous Coward]

So does this mean the agreement with Straight Talk and those on GSM phones are no longer going to have their unlimited data? Im sure there's still T-Mobile and others to piggy back on but those arnt as prevalent. Or will there "2G" simply be a software data speed reduction?

Re:MVNO???

[ameyer17]

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.

Re: MVNO???

[Anonymous Coward]

exactly its throttled not using the older spec.

Re:MVNO???

[alzoron]

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/...

Re:MVNO???

[uvajed_ekil]

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.

Re:MVNO???

[nofx911]

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...

Re:MVNO???

[Anonymous Coward]

"2G speed" != "2G network"

Leaf off the air too

[Moof123]

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.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[whoever57]

Why is it that car manufacturers cannot do this type of technology? It should have been obvious that 2G would be shut down within a few years of the car's manufacture.

Last year, Nissan's "mobile app" stopped interacting with Pandora for months. It's crazy: a multi-billion dollar company can't keep an app updated so that it actually works. Also, who names their app: "Mobile App"? Really Nissan, there are apps that are not mobile? It's not even something like "Nissan Mobile".

Re:Leaf off the air too

[certsoft]

I think the newer Leafs got a free replacement modem, older ones had to pay. Ford provided free replacement 3G modems for the Focus Electric and the two Energi PHEV models. Kind of surprised me. So my "MyFord Mobile" finally started working for me at the end of November after I got the new modem. We have AT&T 3G, never did have 2G here because the tower was installed after the announced 2G shutdown back in August 2012. Of course, Ford's software still sucks.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Nethemas the Great]

What's dumb is that my 2015 Infiniti Q50 was dependent upon their 2G service for connectivity to the mothership. It was contractually known by Nissan that the 2G telematics control unit they selected for their brand new Q50 model (2014 first release) was dependent upon a service that'd go dark in 3 years. It wasn't until the 2016 model year that they switched to something newer, even then some of their other 2016 models were being churned out with the 2G TCU for a portion of 2016. Additionally, that 2G service made the connectivity features, e.g. online search, speech recognition, etc. so painfully slow to use as to be worthless. Continuing that tradition of stupid it seems the replacement TCU (which they make you pay for) only supports 3G.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Nethemas the Great]

At least you get Pandora, TripAdvisor, etc.. Us Infiniti owners just got a broken promise with our Q50s. The jack wipe managing the Airbiquity Choreo integration (branded InTouch) never bothered to turn on anything other than Facialbook and Google Search. I guess they prefer drivers to fumble with the phones they're streaming from via bluetooth instead.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[dj245]

At least you get Pandora, TripAdvisor, etc.. Us Infiniti owners just got a broken promise with our Q50s. The jack wipe managing the Airbiquity Choreo integration (branded InTouch) never bothered to turn on anything other than Facialbook and Google Search. I guess they prefer drivers to fumble with the phones they're streaming from via bluetooth instead.

As someone who just rented a car with Apple Carplay for the first time, I wish they would just STOP IT with the touchscreens and just have radios that pair quickly with bluetooth devices and can swap between devices without going 7 menus deep. Showing the currently playing song is plenty. I don't need any more information than that. My phone knows how to interrupt my Pandora music with Waze navigation prompts or any other notification. Even this basic function seemed too difficult for Carplay to do.

If they absolutely must have a touchscreen in the car, let it handle the car stuff and only the car stuff. I have never seen an phone-integrated car app system that worked well. And I travel roughly 75% of the time and cycle through a LOT of different rental cars of all makes and models. It's mostly all rubbish. The least annoying ones are the simplest ones which only handle basic bluetooth functions.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[demonlapin]

Yeah, well, it's an opportunity to sell a bunch of new modems. What should be happening is that we should have a cheap, reliable standard for data transmission at low speed that comes as a standard interface on everything, so that when you need to change the way you transmit (say, a new frequency or underlying wireless technology) for these low-data-rate devices, you just replace a fairly generic (and cheap) modem. We could call it... RS-232.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[whoever57]

At least you get Pandora, TripAdvisor, etc.

The only app that I have that works is Pandora. Google search doesn't work and I don't have any of the other apps on my phone.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Anonymous Coward]

> 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.

To add to certsoft's comment: EDGE was first deployed by AT&T in 2003. GSM was deployed _much_ earlier.

Not only does 14+ years for a tech meet your lifespan criteria, drop-in replacement modems are provided -gratis- for two-year-old Leafs, available for ~$200 for older Leafs, and have been available for at least six months. What's more, there are credible reports that Nissan is covering significant portions of both the parts and labor costs for older Leafs.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[mlts]

Car makers need to stick to stuff that runs on the CAN, and well away from consumer electronics that get chucked in a year or two. Oddly enough one of the better audio heads I've used was the one on my Ford. It doesn't have a touch-screen display, but buttons and dials. However, Bluetooth works, and has worked with a large array of Apple, Motorola, and HTC phones. If I need navigation, that is what a suction cup holder, smartphone, and Siri can be used for. People made fun of Windows Automotive, but I found it quite usable, and has stayed usable over the years.

I am not impressed with some of the touchscreen models, just because the functionality can be obsolete or inoperable in less than six months... and unlike phones, people in the US are not going to swap cars out every year or two so they can have 128 gigs of SSD for storing MP3s compared to last year's 64 GB.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Darinbob]

They add these features because there are indeed customers who are swayed by them. So who is dumber, the auto maker or the auto customer? And believe me, there are customers out there right now thinking "2G was a dumb choice, but at least 4G won't go obsolete in 15 years."

Of course you should expect *some* years out of the service at least. I bought a new phone once and a few months later they started transitioning to GSM and connectivity on it started getting worse and worse. All the while I would get mail about bringing in my phone to get a new simcard except that when I did they would say my new phone was too old to get the new simcard. And the phone was not just an older model still on sale, it was a reasonably current model.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[SeaFox]

T-Mobile seems willing to help you for now.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[guruevi]

You should wish for a car with modular systems, that way you can swap out the radio. But a lot of 2G gear is still out there, alarm systems, remote controllers for all sorts of stuff, scientific and other telemetry, iPhones were some of the older 2G devices, 2G was commonplace in Androids up until only a few years ago.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[ArchieBunker]

I'm happier without touchscreen controls in my car. All that stuff is going to age terribly and from the complaints posted here work stops when the car ships. You still can't beat tactile knobs and switches for control.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[fredgiblet]

I think that car manufacturers aren't really forward thinking, also many of their designs take years to finish design, so it's likely they decided on that service 2-3 years before, and just didn't update it to deal with the probable changes in the near future.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Anonymous Coward]

Given how long auto manufacturers have taken to implement CarPlay, we can hope that part of the meetings they held discussed how the CarPlay units would be replaced when the hardware meets its EOL.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[RabidReindeer]

I'm willing to bet that the original Nook e-reader used it too - the non-WiFi eInk version.

Dated it may be, but the battery life is a lot better than on tablet Nooks.

Re: Leaf off the air too

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sure the car use GSM 2G in part because AT&T sales pushed it as a cost saving competitive advantage. ~4 years ago we had an AT&T sales woman at work giving us a presentation. At the time AT&T was pushing M2M devices to use GSM as the payloads were small and the monthly cost was cheap. (Interestingly the T-Mobile material we got was much more focused on their 3G and HSPA offerings.)

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Anonymous Coward]

Seems the problem here is that different industries have wildly different concepts of a 'reasonable lifespan'. Keep your smart phone more than two years and many people think you're a luddite. Plenty of people keep their cars through a typical 4 year payment term, and plenty more keep them far longer. I drive cars into the ground.

Of course both industries still try to get their customers into the tightest upgrade cycle they can manage, but that result is much different between cars and phones. I agree with other posters who say the solution is to keep the car 'dumb' and leave the clever features to the item you replace more often. I feel the same way about TVs. Far easier and econmical to swap your Roku, Chromecast or Firestick, or update your console or download new PC software, than to replace your HD monitor.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Anonymous Coward]

Same here. It burns me that my 3 year old Nissan car needs a modem replacement. Even though Nissan is "subsidizing the cost" it still means $2-300 out of my pocket and the inconvenience of scheduling the service visit. I'm not planning on upgrading it because I don't think I got that much out of it in the first place. Nissan makes great cars, but I think their lack of planning is very anti-consumer.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[drinkypoo]

If I need navigation, that is what a suction cup holder, smartphone, and Siri can be used for.

It's illegal to use a device suction-cupped to the windshield in California, although amusingly not radar detectors because you don't have to touch them, and they are permitted here. A decent bolt-in cellphone mount is upwards of a hundred bucks.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Gilgaron]

Interesting... is attaching it to the window in the wording? We have what is basically a sandbag with a arm mount for our GPS that just sits on the dash. Don't have to worry about anything popping off into your lap, either.

Re: Leaf off the air too

[Anonymous Coward]

Same here. It burns me that my 3 year old Nissan car needs a modem replacement. Even though Nissan is "subsidizing the cost" it still means $2-300 out of my pocket and the inconvenience of scheduling the service visit. I'm not planning on upgrading it because I don't think I got that much out of it in the first place. Nissan makes great cars, but I think their lack of planning is very anti-consumer.

Ah, I knew it wouldn't take long before the fucktarded shitdot sheeple would bitch about having to pay for progress. You are fucking fine with the rapid development as long as you fucktarded shitdot sheeple don't have to pay a fucking penny, but then turn around and bitch when you have to fucking pay. Of course you are nothing more than a bunch of spoiled, communist loving fucktards who should collectively slit your fucking wrists. Now go have a fucking meltdown and rage mod my comments down or fucking ignore me, proving how fucking right I am.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Anonymous Coward]

Because 2G service was cheap as shit, and when the car manufacturer is footing the bill, they're not going to pick the UltiBest(tm) service.

It's Nissan, not Mercedes.

For what it's worth, BMW has been using 3G for their car connectivity for like a decade now.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[MachineShedFred]

Touch screens in cars are the dumbest fucking idea that has ever been. There is no tactile feedback, so you have to take your eyes off the road to use the fucking thing. Every time.

I have no idea how they are legal, other than the stupid message that comes up every time you start the car that basically says "don't use this unless you are pulled over and parked." Which nobody does.

BMW spent over a decade to get their iDrive (now ConnectedDrive) system to be what it is today, and it's probably the best-of-breed. Big screen for showing information, and a knob / bump controller / touchpad thing on the center console that you can use with one hand to do practically everything, with your eyes still on the road. And it has shortcut buttons for the most accessed functions, which you can find by feel alone.

It's the way it should be, so that you aren't fiddle-fucking around with a touchscreen instead of paying attention to that idiot in a huge bro-truck that isn't checking his blind spot, and entering your lane.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Anonymous Coward]

This is my shocked face that Nissan would cut corners, even in their premium brand: =|

Re: Leaf off the air too

[MachineShedFred]

Someone needs a nap.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[omnichad]

You still can't beat tactile knobs and switches for control.

Good voice control works better still, for navigation and phone calls anyway. I love Android Auto, but I hate having to use touch for anything more than extremely basic control.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[drinkypoo]

Interesting... is attaching it to the window in the wording?

Yes. (Too lazy to look up the cite just now, but not too lazy to reply, hope that counts for something)

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Zontar_Thing_From_Ve]

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.

I agree. I had a Nissan Leaf on a lease and I liked the car, but life changes made me need to get to one car and with distant relatives I need to visit I couldn't really make the Leaf work for me as an only vehicle. My lease ended with 2G still working, but a co-worker recently had his modem replaced. I think there was some charge for labor for doing the work. The problem is that AT&T has done this kind of thing before and businesses go with it because it's cheap with no long term thought that AT&T might dump the service down the road. In the first half of the previous decade I had a job that for a while made me use a work provided cell phone ("mobile phone" for you non-Americans) and it was on some crappy non-GSM network. My company got a really good bargain on the phone service because AT&T was trying to drive business into this crappy network, but eventually AT&T gave up and closed it down. Only then did my company start letting us use our own phones and expense them. I'm sure Nissan simply saw the 2G as a cheap network that big ol' AT&T would probably support forever and nobody considered the problems that would be caused if they stopped supporting this old technology.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[MightyYar]

This is why I like to buy used rental cars - in addition to not having leather seats (I prefer cloth, especially on a hot day), they typically have very simple stereos and lack a lot of the bells and whistles that often break or become obsolete. I'd much rather clip my smartphone into a holder and have the very latest nav technology, up to date maps, and entertainment options.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't feel bad, my brand new Dodge Challenger's Uconnect system uses Sprint's 3G service. If I want to use it as a hotspot, the cost is about 2x as much as LTE on Verizon.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Anonymous Coward]

In the USA, the average term of a car loan currently exceeds 60 months (5+ years).

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Nethemas the Great]

People fiddle-fsucking with their cell-phones, hamburgers, and makeup are a far larger problem.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Ravaldy]

Dumb that cars that should be targeting a 15-20 year

The average car in North America is on the road about 10 years. That being said, the tech should not be incrusted into the car. They should drive that tech off smart phones which appear to remain backwards compatible for years. The worst case is that it doesn't support a newer version of the app but at least remains supported with the old app.

The car company in this case was dumb to only include a 2G modem (cost savings I guess). At the time of release of the vehicle, the tech was already on it's way out.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Gilgaron]

Hey if I wasn't lazy I could've looked it up myself... or a Futurama lazy guy quote or something

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Anonymous Coward]

The stupid thing is that replacement modems are only 3G. Really, Nissan?? You couldn't afford the extra 5 cents for a 3G modem originally, and now can't afford the extra 5 cents for a 4G/LTE modem? Even if it currently runs on 3G service (probably cheaper), having the hardware ability to move to 4G when AT&T kills 3G would be nice...

I still haven't gotten mine replaced and it's annoying as hell not being able to pre-heat. Would have gotten it done before the new year, but my Nissan dealer played dumb and eventually told me they don't have a Leaf tech. WTF? This was the same dealer that replaced my traction battery under warranty a year earlier... Ugh.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Chaset]

The wording is to the effect that you're not allowed to have a video display visible to the driver in any way, with a specific exception for video displays specifically dedicated to navigation or vehicle information.

I'm also too lazy to look it up but that's what I remember.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Shirley Marquez]

They used 2G in the original Leaf because 2G modems were far less expensive than 3G modems at the time, and because they had much better coverage. The discontinuance of the 2G network also made old credit card machines and some monitored devices like water meters stop working because they also used the old 2G network; bricking all those old data devices probably had much more impact than killing off ancient iPhones.

Re:Leaf off the air too

[Shirley Marquez]

You're wrong. The version of the original Nook with cellular connectivity used AT&T 3G service - in other words, HSDPA. I don't know exact details, but they're unlikely to implement the higher speed HSPA+ modes. That was the only Nook device with cellular data capability.

The first two models of the Kindle and the original Kindle DX used CDMA2000 3G connectivity from Sprint. All later models with cellular capability use 3G from AT&T.

Nobody is using original iPhone

[Anonymous Coward]

The batteries have all long since died and no longer take a charge. The only original iPhones still working are those who have had their cases cracked open and batteries replaced.

Same can be said about any and all gen 2 and 3 iPhones. They are all dead, dead, dead

Re:Nobody is using original iPhone

[dgatwood]

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.

Re:Nobody is using original iPhone

[supremebob]

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.

Re:Nobody is using original iPhone

[dgatwood]

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.

Re:Nobody is using original iPhone

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:Nobody is using original iPhone

[Anonymous Coward]

LOL. Your attempt at refuting GP post actually confirms OP's claim that nobody still uses it.

Re:Nobody is using original iPhone

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:Nobody is using original iPhone

[dgatwood]

I wasn't trying to refute that claim—just the claim that they were all incapable of being used.

Re: Nobody is using original iPhone

[Z00L00K]

And reference to original is more an example than specific device.

Good!

[plague911]

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.

Re:Good!

[rmdingler]

Well plagued, sir, well plagued.

This sucks for Arduino users

[Anonymous Coward]

Some of us use SIM cards on 2G, because API calls are difficult/more expensive on 3G supporter boards.

Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[rmdingler]

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.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[Pollux]

I'm one of those thrifty bastards...almost.

I have a Sanyo Katana LX, purchased in January 2009. It still makes phone calls, it still sends and receives texts, and its battery lasts a week with the light use I give it.

I avoid upgrading for four reasons: 1) It's no longer subsidized by the major players. 2) Even a new flip phone costs a minimum of $100. 3) Both my wife and my brother-in-law gave me their old phones, so if mine is lost or broken, I have spares. and 4) I dislike the disposable culture of today, given that we cannot infinitely replace old electronics with a finite supply of building materials.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

And yet my (circa 2008) Macbook is still running, with some minor memory and hard drive upgrades, along with my (circa 1984) Apple IIc is still up for a ride down the Oregon Trail.

This may come as a shock to the "green" generation, but companies weren't always greedy as fuck, purposely designing hardware to throw in a landfill every other fucking year for the sake of revenue.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[rmdingler]

I dislike the disposable culture of today, given that we cannot infinitely replace old electronics with a finite supply of building materials.

As long as you can live with the knowledge that your miserly tendencies are cheating a 25th Century landfill miner out of rare earth elements.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[rmdingler]

Aren't you one profane motherfucker!

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

I was using an iPhone 3GS until a few months ago when I upgraded to an iPhone 6S. I may not be as thrifty as the original example, but I am quite sure I am a real bastard ( but only when someone acts like a jerk and then they get full bastard mode ).

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[Anonymous Coward]

Bought a Motorola flip phone from T-Mobile in 2006, and it still works. I have it on a 10 cent per minute pay as you go plan. I use it occasionally and replaced the battery a few times, but mostly it's a backup. Ya never know when you'll need it.

Also, to the editors - AT&T shuts down 2G network and the title HAS to mention Apple. What a bunch of fucking maroons.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[SeaFox]

I'm one of those thrifty bastards...almost.

I have a Sanyo Katana LX, purchased in January 2009. It still makes phone calls, it still sends and receives texts, and its battery lasts a week with the light use I give it.

I was in the same boat. Up until last month I was using a Nokia 6030 (so, 2005 vintage) as my cell phone. I didn't own a single handset for 10 years continuously, because there was a couple times I had to replace it for something actually not working on the one I had -- but I'd just go on eBay and buy another of the exact model. I'd disable the internal memory so all my contacts would save to the SIM by default, and I could just move it to a new one, taking everything with me if I needed to. Battery lasted a week with my usage and audio/reception were better than even the more expensive smartphone I replaced it with.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[ArchieBunker]

Where are you shopping for flip phones? Dollar General sells them and even Android phones for like $40.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[Anonymous Coward]

I have a Nokia flip from 2005, regular plan. Also on T-mobile. Never replaced the battery. I priced a replacement battery one time, and it was $60. I decided that if the battery went I'd get a new phone. It's actually the first mobile phone I ever had on my own. My elderly father actually got one before I did--for medical emergencies. When he passed away, I used that phone to manage the estate and was going to transfer it into my name. When I tried to do that, Verizon handed me a stack of paperwork an inch thick. I said, "fuck that", terminated the Verizon phone and got a fresh start at the T-mobile store across the street. Such a different mindset between the generations--my 12 year old nephew is only away from his iPhone if he's being punished. I just don't care that much about the phone. It's a tool to me. Talk and text is all I need.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[Anonymous Coward]

I am, indeed, a thrifty bastard.

Had one of the original HTC Hero phones. It still works, but I can no longer recharge it because the USB connector finally wore out. So I got a newer old phone to replace it.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[Anonymous Coward]

Used my original Moto Q (WinMo5.0) up until late last year. Was one of the best phones I've had in terms of reliability while still having multiple days use on a charge. Had to give it up since it was hard finding replacement batteries that were "fresh" enough to last more than half a year.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[sabbede]

And completely insecure since 2009. That's not thrift, that's risk. It might also be the worst thing Apple does - leaving users vulnerable to and ever expanding set of threats because they can't be bothered to patch their software. Why? Is it apathy? Is it greed - forcing people to spend $700 for support they're already entitled to rather than spending money to patch the holes? Whatever the reason, it's shitty behavior.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[drinkypoo]

Where are you shopping for flip phones? Dollar General sells them and even Android phones for like $40.

But they also tell a bunch of toxic plastic shit and burns my nose, and probably has lead paint on it to boot. I won't even go in that shithole, it literally gives me a headache.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[Gilgaron]

That's a good point I hadn't thought of, but on the other hand, how well does an original iPhone handle the modern web? If you're just using it for phone, texting, and some email it is probably secure enough.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[Anonymous Coward]

I got myself a Wiko Lubi 2, 2013 vintage. It's the first dumb phone I'm really keeping for long, because I'm careful enough not to lose it and importantly it's powered by micro USB. Before that, I would visit thrifty friends who kept a bag or drawer of old phone crap and I had to score either a phone or charger compatible with something available. Now I have like three power supplies, four cables, the PC etc., and no USB better than 500mA even is needed.

Too bad it doesn't support USB 2.0 : it takes 8GB or 32GB SD cards, but the slow transfer speed makes it about unusable except in emergencies (wow, since it's USB mass storage you can boot a laptop from it! but that's usable for memtest only, perhaps DOS)

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[Anonymous Coward]

What a stupid and thoughtless thing to say considering what the competition (Android et al) is doing!

If anything, Apple should be praised for how long they're willing to support obsolete phones and still provide software updates.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[SeaFox]

Too bad it doesn't support USB 2.0 : it takes 8GB or 32GB SD cards, but the slow transfer speed makes it about unusable except in emergencies (wow, since it's USB mass storage you can boot a laptop from it! but that's usable for memtest only, perhaps DOS)

The Puppy Linux variants (with GUI) are under 500 MB. If they can load all their resources into a RAM disk that would get around the slow USB transfer speeds.

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[sabbede]

Every few months there's a story here about some dastardly thing that can be done with a "specially crafted SMS message", so security patches are always necessary, no matter how limited the feature set.

My first smartphone of any sort was a company issued iPhone 4. I remember that the first version of iOS I couldn't install was chock full of important security patches. I had a 1st Gen iPad, same situation. Apple only updates the latest version of iOS, and everyone else can go fuck themselves. [profanity added to imply honesty and sincerity]

Re:Washing & reusing Ziploc baggies

[eionmac]

My phone is from 2002. Still in use in UK. Phones ok, texts ok. Nothing more required.

iPhones just one affected component

[Etcetera]

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.

Re:iPhones just one affected component

[Anonymous Coward]

a ham auto-patch is not a substitute for a cell phone. you are not allowed to conduct commercial business on amateur radio and that includes ordering a pizza or calling the water company.

if you use your cell phone only for calling dear aunt bessy, and you and everyone in your house who might use that radio is a licensed ham, fine.

Re:iPhones just one affected component

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah! You're one of those idiots that thinks Ham Radio is for personal communications! Please restrict your list down one further sir!

"if you use your cell phone only for calling dear aunt bessy, and you and everyone in your house who might use that radio is a licensed ham, fine."

This is only good as a "let me play with my ham and make sure it works". The TRUE purpose of ham radio is ONLY supposed to be for local and national disasters!

Re: iPhones just one affected component

[Miamicanes]

Ironically, 3G coverage can be *better*, or at least be made usable at greater distance with a bigger antenna. 2G-GSM has a timing-imposed hard limit of approximately 25 miles, regardless of signal strength. 3G-GSM is basically CDMA2000-1xRTT data, with wider channels (using VoIP instead of circuit-switching). That's why Australian & Canadian CDMA carriers used to be popular with remote users, and why they were able to switch to UMTS/HSPA("3G") with minimal drama... 2G-GSM was unsuitable for service in distant rural areas, but 3G-GSM was pretty much just like CDMA2000 coverage-wise.

Re: iPhones just one affected component

[satsuke]

There is no "3G-GSM" in the proper sense, the successor to GSM voice is UMTS, which is _not_ VOIP, it's circuit switched vocoder based like GSM was, just much more spectrally efficient because it uses CDMA on the air interface. (that's not the same as CDMA2000)

Re:iPhones just one affected component

[Anonymous Coward]

uh, not sure what you are getting at. it is literally a violation of FCC rules to use ham radio for commercial purposes. you can be fined by the FCC, and the FCC does take action because hams love to rat out people who wantonly break the rules.

Re:iPhones just one affected component

[havana9]

On older times for some remote location especially when a wire could be destroyed by natural causes, like for a mountain hut, the official solution was an analogue phone patch in VHF or UHF between the phone central and the hut provided by Your Friendly Phone Company. That was a costly solution but was sometimes used. Then for a less costly solution but illegal, someone imported a cordless phone marketed for the US market but with a detachable antenna on the base station and sold it with a rooftop antenna and used the extended coverage given by the antenna to use it long range. With the arrival of cell phones of course these systems were reduced. The main problem with shutting down 2G is that a lot of simple control appliance for instance burglar alarm or heating control systems are using 2G data interface to be controlled via SMS or to automatically make a pre-recorded voice call. While buying a simple 3G phone is not a big problem, changing the interface of an old but perfectly functioning control system could be a big effort. Thee simple solution is of course change operator. With analogue cellphone shutdown the problem was little because few system used cellphones to control and alarm, but with 2G and SMS this usage exploded because was easy to implement and cheap

more important than iPhone

[kiviQr]

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).

Re: more important than iPhone

[Anonymous Coward]

this is just att not supporting it any more.

Re:more important than iPhone

[supremebob]

Yeah, the company that I work for made a wireless temperature monitoring solution that reported to us using the old AT&T GPRS network.

If our customers haven't upgraded their units last year, they wouldn't have known if their freezers filled with thousands of dollars of meat would have failed.That's probably more important than those 20 or so people who were actually still using their original iPhone to make phone calls.

Vivint 2G Panels are also impacted.

[Anonymous Coward]

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)...

damnit!!

[Anonymous Coward]

so this is why my phone hasn't worked for three weeks!!!!?!?

Just a thought

[jonyen]

Today's iPhones might not have cellular connectivity by 2027. Just a thought to ponder...

Re:Just a thought

[uvajed_ekil]

Today's iPhones might not have cellular connectivity by 2027. Just a thought to ponder...

Duh, Skynet will have us all in the dark long before then, so of course! I mean, with the implants and whatnot we'll forget cellular anyway, but you know.

translation–

[darthsilun]

AT&T is turning iPhones into iPods at the push of a button.

Re:translation–

[gnasher719]

AT&T is turning iPhones into iPods at the push of a button.

Now seriously, if you want an iPod, then a used iPhone from eBay is the cheapest way to go.

Re:translation–

[Anonymous Coward]

Not if you already own the device. I kept my old iPhone to use exclusively as a TriggerTrap device. It was a better choice than tying up my current phone during a time lapse shoot and is worth more to me than what Verizon would have ever offered me for it.

Maybe Blu will start selling 3G candy bars.

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

T-Mobile

[darkain]

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"!

Re: T-Mobile

[Anonymous Coward]

T-Mobile claims they will keep their 2g networking running until 2020.

Re:T-Mobile

[rsmith-mac]

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.

Meanwhile, the remaining 2G spectrum can be re-purposed to LTE, which offers a vastly increased amount of data transferred per second per Hz, thereby increasing the amount of bandwidth available to everyone.

An idle network with dedicated spectrum is wasted spectrum. It's handy in edge cases like this, but only until everyone else figures out your secret. Then it gets instantly bogged down and the carrier is just squandering valuable spectrum.

Re:T-Mobile

[Anonymous Coward]

An idle network with dedicated spectrum is wasted spectrum. It's handy in edge cases like this, but only until everyone else figures out your secret. Then it gets instantly bogged down and the carrier is just squandering valuable spectrum.

This is a stupid argument. Shutting down 3G for LTE makes sense. Shutting down 2G for LTE mostly doesn't. why?

There's a bin-packing problem. The 2G slices, "channels," are only 200kHz, but UMTS is 5MHz so only two fit into the license of some carriers. This can argue either way.

  - if you have exactly 10MHz, your alternatives are 1 UMTS channel and waste half your bandwidth on GSM, or 2 UMTS channels and no GSM. If you have 10.4MHz, no problem. but auctions didn't come that way. :p The alternative is cowboy mode: just cram the GSM over the UMTS channel, blocking part of it, expect it to work around the "noise" with coding gain or something. this does work.
  - as you have fewer users, reduce the number of channels. Once you get to one channel. there is not much point in saving 200kHz. All the base stations include GSM software for free. You may as well keep GSM up since it only costs ops overhead.

However, repeat the same arguments on "we should shut down UMTS and run more LTE." It's a no-brainer. You can only shrink UMTS in 5MHz chunks which is like half your spectrum. Shrinking it from 1 channel to 0 channels is huge.

Re:T-Mobile

[Anonymous Coward]

That is perfect, if sending plain old SMS over LTE is supported (probably some annoying/boring configuration detail at most). Why waste kilobytes and require an "app" lol.

Re:T-Mobile

[SeaFox]

I really fucking hope that T-Mobile doesn't follow in AT&Ts footsteps with this one.

Actually, they are doing the opposite.
They're giving users with non-phone devices FREE 2G service for the next year.

Most dual-SIM phones also affected

[crath]

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).

Re:Most dual-SIM phones also affected

[Anonymous Coward]

i think even in new phones they use 2G

Garmin GPS Lost this years ago

[Anonymous Coward]

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

Not Bricked

[ArchieBunker]

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.

Re:Not Bricked

[uvajed_ekil]

Okay, how about paper-weighted instead of bricked? I mean, you can still use an OG iphone to do some stuff, but they are best and most commonly used as paper weights now, or so I must surmise. Or would you like to argue against the relevance of paper in 2017?

If a 2G-only smartphone can't connect to 2G anymore, it is "effectively bricked," if not outright, 100%, truly, completely and entirely bricked.

Re: Not Bricked

[Anonymous Coward]

it still can be used as phone/messages i think just not data and wifi still works.

Re: Not Bricked

[Etcetera]

A smartphone might be a marginally-useful-over-WiFi paperweight, but any non-smartphone 2G phone (i.e., any 2G-only phone other than the iPhone) might as well be bricked unless someone's putting some major effort in.

Re: Not Bricked

[Tetch]

My Nokia 2323 is still working just fine for my simple needs, thanks - it is superb at making phone calls, fits easily in my pocket, lasts 2 weeks between recharges, and new batteries are readily available when needed. I live in the UK so of course now that we've left Europe our culture only has Third World sophistication and I know nothing of your life-enhancing appy ride-sharing hangout-checkin-powered nearby-fastfood-outlet-synchronised brain-obsoleting glamorous lifestyle.

Re: Not Bricked

[Anonymous Coward]

All this does is turn the original iPhone into an iPod touch...

Re: Not Bricked

[Etcetera]

I don't disagree that "regular" phones are still useful -- but they're not useful if there's no network available to it. They also for the most part don't have the flexibility of using side-loaded apps for fancy things like independent mesh antennaes. As I said: a lot of effort.

flip phone 100 bucks@!?#!

[gl4ss]

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.

It was obsolete already when it was released

[Anonymous Coward]

All the flagship smartphones of the time like Nokia N95 had 3.5G..

US is not the world?

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:US is not the world?

[RoverDaddy]

This would be about as dumb as proposals to turn off FM radio

You mean like Norway?

Re:US is not the world?

[Anonymous Coward]

A lowly populated country where everyone is rich.

As the article says : "But other countries, including France, where neither commercial nor public broadcasters have been convinced by the new technology, are lagging behind." Well yes, about nobody ever heard of digital radio over here and independent, often non-profit local stations don't want to junk their hardware either, so that they have to pay for a third party who multiplex broadcasts for many stations. With zero installed user base, and a likely degradation in quality due to low bitrates and cut off when the reception is not right?

Let's say, it's not the right country to pull it off. Like US and its AM radio I guess, or Japan with its zerg office workers that still work with file cabinets mainly.
Long term, perhaps VoLTE replaces old phone calls. I hope LTE dumb phones that can optional serve as wifi hotspot become a thing then. I'd like if my current dumb phone can still serve as FM radio, as well as a faint flashlight.

Four years without updates? Does Apple hate us?

[sabbede]

If Apple says the first iPhone was obsolete in 2013, why did they stop updating it four years before that? Shouldn't the last update have been in 2013 or the phone marked obsolete in 2009? Microsoft kept updating XP after announcing it was obsolete, Apple stopped updating a phone after two years.

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.

Re:Four years without updates? Does Apple hate us?

[drinkypoo]

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.

Officially 1 January, 2017

[Anonymous Coward]

But the AT&T 2G network did hang on for a few more days, depending on location.

http://povertymobile.com/att_2g_sunset/.

Wireless House Alarms

[Anonymous Coward]

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!

Home Security System Cell Phone Backup

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Yep, this hit me

[Anonymous Coward]

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! ;-)

Re:Four years without updates? Does Apple hate us?

[Anonymous Coward]

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?

Affects San Francisco public transit too

[markjhood2003]

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...

Forced phone swap

[CMECC]

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.

Re:Four years without updates? Does Apple hate us?

[sabbede]

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.