# End of the World has come. My phone will stop for good in days.



## Robert59 (Aug 4, 2022)

I have Flip flop. I think might be a scam?


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## Nathan (Aug 4, 2022)

Robert59 said:


> End of the World has come. My phone will stop for good in days.


Sounds like your carrier's network will not be able to accommodate your flip phone's older hardware anymore.

"The major companies that offer cell phone service are phasing out cellphones that use a 3G network, including those that are used solely for the purpose of calling 911.

A lot of older cellphones, including the IPhone 5, IPhone 5S and Samsung Galaxy S4, as well as many of the flip phones, will become obsolete in 2022 as mobile providers make the switch to 5G networks.

Some tracfones, flip phones, Jitterbugs and even older-style smartphones will no longer be able to make calls once the networks are taken down. Most of these phones, which are sometimes called “third generation” phones were launched nearly 20 years ago and will no longer work with most of the carriers in 2022.

The Federal Communications Commission says that oftentimes mobile carriers upgrade their networks to make them faster and to use the latest technology."   More here.


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## Robert59 (Aug 4, 2022)

Nathan said:


> Sounds like your carrier's network will not be able to accommodate your flip phone's older hardware anymore.
> 
> "The major companies that offer cell phone service are phasing out cellphones that use a 3G network, including those that are used solely for the purpose of calling 911.
> 
> ...


I was contacted by a guy from another country that is giving me a free phone and could this be this be a scam? This is my girlfriend's phone and she pays every month to Net10.


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## Pepper (Aug 4, 2022)

*YES!*​eta--You added another sentence, so I don't know about GF's phone.


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## Tish (Aug 4, 2022)

I have been waiting for them to get rid of all 4G networks over here.
Thankfully my phone is 5G ready.


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## hawkdon (Aug 4, 2022)

well this sounds like my Jitterbug will not work much longer,
is that true""!::""???
I've not heard anything about it before.....


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## Nathan (Aug 4, 2022)

hawkdon said:


> well this sounds like my Jitterbug will not work much longer,
> is that true""!::""???
> I've not heard anything about it before.....


According to the article I linked, it sounds like your Jitterbug might be doomed too.  Article


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## hawkdon (Aug 4, 2022)

Well I won;t miss it really....only had it cause a friend insisted,
but they don't stay in touch much...so long jitterbug....


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## Muskrat (Nov 24, 2022)

Verizon has spent the last four years telling me my phone wouldn’t work in the next year…still works fine.


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## Tommy (Nov 24, 2022)

When 3G went away here earlier this year, Tracfone sent me a free Samsung smartphone to replace my old flip phone.  This is the second or third time they've given me a free upgrade.  The new phone seems to do everything any other smartphone does, and as I rarely use my cell phone it's perfectly adequate.


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## Jules (Nov 24, 2022)

@Robert59, call the carrier directly and ask.  Don’t use any phone in emails or text that say the phone is about to run out.


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## Geezer Garage (Nov 24, 2022)

3G, 4G, 5G, is this a G-string?


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## JaniceM (Nov 24, 2022)

Tommy said:


> When 3G went away here earlier this year, Tracfone sent me a free Samsung smartphone to replace my old flip phone.  This is the second or third time they've given me a free upgrade.  The new phone seems to do everything any other smartphone does, and as I rarely use my cell phone it's perfectly adequate.


Really?  How did you accomplish that??  I had an entirely different experience with Tracfone, but it wasn't because of that G stuff.  
I bought a phone from them, and almost immediately notified them it was not working properly.  The response was they could not replace it because they'd had some kind of merger or something with Verizon.  While they said they notified customers and I had NOT been notified, I don't believe companies should expect customers to buy upgraded phones every time they change something!!  

To make a long story short, the only way I eventually got the phone replaced was to go through the BBB.  The one they sent has been working so far, but as it's a replacement/refub from a brand I've never heard of, I don't know how long it will last.  

On the 3G topic, though, I have "numerous" phones that would otherwise be in good working order, but non-functional because of that.


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## Nathan (Nov 24, 2022)

Carriers are upgrading their networks to the faster broader 5G standard, sort of like going from wooden wagon wheels to steel rimmed rubber tires. 
  Backwards compatibility with older network devices may not be technically feasible.

My grandfather disliked the newfangled electric start car engines, for a while Ford offered a model with both electric and crank start engines.


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## Gaer (Nov 24, 2022)

Well, I'm kinda upset that Kodak isn't making any more printers!  They were the best and cheapest ink!
No 75 watt incandescent bulbs, no home phones, only flat screen "smart" T.V.'s,  CD's, VHS, DVD's, 
streaming, now  Alexa.  Feel like someone is forcing change on us?
Anyone time travel?  I wanna go back to 1959!


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## Packerjohn (Nov 24, 2022)

3G, 4G,5G, 6G,7G, 8G,9G,10G.  Oh where does it end?  Perhaps never!  Anyone here familiar with the phrase, "Planned Obsolescence?"


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## Tommy (Nov 24, 2022)

JaniceM said:


> Really?  How did you accomplish that??  I had an entirely different experience with Tracfone, but it wasn't because of that G stuff.


Sorry to hear that your experience with them wasn't good.

We were given our first Tracfone flip phone by a thoughtful neighbor in the early '00s during a family tragedy.  Years later, for reasons I don't recall, they obsoleted that model and just mailed us a new (free) flip phone with instructions on how to set it up.  In 2014, when we moved to New Hampshire, we had very poor phone reception.  I called customer service and they sent me a different (free) SIM card that works in our area.

Beginning about a year ago, I started receiving emails telling me that our current 3G service would be going away and offering a couple dozen different models as replacement phones.  About a third of them were free; the others ranged in price from cheap to several hundred dollars.  Most were name brands I recognized.

I currently pay around $135 per year for a card that gives my unlimited talk and text and some amount of data that I'll never use.  Much less expensive than my wife's Verizon phone, but then she uses hers a lot more than I do.


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## Nathan (Nov 24, 2022)

Packerjohn said:


> 3G, 4G,5G, 6G,7G, 8G,9G,10G.  Oh where does it end?  Perhaps never!  Anyone here familiar with the phrase, "Planned Obsolescence?"


I knew the _planned obsolescence_ idea would pop up, but really it's just progress.


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## Fyrefox (Nov 30, 2022)

I also feel the pain of a broken relationship.  My trusty LG Verizon 3G flip phone has fallen to planned obsolescence.  It worked perfectly for years, had an actual keyboard with buttons, and was on a $5 per month “pay as you go” plan.  No, it wasn’t a “smart phone,” but did all I wanted a cell phone for…to make calls on the road!  I now have a lower end Tracfone that didn’t require a high initial investment or require me to pay a $50+ per month service contract…


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