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

Apple Wallet ID Illinois

Apple Plans to Expand iPhone Driver's Licenses to These 7 U.S. States

Wednesday December 24, 2025 8:40 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday December 23, 2025 8:36 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models. The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID Front camera in...
maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Monday December 22, 2025 8:47 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 26.2, following more than a month of beta testing. It is a big update, with many new features and changes for iPhones. iOS 26.2 adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. Below, we have highlighted a total of eight new features. Liquid Glass Slider on Lock Screen A new slider in the Lock...
airpods color prototypes

Apple Tested AirPods in Bright Colors

Saturday December 27, 2025 6:06 am PST by
Apple reportedly tested a version of the first-generation AirPods with bright, iPhone 5c-like colored charging cases. The images, shared by the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami," claim to show first-generation AirPods prototypes with pink and yellow exterior casings. The interior of the charging case and the earbuds themselves remain white. They seem close to some...
maxresdefault

10 Mac Apps Worth Trying in 2026

Wednesday December 24, 2025 9:27 am PST by
2026 is almost upon us, and a new year is a good time to try out some new apps. We've rounded up 10 excellent Mac apps that are worth checking out. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Alt-Tab (Free) - Alt-Tab brings a Windows-style alt + tab thumbnail preview option to the Mac. You can see a full window preview of open apps and app windows. One Thing (Free) -...
top stories 2025 12 27

Top Stories: iPhone Fold Mockup, Where's the New Apple TV?, and More

Saturday December 27, 2025 6:00 am PST by
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from MacRumors! News in the Apple world has unsurprisingly been relatively slow over the past week, but Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone managed to make its way back into the news, while we also shared updates on current and future Apple TV news. iOS 26.3 will be bringing some new features, particularly for users in the EU, so we'll look for additional...

Top Rated Comments

i486dx2-66 Avatar
62 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
62 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
62 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
62 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
62 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
62 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)