2g is going

Robin9

I have a NUU SX6mini with a Smarty Sim.   Smarty (who use 3 network) have advised that my phone may not work when 2g is shut down over the next few weeks. In the on phone options it does say "Use 4g where available" and this is selected.

Is that true and if yes - what facilities are still usable on the phone.

Neil_Jones

Officially 2033 is the end date, but before that its provider dependent.  As you say Smarty piggybacks onto Three, who don't have a 2G network anyway (the clue was in the name) and because of that Smarty doesn't have a 2G network either?

Your phone should not be affected in any way.

WelshPaul

3G, not 2G!

marlot

Three don't offer 2G.

d123

Robin9 said:

I have a NUU SX6mini with a Smarty Sim.   Smarty (who use 3 network) have advised that my phone may not work when 2g is shut down over the next few weeks.

Smarty have never had use of a 2G network, as you say, they are a 3UK MVNO.

If you mean 3G, you might have a problem as the phone you mention looks like a rather cheap and basic phone, it’s doubtful that it will be volte compliant so won’t get access to 4G after 3G is switched off.

Youll need a more modern phone or move to a network with 2G. The phone will only really be suitable for calls/texts at that stage AIUI.

matelodave

As far as I can see the NUU SX6mini is a 4g capable phone (if the menu says "use 4G when available" it should be a bit of a clue) and therefore should work quite happily when 3G is turned off, in fact you probably wont notice any difference.

PHK

matelodave said:

As far as I can see the NUU SX6mini is a 4g capable phone (if the menu says "use 4G when available" it should be a bit of a clue) and therefore should work quite happily when 3G is turned off, in fact you probably wont notice any difference.

It doesn't have VoLTE (that means it 4G for data only)  , so once 3G is switched off it won't be able to make calls. The chip set it's based on (MT6761 from 2018) doesn't seem to be able to do VoLTE so it couldn't be added I'm afraid. 

400ixl

It was also launched with Android 9 and appears to have only gone to Android 10 and no longer getting any security updates from what I can see.

d123

matelodave said:

As far as I can see the NUU SX6mini is a 4g capable phone (if the menu says "use 4G when available" it should be a bit of a clue) and therefore should work quite happily when 3G is turned off, in fact you probably wont notice any difference.

Unfortunately not, if the phone won’t do volte (4G Calling) it won’t work on Three after they switch 3G off. That’s likely why Smarty have told the OP, it’s an old and very cheap budget phone, the OP is likely going to need to replace it if they want to remain on Three/Smarty.

They could use it as a 2G dumb phone on Vodafone, o2 or EE who will still have 2G service for some time after they switch 3G off.

PHK

d123 said:

matelodave said:

As far as I can see the NUU SX6mini is a 4g capable phone (if the menu says "use 4G when available" it should be a bit of a clue) and therefore should work quite happily when 3G is turned off, in fact you probably wont notice any difference.

Unfortunately not, if the phone won’t do volte (4G Calling) it won’t work on Three after they switch 3G off. That’s likely why Smarty have told the OP, it’s an old and very cheap budget phone, the OP is likely going to need to replace it if they want to remain on Three/Smarty.

They could use it as a 2G dumb phone on Vodafone, o2 or EE who will still have 2G service for some time after they switch 3G off.

Just to point out that although the 2G network isn’t being switched off for some time the networks are prioritising 2G for IOT and M2M (such as smart meters ). Indeed O2 have said they will migrat their 2G consumers starting next year. (EE and Vodafone are taking a different approach. Which won’t affect 2G only customers)

d123

PHK said:

d123 said:

matelodave said:

As far as I can see the NUU SX6mini is a 4g capable phone (if the menu says "use 4G when available" it should be a bit of a clue) and therefore should work quite happily when 3G is turned off, in fact you probably wont notice any difference.

Unfortunately not, if the phone won’t do volte (4G Calling) it won’t work on Three after they switch 3G off. That’s likely why Smarty have told the OP, it’s an old and very cheap budget phone, the OP is likely going to need to replace it if they want to remain on Three/Smarty.

They could use it as a 2G dumb phone on Vodafone, o2 or EE who will still have 2G service for some time after they switch 3G off.

Just to point out that although the 2G network isn’t being switched off for some time the networks are prioritising 2G for IOT and M2M (such as smart meters ). Indeed O2 have said they will migrat their 2G consumers starting next year. (EE and Vodafone are taking a different approach. Which won’t affect 2G only customers)

Partly true, 2G will still be able to carry calls and texts for quite some time (even if the networks do start encouraging people to upgrade). O2 is probably a number of years away from that though, they don’t even expect to have 3G completely shut down before the end of 2025.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2024/07/virgin-media-o2-reveals-uk-plan-for-2g-mobile-switch-off.html

Unlike our 3G network, we won’t be turning 2G off completely. In fact, we expect to continue operating it for several years and it will play an important role in carrying emergency calls in more remote areas without 4G coverage. We’ll also use it to support data traffic for smart energy meters, contributing to the UK’s transition to a lower-carbon economy.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/3g-switch-off/#:~:text=Customers%20using%20the%20EE%2C%20Vodafone,t%20being%20switched%20off%20yet.

Customers using the EE, Vodafone and O2 networks with an older device will still be able to make calls and send text messages after 3G switch-off. 

These services can use the 2G network, which isn’t being switched off yet. But the 2G network was not designed to work for accessing data services, so customers with older devices will no longer be able to access most of their mobile data services after 3G switch-off (although where older devices can connect to Wi-Fi, customers can still use this to access data services).