Guide · Last checked 12 October 2026

Will my old phone still work? The 2G switch-off, country by country

Most classic phones from the 2000s go online over 2G (GPRS/EDGE). 3G is already gone almost everywhere, and 2G is next. Where you live now matters more than which phone you own.

The short version

Country	2G today	What’s planned
United Kingdom	On	O2, Vodafone and EE still run 2G. EE plans to start switching off in May 2029, O2 in summer 2029, Vodafone during 2030; all operators have agreed to finish by 2033. Three has never had 2G.
Spain	On	No national date. Reports differ on Movistar (2026–2027). Orange (MasOrange) has set December 2030. Vodafone has not announced a firm date.
Germany	On	Telekom: 30 June 2028. Vodafone: end of September 2028. O2 Telefónica: end of 2028.
Austria	On	A1: May 2028.
Netherlands	Partly	Odido has already switched off. KPN: 1 December 2027. VodafoneZiggo: not before the end of 2026.
France	Ending	Orange is switching off progressively during 2026; SFR and Bouygues Telecom by the end of 2026.
Sweden	Partly	Tele2 and Telenor switched off in December 2025. Telia plans to finish by 2027.
Switzerland	Off	Switched off in 2021.
Canada	Ending	Rogers is retiring 2G area by area, finishing on 30 November 2027.
United States	Off	AT&T closed 2G in 2017 and Verizon around 2020. T-Mobile, the last one, shut it down on 3 August 2026.

Your SIM matters more than its brand

Many mobile brands don’t own any masts. They rent a big operator’s network (they’re called MVNOs). If the host network switches 2G off, every brand on it loses 2G on the same day. So the question is never “does giffgaff work?” but “does the network behind giffgaff still run 2G?”.

In the UK, as of October 2026:

Host network	2G?	Some brands that use it
O2	Yes	giffgaff, Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile
Vodafone	Yes	Lebara, VOXI, Asda Mobile, Talkmobile
EE	Yes	BT Mobile, Lycamobile, 1p Mobile, Your Co-op, Utility Warehouse, Ecotalk
Three	No	Smarty, iD Mobile, Superdrug Mobile — these won’t work in a 2G-only phone

Most classic phones only need data to run apps, so a cheap data or pay-as-you-go SIM is usually enough. You’ll often have to type the operator’s data settings (APN) into the phone by hand.

What if 2G is already gone where I live?

Then the phone can still call or text only if it supports a network that’s still running — which, for a 2G-only phone, it doesn’t. The remaining option is Wi-Fi: some classic phones have it (several Nokia E-series and N-series models, and some later Series 40 phones). Check your exact model’s specifications before buying anything.

You may also come across “multi-network” IoT SIMs that connect to whichever operator still has 2G. They exist, but they’re designed for machines, often have business-only terms, and may not allow use in a phone. Read the terms carefully.

What about classic BlackBerrys?

BlackBerry phones are a special case. Phones running BlackBerry OS 7.1 and earlier (and BlackBerry 10) depended on BlackBerry’s own services, which were switched off on 4 January 2022. BlackBerry warned that these phones would “no longer reliably function” for data, calls, SMS or emergency calls — over the mobile network and over Wi-Fi. So even where 2G is alive, a classic BlackBerry’s own apps may not get online. Apps that open their own connection can be an exception: in our own tests in Brazil, a BlackBerry Curve running such an app did get online (disclosure: it was KeyAgain’s). If you’ve found a setup that works, we’d love to hear about it.