Verizon Shutting Down 3G Network on December 31, 2022

Verizon is planning to shut down its 3G network at the end of 2022, effectively ending 3G support, the company announced today. Verizon has pushed back the sunsetting of its 3G network several times now, but it sounds like a concrete end date has finally been established.

verizonlogo

We will turn off the last of the 3G CDMA network on December 31, 2022, months after our competitors have shut off their networks completely. The date will not be extended again. We're communicating this again now in order to provide customers plenty of time to complete their migration.

Verizon first announced plans to shut down its 3G network in 2016, and at that time, said that 3G would cease working on December 31, 2019. Verizon ultimately delayed until the end of 2020 to give impacted customers more time to figure out their plans, and then in January 2021, said that the network would not be shut down in the near future.

Though Verizon has kept 3G up and running, it stopped activating 3G phones in July 2018. Verizon says that it has been working with customers who still have 3G devices to transfer them over to 4G and 5G phones, and less than one percent now use the 3G network.

Verizon is encouraging customers with a 3G device to transition to a 4G device now, and as the cutoff date approaches, 3G customers could see a degradation or complete loss of service, with service centers offering "limited troubleshooting help."

Tag: Verizon

Popular Stories

iOS 26

When Will Apple Release iOS 26.2?

Monday December 1, 2025 4:37 pm PST by
We're getting closer to the launch of the final major iOS update of the year, with Apple set to release iOS 26.2 in December. We've had three betas so far and are expecting a fourth beta or a release candidate this week, so a launch could follow as soon as next week. Past Launch Dates Apple's past iOS x.2 updates from the last few years have all happened right around the middle of the...
ios 18 to ios 26 upgrade

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent. Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
iphone 17 cyber

iPhone 17 Demand Is Breaking Apple's Sales Records

Tuesday December 2, 2025 9:44 am PST by
Apple's iPhone 17 lineup is selling well enough that Apple is on track to ship more than 247.4 million total iPhones in 2025, according to a new report from IDC. Total 2025 shipments are forecast to grow 6.1 percent year over year due to iPhone 17 demand and increased sales in China, a major market for Apple. Overall worldwide smartphone shipments across Android and iOS are forecast to...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 Release Candidates to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....
Photos App Icon Liquid Glass

John Gruber Shares Scathing Commentary About Apple's Departing Software Design Chief

Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs. On his blog Daring Fireball,...
Touchscreen MacBook Feature

Here Are the Four MacBooks Apple Is Expected to Launch Next Year

Monday December 1, 2025 5:00 am PST by
2026 could be a bumper year for Apple's Mac lineup, with the company expected to announce as many as four separate MacBook launches. Rumors suggest Apple will court both ends of the consumer spectrum, with more affordable options for students and feature-rich premium lines for users that seek the highest specifications from a laptop. Below is a breakdown of what we're expecting over the next ...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air's Resale Value Has Dropped Dramatically, Data Shows

Thursday December 4, 2025 5:27 am PST by
The iPhone Air has recorded the steepest early resale value drop of any iPhone model in years, with new data showing that several configurations have lost almost 50% of their value within ten weeks of launch. According to a ten-week analysis published by SellCell, Apple's latest lineup is showing a pronounced split in resale performance between the iPhone 17 models and the iPhone Air....
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

iPhone 17 Pro Lost a Camera Feature Pro Models Have Had Since 2020

Thursday December 4, 2025 5:18 am PST by
iPhone 17 Pro models, it turns out, can't take photos in Night mode when Portrait mode is selected in the Camera app – a capability that's been available on Apple's Pro devices since the iPhone 12 Pro in 2020. If you're an iPhone 17 Pro or iPhone 17 Pro Max owner, try it for yourself: Open the Camera app with Photo selected in the carousel, then cover the rear lenses with your hand to...
chatgpt logo

Sam Altman Declares 'Code Red' for ChatGPT, Delays OpenAI Advertising Plans

Tuesday December 2, 2025 3:30 pm PST by
OpenAI is deprioritizing work on advertising as it focuses on improving the quality of ChatGPT, reports The Information. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared a "code red" on Monday, and told employees that the company needs to improve ChatGPT so it doesn't fall behind competitors like Google and Anthropic. Altman said that OpenAI needs to work on personalization for each user, image generation,...

Top Rated Comments

i486dx2-66 Avatar
61 months ago

way too late Verizon, should have killed this long ago ...
For what it's worth, do consider that the final holdouts on these technology sunsets typically aren't people with ancient phones who are too cheap to upgrade.
It's connected passenger vehicles (OnStar, etc), fleet services, and other commercial/industrial users who have expensive embedded hardware on the network that is either expensive to replace, has no retrofit option available, or is significantly important for the role in which it was deployed.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
munpip214 Avatar
61 months ago
There are still a lot of places (in the middle of nowhere) where I still rely on 3G while traveling. Hopefully they can spend some money on improving 4G coverage instead of blowing it all on 5G.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adamjackson Avatar
61 months ago
Cool. Thanks Verizon. Glad to see my $150 a month is going to the future development of bringing LTE to my area?



Unfortunately no other carriers in my area even give me service.


We’re communicating this again now in order to provide customers plenty of time to complete their migration.
Migrate to what? I'm using the latest hardware, I run a Verizon Booster which works a bit. This is so frustrating. Maybe they'll get LTE rolled out in my area by December?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iamMacPerson Avatar
61 months ago

Cool. Thanks Verizon. Glad to see my $150 a month is going to the future development of bringing LTE to my area?



Unfortunately no other carriers in my area even give me service.



Migrate to what? I'm using the latest hardware, I run a Verizon Booster which works a bit. This is so frustrating. Maybe they'll get LTE rolled out in my area by December?
They’re shutting down the 3G network to refarm it into LTE. They have already said they intend to have the entire 3G footprint covered with LTE before the shut down.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mtneer Avatar
61 months ago
"Verizon says that it has been working with customers who still have 3G devices to transfer them over to 4G and 5G phones"

Does anyone know what this means specifically? Is VZW giving these holdouts discounts on newer devices? Or are they just being sent texts and communications asking them to upgrade their devices?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Victor Mortimer Avatar
61 months ago

I think my CPAP device to maintain my breathing while I sleep uses 3G to update itself.
And now you've hit on the real problem.

It's not about phones. Phones are easy enough to replace, most people switched to a 4G phone years ago.

The problem is the other devices that have cell service, like CPAP machines, cars, alarm systems, power grid systems, and all kinds of other embedded devices that aren't easily upgradeable. It's happened before, lots of things stopped working when 2G service was shut down.

My car had to have its 2G modem replaced when AT&T shut down 2G a few years back, I don't think there is a 4G modem module for it, which means the components that use cell service in the car will simply stop working when AT&T 3G shuts down. Not really a huge loss for me, but things like remote unlock and remote start from the app won't work any more.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)