Original iPhone Loses Last Cellular Connection as T-Mobile Shuts Down 2G Network

T-Mobile's 2G GSM network was switched off on August 3, meaning no major U.S. carrier now offers 2G service. This marks the end of the line for devices dependent on the standard, including the original iPhone from 2007.

T-Mobile kept its 2G infrastructure alive longer than rivals due to remaining users. Among them were visitors to the U.S. relying on international roaming agreements for voice calls. The carrier coordinated with overseas partners in advance to ease the transition.

Subscribers were notified well ahead of the shutdown and given time to move to newer technologies. Smartphones, alarm panels, payment terminals, and other IoT gadgets that used 2G will no longer function.

AT&T ended 2G support back in 2017, and Verizon followed in 2020. With T-Mobile's move, no U.S. carrier supports 2G, so legacy devices like the original iPhone have lost their final way to connect to a cellular network. The iPhone technically lost cellular capability in 2017 when AT&T sunset its 2G network, but now the last workaround is gone.

All three carriers also dropped 3G support in 2022 and have abandoned early LTE iPhones lacking VoLTE support.