Tesco mobile shutting down 2g

WOTSWOT

A duck duck smart search on the internet now tells me Tesco mobile will stop both 2g and 3g by the end of this year. This smart search uses AI to scan all relevant data to try and make some sense of the 2g confusion out there at the moment.
My Samsung 2g is already playing up. Tesco says it is a dodgy SIM connection. I think otherwise.
The Tesco phone shop fiddled with my phone and now it works but say I need a new 4g of course!

jaybeetoo

It’s not Tesco mobile that’s shutting down 2G and 3G.  Tesco relies on the O2 network which is turning off 2G and 3G by the end of this year. Tesco don’t have any say in the matter.

PHK

You will eventually need a 4G voice calling compatible phone, which start at about £20 for a basic Nokia. Even less on occasion. 

3G is being turned off by O2 and has already been switched off by other providers 

O2 are migrating customers away from 2G which will be reserved for emergency use and machine communications. 

brewerdave

I find it ironic that 3g/2g is being switched off at the same time as the Openreach switch off of landlines is underway - I'm far from alone being in an area with very poor 4g coverage still on all the networks (and no 5g coverage) - I'm totally dependent on wifi calling as a result. So much for technological advance !

Beachcomber_252

I'm not so sure that a 2G switch off will happen anytime soon. Until firm dates, and areas to be switched off are announced, your 2G phone should continue to work as normal.

MyRealNameToo

brewerdave said:

I find it ironic that 3g/2g is being switched off at the same time as the Openreach switch off of landlines is underway - I'm far from alone being in an area with very poor 4g coverage still on all the networks (and no 5g coverage) - I'm totally dependent on wifi calling as a result. So much for technological advance !

Haven't had a landline for over a decade and haven't used one for almost two decades. 4/5g is very poor inside our home (and at our local) but never had issues with wifi calling or VOIP, just saved a vast amount on international calls instead. 

That said, people also complained when stand trunk dialling was introduced and you no longer had to ask an operator to put you through to a number in a different city. 

WOTSWOT

Beachcomber_252 said:

I'm not so sure that a 2G switch off will happen anytime soon. Until firm dates, and areas to be switched off are announced, your 2G phone should continue to work as normal.

Well this is my problem now. Last week my 2g locked into a peculiar state and I could not fix it. I tried removing the battery and reconnecting but then it went completely dead. I visited Tesco mobile shop and they fiddled with it and got it working again, saying it was probably a bad connection on the SIM. But as it is the only time I hade had this issue throughout my 14 years of ownership, I am wondering if this in some sort of induced incentive to change my phone !

Suddenly losing the ability to receive OTPs when you have to pay HMRC above all else is very worrying.

PHK

Beachcomber_252 said:

I'm not so sure that a 2G switch off will happen anytime soon. Until firm dates, and areas to be switched off are announced, your 2G phone should continue to work as normal.

I'm afraid this is quite out of date. Last year O2 announced that in 2025 they would begin to migrate customers away from 2G and that process has now started. 

Additionally, from October this year it won't be possible to roam onto O2 2G

2G is being reserved for emergency calls, machine to machine (devices that phone home) and internet of things (devices that use a low data rate connection)

O2 announced this because they have the highest percentage of 2G customers (about 1% = 200,000)

Other networks had far fewer customers using 2G and most of those transitioned to 4G when 3G was switched off. 

AndyPK

Those new fangled smart phones can have the HMRC app on them. 

This allows you to receive login codes (via WiFi) and is actually easier than a txt code

brewerdave

MyRealNameToo said:

brewerdave said:

I find it ironic that 3g/2g is being switched off at the same time as the Openreach switch off of landlines is underway - I'm far from alone being in an area with very poor 4g coverage still on all the networks (and no 5g coverage) - I'm totally dependent on wifi calling as a result. So much for technological advance !

Haven't had a landline for over a decade and haven't used one for almost two decades. 4/5g is very poor inside our home (and at our local) but never had issues with wifi calling or VOIP, just saved a vast amount on international calls instead. 

That said, people also complained when stand trunk dialling was introduced and you no longer had to ask an operator to put you through to a number in a different city. 

By God ,you most be (almost) as old as me !! LOL

Beachcomber_252

The OP can only go by what is stated in the faq on their network provider's website.(Tesco Mobile)

"What about the 2G network?
You'll still be able to make voice calls and send texts as you do now, however you will not be able to use the internet without a Wi-Fi connection and you may notice a decrease in clarity of your calls."

https://www.tescomobile.com/help/device-help/network-and-troubleshooting/network-support/3g#mobilenetworkfaqs-item-f4d1b91c69

That is clear and unambiguous. Therefore the OP has every right to expect their 2G service to continue, at least in the short term.

When that changes, I would expect the information to be communicated directly to the customer, as per the 3G shutdown.