T-Mobile and Sprint completed their merger in April 2020. The former acquired all of the latter’s spectrum and network towers. It repurposed those assets to build out the nation’s “largest and fastest 5G network”. Soon after the merger, T-Mobile laid out plans to shut down Sprint’s legacy 3G and 4G (LTE) networks. The former was the first to go out at the end of March this year, after a three-month delay from the original plans of shutting it down on January 1, 2022. As of June 30, 2022, Sprint’s LTE network is dead too. As The Verge notes, not many people would mourn its retirement. Sprint’s LTE network has been rather poor from the beginning and it didn’t get any better post the T-Mobile merger. The reason is that the former arrived late on the scene. It initially bet on the WiMAX communication technology when everyone around it was moving on to LTE. By the time it realized its mistake and got its LTE network up and running, Sprint was lagging far behind the competition. It’s now gone for good. Along with eliminating the remains of Sprint, T-Mobile has also pulled the plug on its legacy 3G network as of July 1, 2022. However, its 2G GSM network is still kicking on. The company does plan to retire it but hasn’t decided on a date yet. Perhaps it still has some people to upgrade to 5G networks.
It’s about time for legacy Sprint and T-Mobile customers to upgrade
If you were on Sprint’s LTE or T-Mobile’s 3G network, it’s about time you upgrade. T-Mobile says most Sprint LTE and 5G devices are compatible with its LTE or 5G network. So it shouldn’t be much of a hassle. Simply swap your SIM card and you should be good to go. However, if your smartphone isn’t compatible with T-Mobile’s LTE or 5G network, you’ll have to replace your device. Thankfully, the company will give you a replacement device for free. “Customers who needed to take action as a result of these retirement efforts were notified well ahead of time and received an offer for a free 5G replacement device,” the T-Mobile spokesperson said. You can also check out these best T-Mobile phones if you’re planning to upgrade.
