Obtained and verified by T-Mobile internal documents Android police, the company plans to drop mobile network support for 19 devices on Jan. 29, 2021. Devices affected include smartphones from Google, Samsung, Sony and more, as well as older home security cameras and wireless routers.
Here’s the full rundown, according to T-Mobile’s internal list:
Phones:
- Google Nexus 9
- Huawei Mate 8
- Huawei P9
- HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle
- HTC Desire 650
- OnePlus 1
- Quanta Dragon IR7
- Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (both AT&T and Verizon models; The T-Mobile version of the Note 4 is not affected)
- Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
- Samsung Galaxy S5 Duos
- Sony Xperia Z3
- Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
- Sony Xperia Z3 Orion
- Sony D6616 Xperia Z3 Orion
- Soy m02
- ZTE ZMax
Other devices:
- Mikrotikls SIA_R11e-LTE6 miniPCIe modem
- Netgear Arlo security camera system
The change will affect T-Mobile, MetroPCS, and Sprint customers, but the impact depends on the carrier network your device is originally using. T-Mobile and MetroPCS devices will lose all network support starting January 29, while Sprint devices will lose T-Mobile roaming connectivity but will still be able to use Sprint’s old 3G network until it closes in 2023.
There may be more unsupported devices, but T-Mobile has yet to make a public announcement at the time of writing so we can only use the information from Android Police. That said, T-Mobile will reportedly notify customers via text message starting December 28, giving those still using these older products only a few weeks to upgrade.
The short run is inconvenient, but we recommend users upgrade from any of the smartphones mentioned above, even if T-Mobile didn’t end support. Not only are new phones faster and packed with better features and cameras, they also get regular security patches that older phones don’t.
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If price is an issue, look for mid-range devices like the Pixel 4a and 5a, or Samsung’s Galaxy A51. As long as the phone is still supported by the manufacturer, it represents a huge leap forward in performance and security, and you can buy one for a lot less than a new flagship.