3g switchoff question.

Grimley

Grimley

Grimley

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Ok folks, this is one for the mobile phone experts on here.

Got a text message today from Vodafone saying that they are going to turn off their 3G network later this year. They sent me a web link to check if I could use my phone for '4G calling' only to discover that it is not compatible. I have a realme 6 that's just under 3 years old and I'm not very happy about that. I know I can use 2G for calls and text but that's beside the point.

I feel compelled to upgrade now, so my question is would any Android phone on the market right now, would it be compatible with this 4G calling or VoLte as they are calling it?
 
3G has always been poo for Internet anyway :D
2G seems to offer best calls, and probably even better now the masses have moved to 4 & 5G

4G works best round here, as 5G is a little bit flaky and having 5G turned on means the phone desperately hangs on to a crumby 5G signal, even while in a strong 4G area. So 5G remains turned off.

I would have thought smart meters use their own network, or do they borrow/piggyback onto a main provider?

Edit: Just did a quick Google and it looks like the Realme 6 is a 4G phone anyway, so happy days
 
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A quick Google gives me this result.

www.vodafone.co.uk

We’ve switched off 3G | Vodafone

We've now switched off our 3G network across the UK. Find out how you can get the best possible connection.
www.vodafone.co.uk

Yep it's true. and there's nothing you can do about it.

If you currently rely on 3G, we don't want you to lose your connection, so over the next year we'll help you with additional support, handy FAQs and a customer service team ready to any answer questions you may have.
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In other words buy a new phone.
 
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throwaway4372 said:
don't smart meters depend on 2g/3g so those networks aren't going anywhere?
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2G is staying, most smart meters use a separate network though I believe.

OP: Vodafone may offer you a discount on a new handset if your existing one won't work after the switchoff, it'd be worth talking to them. But yes, any modern phone should support VoLTE.
 
2G's switch off deadline is 2033 as smart meters and other IoT still depends on it. 3G is being shut of now since not as many things rely on it.

If you go into settings -> network, then select the SIM, is there a VoLTE option? Turn that on if available and see if the VoLTE icon pops up in the status bar.
 
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No, I'm afraid there isnt. I've checked. It will will be one of the features I'll look for when I upgrade. I'm disappointed that my phone doesnt have this feature as Apple have had this on the iphone since the iphone 6.
 
You know this changes nothing except you won't get data when on a phone call? I'd look at moving away from Vodafone rather than upgrading your phone
 
/\/\/\ I'm on a 12 month sim only contract with them, I think it ends in July. I've been with them for some time but I feel as far as they are concerned I'm a 'loyal customer' so I always dont get the best deal on the market. I don't know who to change to.
Suggestions?
 
EE plans to migrate customers off 3G slowly throughout 2023, with switch off in early 2024. 3's current switch off date is late 2024. O2 is the only network who has not yet announced when to turn it off. Any MVNOs based on these networks will not have control over it either so will be affected by whatever the parent company plans to do.

I guess if you really need 3G in the long term then O2 or any MVNO that uses them such as giffgaff would be the safest bet.
 
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Got another message about this from Vodafone today and there is a BBC article, unless they can significantly boost 4G from the retired 3G capabilities this is very premature IMO I've noticed lately I'm getting a lot more instances, not sure why, where I'm dropping back to 3G at times across all networks but Vodafone especially. Also from talking to family and people at work, etc. probably 1/3rd are still using phones which can't do voice over LTE even if they support 4G.
 
Rroff said:
Got another message about this from Vodafone today and there is a BBC article, unless they can significantly boost 4G from the retired 3G capabilities this is very premature IMO I've noticed lately I'm getting a lot more instances, not sure why, where I'm dropping back to 3G at times across all networks but Vodafone especially. Also from talking to family and people at work, etc. probably 1/3rd are still using phones which can't do voice over LTE even if they support 4G.
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How often are those people somewhere where they need to use voice and mobile data at the same time?
 
Rroff said:
Got another message about this from Vodafone today and there is a BBC article, unless they can significantly boost 4G from the retired 3G capabilities this is very premature IMO I've noticed lately I'm getting a lot more instances, not sure why, where I'm dropping back to 3G at times across all networks but Vodafone especially. Also from talking to family and people at work, etc. probably 1/3rd are still using phones which can't do voice over LTE even if they support 4G.
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Their phones will still fall back to 2G for calling, and it's still another 10 years until that is phased out.
 
Grimley said:
/\/\/\ I'm on a 12 month sim only contract with them, I think it ends in July. I've been with them for some time but I feel as far as they are concerned I'm a 'loyal customer' so I always dont get the best deal on the market. I don't know who to change to.
Suggestions?
Click to expand...

You're doing the right thing by going sim-only, but remember there is something called the "loyalty tax", where your rates go up yearly if you stay with them after the 1st year.

You can text "PAC" (without inverted commas) to 65075 and it will give you a code that your new provider will need. That is in order to hang onto your existing phone number.

I do this every year and switch between Three, BT and PlusNet. This keeps my sim-only monthly rate at around the £10 mark and it gets me either 25GB or 30GB of data depending on the plan.

I can understand people being dual-band 3G/4G if 4G is flaky in their area, but I'm surprised that some people are solely using 3G-only handsets. My Samsung Galaxy Apollo 2010 was my last 3G handset. Then my 12-year-old Sammy SII that I still have was my first 4G. There are a couple of luddites in my family and even they're 4G now :p I think the first 4G iPhone was around 2010/11 too.
 
Rroff said:
Got another message about this from Vodafone today and there is a BBC article, unless they can significantly boost 4G from the retired 3G capabilities this is very premature IMO I've noticed lately I'm getting a lot more instances, not sure why, where I'm dropping back to 3G at times across all networks but Vodafone especially. Also from talking to family and people at work, etc. probably 1/3rd are still using phones which can't do voice over LTE even if they support 4G.
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I'd totally ignore that article on the BBC, written by someone who doesn't really know what they're talking about.

Not sure how the IT consultant knows more about Vodafone's network than they do.

The 3G frequencies are being re-farmed for 4G on Band 8. If anything the network should run better.
 
I've always found that when my VF drops to 3g, 4g is still about but my phone hasn't connected to it. Airplane mode on & off fixes it.
 
Pawnless Endgame said:
You're doing the right thing by going sim-only, but remember there is something called the "loyalty tax", where your rates go up yearly if you stay with them after the 1st year.

You can text "PAC" (without inverted commas) to 65075 and it will give you a code that your new provider will need. That is in order to hang onto your existing phone number.

I do this every year and switch between Three, BT and PlusNet. This keeps my sim-only monthly rate at around the £10 mark and it gets me either 25GB or 30GB of data depending on the plan.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I think I will jump ship & give another provider a go. As long as I can get 4g where I live and in East Suffolk I dont care. I think VF are expensive anyway.
 
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