We’ve come a long way in mobile connectivity technology. Today, almost every phone launched comes with support for 5G. In fact, several companies and countries are already working on 6G. So it doesn’t really come as a surprise to learn that T-Mobile is finally shutting down its 2G network.
T-Mobile is shutting down 2G network
Speaking to Fierce, a spokesperson for the carrier confirmed that T-Mobile is shutting down its 2G network officially on August 3, 2026. While the shut down was to be expected, T-Mobile took the longest to get there.
In 2017, AT&T shuttered its 2G network. Verizon was next in 2020. This means that T-Mobile held onto its network 6 years longer than Verizon, and nearly a decade more than AT&T. According to T-Mobile, the reason they took longer was to fill in the gaps the other carriers had left open.
The spokesperson said, “T-Mobile retained GSM longer than other carriers to give customers and partners additional time to migrate legacy devices. Other carriers shut down their GSM networks earlier, and T-Mobile helped fill that gap by maintaining support while customers transitioned to newer technologies.” This was echoed by T-Mobile Chief Network Officer Ankur Kapoor.
What’s next for these customers?
That being said, there are probably only a very small set of customers left who are using devices that are 2G-only. This means the number of affected customers won’t be that big. In fact, T-Mobile has already started pushing customers on its older 3G and 4G plans to newer, and sometimes pricier, 5G plans.
According to the latest push, T-Mobile customers on these older plans are expected to pay more for the newer plans. This includes seeing the price of voice lines go up by $6 per line. Lines for smartwatches and tablets are also going up by $3 per line, while 5G Home Internet will go up by $6. This means that for a family of four, that amounts to about $24 extra a month, or $288 a year.
Unsurprisingly, many customers have complained about this. Unfortunately, that looks like it’s the way of things at the moment. If you’re not a fan of this, you can check out our article on alternative carriers worth checking out.
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