According to T-Mobile internal documents obtained and verified by Android Police, the company intends to give up mobile network support for 19 devices on January 29, 2021. Affected devices include smartphones from Google, Samsung, Sony and many more, as well as older security cameras and wireless routers.
Here is the complete summary, according to T-Mobile’s internal list:
Telephones:
- Google Nexus 9
- Huawei Mate 8
- Huawei P9
- HTC Desire 10 lifestyle
- HTC Desire 650
- OnePlus 1
- How much Dragon IR7
- Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (both AT&T and Verizon models; T-Mobile version of Note 4 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
- Soyea m02
- ZTE ZMax
Other devices:
- SIA_R11e-LTE6 modem miniPCIe microtics
- Netgear Arlo Security Camera System
The change affects T-Mobile, MetroPCS, and Sprint customers, but the impact will depend on the network of the operator that your device initially uses. T-Mobile and MetroPCS devices will lose all network support as of January 29, while Sprint devices will lose T-Mobile roaming connectivity, but may still use Sprint’s legacy 3G network until its closure in 2023.
There may be several unsupported devices, but T-Mobile has not yet made a public announcement at the time of writing, so we can only disable Android Police information. That being said, T-Mobile will alert customers via SMS, starting December 28, which gives those who still use these older products only a few weeks to upgrade.
The short notification is awkward, but we recommend users to upgrade from any of the smartphones listed above, even if T-Mobile doesn’t give up support. Not only are new phones faster and have better features and cameras, but they also get regular security patches that older phones don’t get.
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If price is an issue, look for mid-range devices such as the Pixel 4a and 5a or the Galaxy A51 from Samsung. As long as the phone is still supported by its manufacturer, it will be a huge leap in performance and security and you can buy one for much less than a new flagship phone.